Roque Pitching gear

[Mark Twain]

I love fishing with Rogues and other stickbaits in the Ozark lakes and tailwaters. I have pretty good success using medium action casting tackle and 8-12 lb line but sometimes it's hard to get any distance on casts. I'm looking for a new rod and reel combo just for stick baits. What do the Rogue experts like Buster Loving use?

[RSBreth]

I don't know what Buster uses, but I use jerkbaits, slashbaits, minnowbaits, whatever you call them quite a bit. I like a 7' medium spinning rod and a bigger reel than most use.

My current rig is gonna sound like an ad for Bass Pro, but it is the 7' medium bionic blade spinning rod and the 4000 pro quailifier reel spooled with 6/14 fireline with 8 to 10 ft. orvis 1x (14.5 lb.) mirage tippet as a leader.

(The leader is attached to the main line with back to back uni knots.)

I can cast an XRap 50 yards with this setup.

The same rig is what I like to use for soft jerks too.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I'm not familiar with Buster's choice either. My choice is a medium action, 5'6" pistol grip with a 100b Curado loaded with 15/4 Power Pro.

I like the short rod because I work with the tip close to the surface, this with the braid allows me to keep a reasonably short straight line on the pause. A fish will usually take a jerk on the pause, and because of this, and the fact that they often take the lure sideways, I think I get a better look at whats happening with this setup. I don't like mono because its hard to get it to lay straight, especially in the cooler temps that I prefer jerks.

[Ealy]

The rod I use for most jerkbaits is a Shimano 6ft medium-light with Shimano Curado 6.3-1 gear ratio, 10-12lb. Bass Pro fluorocarbon. I throw Lucky Crafts and Rapalas on this rig. For a rouge however, I rig it on a 6'6" medium heavy spinning rod. I can make longer casts with the spinning rod, but lose a little accuracy. After using the baitcaster for an hour or so, it's nice to pick up a spinning rod for a while.