00bullitt

I've got multiple Exprides and a few Megabass Rods to include the Orochi Diablo Spec-R, Levante Tour Versatile and Jerkbait Special. For comparison sake, I also have several GLX, NRX and NRX+. The rods I use ALL THE TIME...are my Exprides. For an all around Expride, I definitely recommend the Medium Action, but I would suggest their 6'10". While its 4" shorter overall, 2" of that are in the butt and 2" in tip. Its also a thinner and lighter blank. I have 3, 6'10" Medium Exprides and 1, M/H. I LOVE THEM!!! I have a 7'2" M and M/H but they get used wayyyyyy less. I REALLY like the nimble and light feel of the 6'10 Shimano rods. I also have the Zodias and Curado versions and a 6'11" Medium Poison Adrena. The Exprides and Megabass rods always perform better in one action less than what you think as they don't compare to traditional actions. The Diablo Spec-R is absolutely their best all around action. Not too stiff and a great tip and mid section. Easy to go from light texas rig, lighter jig to up to 1/2oz spinnerbait/chatterbait. Oh.....and expect the Megabass Rods to break easily and the warranty process, while easy, is slow. I have yet to break an Expride, but have broken each of my MB rods within 10" of the tip on hooksets and just basic movement of fish around the boat.

The 1/4oz head screwd into a Crush City 3" Mayor has become my go to finesse swimbait. I use a #6 short shank round bend treble. Love how well they work and my increases hook up and landing ratio. Plus, I donf tear up my baits nearly as fast.

FFS is a great tool, but it has some quirks to it. Your pitch angle of the transducer could be giving you incorrect depth readings. Which FFS are you using? Most likely and with high probability those jerkbaits are running right where advertised.

My favorite spinnerbait of ALL time; especially on the spotted bass fisheries here in GA & SC. Its a short, stifffer arm. Comes through cover like butter because the arm deflects well. Hook is smaller and nano coated and super pointy. Skirt is wire tied and has extended tentacles for great action. The blades are the secret. They are thin and lightweight and start immediately upon ANY movement. While its not the thumpiest spinnerbait, the fish obviously don't care....it flat catches'em! Worth every cent IMO!

I have both as well as the Tatula 80. The Tatula 70 is more of a 50 sized spool in a 70 frame. The Tatula 80 is much more comparable to the Curado 70. The Tatula 70 & 80 are the same frame; very different spools. I have used them all for Jerkbaits and settled on the Tatula 70 and run 10# fluoro to a 1/4 spool of 30# braid. Its a phenomenal jerkbait/finesse reel so long as you never intend to run heavier than 12# test.

I have both. 70 and 80 frames are the same. 70 spool is SV and shallow. 80 spool is deeper and holds more line. Casting with the SV is different; if you cast too hard, it actually reduces distance as the brakes engage. I use it as my jerkbait reel on an Expride 6'10" Medium. Its very palmable....moreso than a Curado 70. Its near impossible to backlash. Super smooth. Downside is that it holds very little line. I think about 70 yards of 12# test. The 80 is deeper and will hold about 90 yards of 15# test. I love them both. The 70 casts lighter baits better than the 80, and surprisingly further with less effort.

I prefer the 6'10" rods in the Shimano line. Its a 2" shorter handle and 2" less tip - also a much thinner and lighter blank. The 7'2" rods are way overbuilt in my opinion and a full 1-1.5 ounces heavier. I have a few 7'2" Shimano rods but use the 6'10"s almost always. I have the Medium and Medium/Heavy in the SLX, Zodias and Expride and a Medium and Medium/Light Curado; all in 6'10". One word of warning....actions are similar across lines but not at all the same, but I do find the Medium to be more versatile than the M/H. The Exprides are amazing; very light and sensitive and the shape and size of the cork handles are to die for. If you are looking for an awesome one size fits all bank rod, have a look at the G. Loomis 843MBR (7') in the GCX or IMX line. I have the 843GCX and 844IMX and LOVE them!

