Adding a few rods to the boat this year......possibly.

[Mike S.]

I have a few baitcasters laying in the top of my tool box right now. I guess I will put them to use this year. I will definitely be putting two rods to us this year for sure. I am going to use one for strictly top water, and the other for jerk baits. What I want to know is what do you guys use for rods for top water and jerkbaits. Length, action, and so forth.

[bigmojet]

For topwater i use a 7' med action fast tip and for jerkbaits i use a 7'6" med heavy action with a moderate tip.
I use braid and floro leader on topwater and 12# floro on jerkbait rod.

I'm somewhat tall so I dont like any rods under 7' for any of the fishing I do.

[bigmojet]

Scratch floro leader on topwater. Should have typed mono.

[TCook]

For a guy with normal height I would go with a 6ft medium action slow tip and a short handle for topwater so you can twitch straight down. For a jerkbait a 6 1/2ft medium action with a slow tip. Straight 14lb mono for TW and flouro for JB.

[bigmojet]

I like the longer rods because im taller than average and like picking up more line on hookset  but also because my aluminum boat casting area is higher off the water than a lot of you guys running lower deck bass boats.

[fishstick]

Poppers- 6'8" medium Dobyns Champion 684cb with 20lb P-Line Spectrex braid (can also use this rod for jerkbaits but with flouro). I feel like I can be much more controlled and precise with my pops when using a shorter rod.

Walking style baits- 7'6" medium Dobyns Champion 764CB RM with 30lb braid. I really like the long rod for bombing a bait to schooling fish or covering a lot of water.

Jerkbaits- 7' medium Dobyns 704cb with 10 or 12lb flouro

[Mike S.]

Nice. Thanks guys.

[MaizeNBlue]

Mike , check out the Okuma Helios rods. I got the one I ordered in the mail yesterday...its awesome!

[Waterfoul]

You know me... Shimano fan.  Check out the Clarus models.  Or give me a call.

[Mike S.]

I bought another St Croix Rage. I love those rods. And I also bought an Abu Veritas. I have to give that rod a shot.

[FishermanJohn]

I use a 6'6" St. Croix Legend medium action fast action with 17# Sufix mono for my topwater - I go a little heavier than usual because I use the same rig for all topwater - frogs, spooks, and poppers and can throw it into heavier cover.

For jerkbaits I use a 704 Powell - has a more moderate tip but still relatively fast with 10# or 12# P-line fluoro.

[Mojo]

Well, you have a few rods already, so choosing the right one comes down to 2 choices:

Spinning gear
Bait caster

Someone guy name Kevin wrote he prefers spinning gear for jerk baits to ensure control and slower retrieve. 4 to 8 seconds between twitches, so it makes sense. You may not need a bait caster for a jerk bait. 

That being said, I like a MH 6'6- 6'8 with 10 -12 lb mono......the line contraction seems to let the bait continue to glide between twitches, and it works.  I like this set up for both top water and jerk baits. Sometimes if you add a split ring to the jerk bait it catches more fish, but I haven't any luck doing it with top water.

The MH is for action.... The negative is I don't really like a MH with treble hooks so again,
the spinning reel brings the fish in slower and I have to lay the tip forward more as the fish comes in.

If you can find a MH rod with a reel whippy or x-fast tip, give it a try with mono bro. Hope this helps Mike.

Mojo

[t-bone]

Couple things come to mind regarding this:

- Jerkbaits rod - I think finding a good jerkbait rod is one of the techniques where this really, really matters and is difficult to find one that I was comfortable. The right rod makes a big difference on the action and the feel. I think going with a companies technique specific rod is a good choice versus trying to find one yourself. I went through a number of rods before I found one that works well. Shorter rods (6ft to 6.6) seem better for this. I'm not really tall and longer rods seem difficult to manage for this technique. A softer tip is really useful. I have one that I really like now but unfortunately I can't remember the brand and model.

- Top water rod - actually I'd rather talk about the real. I prefer a spinning reel for this. For walking the dog baits, I like picking up the slack line with the spinning reel versus baitcaster. Just seems easier to me. For popping small baits, I like a spinning reel too - easier to cast those lightweight lures on lightweight braid.

[Waterfoul]

I like a spinning rod for jerkbaits... they cast the somewhat lighter baits a bit further with no issues with "professional over run" if it's a bit windy.  Believe it or not I use an old Gander Mountain 6'6" medium/medium Pro Series rod for this.  Haven't found a rod I like better so I stick with this rod.  I have a BPS Pro Qualifier reel on it so I can take up the slack quick when that line takes off after letting the bait sit for what seems like an eternity some times.

[djkimmel]

I use both casting and spinning reels for jerkbaits. I only use casting reels for 98% of my topwater fishing. I have found that techniques like slackwater jerking and walking the dog can create more problems with loose and twisted line on spinning reels. Despite all these years of fishing, I still haven't made up my mind.