Jerkbaits, Crankbaits and Spoons for Pike
By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026
Most of the hard lures on a tackle-shop wall are one maker’s take on an idea another maker had first. Strip away the paint and the packaging and you are left with three families, and once you know which one you are holding, the choice gets much simpler.
Crankbaits have a stocky body and a big lip, and they dive and wobble when you wind them in steadily. Jerkbaits are slender, with little or no lip, and they dart and pause when you flick the rod. Spoons are curved metal blades that flash, wobble and cast a long way.
Below: how each one moves, how deep it runs, when to pick it over the other two, and how to rig it so a pike on trebles is landed and released safely. For soft lures and the rest of the box, see all our lure guides.
Jerkbaits vs Crankbaits vs Spoons: How Each Hard Lure Works
Ask one question of any hard lure, what makes it move, and you know how to fish it.
On a crankbait the lip does the work as you wind. On a jerkbait the action comes from your rod tip, and the lure does very little on its own. On a spoon the curved metal supplies the wobble, both on the retrieve and as it flutters down.
| Lure | What drives the action | Typical retrieve | Depth control | Best conditions | Downsides |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crankbait (pike plug) | The lip | Steady wind, with changes of speed | Lip size and angle, roughly 1m to 3m for common types | Coloured water, covering water, holding a set depth | Snags on the bottom and in weed; treble hooks |
| Jerkbait or glider | Your rod | Twitch and pause | Buoyancy and how long you pause | Clear water, pike that follow but won’t take | Tiring to work, needs a stiffer rod; treble hooks |
| Spoon | The shape of the metal | Lift-and-fall or a steady wind | How long you count it down before retrieving | Distance, wind, big open water | Snags on weed and rocks |
Spinners are a fourth metal option, covered briefly in the spoon section.
Plugs run from about 3cm to 20cm, with 5cm to 7cm the most common size across all fishing. Pike anglers fish the larger end because bigger plugs usually pick out bigger fish. Our guide to the best pike lures breaks the options down by type.
Start with the family that fishes the most water: the crankbait.
Crankbaits for Pike: How the Lip Sets the Depth
The second cast with a new crank bait ends in the weed bed, and the lure gets the blame. Its lip told you how deep it was going to run before you tied it on.
Crankbaits are hard-bodied pike plugs with a stocky profile and a large bill at the front. As you wind, water pushes against the bill and drives the lure down, and it wobbles as it goes.
Read the lip before you buy
Lip size and angle set the running depth.
- Stepped-nose or small-lipped crankbaits dive to about 1m. They suit shallow bays, margins and snaggy swims.
- Long-lipped minnow types reach around 3m if you crank them hard. They suit drop-offs and deeper open water.
As a rule of thumb, a longer, flatter lip runs deeper and a shorter, steeper lip runs shallower.
Floating, suspending or sinking
Buoyancy decides what the lure does when you stop winding.
- Floating models rise, so you can back them off weed and snags.
- Suspending models hang at the depth where you stop them.
- Sinking models let you count them down to the depth you want before you start the retrieve.
Use the snag as a trigger
When a floating crankbait bumps weed or the bottom, stop winding. Let it rise a little, then carry on. The sudden change of pace looks like a fish in trouble, and it often draws a take from a pike that was tracking the lure without committing.
Vibration for coloured water
The lip wobble throws out vibration on its own. Jointed bodies snake through the water and add more, and rattles or ball bearings inside the body add noise. In coloured water, where a pike may feel a lure before it sees it, that noise earns its place.
Best for: coloured water, covering a lot of water quickly, and holding a set depth. Skip if: the swim is a carpet of weed right up to the surface. The decision table further down has better options.
Jerkbaits for Pike: Twitch, Pause and Glide
A pike shadows the lure right to your feet, then sinks back out of sight. That is the fish jerk baits are made for.
A jerkbait is a slender hard lure that darts off to one side when you flick the rod. Unlike crankbaits, most have a small lip or none at all, so they do very little on a straight wind. Gliders are close relatives: instead of darting, they swing wide from side to side.
How to work a jerkbait
- Give two sharp downward twitches of the rod tip, working on a little slack line.
- Pause and let the lure hang or drift.
- Repeat, varying the number of twitches and the length of the pause.
The take usually comes on the pause. Keep pauses short for active fish and stretch them out in cold water. Start with a count of two or three and adjust.
On Windermere, when pike follow but won’t take, I have found that lengthening the pause does more than changing colour.
Going deeper in winter
Jerkbaits for pike don’t have to stay near the surface when the water cools. In Angling Times, Rapala’s Dave Mower describes fishing a jerk-style lure either on a straight retrieve for a natural swimming action or with big rod sweeps for a wide glide. In the cold months he adds a weight to the front split ring to get it down to the fish.
Why it suits clear water
The dart and sudden stop look like an injured fish. In clear water, where a pike gets a good look at the lure, that erratic movement is often what turns a follow into a take.
Tackle to match
A shorter, stiffer rod rated for your lure weights saves your wrist on a long day. Braid passes each twitch straight to the lure instead of absorbing it.
The verdict: if you only add one hard lure to a box of soft shads, make it a jerkbait for following fish in clear water.
Spoons for Pike: Distance, Flash and the Lift-and-Fall
The simplest lure in the box outcasts most plugs, which is exactly why it earns a place on big, windy stillwaters.
A spoon is an off-centre curved metal blade. Wound in, it wobbles and flashes. Dropped, it flutters down like a dying fish. Because it is dense metal, it punches into a headwind that would stop a light plug and reaches fish holding well out from the bank.
