Crankin' rod for tops and jerks?

[jwo1124]

Ok, I just picked up the baitcaster yesterday. practiced casting for about an hour and a half, must have made over 100 casts, and not one backlask. I am ready to up my rod reel arsenal with some quality baitcating combos. I know that for fishing crankbaits a rod with a moderate action and/or a soft tip is best for maintaining tension on the fish, but not too much to rip out the trebles. My question is, since we apply this theory to crankbaits, should I take the same approach to topwaters, and jerkbaits and use a cranking stick with a more forgiving action, or should I opt for a regular fast action graphite?

[roadwarrior]

If you want to be VERY technique specific, there are different degrees of "softness". Generally, I would recommend Moderate Action for most treble hook lures; for heavy, deep divers maybe slow action. For some applications, I like Fast Action with a soft tip (topwater & jerkbaits).

Examples of rods I fish:

General: St. Croix Avid AC70MM

Deep: Lamiglas SR705R

Topwater & jerkbaits: St. Croix AC66MF (soft tip)

[Chris at Tech]

I think there's a fine line here.  Although you want a soft tip or moderate action for treble hook lures, you also need enough tip to be able to work the lure.

[flechero]

you also need enough tip to be able to work the lure.

Agreed.  

It's preference but I hate a mod rod for any topwater applications.  I use a fast or ex-fast and loosen the drag a little more if there are trebles.

[Lucky Craft Man]

I agree with the other guys.  There are different levels of softness.  For example, for crankbaits, I use a crankbait rod that has a moderate action.  I use a jerkbait & topwater rod that has a moderate-fast action.  For all other applications, I use a rod with a fast or extra-fast action.  It is harder to walk the dog with a slow or moderate action rod, but I don't think I get as good of motion with a fast action rod.  I found the mod-fast action is perfect for working topwater and jerkbaits, but is soft enough to use with treble hook type lures.  That is just MHO.