Hard Jerk Bait : Braid + FC Leader ?

[ChrisD46]

Curious how many have tried or use a hard  jerk bait with say #20lb. braid with a #8lb. FC leader ? I already have a top water set up using #20lb. braid + #12 lb. mono and by simply switching to a FC leader I am thinking the set up could double my top water set up  for a hard jerk bait application . The only unknown is jerking on slack line comprised of braid + FC  versus using straight FC , co-poly or mono as a mainline ... Your thoughts and experiences  ?

[MickD]

I see no advantage to going as light as 8#, but if it works for you , do it.  One advantage will be a smaller knot.  I usually use 15 or 20 FC for jerks. 

 

For surface, I don't like FC because it sinks and affects the action of the surface lure.  Always mono leader for surface, or straight mono from reel to lure.  For surface the stretch of mono is advantageous, in my opinion as I have trouble slowing the hook set enough, and braid is too direct/solid/non-forgiving.

 

If you want a double duty outfit, jerks and surface, just use a mono leader.  It will work fine for both.  I think the visibility advantage of FC is overrated.  

[adam lancia]

I use braid with a leader for my jerkbaits and love how directly I can feel the pull of the lure with braid vs straight mono or fluoro. I have been using both copoly and fluoro as a leader and like both. I agree that I don't think you need to go as light as 8# for your leader. I've been using at least 12# (fluoro or copoly) and find it fouls the hooks on a cast far less often vs lighter line.

[Team9nine]

It works...until one day your $25 Megabass goes sailing into the wild blue yonder, never to be seen again. But you'll be perfectly fine and catch plenty of fish up to that point  I've since gone back to straight fluoro for 90 percent of my jerkbait fishing.

 

-T9

[Mike L]

Fellas, I really hesitated even asking this question because I know the vast majority of posters here love tieing leaders, I don't..for anything. So I have to ask...Why? What advantage is there useing a leader of any kind for any moving bait let alone a jerk bait. 

I just don't get it.  

Thanks

 

 

Mike

[J Francho]

5 minutes ago, Mike L said:

So I have to ask...Why? What advantage is there useing a leader of any kind for any moving bait let alone a jerk bait.

 

Some of the more aggressive baits will foul themselves on limp braid.  Personally, I use P-Line CXX or Tuf-Line Supercast for this.  No need for a leader, just tie direct.

[ww2farmer]

I fish jerkbait's exclusively with braid and a fluorocarbon leader.

 

10lb braid with a 8 or 10lb leader on spinning gear for smaller jerkbaits that are difficult to cast on bait casting set ups

 

20lb braid with a 10 or 12lb leader on casting gear.

 

I find about a 2-3 foot leader to be perfect with suspending jerkbaits. Keeps the bait in a nose down suspension, any shorter though, and the floating nature of the braid over comes the sinking nature of the fluoro and the bait dosen't do what I want it to do.

 

Straight braid sucks for jerkin', it will foul on the hooks and it floats.

 

The braid/leader combo allows me to make super long casts, and get the bait down to where I want it quicker and it stays there longer. The limpness of the braid lets the bait "come alive", and the fluoro offers the right balance to keep it down, nose down, and offers me a small % of protection against bite offs from pike without killing the action of the bait like a steel leader would. Braid gets bit off if one of the jerks even thinks about biting it.

[MassYak85]

If I had a dedicated jerkbait rod, I'd use straight 10# fluoro probably....but I don't haha. All I use for jerkbaits is a Medium Fast rod with 20lb power pro to a leader. It works and I have no worries about the leader knot but it's not what I would choose if I had more to spend. I like how direct the twitches are with the braid and the fast rod. 

[Fishes in trees]

I use Fireline Crystal 14 lb for throwing jerk baits.   I generally use a short (2 ' or less) fluorocarbon leader). I use 15 or 20 lb test leader because (a) I want it to sink and (b) I like the slightly head down presentation that the heavier leader gives the bait.  I almost always throw jerk baits on spinning gear.

[Attila]

I run Daiwa series 2500 spinning reels loaded with 20lbs Power Pro Super 8 Slick w/ an 8lbs InvizX fluro leader and it's worked well for me throwing anything over a size 08 Rapala X-Rap. The braid allows me to really impart some wicked action to my jerkbaits and the fluro helps in the clear water situations which I find myself fishing in all the time, especially when a pause is involved with the retrieve.

 

I also used this same line setup for a summer fishing poppers and it performed really well until I decided to make the change to straight braid for my topwater applications as really it's more of a reaction bait than anything else. Personal choice though.

 

Good luck on sorting out what your preference will be, it may take some time

[rippin-lips]

5 hours ago, Mike L said:

 What advantage is there using a leader of any kind for any moving bait let alone a jerk bait. 

 

My topwater rod is also my jerkbait rod. I use a leader on it so it can perform double duty. A lot easier to spool it with #20 braid and tie various leaders. 

 

Abrasion resistance - pickerel love jerkbaits and their teeth will cut braid in a split second. Also rock and wood doesn't play real well with braid.  

 

Shock absorption - helps from straightening out small #6 hooks found on a lot of jerkbaits. Also with pulling the hooks out of the fish. 

 

Handling - straight braid gets fouled in the hooks very easily and is very irritating to deal with. The springiness of mono/fluoro helps to eliminate that.

 

Bite detection - in the case of fluoro it offers better slack line sensitivity than straight braid. A lot of jerkbait bites come while it's paused and there's no tension on the line. 

 

Those are my 4 main reasons for using a leader. The first 3 are the biggest ones though.

[IndianaFinesse]

Used it exclusively for a long time for the reasons already mentioned, until I had the braid wrap around the tip mid-cast and the line broke.  Have you ever watched a $25 lure sail off into the distance before?  I'll tell you from experience, it hurts.  I have since switched over to 8-10 pound mono, the casting distance and feel is only slightly diminished, and I don't have to worry about casting another expensive jerkbait off.

[A-Jay]

My jerkbait presentation always consists of braid & a leader: pretty much in line with what @ww2farmer post above.

I do use mono leader quite a bit, it's usually 10 ft or so and almost exclusively on spinning gear.  That set up works for me.

 

A-Jay

[NHBull]

As long as you match your leader to the size and style of jerk/surface daily you will be fine.

Truth be told I run the absolute smallest leader I can and catch more fish than my counter part that usually runs 20 lb braid and 15 lb leader...I go through a lot of 4 and 6 lb leader

[Yudo1]

 I use my orochi xx jerk bait special for jerk baits and topwaters.  I use the braid/leader combo on it and have no complaints.  The topwaters I use are mostly poppers of some sort and I find the combination of soft mod/fast tip and braid/leader work.  If I used a fast or extra fast rod, I'd probably opt for something that had more stretch with the little trebles.  With trebles, somethings got to give:  rod, line or drag.

[ChrisD46]

I hate working a twitch bait / popper on a spinning outfit ... I would be more inclined now to use #20 lb. braid with a #10 lb. FC leader for jerk baits and  same braid with #10 lb. mono for top water (both on bait casting gear) and call it a day . All of my top water and jerk baits are less than $15.00 ea. so not too drastically upset if I broke off say a Smithwick Rogue on a cast . Yes , breaking off a Whopper Plopper would hurt a bit more for sure ...