A Generic Jerkbait
The generic was my first attempt serious at creating my own bait. I have been carving baits for as long as I have been fishing but not really had all the tools needed to get the quality build I wanted. The idea behind this bait was more or less to use it as a platform for learning to make baits. As a learning platform I didn’t want it to have any special features that risk affecting its action so I choose very generic drop form shape. That way I could experiment with weights and study their effect.
The first Generics
I made the first generics out of 15mm oak. These where hand carved without any use of machinery. I think hand carving a shape is much easier than drawing it on paper and cutting it with machinery. Hand carving is a slower process where small adjustments can be made along the way until the shape is finally the way I want it. They wight in at about 50-60g and measured 17cm. They turned out as nice baits with the standard side to side action. They still needed som further work, I wanted more swimming action on a steady retrieve.
The Generic finding its shape
One answer to getting the swimming action right was to switch wood. I now make these out of beech wood which is lighter than oak providing more buoyancy. Widening the body and making it slightly asymmetric was another key change. It now swims on the retrieve and can be fished without any rod action, adding some rod action it will swim wide on a light tap. The “generic” stuck as a name simply because of its shapeshifting form being able to imitate many different baitfish. The model is finished for now. I am sure there will be som future evolution but it really catches fish in its current form and is a personal favorite.
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