hard jerkbait setup

[Ranger_man]

What rod, reel, line, gear ratio do yall use for hard jerkbaits?

[roadwarrior]

My main set-up is a St. Croix Avid AC66MF matched with a Shimano Calais CL200 (6.2:1). For big baits (Pointer 128) is fish a Lamiglas SR705R. What I would like to have is G.Loomis PR844C as my "go-to" rod for most treble hook lures.

Generically, you need a Medium or Medium Heavy Power/ Moderate Action rod or a Fast Action rod with a soft tip.

I fish Yo-Zuri Hybrid Ultra Soft #12 (19.5 lb test) on all my baitcasters.

[Craw]

I've been so successful with jerkbaits this year that I bought an outfit just to use for them. I prefer a casting setup for fishing with jerkbaits.

6'6" ST Croix Premier MF

Team Daiwa Advantage 153H7(6.3:1)

10lb. Stren High Impact(clear) mono

I've been using clear mono because I can see it good and it sometimes enables me to see when I get a strike on the pause.

[justfishin]

When I use a jerkbait, as in a Husky Jerk or Rogue, I mostly use a short rod,6' spinning with a MH fast action and #8 test. Also, if I am around a lot of trash such as weeds or wood I switch to a 6' MH baitcasting rod with about 8" of soft tip and use #14 or #15 test. I do not like a short rod and most of the time I use a 6'6" or 7' rod but, in a jerkbait situation I point the rod tip down and twitch my bait. This is just what works for me.

[Al Wolbach]

I agree with Jim. I like a 6' rod also, but I use a medium action baitcaster with a fast tip and high speed reel. St Croix legend elite 6mf with a Ardent XS 6:1 reel...........AL

[The_Natural]

I mainly use a 6' medium action St. Croix Avid spool with 8lb fluorocarbon.

[Ranger_man]

which would be better a medium fast rod or a medium extra fast tip?

[Guest zardon]

I prefer 6'6" MH Fast action for Bigger Jerkbaits like Pointer 100's and above, and a 6' MF for 78's and lighter jerks.

[roadwarrior]

I already posted my suggestion, but to restate:

I recommend a Moderate or Slow Action rod, but you can fish fast or extra fast action if the tip is soft.

What you don't want, or at least I don't want, is a firm tip when fishing treble hooks. A forgiving rod reduces the chance of pulling the hooks out of the fish's mouth.

[lubina]

I also like the 6.0, this size is much more comfortable to jerk and sweep with the rod tip down for a prolong period of time.

I have the St Croix Legend Elite M, it is a fast action but with a very gently tip. I paired with a Quantum Energy X-Metal and P-line CX 12lbs.

[ww2farmer]

What rod, reel, line, gear ratio do yall use for hard jerkbaits?

I like longer rods, I use 7' rods almost exclusivly.........EXCEPT for jerk baits. For this I use a 6'6" rod. I have two combo's that I will usualy toss hard jerkbaits with, 1 baitcasting, 1 spinning, and am actually using the baitcaster about 99% of the time now so that's what I'll tell you about. It's not a fancy high $$ combo but I like it. I have a BPS Extreme reel (6.4:1..28 IPT) on a 6' 6" M BPS cranking stick. This rod was designed for cranks/hardbaits and it is the cat's meow for jerk baits IMHO. Fast enough so your not loading up the rod on jerks and or sweeps, but the tip is soft enough to keep the treble hooks in the fish's mouth. Plus it's a graphite rod so is sensitivity is not lost. Also I like the higher ratio reel so I can gather slack faster  during pauses, and this combo also doubles as my Rat-L-Trap, shallow crank bait set up, for those I also like the faster reel, so this combo works for me on many levels. For line.........again nothing fancy clear or green Trilene Xl, 10lb test. Good relialble line, cheap, and handles/casts probably the best of any line (at least lines I have used). I have only used this combo this fall, putting it together after disliking using spinning gear for jerkbaits, and it's really made for some enjoyable fishing. Also gave new life to the extreme reel for me, it is a good reel, but not a great caster of small jigs/weightless plastics, but in this application it excells and I love it.

