Jerkbait Rod Suggestions

[rangerz21]

Great article champ. I have been fishing a jerk bait now foe only 30 yrs. i feel Mike hit it on the head i use a 6'6" rod on the old rebels. And a 6' rod on the newer style jerkbaits

[gabe]

Champ: Are you referring to the 6'6" medium Duckett crankbait rod or the other 6'6" Duckett? After reading the PAA article and hearing from you and Mr. Babler, I am going to spool up mono for stickbaits this year.

Thanks for everyone's input and Merry Christmas.

[Ealy]

I use an older Shimano Clarus 6' med/light for Rogues and Pointers. I'm 5'10", and have had similar problems slapping the boat with longer rods. The Clarus line are inexpensive and have full replacement warranty (at least the green ones did, not sure about the current lineup).

[abkeenan]

I use an older Shimano Clarus 6' med/light for Rogues and Pointers. I'm 5'10", and have had similar problems slapping the boat with longer rods. The Clarus line are inexpensive and have full replacement warranty (at least the green ones did, not sure about the current lineup).

Yes the Clarus lineup still does have the full replacement/lifetime warranty. It is one of the best bang for your buck rods out there IMO.

[Champ188]

Champ: Are you referring to the 6'6" medium Duckett crankbait rod or the other 6'6" Duckett? After reading the PAA article and hearing from you and Mr. Babler, I am going to spool up mono for stickbaits this year.

Thanks for everyone's input and Merry Christmas.

Gabe, the Duckett rod that I use for jerk baits is a DFMM66MC, which is not the 6-6 cranker. It really does a good job for me of casting, working the lures and playing the fish.

For anyone considering trying monofilament, I personally recommend 8-pound test P-Line. Mr. Babler (Bill, please correct me if I'm wrong) has been known to use 8-pound Maxima. Both of us prefer the green tint and both lines are premium lines.

[Champ188]

Yes the Clarus lineup still does have the full replacement/lifetime warranty. It is one of the best bang for your buck rods out there IMO.

I agree, and being a lower-modulus graphite rod, it tends to be a bit softer in terms of bend, which is exactly what you want with a treble-hook lure like a jerk bait.

[gabe]

Thanks Champ. That's what I thought on the rod.

I had the pleasure of spending all day fishing stickbaits with Bill a few years ago and I remember him telling me he still used mono. I have just been too hard headed to try it. Funny because that's all I used years ago prior to fluro and seemed to do well fishing the old reliable Rogue. I got on flurocarbon years ago when the new generation of stickbaits came out like the Pointers, McSticks and Megabass 110. Time to turn back the clock and see what happens.

[abkeenan]

I agree, and being a lower-modulus graphite rod, it tends to be a bit softer in terms of bend, which is exactly what you want with a treble-hook lure like a jerk bait.

I personally really like the TC4 blank that is on all the Compre, Crucial and Clarus crank bait models. Its a graphite and glass composite so you get the feel of the graphite and softness of the glass. I bought my father a 6'8" Medium Compre in the reaction series that is labeled Top Water and he really likes it for jerk baits and doubles as a top water. It has that same TC4 blank. Like I said before I see no reason to pay for the Compre or Crucial in the cranking models unless their is a length or action you want that isn't offered in the series line. Its a different story for the other non-crank models where the IM8 (Clarus), IM9 (Compre) and IM10 (Crucial) have a different modulus counts.

Can you guys tell its winter? Writing paragraphs about rods? Spring please get here soon.

[Bill Babler]

If your good enough with a bait that a company names one of their top selling baits after you, I'm thinkin you pretty much know how it should be fished.

Just Sayin.

As Champ said with water under 50 degree I'll throw mine on 8 pound Maxi. When it gets mid 50's I'll go to 10. They get just to feisty for the 8#. Also when fishing this type of bait in the Winter or the Pre-Spawn, there could be one of those good ole biggins out there.

[Old plug]

i fish about al my jerk baits on a 6 1/2 ft medium action spinning rod with 8 lb test line on it. i aldo have a 7 ft light action spinning rod with 6 lb test on it that I use to fish trick worms where conditions permit.