Having trouble finding the right rod

[Ksam1234]

So I love jerkbait fishing. I live next to Lake Erie and the smallies love jerkbaits from April -June and the largemouth to in the smaller lakes. I fish jerkbaits year round as the lakes aren’t deep. I have been using my G loomis for jerkbaits but the problem is that it’s made for jigs and worms. I need a MH rod with a fast tip but not super stiff. I fish a lot of submerged grass and need to be able to move the bass somewhat without tearing hooks out. This spring I lost countless fish bc they would rip out. I went and tried out some rods at my shops but they don’t have much.: I tried G loomis e6x and felt stiff. The Shimano Curado rod also felt little tough. 13 ***, st croix mojo. Lews and fenwick.. they all don’t feel right.  I tried suggestions and keep digging but nothing I can find. I checked all the posts on here but they mention the rods I already said and it just doesn’t work it’s to stiff for those tiny trebles to put any pressure on. I thought about a moderate fast rod but then it becomes harder to work the “twitch” any others I might be missing. Price range is around 200$ I know some companies have jerkbait specific rods but we don’t have any local to me and don’t wanna buy one and have it not be what I want. Also most jerkbait specific rods seem to be medium power only 

[LOZSteve]

Dobyns makes some nice rods for moving baits, if you want an opinion give them a call and they will talk to you about rod selection for baits and how you fish. 

If you want opinions on other rods you can call The Tackle Trap and they will visit with you as well. I fish a Megabass jerkbait special and like it a lot but that’s a little over the price range. 

[Ksam1234]

1 minute ago, LOZSteve said:

Dobyns makes some nice rods for moving baits, if you want an opinion give them a call and they will talk to you about rod selection for baits and how you fish. 

If you want opinions on other rods you can call The Tackle Trap and they will visit with you as well. I fish a Megabass jerkbait special and like it a lot but that’s a little over the price range. 

The tackle trap? What’s that and yeah I was looking at that but 300$ is just to much that I could spend.  I can’t justiffy it lol

[LOZSteve]

Tackle store. 256 281-6160

https://tackletrap.com/

[WRB]

Major craft Don Iovino Splash-It rod is a good choice for jerk baits.

KVD is an expert with jerk baits, use what he uses.

Tom

[Ksam1234]

20 minutes ago, WRB said:

Major craft Don Iovino Splash-It rod is a good choice for jerk baits.

KVD is an expert with jerk baits, use what he uses.

Tom

He also gets everything for free I’m sure from sponsors lol. And I know he has his own rod line and has a jerkbait one I think .. where’s @A-Jay on this one

[ratherbfishin1]

45 minutes ago, WRB said:

Major craft Don Iovino Splash-It rod is a good choice for jerk baits.

KVD is an expert with jerk baits, use what he uses.

Tom

“Use what he uses” That’s what I said and now I have over 1,000 squarebills

[A-Jay]

My current favorite jerkbait rod is The Slasher spun up by Alpha rods ~ 

https://www.alphaangler.com/products/jerkbait-fishing-rod

 

 

A-Jay

[Ksam1234]

6 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

My current favorite jerkbait rod is The Slasher spun up by Alpha rods ~ 

https://www.alphaangler.com/products/jerkbait-fishing-rod

 

 

A-Jay

THere we go! I know you catch soem

giant smallies !

6 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

My current favorite jerkbait rod is The Slasher spun up by Alpha rods ~ 

https://www.alphaangler.com/products/jerkbait-fishing-rod

 

 

A-Jay

I think I saw this rod posted before but couldn’t find it again. How does it hold as far as keeping them pinned but not tearing out hooks? It looks like you were pulling pretty hard 

[JustJames]

If you want specific jerk bait rod, you should look for MF where you have a lot more bend than F rod especially MH power. What size jerkbait are you throwing? I don't use MH unless jerkbait is 1/2oz or heavier. 

Last time I checked out Phenix Maxim MH/F rod, their rod line got pretty soft tip and might suit your need.

[J Francho]

I haven't found anything better than an Avid AVC62MXF.  The soft tip, and fast recovery time aids in controlling what the bait is doing.  The medium power loads nicely with a fish on and keeps hooks pinned.  Lastly, this rod features a shorter rear grip, which keeps it out of the way.  The length in front of the reel is almost the same as a similar spec 6'6" rod.

