Polk County Tweaker Lure Mini-Course [Rigging, Retrieving, & More]
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
The Polk County Tweaker is a new jerk-style lure specifically designed to catch redfish, seatrout, snook, and flounder even if they aren’t hungry.
This lure has a great darting motion when retrieved with a twitch-twitch-pause motion that causes predator fish to strike due to their instinct to take advantage of injured prey.
The only con of this lure is that it is not for beginners because it requires skill to get the right action in the water… if you’re a beginner, you need to start out with The 2.0 paddletails because they are much easier to use.
But if you’re ready to take on a more advanced lure, here’s a mini-course so that you can see exactly how to rig and use this lure.
Here are the lessons you’ll see below:
- How to rig
- How to retrieve
- When to NOT use soft plastic jerk lures
- Ideal equipment for using soft plastic jerks (rod, line, & reel)
- Best knot to use
- How to repair bent/crooked lures
Just click on the respective videos below to see the details.
How To Rig Soft Plastic Jerk Lures
Here are links to my favorite rigging items for these lures:
Shallow Zones = Helix Weighted Hook (3/0 size fits best)
- 1/16 oz for 0 – 2 ft
- 1/8 oz for 1-3 ft
- 3/16 oz for 2-4 ft
Deeper Zones = Round Eye Jig Head (2/0 & 3/0 hooks)
- 1/8 oz for 2 – 4 ft
- 3/16 oz for 3 – 7 ft
- 1/4 oz for 5 – 10 ft
- 1/2 oz for 10 – 20 ft
Retrieving Soft Plastic Jerk Lures
When To NOT Use Jerk Lures
Soft plastic jerk lures are extremely versatile, so they can be successfully used in most situations. The times in which I recommend against them are the following:
- When lots of pufferfish are in the area (it’s best to go with a hard lure when puffers are around)
- When it’s very windy (these lures can be tough to retrieve properly in windy conditions, so going with something with more drag in the water is generally best (spoon or swimbait)
Ideal Equipment
Here’s a quick listing of the overall equipment that has proven to help maximize the results when using the Twitch lures:
Rod
I highly recommend 7’6″ Fast Action blanks with Medium power. Here are links to my 2 favorite combos for using soft plastic lures like The Twitch:
Line
I highly recommend using light braid for maximizing your results when using soft plastic jerk lures so that you can maximize your casting distance and feel of taps vs. thumps.
My personal favorite after doing a lot of line tests of the years is the 10 lb J-Braid 8 Grand because it is very strong, casts great, and has proven to hold up to a lot of abuse.
Reel
In my opinion, the reel is not nearly as important as the rod and the line. I recommend 2500-sized reels for inshore fishing with soft plastic jerk lures because they hold plenty of line and have more than enough drag strength while they weigh much less than the larger reels.
My personal favorite is the Daiwa Fuego 2500 XH because it’s super light and it holds up to saltwater exposure great for a reel under $100.
For lures like this, it’s best to use a loop knot so that you can allow the lure to have maximized freedom of motion in the water.
We recommend the Non-Slip Loop Knot since it’s quick to tie and it results in a tag end that points back towards the lure which ensures it won’t snag any floating debris.
How To Repair Bent Lures
No matter how well soft plastic lures get packed into a bag or tackle tray, there will always be some that end up getting bent out of shape.
The good news is that reforming them is very easy. Here’s a lesson showing tips on how to get any bent soft plastics back into good shape:
Conclusion
The Tweaker is a lure that can help you increase your consistency in catching quality fish because it flat out can generate strikes when fish aren’t hungry.
A key to success is to focus on both rigging and retrieving the lure properly because both are crucial.
When used properly, you’ll surely find that this lure will become one of your most trustworthy lures when fishing calm conditions where a silent darting lure shines.
If you have any questions, please use the Comment section below.
Tight Lines!
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As usual great video Luke. One way I rig the tweaker with a weighted hook I start at the top and end of with the point of the hook in the slot. This makes it weedless without having to skinhook the point. Just a thought.
Thanks Luke, just received mine today with the jig head bundle. Can’t wait to try it out this weekend.
Thank you Luke! Great tip! I have locked your instructions into my mind!
I have loved the Alabama Leprichan and probably caught more reds on it than any of my other soft plastics. So I have to ask, what does the Tweaker do for me that my Leprichans don’t (full disclosure: I’ve already ordered them in 3 colors!!)? I’m ready to use them but I’m curious what made you create an additional jerk bait?
The Tweaker will cast farther (especially into the wind). That alone will help increase the catch rate given that they have similar motion in the water.
These were outstanding videos thank you for sharing this information.
Our pleasure!
I’m headed out with Capt. Tanya Dowdy next week out of Folly Beach for flounder, maybe some reds. Any color suggestions for Tweaker, or should I just get a variety pack?
It seems as if humans care more about the color than the fish. When in doubt, go with slam shady. But odds are good that they all will work equally as well.
Love this. I was using boiling them. And laying them out. Much easier.
What is the slot in the body of the slam shady and the tweaker for?
That is to help get good hook sets when it’s rigged on weighted hooks for covering shallow zones while being weedless.
Great video…really looking forward to receiving mine and getting them in the water.
We look forward to seeing what you catch with your new lures.
Although I had already reviewed the rigging vid previous, The fact that SS sent the mini video as email with purchase of free Tweaker pack, just screams excellent customer services. Well done y’all
Thanks for making time to post the nice comment Mike!