Maybe I'm old school or haven't caught up with the times but my favorite are my pair of MBR782 GLX casting rods. They are short enough that I don't slap the water while jerking, the handle is short enough that I don't get it stuck in my sleeve and the rod itself just keeps fished pinned. I do have a newer model 842 GXL that I like too but the butt is long and gets caught in my sleeves if I am wearing a parka. I also have a Megabass Jerk bait special that I really like too.
Powell endurance 6'10 crankbait rod is by far the best jerkbait rod i've found, and it doesn't break the bank.
I received my ALX ZOLO Jerkbait rod and have the Shimano SLX DC reel on it. It feels awesome ans I can already tell it’s balance and light weight is going to help me manage my tennis/fishing elbow issues in the Spring. It looks and feels like a high quality rod - I’m impressed. I didn’t even realize when I bought it that there is also a great warranty that comes with it.
what line would you guys recommend for this rod and reel assuming I’m primarily using it for topwater and jerkbaits? I was thinking one of the PLine CXX lines in about 12-14 lb test. The newish PLine copolymer topwater line seems worth a try too.
when I fished this fall with slightly larger topwater walking baits, I felt like the 12lb mono I was using was a little light. I even casted off a few plugs because I got lazy and didn’t retire when I should have. But 15lb does sound a little heavy to me for jerkbaits. Trying to decide on the right size line and I think I need to go with copolymer.
2022 Ranger z518 / 2022 Merc Pro XS 200 serial # 3B137559
I just pick up a Cashion Jerkbait rod 6' 9'' Fast Med. Heavy with 12 lb mono .
Any others care to weigh in?
How parabolic and forgiving is the tip on that Zolo JB Rod? If it is mod-fast, go with lighter 20-30 lb braid and a "short-ish" 12-14 lb fluoro leader...I would run about a 2-3 foot leader with a Shin Fukae knot.Originally Posted by bman5150
i really like my dobyns 684cb for ima flits, vision 110's and the vision 110jr +1's. Also doubles as my popper rod. The 685cb or 635cb may be great options as well
I usually throw jerkbaits on braid to a leader--right now I think I've got 30 lb J-braid to a 10-15' 12 lb Sniper leader on one setup, and 24 lb Gliss to the same leader on the other--so maybe like a more moderate rod than most. I've been throwing them on both the Tatula Elite jerkbait rod and a Phenix X10 with a ton of success. The Phenix is probably the better of the two for the braid to leader setup, Tatula probably a bit better for straight fluoro. Both work excellent for jerkbaits, and it's easy to cut off the leader and throw topwaters on either one too. Both are 7' rods which works for me as I'm 6'2", though the Tatula Elite comes in a 6'9" too (I think 6'9" is called the Feider rod, the 7'0" called the Howell rod).
The braid to leader seems like it's just asking for trouble with the lack of stretch and small trebles, but my landing ratio is really high so I don't question it. Plus I feel like I get more bites as it's just so much easier to "snap" the bait to get it to react erratically. Aside from that, a spool of straight fluoro lasts 1, maybe 1.5 days of throwing a jerkbait for me. I think the repeated shocks combined with not getting it back on the reel nicely due to never having tension on it while working the bait are kind of a perfect storm to destroy a spool of fluoro. Whatever it is, that gets spendy really quickly. Replacing a leader, not so much.
2011 Skeeter ZX225
225 Yamaha HPDI Series 2
Minn Kota Ultrex 112 52"
Console: HDS 16 Carbon
Bow: HDS 12 Carbon, Solix 12 G2, Mega 360, Garmin 106 SV, LVS 34
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