This year, especially this spring, I'm gonna be using jerkbaits, both soft and hard. What rods would work for these, I'll most likely get one for each.

Here's what I'm thinking:

Soft Jerkbaits:

6'-6'6" M-MH

Hard Jerkbaits:

7' ML-M

Does this sound good, any suggestion?  I only want to know about length, power and action, I don't need brands I already know which brands I'm getting.

Thanks,

BB

Hard jerkbaits:

6 1/2' baitcasting rod, Medium Power/ Fast Action with a soft tip.

My rig is a St. Croix Avid AC66MF/ Shimano Metanium. The rod

might be found on sale for around $100.

Soft jerkbaits:

7' spinning tackle, Medium Power/ Fast Action with a firm tip.

I use my soft plastics rod, St. Croix Legend Elite ES70MF/ Shimano Stella 2500FB.

8-)

Think about the rod length before you pull the trigger. You don't want a rod too long, or you'll be slapping the water and/or the boat. If you already have a 7' rod, try the jerkbait with it. If you're slapping water or boat, go shorter until you find what works for you.

Also, a shorter handle is good. A lot of rod handles are long enough to be a pain when jerkin'.

Cheers,

GK

Think about the rod length before you pull the trigger. You don't want a rod too long, or you'll be slapping the water and/or the boat. If you already have a 7' rod, try the jerkbait with it. If you're slapping water or boat, go shorter until you find what works for you.

Also, a shorter handle is good. A lot of rod handles are long enough to be a pain when jerkin'.

Cheers,

GK

Good advice- and generally the shorter the rod the shorter the handle. I use a 6' MF for hard jerkbaits and a 7' MH for soft jerkbaits........Al

i use a 5-6 pistol grip medium action baitcaster.

Thanks guys.  I am going to change my Soft Jerkbait to 6'6" MH, and my I think I'm gonna go with 7' M for my Hard jerkbait.

BB

Thanks guys. I am going to change my Soft Jerkbait to 6'6" MH, and my I think I'm gonna go with 7' M for my Hard jerkbait.BB

Then why ask if you have already made up your mind?

No one suggested that combination.   :-/

Have you thrown a jerkbait on baitcasting gear for a long period of time before?

Reason I ask that is because jerkbaits always SEEMED OK for me on baitcasters.  Then again, I only threw them over short periods, 15-30 minutes.  After a full day of this earlier this year, I realized that spinning gear was much more comfortable for me for hard jerkbaits.

Just thought I'd throw that out there for consideration.

Personal preference issue here as always- I like the length for longer casts

Thanks guys. I am going to change my Soft Jerkbait to 6'6" MH, and my I think I'm gonna go with 7' M for my Hard jerkbait.BB

Then why ask if you have already made up your mind?

No one suggested that combination. :-/

It gets frustrating  , doesn't it ?

I would go with the 6'6" rod. I am 6'2" and a 7" rod is too long for me when working jerkbaits. I used a 7" rod for 8 hs this past Saturday fishing in a tournament. All I could think was I wish I had a 6'6"  rod. I was worn out at the end of the day using a LC Pointer 100SP. Trust me and the others when we say you should get a 6'6" rod for hard jerkbaits. Your rod tip is always pointing down which make using a 7' rod a pain.

To me casting distance isnt important when working a jerkbait. I work it super slow and the pointer gets down to is running depth in 3 reel turns.

Depending on the circumstances, For hard jerkbaits; I use either a 6' MF Loomis casting rod CR722, or a Loomis SJR722 spinning rod .

For soft jerkbaits (senkos) I usually use a 6" MF St. Croix spinning rod: ES60MF

I prefer 6' rods for this. Occasionally I'll use a 6'-6" casting rod such as a Loomis MBR782 if I want to cast for more distance. I seldom use 7' rods.

Detailed explanation:

Hard jerkbaits are generally worked agressively even if they are worked slow, with long pauses. Maneuvering the lure sometimes requires precision, but always involves quite a bit of effort. I prefer 7' rods for most techniques, but not fishing jerkbaits.

Although Moderate Action is usually recommended for treble hooks, working jerkbaits and topwater lures is a little different. I have found that Fast Action, combined with a soft tip, is an ideal compromise. Setting the hook is done by the fish while you maintain firm pressure and bring the fish towards you.

