School me on jerk bait rigs

[styler]

I very seldom use jerk baits but I went out with a buddy yesterday and got skunked. He caught 6 . Me ? 0
His set up was a Pfluger president with a president rod with 8lb mono. Bait size was 4.5 long and 1/2oz
I had the completely wrong gear 12lb mono clear and 7ft medium fast rod 8:1 gear ration Tatula baitcaster.
Im looking to purchase probably a daiwa regal and a rod but I don't know which size reel or which rod .
Im thinking a 2500 or 3000 size reel . not sure which one is more suited.
Maybe a 6'6" fast action and 8-10 lb floro. Im 5'8" and with the 7' rod I couldn't jerk down very well.
Thats why I'm thinking a shorter rod.
Also I want to stick with spinning so I can use lighter lures and long casting.
Not looking to start with a crazy priced rod yet . Something that will pair well with the Regal.
Thanks for any help guys I'm pretty green to jerkin

[Drakestar]

Reel doesn’t really factor into the action. I’m not a fan of spinning reels for jerkbaits because you’ll reel in a lot of slack line and it doesn’t wrap around the spool as tightly. But it’s a preference.

Rod and line are way more important (and then making the bait suspend, as well). In the lower price range I’d consider a Zodias 6’10” M, it has the correct action to accelerate jerkbait, and then ease out of the whipping action. I’m the spinning segment, a fast Medium rod generally works. The Levante Shakyhead is great for it.

Straight fluoro is best. Doesn’t have to be lighter line unless you want depth (12lbs fluoro is totally fine). Higher-stretch fluoro like Sunline Assassin works well (or Tatsu in the high price range).

And then make sure you get Storm Suspense Dots and make sure the bait suspends on the day (it changes every day based on water temperature.)

[BassVoodoo]

Dobyns colt 693 spinning. Diawa Fuego 3000. Great setup without breaking the bank.

[JINXBASS]

I perfer casting over spinning. My rod of choice is a diawa 6'6" ml. I always use 10lb sniper. Great set up!! Also use a 6.2:1 reel. I throw jerkbaits year around.

[JK9027]

My rods are 6' 10" spinning and 3500 size reels. I throw braid to leader most all the time and prefer a little smaller bait than the 110. If it's blowing bad crosswinds it will bow the line out. It can be managed and casting into or with the wind I prefer the spinning to baitcasters due to distance. Farther it flies the longer it stays wet. I don't see any reason to change and I do have a couple of baitcast jerkbait setups.

[styler]

Hmm seems like Im getting mixed preferences on casting or spinning. I was just going off what my friend was using. I do like the distance he was getting. I could almost cast as far as him but I was laboring to do it.
Thank you guys for the advise .

[DrewFlu33]

The right rod will help, but I suspect a big part of it is the technique itself. Watch some videos where KVD talks about working a jerkbait. The biggest thing is making your jerks on a slack line. It looks like you're absolutely hammering the bait back to boat, but 90% of the motion is taking up slack. Then that hard "impact" right at the end of your motion is what gets the erratic, darting action out of the bait. Mono definitely makes this tough due to all the stretch. As mentioned above, reel isn't going to matter because it's only used for reeling up excess slack and of course reeling in fish.

Fluoro is the choice of most and it definitely works, but I don't like going with straight fluoro. Between the repeated impacts and all of the reeling on with slack in the line which is far less than ideal for line management, it lasts about a day of legit jerkbait fishing before it's trashed. For exactly the reasons mentioned above, I really think you'd be fortunate to make it through a day with fluoro spooled up on a spinning reel. Heck, 10 lb fluoro on a spinning reel in any situation gets obnoxious very quickly.

I use braid to a longish (~15') 10 or 12 lb Sniper leader on my setup, and especially if you're going to throw it on a spinning reel I'd really strongly suggest something similar. Then you can just replace the leader when it starts wearing out, and it's not getting messed up from layers upon layers going on and coming off the spool funny. Braid is way more forgiving to not being laid back on the spool perfectly, makes it much easier to pop slack when you're working the bait, and allows you to work a lot less in getting the right action. On a spinning rod, it's really helpful for eating up line twist and it'll probably cast a lot better, too.

If you do take the advice to go with braid to a leader, you'll likely want a little more moderate rod, something with say a mod-fast action, or a "parabolic bend" as many would say.