"Only a jerk would fish a worm like this," was my initial thought the first time I held an original Slug-Go plastic worm. That isn't how this original and remarkable lure that created the soft "jerk bait" craze got its generic name. But it could have.

For a bass fisherman used to high-tech, super-soft plastic worms with frills, fancy rainbow colors, curly tails, arms, legs and funny appendages sticking out everywhere, the Slug-Go drew about as much attention from me as a flea's sneeze.

The Slug-Go (made by Herb Reed's Lunker City Tackle, Box 1807, Meriden, CT 06450) is one of the most unimpressive lures ever devised. It looks like, well, like a big slug; sort of resembling a human index finger made out of soft plastic. In truth, it may be one of the most homely, unassuming lures ever created.

But I felt obligated to give the lure a try because it was sent to me about five years ago by Connecticut outdoor writer friend Rich Zaleski. "No one has heard of the Slug-Go," Zaleski told me. "But it's a great lure made by my good buddy Herb Reed here in Connecticut. I use it for bass and pike, but I think it has some saltwater fishing applications. Give it a try."

Weeks later I was packing for a cobia fishing trip near my Florida home and found the bag of Slug-Gos and thought how only a jerk would fish them. So I threw them in my boat bag and headed offshore the next day.

A friend and I worked beach areas looking for migrating manta rays, which often have cobia migrating with them. When conditions are right cobia hit about anything dropped near them. But sometimes they're fickle, and that's just how they were that day. We tried all types of lures, plugs, jigs and spoons, but finally, in desperation, I dug out a Slug-Go. I reasoned the lure looked a little like an eel, and since live eels are death on cobia ... why not?

I simply threaded the Slug-Go onto a 3/0 marine hook, and the next ray we found that had cobia swimming along with it I cast the lure far ahead of the ray and fished with a 12-pound spinning outfit. The lure landed with a splat, and just sort of slithered slowly as it descended. When the ray and fish neared the lure, I started a snappy retrieve.

The Slug-Go acted more like an eel than an eel. It wriggled left, then right, then rose to the surface and stuck its nose out of the water. Then when I stopped reeling, it slithered and wobbled enticingly as it settled. It was the most amazing, incredible action I ever saw, coming from something that looked more like a slug than a slug.

Three cobia rushed the Slug-Go and the smallest, a 20-pounder, ate it with the same enthusiasm they have for devouring a live, wiggling eel. I set the hook, and a few minutes later boated my first fish with a Slug-Go, the original soft plastic jerk bait. The year was 1989.

In the months that followed I tried the Slug-Go on many different fish, in lots of varied angling situations. I cast it for reef barracuda and they went wild for it. Rigged weedless on inshore flats it was a killer for redfish, and I caught spotted seatrout and even flounder with it. The Slug-Go was designed for bass, so naturally largemouths in shallow grass beds, on stump flats, in lily pads and other thin-water cover came unglued over it. One morning on a point off Florida's St. Johns River, I fished a Slug-Go through some half-submerged pilings and caught a 9-pound striped bass with the lure.

In a very short time I learned that ladyfish, jacks, bluefish and especially tarpon — big ones and lot of them — ate Slug-Gos like candy. This was curious, because these fish had definitely never seen a slug, probably not an eel, and certainly not an imitation of a human finger.

It was the lure's remarkable and inherent action in that unappealing and plain Jane shape that made the Slug-Go a killer for just about everything with fins. The applications for the lure seemed limitless, and about the time I came to that conclusion, the Slug-Go hit the big time. Huge catches of fish — mostly largemouth bass — suddenly were being made with it, including some big money wins in bass tournaments.

Rookie tournament angler Kevin Van Dam from Michigan made a big splash with the Slug-Go in 1991 when he nearly won a bass tournament on the St. Johns River with the lure, not far from my home. It was late winter, and the weather and fishing were awful. But Van Dam scored on plenty of giant largemouths while many anglers with bigger names and egos were blanked. Van Dam, then age 23, finished second in that tourney, and not only made a name for himself, but he also brought the remarkable effectiveness of the Slug-Go to the forefront of tournament bass fishing.

From that moment on the Slug-Go was a huge success with bass anglers everywhere. The lure caused such a stir that overnight many tackle companies produced their own soft plastic versions of the Slug-Go. There now are so many different lures of this type on the tackle market that they're known collectively as soft jerk baits.

Jerk baits are available today in an infinite variety of sizes, colors, shapes, and now even in unique materials.

Berkley (1 Berkley Dr., Spirit Lake, Ia. 51360), for example, produces a line of 4- and 6-inch Power Slugs. These lures are colored and shaped similar to the original, unpretentious Slug-Go, and have all the fish-appealing darting and erratic action inherent to the first design. Where the Berkley Power Slug steps ahead of the pack, however, is the fact that the lure is made from plastic permeated with a very pungent, fish-appealing scent.

