Jigs offer the same advantage as jerking with stick baits, but jigging requires a lot less effort, less wear and tear on the shoulders, than big crankbaits.

One of these two methods, jerking or jigging, can be used to cover almost any summertime muskie-fishing situation, and at any depth.

JERKING TACTICS
Jerking is simply retrieving a lure in a series of jerks or pulls. These jerks vary in length and speed, depending on the lure being used. Some lures are made specifically to be jerked relatively slowly, at least in muskie-fishing terms. Stick baits typically can be jerked at a faster rate, but will also have plenty of action when jerked slowly. This versatility allows anglers to vary the retrieve until something works. Summertime retrieves most often should be quite fast. Erratic retrieves can be very effective. For best results, vary the speed and length of jerks during a single retrieve. Changes in direction often trigger muskie strikes, so sweeping the rod to one side and then to the other should be part of the routine.

Step one in the one-two approach of jerking for muskies is going after the "easy" fish early in the morning while the sun is on the horizon, or even earlier, using jerkbaits. Although it is sunlight that drives muskies into deep water during summer, it probably is not the light itself that bothers them so much as it is a feeling of vulnerability. Muskies may be at the top of the piscine food chain, but like every other earth-bound creature, they're big on self-preservation.

Normally, the best times to jerk-fish are at dawn, dusk, at night, on heavily overcast days or when there is enough chop on the surface to minimize visibility. Conditions that muddy the water can also keep muskies close to the surface. Check the mouths of tributary streams after rainstorms. Wave action can roil the water close to silt banks, which can be very productive areas to fish when windy weather persists.

Although muskies might be anywhere during summertime, they will most likely be found in the places where feeding opportunities are best. The biggest muskies tend to take up residence in the most obvious spots, at least while they are actively looking for meals.

The outer edges of weedbeds are usually good bets, particularly points or cuts in weedlines. When weedbeds end abruptly (typically along steep depth breaks or in places where bottom composition changes from soft to hard), cast parallel to the weedlines. Jerkbaits that quickly dive several feet are good here.

Weedlines that are visible at the surface are not really the outer edges of the weedbed. Instead, weed growth tapers and thins, often reaching much farther out than the surface growth would suggest. Beyond the thickest parts of any weedbed are weeds that do not reach the surface. Often, these outer areas consist of clumps of weeds rather than continuously thick, matted weeds in the hearts of the beds.