Fall is a great time to fish shallow with a number of baits including crankbaits. The trick is to select one that not only mimics the size of the bait but also runs at the depth that you are looking to target.
Over the past several years, flat sided baits have become more popular as they tend to put off more flash as well as a different vibration than a standard, rounded body bait will.
This seems to more closely resemble the frantic nature of baitfish in certain circumstances.
One of the baits that we always have tied on for this situation is the Jackall Jaco 58. This little bait has caught fish for us from So-Cal to Georgia, largemouth to spots, and some species that weren’t even on our minds at the time.
Good Things Come in Small Packages
The Jaco is only 2-1/4 inches long with a weight of 1/3 of an ounce. It sports a shad shaped body with colors that not only mimic shad but panfish as well. Jackall even throws in a craw color for good measure.
This flat sided plug is designed with an internal scaling pattern that gives it more flash and enhances its reflective qualities. There are molded in gill plates, recessed 3-D eyes, a bill that is highly effective at deflecting off of objects as well as kicking up a mud trail and quality components from stem to stern.
While there are those crankbaits that don’t do well in clear water, the Jaco excels in this environment. Due to its size and the fact that its action is a tight wobble, the appearance is very natural on the retrieve.
You can fish it fast or slow, this bait will not roll over, helicopter, or quit wobbling. It runs true out of the package no matter the speed.
The Jaco gets to its depth quickly and stays there as long as its moving forward. You can stop it after which it will rise slowly.
One of the cool by products with this bait is that since the scale pattern is internal, it doesn’t suffer from getting bit. Yes, you can still see bite marks on the exterior of the plastic but it doesn’t remove the paint scheme so it doesn’t look beat up after having caught multiple fish.
The Jaco doesn’t have an internal rattle. This is another feature that makes it so attractive to fish in clear water. The absence of the rattle doesn’t tip them off that there is something unnatural about this bait. In our opinion, this produces more bites on this lure.
At 1/3 oz, this is hardly a heavyweight offering but it does cast well on either spinning or casting gear thanks to the weighting system. Our favorite is a casting reel on a 7’ medium light rod spooled with 10# mono. This rig seems to be just right for working the Jaco. It doesn’t over power the bait but it provides the kind of control that you need when you get hammered by a big ‘ole bass.
Oh, What a Feelin’
The Jaco provides instant feedback to your hands during the retrieve. You can feel the wobble, when it hits something, when you’re scraping bottom, even different bottom compositions. Oh yeah, and when you have a fish that takes it, there is no mistaking that!
We try to beat baits up to see if they are durable or delicate. The Jaco has surpassed our expectations with how much abuse it has handled. We’ve bounced this along rip-rap, off of trees, dug up mud, banged it off of underwater hard bottom all in the interest of seeing how it would stand up. Not to mention that this is how this bait was intended to be used to trigger bites.
Our baits show almost no indication of the hardships we’ve put them through. No broken lips, cracked bodies, bits or pieces falling off or anything else of any consequence. Just some tooth marks on the exterior plastic that doesn’t affect the bait negatively in any way, shape or form.
Our most productive retrieves with the Jaco have been reeling it down, then using a moderate speed with some intermittent twitches and stops. It seems as though that slight pause followed by the restart produces an action that following bass can’t ignore. Most of our strikes have come as soon as we get the bait moving again.
Our hook-up ratio has been excellent with very few short strikes or misses. We’re convinced that this is at least in part due to the small profile of the bait. At 2-1/4”, there aren’t many bass that can’t handle getting this entire bait in their mouths. From there the stock trebles take over with the end result being a solidly hooked fish.
Jackall designed this little lure to fit within a fairly narrow depth range while offering anglers some of the best features available in a clear water crankbait. Did they succeed? In our opinion, in a word, absolutely!
The Jackall Jaco 58 has great action, deflection qualities, quality components, well executed colors, provides all kinds of feedback on the retrieve and get bit. Give ‘em a try if you need to fill this gap in your arsenal. We doubt you’ll be anything but pleased.
| Jackall Jaco 58 | |
|---|---|
| Overall Rating |   |
| A terrific, small plug for the 3-5' range | |
See ya’ on the water …