I have an NRX(not plus) 822SYR and an Expride B 6'10" ML. While the NRX is slightly more sensitive than the Expride (mostly feel the sensitivity advantage in 30+ feet depths), I prefer the overall feel of the Expride. I use them both equally. I throw a shaky head on the Expride mostly and DS on the NRX. I LOVE the Expride line! I have 4 and want more. I have the spinning rod mentioned and plan to get a 7'2" ML. Also think I want the 7'2" ML casting. I have 2 - 6'10" B's; a M & M/H and a 7'2" M. I LOVE their 6'10" casting rods! The Medium is truly the best jerkbait rod I have ever used and probably the rod that is in my hand the most. The 6'10" M & M/H are ultra versatile and I would not mind another. I prefer the shorter handle and thinner/lighter blank of the 6'10" vs. 7'2". The 7'2" has a 2.5" longer handle than the 6'10" and the tip gain is only 1.5".

I use a few. I'm ultra picky about the action of my rods for jerkbaits. I would say my main rod for 95-112 size jerk plugs is the Shimano Expride 6'10" Medium paired with a Shimano Curado 70XG (8.1 gear ratio). I have an Aldebaran HG but its only a 7.4:1. I specifically want an 8 or better as I just prefer the way it takes up line better for faster cadence fishing. When water temps get below 60 degrees, I use 10# Seaguar TATSU. If I could afford it, I would use it all year (I buy it when I find it on sale). I back the reel with some 30# braid (braid is lighter and gets the spool moving quicker and its less expensive when I respool expensive line as I respool pretty often. TATSU is amazingly strong. I have straightened heavy jig hooks out with their 15# test TATSU. The rest of the year I use 12# Seaguar Invisx. Invisx starts to coil badly and get a lot of memory when the water temps fall into the 50's. TATSU stays very supple with almost no memory.....an ungodly strong. Casting the smaller jerk plugs on 10# test is much easier too. I have even considered trying TATSU 8# given how strong their 10# is. I have landed 20+ pound stripers on it. I have broken off several bigger fish on 10 & 12# Invisx. I honestly cannot think of a time where I had a fish break off on TATSU.

With the stock hooks the 110jr. slowly floats in water temps over 50 degrees. The Berkley Fusion Med Shank #8 EWG is 4.3 grains and the Mustad Triple Grip EWG 2x Short, 1 x strong #8 is 4.5 grains. The Stock VMC made #8's that come on it are 4.0 grains. The Berkley is a much better hook than the stock #8's in my opinion and I used them for a while until I came across the Mustad. I now use the Mustad Triple Grip mentioned on all my 110jr.'s. Our lakes are in the mid to high 50 degree temps right now and wiht the Mustads, I get a very slow sink; about .5" per second. I actually prefer a slow sink as I can often jerk it right over a suspended fish using Livescope and let it drop slowly into them often triggering a strike. I see the fish react and then watch my line jump.

I fish the SC/GA chain as my home waters plus Lanier.....all full of spotted bass.....bigguns too. A small jerkbait is my #1; Vision 110jr. and 110jr. +1 often going smaller to match forage size like Duo Realis 85, Nanahan x75 and Lucky Craft 65. A small 2.8" Keitech on a 1/4oz to 1/2oz. Bad Shad or Guppy head with 1/0 hook is good to work the 0-40' water column. Small underspins like the CoolBaits work well too. Cant beat a drop shot year round! Neds, shaky heads and nekos are great, but I prefer a tiny tungsten 1/4-3/8oz. peanut jigs like the Fitzgerald or Picasso Lil Spotty. Always have a topwater; I like the Spro E-Pop, Evergreen JT95 & ShowerBlows 77 and Lucky Craft GunFish 95....or a nose hooked Super Fluke Jr. Damiki Vault blade baits are excellent year round and super versatile. You might be able to rig up a Shane's Baits Mini Blades of Glory Finesse A-Rig to throw on a spinning rod, but even with 1/16oz. heads, you are at 3/4oz total....really more suited to a baitcaster. The above baits thrown on spinning gear will serve you well to capture spotted bass.

I have been throwing the X75 +1 and Pointer 65DD alot lately due to the fish keying in on such smaller bait. Both still throw fine on my baitcasting jerkbait rod, but its probably best suited to spinning gear. They both have produced well! Satoshin Chiayu is my color of choice in the Nanahan x75.

