Ep. 96: Jon Kay of JK Baits on Custom Crankbaits, Painting Baits & Mexico Charter Life

Guest: Jon Kay (JK Baits)

Hosts: Daniel Dahlin ([FISH]rx), El Charly, Luke Dean (Bait Slingers / Artemis Charters)

Jon Kay of JK Baits joined Episode 96, recorded live on August 5, 2025, and delivered one of the most complete crankbait breakdowns the show has aired. The full system: rod length, gear ratio, line weight, go-to baits for spotties, and the one rule that matters above all else. Plus the jerkbait philosophy that’s the opposite of everything you see on Instagram, and how six years of chartering in Rocky Point turned a 22-year-old with a boat he didn’t know how to start into one of the better fishing minds in the room.

In This Episode

• The crankbait contact rule: “If your crankbait isn’t hitting something, you’re throwing it wrong. A fish sitting next to a rock only bites when you ram it”
• Jon’s complete setup: 7’11” rod, 6:3 gear ratio maximum, never heavier than 10 lb line, and why saltwater buoyancy makes line weight even more critical than fresh
• OSP Blitz as go-to for spotties, Strike King 5XD as the 90% bait, 6XD for extra distance
• Jerkbait philosophy: Jon literally whacks the rod against the side of the boat to make the bait dart. “I’m not trying to feed them, I’m trying to piss them off”
• A-rig always weedless: “When a fish hits an A-rig they’re not curious, they want to kill it. If I can catch one on a weedless Keitech I can catch one on a weedless A-rig”
• How Jon got into bait painting: a customer on his tool truck owed him money and paid him in an airbrush instead
• Painting 10 baits at once, one color across all pieces, grocery store orange netting for scale patterns
• Daniel’s crankbait shore technique: the “poor man’s troll,” cast, walk, reel back, using the distance to get the bait to depth before it starts rising

The Crankbait System That Actually Gets You to Depth

Jon’s core rule is simple: if your crankbait is swimming through open water without hitting anything, you’re not fishing it right. “A crankbait swimming through open water will occasionally catch an active fish,” he said. “But the fish sitting next to a rock, it’s only when you throw it to the right side of that rock and ram it into the rock that he bites. He’s not hungry. He’s pissed.” That’s what crankbaits are built to do. The deflection off structure is the trigger, not the retrieve.

To get the bait to structure, the system has to work. Jon’s setup: 7’11” rod (he calls it the Seven-Eleven) because the long rod gets the cast far enough out that the bait hits maximum depth before it starts coming back at you. Reel at 6:3 gear ratio maximum. Anything faster and you’re ripping the bait through the strike zone. For deep divers, a 5:4 is the right call. Line: never heavier than 10 lb. A DT10 on 15 lb line never reaches 10 feet. Saltwater buoyancy makes this worse than fresh, so if anything, go lighter in the salt. The bait only performs as rated on the line it’s designed for. For more on how depth and structure contact work in SoCal harbors, the crankbait guide and SoCal structure fishing guide both connect directly to what Jon’s describing.

Pissing Them Off vs. Feeding Them

Jon’s jerkbait approach is the clearest expression of reaction fishing the show has had. He throws pink jerkbaits with stripes and whacks his rod against the side of the boat on the retrieve to make the bait dart and dive unpredictably. “I’m not trying to feed them. I’m looking for the hungry bass, not trying to make a bass hungry.” If a fish is neutral, he moves on. He’s fishing for the one that wants to attack something, not the one that might be coaxed into it given enough time.

That same logic carries into his A-rig take. Always weedless, always. “When a fish hits an A-rig they’re not curious, they want to kill it. Exposed hooks lose gear. If I can catch on a weedless Keitech, I can catch on a weedless A-rig.” Smaller baits on most arms, one slightly larger bait on one arm. He won’t change that regardless of what he hears about exposed hooks producing more bites. Getting the fish back matters more than the extra bite.

Why This Episode Matters

This episode is the most technically complete crankbait conversation in the TOTW catalog. Jon’s system (rod length, gear ratio, line weight, go-to baits) is immediately actionable for anyone fishing structure in SoCal. The contact requirement isn’t philosophy. It’s the difference between fishing the crankbait correctly and fishing it like a swimbait that happens to have a bill.

The jerkbait and A-rig sections round out a broader picture: how to think about reaction fishing vs. feeding-based presentations, and when to commit to one mindset over the other. For more on the presentations covered here, the spotted bay bass guide, SoCal structure fishing guide, and crankbait guide all connect directly to what Jon and Daniel are working through here.

Watch the full episode on the Time On The Water YouTube channel. New episodes every Tuesday at 6 PM.