Paddletail vs. Jerk Shad (When To Use Each Lure)
- By: Wyatt Parcel
- on
There’s a big debate as to whether a paddletail or a jerk shad is the superior lure…
But the real answer is that both of these lures can catch loads of redfish, trout, snook, and flounder.
A more important question to ask is which lure should be used in specific situations.
So in this video, you’ll learn exactly when to use each of these two lures and why it’s important to have both.
Check it out below!
Paddletails vs. Jerk Shads [VIDEO]
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Paddletails
If you are just starting to fish an area, a paddletail should be your first lure to use.
That’s because this lure is a great search bait.
When you don’t know exactly where the fish are, a paddletail will help you cover ground quickly to search for fish.
You can use a faster retrieve with a paddletail while inserting little pauses and twitches to see if a fish will strike.
Another advantage is that a paddletail can be worked in a high current or high wind situation.
Since they have really good vibration and kick, it creates a great presentation in water that is already disturbed and churning.
Here are my favorite paddletail lures:
But while a paddletail is great in dirty water, it does not seem to conjure up many reaction strikes from either spooky or lethargic fish…
Jerk Shads
If you are dealing with fish that don’t seem to want to feed or if you have already found the feeding fish, then you might want to switch over to a jerk shad.
These lures are worked much slower but have great darting action.
This movement definitely invokes strikes by its erratic twitches that lure the fish in.
Although it does take longer to retrieve a jerk shad, once you have the fish dialed in, they can’t seem to stay away from these lures!
These are my go-to jerk shad lures:
Conclusion
Whether you are targeting redfish, speckled trout, flounder, and even snook, both a paddletail and a jerk shad are fantastic options.
But each lure has a very specific purpose and one will normally outperform the other based on the situation.
If you’re searching for fish or the water is churned up by wind or current, then a paddletail is usually best.
If you’ve found fish and the water is calm and clear, then a jerk shad is often the ticket to get fish to eat.
Check out my favorite paddletails and jerk shads in our tackle shop:
Which of these lures do you prefer?
Let me know down in the comments!
And if you know someone who loves to uses paddletails and jerkshads, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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Off this topic, but a frustration I’m dealing with –
I live in Jamaica Beach on a canal on the West end of Galveston. Totally exciting to see the reds, and a couple of times trout, tearing up the bait in my underwater green light. But totally frustrating when I can’t get their attention with any bait I throw at them….HELP please!!!
Tight lines,
Bruce…
I have a selection of jerk shads that I use on occasion but the go to always starts with the ZMan paddle tail in the Purple Death color.I have fished the Slam Shady for about 4 months now and am just beginning to get some strikes on it and catching a few nice fish. The Purple Death seems to work better for me and have had much success on trout, reds and flounder her in the Cape Fear region.
That Purple Death color is great! I had great success with the Slam Shady as well, but I did find a good bite on overcast days in dirty water (the darker silhouette seemed to be easier for fish to zero in on in those conditions), but regardless of the color or brand that you use, it’s tough to beat a paddletail as a search bait in those big marshes like Ft. Fisher! Hope you’re doing well Darrell!
Friday afternoon I caught a 34″ Snook first time surf fishing with the Slam Shady in Satellite Beach, FL. I have caught several spotted trout in the canals with the Slam Shady…it’s my now go-to swim bait. Thanks for all the videos
That’s awesome!! Congrats on the solid snook Roger!
Great Video Wyatt as always. Question; why not use a Power Prawn instead of a jerk shad? The Jerk is mimicking a shrimp so why not use a “shrimp”?
The “jerk” can also mimic a baitfish if worked a bit faster! Sometimes fish key in on the physical appearance of a bait, and other times they’ll key in on the action. I’ve had reds get picky and want both to line up, and it’s usually the best course of action to match the bait profile that fish are locked in on.
If you see reds attacking shrimp, I’d definitely go with the Power Prawn over the jerkshad! But if you’re not sure what they’re after, and are playing with different baits to see what’s going to get hit, the jerkshad kills two birds with one stone. It can be worked quicker with multiple pops to imitate a fleeing or injured baitfish, or double-twitch-paused to imitate a shrimp! It’s all about experimenting with different presentations until you find out what fish want. Sometimes we get lucky and can actually see the forage that fish are after, but other times we have to get them to strike something before we have an answer!
Great Answer! Thanks for taking the time!!
Thanks Wyatt! Jerk shad is my weak link so this is helpful info. What hook/jig head do you like to use with Mirrolure Lil’ John twitch baits?
1/16-1/4th oz, depending on the depth… I will have a video up next week with Wader Dave giving a full overview of how to rig, retrieve, and maximize success with the Lil’ Jon!
What do you prefer over oyster beds?
I also have an off-topic gear question from your video: What leash do you have on your sunglasses and will it float? Any suggestions for a leash to float the Smith Guide sunglasses? Being glass, they’re a bit heavier and I’m looking for a good leash.
Depends whether or not I’ve found the fish yet! I’ll burn a paddletail on the points of the bar and if I don’t get any bites, I’ll keep moving. If I see fish and they aren’t hitting the paddletail, I’ll likely switch to the jerkshad. Again, the specific piece of structure doesn’t call for one vs the other, but I’ll make my decision based on what the best use of my time is. The time it takes to feel out the oyster bar with the paddletail is a LOT quicker than the jerkshad, but if I know there’s fish there that are feeding, I likely will attract more strikes with the erratic action of the jerkshad. BUT I tend to favor the paddletail because I can cover 2-3x as much ground to find feeding fish as I can with the jerkshad. I may miss a few that would have otherwise hit the jerkshad (if the conditions are right to use it) but playing the numbers game (putting your lure in front of more fish by covering the most ground possible) tends to work in my favor.
Excellent! Thanks, Wyatt!
Also, as for the leash, it’s a CHUMS leash. I got it at Wal-Mart for a few bucks and it does float.
Thanks!
☆Great video Mr. Parcel, thank you!
Thanks so much Chad! Glad you enjoyed it sir!
Good info Wyatt. Regarding paddletails do you have a preference between the SS 2.0 and Zman? I’m not totally sold on the Zman paddletails.
There’s a few different factors that determine which one I choose but the advantages of the Z-Man’s is that they are naturally bouyant (which means that they’ll stand on their head on the bottom, which is more natural then a lure laying on it’s side) and that they’re made of the 10x ElaZtech material, which is great if there’s lots of puffers and pin fish around.
The 2.0 is great when you need action on the drop, but no rest on the bottom, as the tail action really engages well on vertical descents. Also, the built in scent is phenomenal when you need an extra edge to get fish to commit to a bite.
Both work just as well as the other, but you can choose one or the other to fine tune your presentation!
Where can we find how to rig and work a jerk shad video? I know it exists:)
I’ll do you one better than a single video… how about a mini-course on jerkshads!
https://www.saltstrong.com/fishing-tip/soft-plastic-jerk-baits-mini-course-tips-and-tactics-for-rigging-and-retrieving/
Great Job!!! Love your in-depth analysis!!!
Thank you John!! Glad you found this one helpful sir!