Polk County Tweaker Lure Mini-Course [Rigging, Retrieving, & More]

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:

• Slot Machine + Fuego 2500 Combo (Premium)
• TFO Pro S + Fuego 2500 Combo

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!