The Ima Flit quickly became a mainstay of jerkbait anglers from coast to coast. Anglers subsequently clamored for a version smaller than the standard 120, and Ima listened, providing them with a 100-sized model. When the bite is tough enough that even the 100 is too big, however, Connecticut pro Paul Mueller downsizes even further, pulling out the Ima Foxy Fry to show high-strung bass a different look.
He admits that at first even he was a skeptic of what he described as a “sleeper for Ima,” but eventually he started to play around with the Foxy Fry and figured out how to get the most out of what some have described as the perfect offspring of a deep diving crankbait and a jerkbait.
The lure is less than 2 ½ inches long and weighs 3/16 of an ounce, and therefore “the key to getting it to work properly is extra light line.” Occasionally Mueller will go up to 7 lb. Gamma Touch Fluorocarbon, but most of the time he relies on it in 5 pound test. “I doctor the lure a little bit,” he admitted. “I add #8 KVD short shank 2X trebles. They’re slightly heavier gauge than the factory hooks. They make it slowly sink, so it goes a bit deeper, and I add a little snap, like on the old Wiggle Warts.” He’s able to launch this baby lure a long way using spinning tackle, specifically a Dobyns Champion Extreme 742 rods.
While it can be cranked, and it can be jerked, Mueller has a specific cadence that he typically starts with: “Instead of jerk, jerk, pause, I’ll do short, sharp pulls,” he explained. “That causes it to jerk forward in an erratic way. When it’s really tough, it will outfish any other jerkbait.”
He particularly likes it on days that aren’t typically thought of as having jerkbait conditions – when there’s a high sky and minimal wind. That’s when the translucent finishes, like his favorite, Ghost Minnow, convince reluctant biters to take a ride in the livewell. For reasons he still doesn’t quite understand, it also “catches some giant crappie.”
