I'd like to find a good light and balanced Medium/Moderate action rod that won't wear me out in the 6'6"-7' range.  Research has pointed me toward the Falcon Expert or Shimano Zodias.  Anyone have experience with these rods in the stated size/action or have other suggestions please chime in.

Thanks,

Aaron

I love my experts, the couple Cara I have, and falcon in general. I’ve only found one rod of the dozen or so I have that I didn’t like from falcon. 
 

that said, I don’t know the jerk bait rod because I don’t fish jerkbaits much. The closest I have is the finesse jig.  The expert finesse jig is feather weight despite how much power it has.  The jerkbait rod is 2” shorter and a power level lighter. I can’t imagine how light it is. 

If you can find a used made in USA 7’ medium falcon  bucoo those are excellent for megabass vision 110 bait. 

 

I heard the Expride was one of the best jerkbait rods. 

The Dobyns 704cb is an outstanding jerkbait rod,it has plenty of give to let jerkbaits do their thing, but also has good backbone incase you run into a jumbo.

The best falcon jerkbait rod is actually the weightless worm rod. I've always thought the rod they label as a jerkbait rod has gotten is too tight in the tip.

Check out the Virtus jerkbait rod.

 

Kastking has the Speed Demon Pro 6'10" jerk bait rod fast action, medium power,  Just saw them on sale at Amazon. I have of few of the SDP rods.

9 hours ago, Cbump said:

I heard the Expride was one of the best jerkbait rods. 

I have one. It’s action is very good. For me the handle is a little too long.
 

My favorite JB rod is a Kistler KLX 6’9” M/MF.  Its handle feels just right, whether on my boat or kayak.

 

Additionally, Kistlers are hand made in Texas.

 

Hope this helps. Best of luck.

52 minutes ago, DogBone_384 said:

For me the handle is a little too long.

 

 

IMO the better jerk bait rods "that won't wear you out" - are the ones with a slightly shorter handle so you're not banging against your wrist/side all day. It gets old in a hurry!  The Expride is a great rod but the handle is too long for me. If you use Tacklewarehouse's method for measuring handle length, the Epxride is 15 inches long. The Zodias version is 14.5 inches. 

 

I much prefer these two rods and handle lengths:

• Dobyns Champion XP Crankbait Casting Rods. You can get either the 685cb or 705cb whatever rod length you prefer, but the handle length is 13 inches and 13.5 respectively.
• Megabass Levante Jerk Bait Special is 13.75 inches. 

I think the 1.5-2 inches shorter handle length makes a HUGE difference if you're jerking all day!

The Megabass Levante gets my vote.  If you want something more traditional,  the St Croix 6'8'' Legend Elite M Fast is also fantastic and very versatile.

The Shimano Zodias ZDC610MHA is the rod you want. 

35 minutes ago, FryDog62 said:

I think the 1.5-2 inches shorter handle length makes a HUGE difference if you're jerking all day!

 

This ^.  For JBs, poppers, walking baits, and most other things that I work tip down with the wrist, I want at least 1" clearance between the bend of the elbow and the end of the rod butt when I'm palming the reel and bending the elbow 90 degrees, more is better, but too short makes 2 handed casting a bit awkward. The working end, I just want the tip not to hit the surface of the water when working the rod, and that length depends elevation based on whether I'm fishing from a bass boat, john boat, shore, or wading.

 

I got the Dobyns Kayden 610 4cb paired with the Curado MGL. Great for jerkbaits, walking baits, etc. Really enjoy it. Can't imagine the Champion series wouldn't be equally as enjoyable. 

2 hours ago, FishTank said:

The Megabass Levante gets my vote.  If you want something more traditional,  the St Croix 6'8'' Legend Elite M Fast is also fantastic and very versatile.

I like Fishtanks idea.  there is a guy that fishes the entire lineup.  I felt the Flatside special was better with the V110.  he likes the one called the Jerkbait special.  I think I V110 casts so well, I slightly faster rod worked for my weird style.  

 

nice guy he let me try them.  he actually showed me that I was jerking way too hard to begin with.  I wasted an entire winter season being very unsuccessful with the Vision.  

 

right or wrong, I dont have money to buy dedicated rods.  I just use my Fury 733, which seems to cast them fine.  now if can just temper my "yank" into a "jerk"

I'm voting Ark Tharp 'One eyed jack' 6'9" M Mod-Fast.  $130.

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Ark_Randall_Tharp_Honey_Badger_Series_Casting_Rods/descpage-ARKRT.html

I'll throw in another vote to Shimano's 6'10 Medium blank, I've been using it for jerkbaits for a little over a year now and I've been extremely happy with it.

Another one is the SLX 6'-10" medium....

 

I have conquest 842 and love it, I think zodias will be the same. 

Sorry for the slow response, have the puke bug going around my house...  Replies are all much appreciated

On 2/22/2023 at 9:40 AM, slackhouse said:

I got the Dobyns Kayden 610 4cb paired with the Curado MGL. Great for jerkbaits, walking baits, etc. Really enjoy it. Can't imagine the Champion series wouldn't be equally as enjoyable. 

Interesting.  Never owned a Dobyns before.  How comfortable/light is it to fish all day?

On 2/22/2023 at 4:39 AM, rangerjockey said:

The best falcon jerkbait rod is actually the weightless worm rod. I've always thought the rod they label as a jerkbait rod has gotten is too tight in the tip.

Check out the Virtus jerkbait rod.

 

Appreciate the input.  I was actually thinking about this and contemplating if a moderate fast or fast action would be better for jerkbait on a medium power rod.  

On 2/22/2023 at 7:49 AM, FishTank said:

The Megabass Levante gets my vote.  If you want something more traditional,  the St Croix 6'8'' Legend Elite M Fast is also fantastic and very versatile.

Would love to pull the trigger on a Levante or KLX but they are a bit out of my price range.

Anyone have experience with the Tatula 6'6" Med F?  I like the idea of a slightly shorter rod/handle and is 50  bucks cheaper.

28 minutes ago, akmac said:

Anyone have experience with the Tatula 6'6" Med F?  I like the idea of a slightly shorter rod/handle and is 50  bucks cheaper.

Here's another option that is a shorter rod with a shorter handle at a good price. St. Croix markets it specifically as a jerk bait rod. 

 

St. Croix Mojo Bass Casting Rod 6'8" Medium MJC68MF - Jerkbait. Ideal for working jerkbaits and topwater lures, as well as, tubes, grubs, small worms and light jigs. Hide Information
Taper	Line Wt.	Lure Wt.	Guides	Handle Type	Handle Length	Stock	Price	Qty
Fast	10-17lb	1/4-5/8oz	8+Tip	Mojo II Cast A	13-1/2"	In Stock: 5+	$150.00

38 minutes ago, akmac said:

Would love to pull the trigger on a Levante or KLX but they are a bit out of my price range.

 

I am unfamiliar with KLX Rods. I here good things but no personal experience. I like my Levante. It does the job and I think it's the best bang for the buck.

 

Also, I use to be in the camp that any M Fast rod under 7' could do the job but once I found a Med stout rod with a soft tip, I knew it was going to take a specialized rod to get the job done for me and that drove the cost up on the rod I wanted. The Levante was a compromise. In a way, I want the new P5 110 Special. 

3 hours ago, akmac said:

Interesting.  Never owned a Dobyns before.  How comfortable/light is it to fish all day?

Haven't had any issues fishing for hours at a time.