[burrows]

I’m not sure why you want a MH for jerk baits? Anyhow I use a mojo jerkbait rod 68 medium fast perfect and inexpensive. Maybe your just used to using a MH? Have you considered trying a glass or composite? The blanks tend to run a bit thicker, a medium is tends to have in most cases a medium heavy thickness to it. And you don’t really need a much of sensitivity for jerk-baits but these newer rods tend to have decent amount of sensitivity for glass.

[J Francho]

1 minute ago, Burrows said:

And you don’t really need a much of sensitivity for jerk-baits but these newer rods tend to have decent amount of sensitivity for glass.

 

I kind of disagree, but only in the situation of fishing them extremely slow, in cold water.  If I'm not paying attention during very long pauses, I might not notice a bite, as there is a bit of slack in the line.  Most often it's when A fish runs at the boat after biting on the pause.  Most bites come on the pause, for me.  That all varies on activity level, though.  So, it may be different in other places.

 

That said, the 6-8 is also a nice jerkbait rod.

[webertime]

Jerkbait rods are a pretty personal thing for sure.  I use a custom NFC 663 that is amazing on baits up to 1/2oz (Pointer 100's)  I used in in Kissimmee and Toho during the BASS Open this past winter.   Had no issues with not controlling fish.  I also use (and this might be a good one for you) a Falcon Bucoo 6'6"MHf (not super fast), it has a nice short grip and great tip for Jerkbaits.  The other rod I use for 4" jerkbaits is a 70MHM St, Croix.  The latter 2 rods are readily available and can do other things quiet well.

[Ksam1234]

2 minutes ago, J Francho said:

 

I kind of disagree, but only in the situation of fishing them extremely slow, in cold water.  If I'm not paying attention during very long pauses, I might not notice a bite, as there is a bit of slack in the line.  Most often it's when A fish runs at the boat after biting on the pause.  Most bites come on the pause, for me.  That all varies on activity level, though.  So, it may be different in other places.

 

That said, the 6-8 is also a nice jerkbait rod.

@Burrows I called and talk to 3 people today, dobyns , alpha angler , and Matt from Irod and went with the irod geneisis 2 it’s a 7 ft mh rod for jerkbaits. It’s a 703c to be exact. He said it has more parabolic bend and soft tip. But it’s not a broomstick. And I want a MH as the fish I fight are hard fighting and around a lot of submerged grass. I’m going to try the MH and if it is to stiff I’ll drop down to a medoum

13 minutes ago, J Francho said:

 

I kind of disagree, but only in the situation of fishing them extremely slow, in cold water.  If I'm not paying attention during very long pauses, I might not notice a bite, as there is a bit of slack in the line.  Most often it's when A fish runs at the boat after biting on the pause.  Most bites come on the pause, for me.  That all varies on activity level, though.  So, it may be different in other places.

 

That said, the 6-8 is also a nice jerkbait rod.

Same as a lot of the bites are on the pause and if you don’t feel it sometimes they won’t hook themselves and you lose a fish. 

[burrows]

20 minutes ago, J Francho said:

 

I kind of disagree, but only in the situation of fishing them extremely slow, in cold water.  If I'm not paying attention during very long pauses, I might not notice a bite, as there is a bit of slack in the line.  Most often it's when A fish runs at the boat after biting on the pause.  Most bites come on the pause, for me.  That all varies on activity level, though.  So, it may be different in other places.

 

That said, the 6-8 is also a nice jerkbait rod.

You may be rite if you’re talking cold water and op has already decided but the composite rods like the Powell endurance for example the crankbait topwater jerkbait rod. Is a composite and has pretty darn good sensitivity for a composite glass I happen to own one that I personally use for squarebills and the blank is light but it’s as thick as my MH mojo spinner bait rod and it’s as sensitive as it gets when it comes to glass.

[J Francho]

Personally not a fan of glass or composite sticks, but preferences in jerkbait rods is all over the spectrum in both length and action.

[fishwizzard]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

I haven't found anything better than an Avid AVC62MXF.  The soft tip, and fast recovery time aids in controlling what the bait is doing.  The medium power loads nicely with a fish on and keeps hooks pinned.  Lastly, this rod features a shorter rear grip, which keeps it out of the way.  The length in front of the reel is almost the same as a similar spec 6'6" rod.

I have the same rod, bought after reading you rave about it. 

 

It’s great for jerkbaits but maybe even better for popper and walking baits. I think I could walk a wet sock with it.  It’s also a very nice rod for small tubes and worms and the compact legnth makes it great for hike-in fishing.