The Megabass 110jr. +1 is easily my favorite jerkbait as it catches the large majority of my fish; mostly spotted bass on the lakes I fish, granted it gets eaten by plenty of Larry's. The stock hooks suck as they bend out too easily, granted....Megabass design their jerk plugs to be used in a light line finesse application, so understandable. This is a discussion in an of itself in my opinion as several jerkbaits are designed around more of a power application with larger/stronger hooks. I used to be a fall/winter jerkbait guy only. That all changed once I started using forward facing sonar (Livescope) a few years ago as I now had eyes on every suspended fish in a 100' radius of my boat. The jerkbait became my go-to bait on the deck of my boat and catches the majority of my fish on any given day. I typically have 2 or 3 jerkbaits ready to go for different situations. I target these fish and catch them! Livescope opened an entire new frontier of bass fishing in my opinion and I like to capitalize on that. And by god the jerkbait bite is just AWESOME! With all that said, I throw the 110jr. +1 the majority of the time. I have finally found a hook that I trust and gets the bait to remain neutrally buoyant in summer water temps (70-90deg) and then as the lake cools, it will sink ultra slow just as I like it as I will jerk it over a school of fish and then pause it and watch it sink about a half inch to an inch per second depending on water temps. It drops into them and the school goes absolutely nuts! The Mustad Triple Grip 2x short, 1x strong #8 EWG is that hook. It weighs 4.5 grains compared to the factory #8 thin wire round bend treble by VMC that is 4.0 grains. I DO NOT lose fish with that hook and they rarely bend! I've never been a big EWG fan as I've always believed a round bend to hook up better, but after using the Berkley Stunna with their Fusion EWG and now this....I've become an EWG treble hook believer. I do wish that Megabass would consider making the 110jr. +1 in a silent version. I think that would be deadly! I watch alot of big fish shoot up after my jerkplug and then slowly turn away. I'm quite certain its the noise that deters them. Anyway, wanted to drop an update here in case it helps someone. Tight lines!

Ito Shiner for me! Casts a mile and typically entices one of the bigger spots out of the school.

I tried to go back and edit the original post, but I guess the "edit" feature goes away after some time lapses. Probably not a bad idea to revive this thread as the height of jerkbait season is upon us although its my most utilized bait all year round and has been since I got Livescope 2 years ago. Forward facing sonar has opened the door of possibility for capturing those suspended open water fish. I've caught so many 4 plus pound spotted bass in the top 10' of the water column over 70-100' of water its not even funny......and they fall for a jerkbait about every time! I weighed a few more hooks from the original list: Duo Realis Nano #8 = .32grams/4.9 grains Due Realis Nano #6 = .47grams/7.4 grains Ichikawa RC Light #8 = .28grams/4.4grains Ichikawa RC Light #6 = .42grams/6.6grains Berkley EWG #8 = .27grams/4.3grains Berkley EWG Med Shank #6 = .38 grams/6.0grains Norman Speed Clip, small = 1.7 grains Megabass 110 stock split ring = 1.0 grains Owner Hyperwire #2 split ring = 1.0 grains Owner Hyperwire #3 split ring = 1.8 grains Still loving the Stunna and the 110jr. The Berkley hooks on the Stunna have been money! I have increased my landing ratio with the 110jr. by changing stock hooks to Berkley #8 EWG's and using a Berkley #6 Medium Shank EWG on the center.

I can tell you when I tie it if it will break or not. If you cinch the braid down and then pull the leader and it slips through AT ALL.....retie. That friction just blew the leader strength right at the connection. I wrap both leader tag ends around one index finger and the braid main line around the other a few times and pull it down slow until tight. I do not wet my Albertos as its not designed to slip AT ALL. Braid should bite into leader and prevent any slip from occurring. Now, I did see someting here that was interesting that I'm gonna try. I will run my final tag end through the loop twice before cinching and see how that works.

Good question. When grains count, split rings and line ties matter. I use the stock Megabass split rings until they stretch at all or lose tension. I remove and install all of my split rings with Texas Tackle small split ring pliers and can feel tension with them pretty good. If they feel weak or look stretched in anyway, they get replaced with an Owner HyperWire #2 or #3 split ring. Once I replace the factory Berkley hooks, they get Hyperwires as they just seem weak from the start and just changing hooks deforms them. I remove line tie split rings and use Norman Speed Clips religiously unless the line tie is protected and will not allow free movement of the speed clip. For example, I leave the line tie split ring on the 110jr. +1 and snap to that. I've been using he Speed Clips for a looooong time on trebled lures and never had an issue; easily 20-25 years. I will weigh the hardware and add those weights in for comparison sakes. For Megabass and Berkley, I stayed away from anything "X" rated as they will be too heavy. When I get into needing a jerkbait with stouter hooks, I throw Duo Realis 100/110's, Lucky Craft Pointer Minnows or Rerange Jackalls. I'm pretty interested in seeing the Duo Realis Nano and Ichikawa RC Kamikiri Light Wire hooks. I will say that I was very impressed with the stock Berkley Hook EWG Med Shank Hook that comes on the Stunna, but the Gamakatsu Nano was 50cents more, so I just went with those as replacements.