Soft jerkbaits are significantly different, or at least the way I fish them. The action is more subtle. I fish the Slug-Go to immitate a feeding minnow. The strike can be violent, but the hook-set is still delayed. When the rod loads up, a strong set is best, much like any other soft plastic rigged with a single hook. For this application I use my standard soft plastics rod, which for me is a 7' spinnning rig, Medium Power/ Fast Action.

8-)

Detailed explanation:

Hard jerkbaits are generally worked agressively even if they are worked slow, with long pauses. Maneuvering the lure sometimes requires precision, but always involves quite a bit of effort. I prefer 7' rods for most techniques, but not fishing jerkbaits.  

Co-sign.

I'm 6'1" tall, and I have found that a 6'6" to 6"8' Med moderate action rod does the trick for JB's.

I own a Powell 6'8" CB series rod that is perfect for jerkin. I do not like a 7' rod for this tecnique, b/c I end up hitting the water or the boat gunnel rails too much.

Thanks guys. I am going to change my Soft Jerkbait to 6'6" MH, and my I think I'm gonna go with 7' M for my Hard jerkbait.BB

Then why ask if you have already made up your mind?

No one suggested that combination. :-/

Dang! don't be so critical.  People suggest longer rods than I had originally picked out so I started looking at longer rods.  There's no need to get so worked up about it.

Last year, I bought my first rod for hard jerkbaits. I went with a Loomis IMX MBR782c. It is a 6'6 medium powered, fast action rod. I've been very happy with it. The CR722 is also comparable. I can only give you information about what I have used. As far as the soft jerkbait rod, I'd agree with RoadWarrior, in that a spinning setup is the way to go. Good luck.

Thanks guys. I am going to change my Soft Jerkbait to 6'6" MH, and my I think I'm gonna go with 7' M for my Hard jerkbait.BB

Then why ask if you have already made up your mind?

No one suggested that combination. :-/

Dang! don't be so critical. People suggest longer rods than I had originally picked out so I started looking at longer rods. There's no need to get so worked up about it.

It's frustrating because everyone is doing it these days. :

Don't worry RW, I'm sure somebody learned something. 8-)

I never did say those were the rods i was getting, I said they were what I was looking at, I'm just trying to get more information before I do pick out my rod.

So I thank those of you who actually helped.

BB

I used to fish with a 6'6" baitcasting rod for hard jerkbaits.  I wanted a longer rod so that I could cast a little farther, so I went to a 7'0" baitcasting rod.  7'0" wasn't very good for hard jerkbaits, because as everyone else said, I kept hitting the water with the tip.  I found a perfect solution.  I now have a 6'9" baitcasting rod and it works perfect.  I don't hit the water and I can cast a little farther.  For soft jerkbaits, I stuck with the 7'0" rod, because I don't fish them as aggressively.

Here is my two cents.

Softplastic: Loomis MBR783 GLX (MH 6'6'' fast) senkos, flukes, etc.

Hardbaits: Loomis MBR844 IMX or GLX (H 7' fast) Lucky Craft Pointers and other heavy jerkbaits.

You can use both of these rods for just about anything.

Thanks guys. I am going to change my Soft Jerkbait to 6'6" MH, and my I think I'm gonna go with 7' M for my Hard jerkbait.BB

Then why ask if you have already made up your mind?

No one suggested that combination. :-/

Dang! don't be so critical. People suggest longer rods than I had originally picked out so I started looking at longer rods. There's no need to get so worked up about it.

I wasn't being harsh, just realistic. Jerkbaits are my

favorite class of lures, I would like them to be yours, too!

8-)

does anyone use glass?

I just got 2 new jerkbait rods over the winter and tried them last weekend.  They worked exactly like I thought they would.

1st is a Team All Star, 6'4" Med/fast rod, they call a SB1.  I like the action on this rod for throwing most jerkbaits.

2nd is an All Star Titanium, 6'6" Light/Ext fast Zell Rowland rod. Don't let the light action fool you, this rod is fairly stiff and will be great for X raps.  Those baits need a little stiffer tip action to get them dancing right under water.

3rd rod is one I've had for awhile.  It's for soft jerkbaits, senkos, wacky worms, etc. It's a All Star Titanium 6'9" Wacky worm special.  It's a medium/Fast rod.  Love that rod.