Smallmouth Jerkbait rod Hard and Soft baits

[RumRiverRat]

Looking at purchasing a dedicated rod for fishing Husky Jerks, XRaps,McSticks and Soft Plastic Jerkbaits/Flukes.

Can the same rod do both?

[Superduty]

I like to use primarily spinning rods for both hard and soft jerkbaits. 6'3" MF for hard jerkbaits and 6'6"MH for soft jerkbaits works for me. I use St. Croix rods. I know a lot of guys use baitcasting gear for hard jerkbaits. I think a spinning rod gets me longer distance on casts. Especially with the nonweight transfer rapalas etc. Long casts can be the difference between hooking up and seeing a lot of "lookers".

[Cecil]

I use a 6-8 Shimano Cumara. If you are looking for one to do both, I would get the Medium Heavy. I have the medium as well and love it for hard baits, but its too light for soft baits...

[RK]

Hiya -

For most hard jerkbaits like Pointers, Wild Shiners and X-raps, I use spinning gear - a 7' ML X-fast, with braid and a fluoro leader. Like SuperDuty said, with spinning gear you can get longer casts.

For soft baits, I will use spinning gear on smaller baits like 4" flukes, or jerkbaits rigged on a jighead, but usually prefer casting gear with 14# or 17# mono for bigger baits that are Texas rigged. Larger diameter mono helps keep the bait level when it sinks, which I think works better for some reason. I use a 7'3" MH X-fast rod, which is a little longer than most would like I think, but it's a rod I use for lots of other things and happens to have the line I want...so that's what I use.

At least personally, I'd have a tough time using one rod for both. With hard jerkbaits I do like a softer tip which helps keep small jerkbait hooks from pulling out. But for soft jerkbaits you're dealing with bigger, larger diameter hooks that need a lot more of a hookset. I think you might be able to find a workable middle ground with a medium or med-heavy power spinning rod and braid, but I don't know if that'd be optimal.

My $.02.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[fishuhalik]

i use a mh spinning rod for flukes & unweighted senkos & usually use a mh baitcaster for xraps & other jerkbaits. i think the spinning rod would work fine for both though. the only thing i like better about the baitcaster is being able to reef a little harder on em.

[Larson15]

You will probably get a wide array of answers for this one as many guys use spinning and a good bit use baitcasters. Either one can work but you need to decide which one you would rather use. One of the biggest things that has swayed me to use baitcasters for this is the "finesse" style baitcasters like the Shimano Curado 50. They handle the lighter lines and lighter baits much better than they full size curado or full size baitcasters. If it wasn't for this type of reel I would be using spinning. I use a G Loomis Mossyback 852 in both casting and spinning for this always on braid.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

For smaller hard bodied jerkbaits I use a 6'6" medium baitcaster. For larger lures I go with a 7'MH baitcaster. Soft jerkbaits Ill use either a 7'MH baitcaster or a 6'6" spinning rod if I want to skip them under cover.