Scent, of course, is an important feeding trigger to fish, and it's especially meaningful in lures that are slowly fished like soft jerk baits. Most jerk baits are retrieved with a fast snap or two of the rod, which makes them dart and dip in any direction. Then the rod action is paused, and the lure sort of suspends or floats in a kind of near-neutral buoyancy. This is the time when scent makes a lure most appealing to reluctant gamefish, and where the Berkley Power Slug shines.

Another recent innovation on the original Slug-Go design is the Pork-O by Strike King Lures (174 Hwy. 72 W., Colliersville, Tenn. 38017). It's a 7-inch porkrind lure shaped like a slug, but is much tougher than plastic so many fish can be caught with the same lure. Tennessee Valley angler Bill Dance loves it, and caught over 30 bass with a single Pork-O, including a 7-pound smallmouth and a 4-pound largemouth.

"Soft plastic jerkbaits have been such a hit because they really do catch fish," said Dance. "They have the random, darting action and lifelike profile that bass perceive as real food. The 'Pork-O' has that same super-sinuous, fluid action, but it's as tough as a fan belt. The lure wiggles from head to tail, and has a special flavor-enhanced pork hide to taste like real food to bass."

The Pork-O is heavier than standard soft jerk baits, so it casts easy and far, especially with bait-casting tackle. The lure also holds up well to fish with teeth, such as pike, walleyes, and marine species.

Dance recommends using the Pork-O, as well as other soft jerk baits, in slightly stained to clear water. He prefers fishing the lures with light, subtle rod actions. He also says it's important not to set the hook right away when a fish strikes a soft jerk bait, especially if the angler sees the strike. The tendency is to set the hook too soon when you see a bass or other fish slam into a soft jerk bait. So it's common to set the hook and miss burying the barb before the fish has the lure well in its mouth. Well-known Texas bass angler and lure manufacturer Bruce Benedict makes the Jawtec (Box 1181, 118 W. Main, Forney, Tex. 75126) line of soft plastic lures. His version soft jerk bait is called the Chatter Box and it comes with a special open slot in the plastic lure's tail to accommodate a slender, noise-making device called the Chatter Rattle. Benedict said the Chatter Box has such an erratic, up-down-side-to-side action that the noise-maker in the lure puts out a tremendous amount of fish-appealing sound.

Other soft jerk bait styles have hit the market within the last year, too. Some of these lures are short, fat, and somewhat resemble a cigar with pointed ends, thus they've been nicknamed "bullet baits." Their compact shape and sleek lines make them cast a country mile with little effort. The soft plastic, but hollow, Reel Magic by Cotee Bait Co. (6045 Sherwin Dr., Port Richey, Fla. 34668) is one such lure. Another similar bait is the PHish Stik produced by Phantom Tackle (11130 Petal St. No 500, Dallas, Tex. 75238).

Many traditional soft jerk baits have a small slot or pocket in which the hook point is recessed so the lure maintains sleek lines, and is completely weed proof. Most lure manufacturers recommend the use of a large 2/0 to 5/0 offset shank hook with their soft jerk baits. While this style hook is my least favorite for fishing conventional plastic worms a la Texas-style, for rigging soft jerk baits it's excellent.

Still another style of soft jerk bait that is booming in bass-catching popularity is the swimming worm — best represented by the Little Mac (Little Mac Custom Lures, Box 75, Ringwood, Ill. 60072). This remarkable lure comes in 3, 4, 6 and 8 inch lengths and is molded in a special S-shape. It comes with pre-rigged hooks (weedless or not) and has such an erratic swimming action as it's jerked along by the angler, that the manufacturer insists it must be fished with a swivel to prevent line twist. Line twist, indeed, is an important consideration when fishing and rigging all soft jerk baits. The wild darting, turning, swimming and leaping actions the lures have (with just the slightest rod twitches) can create a lot of line-twist trouble. For this reason some anglers rig a small ball-bearing barrel swivel a foot or so ahead of the lure. Others habitually rig and fish the lure Carolina style.

Soft plastic jerk baits also can be fished with three-way swivels deep from bell sinkers; trolled; deep-jigged; just about any effective way imaginable. One of the most unique and deadly methods I've found to fish soft jerk baits recently has been with an Alameda popping float. The Alameda (Alameda Fishing Tackle, 4745 Mokry, Corpus Christi, Tex. 78415) is a unique and very special popping cork. It's a top-quality, hollow and hard plastic float with lots of noise-making rattles inside. So the Alameda makes an incredible amount of noise when twitched across the surface. When a soft jerk bait is rigged 3 to 6 feet below it, and the Alameda float is popped, the jerk bait darts wildly up and to the side, then settles seductively through the water column. The Alameda float keeps the lure suspended, plus its loud popping and rattling draws seatrout, striped bass, redfish, flounder even largemouth and smallmouth bass from long distances.

For me, the moral of the soft jerk bait story is to never judge a new lure by its plain-looking cover. It'll be a long time before I discount a lure as jerky, simply because it doesn't conform to traditional lure designs and standards.

Remember, most fish have never seen such lures before either.