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 makes custom crankbaits and painted swimbaits out of Carlsbad under the JK Baits name. Episode 96, recorded live on August 5, 2025, covers a lot of ground — six years running a charter boat in Rocky Point, Mexico at 22 years old, how an airbrush he accepted as payment for a tool debt launched a custom painting career, and a detailed crankbait breakdown that’s among the most specific technique conversations the show has had.

In This Episode

• Six years chartering in Rocky Point, Mexico — Jon bought a 30-foot pursuit boat at 22 with a loan his father-in-law helped arrange, towed it into Mexico, and spent six years running charters as the only non-local operator. Two years of being extorted and pulled over daily by police. Unlocked grouper trolling in 20 feet using big mirror lures when locals were running 50 miles offshore. Eventually got the chief of police’s number on speed dial
• Jerkbait as Jon’s #1 technique — he throws a jerkbait with intent: rod tip whacking the side of the boat, making the bait dart and dive aggressively. Not trying to feed fish — trying to catch the most aggressive fish in the area. Looking for the hungry bass, not trying to make a bass hungry. Pink jerkbait with stripes, nothing natural looking, just trying to piss something off
• Crankbait must hit structure to work — Jon’s core principle: if your crankbait isn’t hitting anything, you’re throwing it wrong. A crankbait swimming in open water will occasionally get bit on active fish but rarely triggers the fish sitting next to a specific rock. Ram the bait into the structure. If it doesn’t hit, it doesn’t work
• Crankbait rod and reel setup — 7’11” rod (Seven-Eleven) with a 6:3 reel ratio maximum. Faster than 6:3 and you’re ripping the bait past fish. On deep divers, go down to 5:4 and just sit there all day — let the gears work for you, not against you. The Seven-Eleven rod lets you cast far enough to get the bait down to depth before it’s coming back at you
• Line weight and crankbait depth — never heavier than 10 pound for crankbaits. A DT10 on 15 lb line never gets to 10 feet. The crankbait only reaches rated depth on its rated line weight or lighter. Saltwater buoyancy makes this even more critical — you get less depth in salt than fresh with the same line weight
• Weedless A-rig approach — Jon always throws the A-rig weedless. When a fish hits a multi-hook rig, they’re not being curious — they’re trying to kill it. Exposed hooks mean lost gear. Weedless Keitech or similar: if you can catch fish on that, you can catch them on a weedless A-rig. Stick to smaller baits with one larger bait on one arm
• How Jon got into bait painting — a customer owed him tool truck money and gave him a name-brand airbrush instead of cash. He had an air compressor at the in-laws’ house. Plugged it in, sucked at it for years, kept at it. Now shoots automotive clear coat on every bait finish with the same gun. Key lesson: learn to clean and care for the airbrush before anything else
• JK Baits custom painting process — paints 10 baits at once using one color across multiple patterns. Hits all the pieces that need that color before switching. Grocery store orange netting laid flat makes convincing scales. Loofah sponges, unconventional tools. Crankbaits and jerkbaits with intricate detail are his favorite to paint
• OSP Blitz for spotties — Jon’s go-to crankbait for spotted bay bass. The right profile and depth range for harbor fishing. He’s also using the Strike King 5XD and 6XD as his 90% of the time crankbaits, scaling to the 6XD for extra casting distance
• Daniel’s A-rig thinking — Daniel was hyperfocusing on A-rig variables without actually fishing it: 1/8 oz vs. 1/4 oz vs. 3/8 oz vs. 1/2 oz heads, pylon presentations at half-ounce for a shock-and-fall. The mental prep as part of the process

Beyond the Rod & Reel with JK Baits

The crankbait-must-hit-structure conversation is the most actionable thing in this episode. Jon’s framing: a crankbait swimming in open water looks pretty on Instagram but rarely triggers a fish that’s holding position. The fish sitting next to a specific rock isn’t going to move for a bait that swims over his head at a safe distance. Ram the bait into the structure, deflect it off, and the reaction is the bite. That’s why crankbait anglers who fish correctly are always losing baits — breaking bills is evidence of correct technique.

Jon’s jerkbait philosophy maps directly onto what Daniel has been building toward with his own crankbait work. Both are looking for reaction bites from aggressive fish, not patient presentations waiting for a curious fish to commit. The aggression tactic — whacking the rod tip to make the jerkbait dart erratically, or ramming a crankbait into a rock — is the same impulse applied to different hardware. Get the fish angry enough to react.

The Mexico story is worth knowing as context. Jon started fishing as a kid in Miami, moved to Tucson, then bought a boat at 22 with zero chartering experience and drove it into a foreign country. Six years of extortion, getting pulled over daily, and figuring out techniques the locals hadn’t seen. Eventually unlocked shallow grouper trolling and earned respect. That’s the same learn-by-doing-it-wrong loop that shows up in every good fishing story on this show.

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