How To Use Jerkbaits to Catch Giant Trout

Duane Doty’s idea of perfect fishing conditions is probably a lot different from yours. He dreams of winter days when snow is falling at Lake Taneycomo in the Missouri Ozarks, the current is flowing, and he is the only one on the water. That’s when the big brown trout often will let down their guard and attack the Signature Series suspending jerkbaits Doty custom-paints.

“I don’t know if it’s the barometer or what, but I’ve caught some of my biggest browns on winter days when most people wouldn’t want to be out,” said Doty, who runs the Ozark Trout Runners guide service out of Lilleys’ Landing Resort and Marina in Branson, Missouri.

He has guided on the nationally known trout lake for 20 years, and breaks the mold of trout fishermen who believe “smaller is better” when it comes to the size of the lures they cast.

Oh, Doty knows how to cast a fly or a jig with the best of them; he started his guiding career putting fly fishermen on trout. But over the years, he realized he was appealing to a limited market.

“Not everyone knows how to strip a streamer,” he said. “Only 10% of the people who come down here to fish for trout are fly fishermen.”

“So I started guiding people with spinning tactics. To set myself apart, I experimented with ways to target big fish,” he added. 

Enter the suspending jerkbait, a lure more connected to fishing for bass or walleyes than trout. Doty experimented with well-known but pricey models on the market and found impressive results.

There was only one problem. Each lure that was thrown into a tree — and there were plenty of them — affected Doty’s profit. So, he started  buying jerkbait blanks and hand-painting color patterns on them based on what he learned through his fly fishing.

A Custom Jerkbait Business is Born in the Perfect Place

At first, Doty made his custom jerkbaits for his guide trips alone. But as word of their success spread, demand skyrocketed. 

“I was having people call me and offer to buy one jerkbait for $75,” he said.

That’s when he decided to sell his Signature Series jerkbaits on a limited basis, offering them only through Lilleys’ Landing where he guides and works as a dock manager.

The makeup of Lake Taneycomo makes it a perfect setting for jerkbait fishing. The 22-mile-long reservoir is actually more like a river with dams at both ends than a lake. The section of White River that was dammed became a cold-water fishery when water from the depths of Table Rock Lake was pulled through the dam and sent into Taneycomo.

It has become a national destination for trout fishermen, thanks to generous stockings of rainbow and brown trout. The Missouri state record brown — 40 pounds, 6 ounces — was caught here on a pink trout worm in 2019 by Bill Babler.

But many other big browns are caught on much-larger suspending jerkbaits. Ten of the 29 fish in the Lake Taneycomo Hall of Fame, honoring fishermen who have caught trout measuring 30 inches -plus, were caught on the bait, according to records kept by Lilleys’ Landing.

The key to catching giant browns, Doty says, is using the proper retrieve. “A lot of people use the jerk-jerk-pause technique when they’re using a suspending jerkbait. But that dying minnow game doesn’t work too well when you’re trying to catch an apex predator.

“I am very, very aggressive with these jerkbaits during daylight hours,” he said. “If you give that fish just a split second to decide whether or not to eat it, you’re going to get a lot more reaction strikes.”

Jerkbaits for Trout: How to Slap Like Doty

Doty likens his retrieves to walking the dog (a topwater technique) beneath the surface. He makes 7 to 10 loose-line “slaps” as he calls them, then pauses the bait for a couple of seconds.

The higher the current flows, the better. That concentrates the trout in key places, usually along steep or bluff banks.

“These browns are lazy,” Doty said. “When there is a lot of current, they will push over next to the bank, and relate to big boulders and logs. You have to throw your bait within six inches of the bank.”

The Tackle and The Dark Army

Doty uses spinning equipment, with a medium to medium-light action rod and 8- to 10-pound test line.

When the current is right, jerkbaits will work throughout the year, Doty said. He even fishes them at night, with a much slower retrieve, to catch big browns and rainbows. Guide clients who fish with him at night become members of the “Dark Army.”

Doty will use smaller baits as conditions dictate. But when conditions are right for targeting big browns, he will often use a jerkbait that can be as long as 6 1/2 inches.

“It goes against everything I learned about trout fishing, using a lure that big,” he said. “All I know is that it works.”