I've searched and not found any real solid info so I figured I would create it and add to it. Specifically the weights of hooks and their affect on performance. I love me some jerkbaits and I love the Megabass 110 and 110jr. along with the newer Berkley Stunna 112. To maintain that delicate balance of action and suspension, replacement hooks play a huge role in that. Of course you can use the stock hooks but they have their own shortcomings. The Megabass 110 and 110jr are a suspending jerkbait whereas the Berkley Stunna is "Slow Sinking". Water temps play a huge role in this; warmer water is less dense and therefore less resistance is required for the jerkbait to float and vice versa for colder water. While Megabass does not advertise a temperature that their jerkbaits are at neutral buoyancy, it seems to be about 55-58 degrees. As the water warms, they begin to float. Similar is true for the Berkley Stunna, but being that it is designed to be "Slow Sinking", seems as if it sinks about 60 degrees and begins to get more neutral as the water warms. All these little nuances matter for jerk plug fishing and make it a very technical technique. It has been touted for the longest time that the Megabass jerkbaits are the best out of the package jerkbait on the market. I will agree to a certain extent; environmental influence matters. Turbidity is another concern that affects density. Water temp is also not consistent throgh the column. The tools we have at our disposal give us a surface measurement. Much harder to know what the temp is below the surface at the depth the bait is designed to operate. This is another influential factor that is difficult to control. The Megabass 110 comes with a #6 outbarb treble hook. Its an extremely thin and light wire hook. The Megabass jerkbaits were originally designed to be ultra finesse and used on 6# diameter line. Minimal pressure was required to sink hooks into a fish using light tackle. Using those hooks on baitcast gear and heavier line, its easy to straighten the hooks out if you apply to much pressure or don't have your drag loose enough. The 110jr has too small of hooks; #8 round bends. Also a lighter wire. I've really come to like the Stunna lately and it has quickly become my replacement for the standard Vision 110. I still do not care for the 112 +1 as its action is weak and it does not gain me any additional depth over the standard. It actually comes with a pretty good EWG hook too; a #6 Fusion EWG Medium Wire. While I will continue to use and maintain my 110's, I will most likely not be buying more unless I need a very specific color not offered by Berkley. I will still very much continue to use and buy the 110jr, but it does have its own share of challenges with the smaller hooks. The following are the weights of the stock hooks and some suitable/possible replacement options (I listed Grains as that resonates a tad more accurate to me as I'm a reloader): Megabass 110 - .35 grams / 5.4 grains Megabass 110jr. - .27 grams / 4.0 grains Stunna 112 - .39 grams / 6.0 grains Replacement Options: Owner STX-38ZN #8 (ZoWire) - .30 grams / 5.0 grains Owner STX-38ZN #6 (ZoWire) - .49 grams / 7.6 grains Owner STY-35MF #6 (Stinger) - .43 grams / 6.8 grains Gamakatsu Finesse Nano #6 - .34 grams / 5.2 grains Gamakatsu Finesse Nano #5 - .40 grams / 6.0 grains Gamakatsu EWG Black Nickel #6 - .42 grams / 6.5 grains Gamakatsu EWG Bronze #6 - .40 grams / 6.3 grains Mustad Triple Grip TG58NP-BN #6 - .40 grams / 6.4 grains With temps being in the mid to high 70's lately, the Owner #8 has worked very well on the 110jr and the Gamakatsu Nano #6 work well on the 110. The Gamakatsu Nano #5 is a great replacement for the Stunna 112. I still intend on acquiring #8 hooks from Duo and Ichikawa to see how they work on the 110jr. I'd like to find a larger hook for the Jr. but I don't see that happening without a negative reaction. I tried the Gamakatsu Nano #6 but it impedes the action about 50%. I have yet to straighten out the Owner STX38 #8. While significantly heavier than the stock #8, it has been neutrally buoyant in the warmer water. The Gamakatsu Nano #6 on the standard 110 still floats up ever so slightly in the mid 70 temps. The #5 is just about perfect, but sinks just a tad. To fix it, I put a #5 on the front and back and a #6 in the middle. Absolutely perfect suspension. Anyway....hope this helps. I plan to get a few other light wire type treble hooks and will update this when I do.