How to fish spoons for pike
- Cast out and count the spoon down. A longer count gets it deeper.
- Either wind steadily, or lift the rod and let the spoon flutter back down.
- Stay in touch with the line on the drop, because takes often come as the spoon falls.
Use heavier spoons for distance and depth and lighter ones for shallow water. The main downside is snagging on weed and rocks, so in snaggy swims start the retrieve sooner and keep the spoon off the bottom.
Spinners and spinnerbaits
A spinner has a rotating blade on a wire shaft that throws out flash and vibration. It is easy to cast and wind, but it twists line, so always fit a good swivel. Spinnerbaits, with a wire frame and a skirted hook, come over submerged weed more cleanly than a treble-hooked plug.
Spoon or crankbait? A crankbait holds a set depth on the retrieve. A spoon covers more distance and fishes the whole water column on the drop.
Which Hard Lure to Use: Water, Weed, Clarity and Season
Read three things before you tie on (depth, weed and water colour) and the choice of hard lure mostly makes itself.
| Situation | First choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pike following but not taking | Jerkbait with longer pauses | The pause gives a following fish its moment to strike |
| Coloured water or low light | Jointed or rattling crankbait, or a spinner | Vibration and noise help a pike find the lure |
| Shallow or snaggy swim, under about 1m | Floating stepped-nose crankbait | Runs shallow and backs off snags when you pause |
| Deep water in winter | Deep-diving crankbait, or a jerk-style lure with a front weight | Gets down to fish holding deep and chasing less |
| Strong wind or long range | Spoon | Dense metal casts furthest |
| Thick weed | Spinnerbait, or a floating shallow crankbait worked over the top | Keeps trebles clear of the weed |
Season and temperature
In cold water pike tend to sit deeper and chase less, so fish slower, deeper and with longer pauses. In the warmer months faster retrieves and shallow runners cover more water. Light, temperature, clarity, depth and possibly air pressure all change how pike respond to a lure, which is why last week’s crankbait can draw nothing today.
Stillwater, river or canal
On stillwaters, search one depth band at a time before you move on. On rivers, cast across and let the current add to the action, and give slack water and eddies extra attention. Canals are shallow, so shallow runners and spoons fished high in the water make most sense.
A working method
Search the swim methodically, vary the retrieve, rotate lure types and note what worked. If a swim is so snaggy that every lost plug hurts, switch to soft lures for pike, which cost less to lose and are easier to rig weedless.
Our advice: if pike are following and turning away, change the lure type first and the colour second.
Rigging Hard Lures: Traces, Trebles and Knots
A pike’s teeth cut straight through unprotected mono or braid. A hard lure left in a fish’s mouth with its trebles attached is the worst outcome in lure fishing, so the rig matters as much as the lure.
Always use a wire trace
Fish a wire trace between your mainline and the lure, every time. It needs to be long enough to cover the lure and the pike’s jaws. Our pike rigs guide covers trace lengths and strengths in detail.
Snap link or loop knot
Connect the lure with a strong snap link, or tie it direct with a loop knot so it can swing freely and keep its action. The Rapala loop knot is a common choice for hard lures.
Trebles and barbs
Crush the barbs, or swap to barbless trebles, wherever the fishery asks for it. Some waters restrict trebles or barbs, and private waters can set their own rules, so check before you fish. Some jerk-style lures have a rear treble on a stinger release, which stops a pike using the lure’s weight to lever the hooks free.
Unhooking kit
Have your kit on the bank before the first cast: long forceps or long-nose pliers, an unhooking mat, and wire cutters for a treble that has gone deep.
Checklist: if you can’t tick off trace, forceps and mat, don’t cast yet.
Rod Licence and Rules for Lure Fishing
In England and Wales you need a rod licence to lure fish for pike, even on a private lake or club water. The rule covers all freshwater fishing with rod and line (GOV.UK).
- Children under 13 don’t need a licence. Those aged 13 to 16 need a free junior licence. Our rod licence guide has the details.
- Local byelaws set close seasons and permitted tackle by region, and fisheries can add their own rules on trebles, barbs and lures. Check the byelaws on GOV.UK and our fishing seasons page before you go.
- Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules. Check with the relevant authority and the fishery, and see our guide to licences in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Always get permission from whoever controls the water.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a jerkbait and a crankbait?
A crankbait has a stocky body and a big lip, so it dives and wobbles on a steady wind. A jerkbait is slender, with little or no lip, and darts and pauses when you flick the rod. Use a crankbait to cover water at a set depth, and a jerkbait for pike that follow but won't take.
How deep does a crankbait go?
It depends mainly on lip size and angle. A stepped-nose shallow runner reaches about 1m, while a long-lipped type cranked hard gets down to around 3m. Retrieve speed and line thickness also make a difference, so check the running depth printed on the packet. See the crankbait section above for the full breakdown.
Are spoons good for pike?
Yes, especially for distance, wind and big open water. A spoon outcasts most plugs and catches on the drop, so stay in touch with the line as it falls. The downside is snagging on weed and rocks, so start the retrieve sooner in snaggy swims.
What size lure is best for pike?
Plugs run from about 3cm to 20cm, and pike anglers usually fish the larger end because bigger lures tend to pick out bigger fish. In cold or clear water, try scaling down if follows aren't turning into takes. Match the size to the swim and how active the pike seem.
Do I need a licence to lure fish for pike on a private lake?
Yes. In England and Wales you need a rod licence on private lakes and club waters, plus permission from whoever controls the water. Children under 13 need no licence and 13 to 16 year olds need a free junior one. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, check with the relevant authority. See our rod licence guide.