[gopherbass]

Out of curiosity, is there any evidence to back up the notion of ripping treble hooks from the mouth of a fish?  Perhaps I am not visualizing the process correctly, but it seems to me that the risk of ripping free a hook would, in fact, be mitigated by two additional hooks.  Also, how does one, after setting the hook, differentiate between a strike that is simply missed and a hooked fish that has had the hooks ripped from its mouth?

[richweaver]

I like to use:

St. Croix Legend

6'6"

M

Pflueger Summit

7.1:1

Trilene XL

14LB.test

for my jerkbait setup

[Munkin]

6'3" Shimano Crucial

PT-650 Quantum

10lb Big Game= Clear

Allen

[Ky_Lake_Dude]

Shimano Curado 6:3:1 gear ratio with 6/6ft shimano rod and 12 lb test line.Aint tellin about my secret jerkbait though. :-X :-X

[FishTank]

My favorite is a Loomis GLX MBR783C with a Shimano Calais 201A.  I use Pline 15lb flouroclear for line.

[cart7t]

I just adjusted by rod and reel lineup for the coming year and now have my 6' Allstar Classic medium action rod paired up with a BPS ETX05 Extreem reel and 10lb line.  Invariably, when I'm fishing jerkbaits it always winds up being windy out and i find the softer action rod with a more finesse style rod makes it easier to cast into the wind.

[the ohh face]

Out of curiosity, is there any evidence to back up the notion of ripping treble hooks from the mouth of a fish?  Perhaps I am not visualizing the process correctly, but it seems to me that the risk of ripping free a hook would, in fact, be mitigated by two additional hooks.  Also, how does one, after setting the hook, differentiate between a strike that is simply missed and a hooked fish that has had the hooks ripped from its mouth?  

Posted by: ww2farmer

I have seen video of LMB spitting out a couple treble hooks and of them being ripped out of the mouth.   I beleive the reason for this is treble hooks are generally attached to the body of a lure and the force of your pull on the line is not directly transmitted to the points of the treble as it is with a single hook attached directly to your line.  Meaning that the points may not be lined up correctly to pierce the mouth and are simply pulled out.  At least that is what i think is happening.

[Brad_Coovert]

I throw all of my jerkbaits on a 6'6" Medium/Moderate Esox BQ rod with a Curado reel and 10 lb. line.  The rod makes casting jerkbaits very easy and the power/action is perfect for working teh baits and hooking/keeping fish.

A very similar rod would be a Loomis CBR783, which I used to fish the same baits on.

Brad

[Rob G.]

When throwing crankbaits I use cranking sticks, usually glass/graphite hybrids, except for two exceptions. First exception is pitching crankbaits tight to brush. The second exception is jerkbaits. I think a sensitive graphite rod with medium action and soft tip works great. Pair this with a low stretch line like fluorocarbon or a polymer and the jerkbait of your choice and you should be set.  Gear ratio is not too important, 5:1 ballpark would be fine, although a 6:1 will work also. One key to jerkbaits that I have found is that after you "jerk" the bait, quickly point your rod tip back at the bait. This makes the bait turn and seems to stimulate strikes. The warmer the water, the more frequent and sharper the jerks. The colder the water, the less frequent and less sharp the "jerks".

[5bass]

Treble hooks rarely ever penetrate all the way THROUGH the fishes mouth and out the other side like say a worm hook. Most trebles get stuck in the roof of the mouth or in the soft skin in the corner of the mouth. If you have a rod with too much backbone and the fish thrashes its head or makes a last ditch run at the boat,the trebles will rip right out.

It is of the utmost importance to keep tension on a treble hooked fish at all times and the softer rod helps this tremendously.

I use a 6'6" medium action rod and 8-10# mono.