Yes, these are the latest models.

I use the Shimano Zodias 6'9" Medium with a 2500 Shimano Vanford. I used to use it for all jerkbaits but now only use it for the small ones that I can not cast with my baitcaster. I also have the Zodias 7' Medium Light and can say that is too light for obtaining the action from the bait that you need (IMO). I started using 15# braid to 8# Fluoro leader and have since switched to straight 6# Tatsu. I have noticed a big difference in my bite ratio and have no issues with line memory from the small diameter fluoro line. If I had to do it over again, I would have just spooled on about 60' of 6# to the braid backer and let it ride.

Quick update on two of my Levante rods; Whipsnake (spinning) and Jerkbait Special (casting). Both broke recently. They fell within the first year free replacement for breaking (basically anything goes). Both rods broke in the same location and in the same manor. 2" of tip section snapped off landing fish; not boat flipping......holding pressure on them while holding rod in right hand and bending down to lip them at edge of boat. Nothing out of the ordinary and the same way I do it with any of the other 30 rods I have. I love the Levante series of rods. Ultra sensitive and comfortable and a great price point and they look stunning. The replacement process was not too bad. I filled out the online form and uploaded a copies of my receipts. Response was delayed because apparently MegaBass was having some technical issues with their form server. They emailed and asked me to resubmit. I did and then it was approved to send back (on my dime might I add). This process took a little over a week. They did mention that I could cut the rod in half to reduce shipping charges (all pieces must be returned). I did and here is a little hack to help you out; UPS and FedEx charge dimensional weight for lengths over 48". Charges by UPS for 49" in length was $36.11. Charges for 48" was $13.66. Once the rod was received by MegaBass, it took about 3 weeks before I received tracking info. They shipped it via FedEx of which the package was lost over the Holidays as they shipped it 15Dec and I still do not have them. Waiting on further resolution from the shipper (Megabass). The Levante rods are phenomenal in my opinion, but given the headache I have gone through, I don't know that I will buy any more. I've been fishing for 40 years and I can count on one hand the number of rods I have broken. I remember each and every one of them. Two of them are these MegaBass rods. The others were a Favorite Sick Stick (my fault I might add as I closed it in my rod locker) a Castaway and an All Star Titanium (both on hook sets). Those were all replaced over the counter where they were purchased. Anyway....just wanted to update here on my experience. Looking very forward to getting them both back as they were very welcome sticks in the arsenal.

I run the Johnny Morris Platinum and have a few in 2000 and 3000 size. They are phenomenal and well worth the step up from the Carbonlite. I tried a Carbonlite since they were out of Platinums and took it back to exchange it for another Platinum. Just does not compare IMO.

BINGO!!! But spool tension is directly related to lure weight. Less spool tension needed for lighter lures and vice versa. The big benefit to me is when the lure can accelerate fast enough to stay in sync with the release of the line from the spool. I upgraded to Boca's for my frog rod and jerkbait/finesse baitcast rod. Very noticable difference! I could skip a Spro popping from about 70' before and now I can skip a dock and come out the other side at the bank 100' away....AND without loose line on the spool. Same principal as the BFS reel principle. I did not see as much gain on my deep crank rod that is 8' long throwing 1oz. plugs. It does feel smoother though.

Why short arm? How about compact and heavy to get down? SpotSticker Mini-Me ROCKS! https://spotsticker.com/product-category/spinnerbaits/mini-me/

The design of the crankbait is important for speed cranking. As mentioned, The TB Tactical DD 75 was designed to be burned. The Berkley Dredgers also react well to speed and don't fatigue too much. The resistance created by the actual body design coupled with a wide bill create alot of drag. Slimmer, smaller CB's perform much better at high speed. The Berkley Dredger 17.5 is often my go too. I get that to just shy of 20' on 30# braid with a short piece of mono and to 19' on 12# fluoro. I burn it with a 5.6:1 reel. I tried using 6.8:1 and have found that 6.1 is the fastest I would prefer for deep cranks. I do catch alot of fish cranking and crank more than any other technique. Cranking has also produced my biggest fish and twice in derbs I have weighed bags in excess of 25#.