I had the old 9.9 Merc putting along as slow as I could manage and sat back to enjoy the dead calm July evening and watch the setting sun. Suddenly I felt weight on the end of my line and the jitterbug had disappeared from sight. Confident that I had snagged a branch, I set the hook anyway and a 4 pound smallie launched skyward.
I threw the motor into neutral and spent the next five minutes wrestling with the acrobatic fish that was determined to spend more time in the air than it did in the water, to the side of the boat.
From that day on the Jitterbug became one of my “fall back” lures that is always in my tackle box. I have caught largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, pike, and musky on this lure. Sometimes casting and using a slow retrieve, other times letting it sit then retrieving a few feet, the Jitterbug not only catches fish but it can be hypnotic to watch.
You see the metal cup at the lip of the lure is the secret that creates its unique wobbling action and when retrieved at the correct speed you will hear a “burbling” sound coming from the lure. The combination of burbling and wobbling is often enough to spark large fish into action even on a slow day. And because your attention is always drawn to the action and sounds of the lure it’s almost heart stopping when wave appears behind your lure and the lure disappears. And it’s one reason that I keep coming back to my favorite top water lure.
Whether it’s trolling a calm shoreline at dusk or casting for smallies in my favorite pool on the Grand River in Southern Ontario there is just nothing that can compare to the thrill of taking any species of fish on this lively, entertaining top water lure. If you don’t have a Jitterbug in your tackle box; get one.
Be sure to keep checking back with Southern Ontario Outdoors for your Soutern Ontario fishing information and destinations.
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