Top Water/Jerkbait Rod

[Mons]

What kind of rod do you guys like for top water and jerkbaits? I have been looking at top water specific rods online and some have medium fast actions while others have extra fast actions. This has me confused as it seems like medium fast and extra fast are two very different actions. What do you guys like?

[TR21HP]

Mons, I like a fast tip. My question to you is what length are you looking at and what weight are you looking at. What kinds of weights are you throwing? I'll tell you what I throw and that is a 7'-2" Loomis with heavy action and a fast tip. I like the strength of the heavy but I like the quick hook set with the fast tip. Of course the right line makes a difference as well and I'll throw braid in slop and flouro with a Spook or Sammy.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I use two different rods. One is a 6'6" medium for small lighter lures and a 7' MH for larger lures. I prefer a fast action for both. I tried throwing hard jerkbaits on my cranking rod before (moderate action) and didnt care much for it.

[Wayne Ek]

Odd man out. I use a pistol grip, 6'0" medium action with a extra fast tip. Spooled with 14-pound mono. I use this stick for all my open water top-water work and tossing cranks or wake baits around docks. For jerkbaits, both hard and soft I have a 6'0" medium with a fast tip, spooled with 8-pound fluorocarbon.

[Mons]

I'm looking for a rod to throw poppers and walk the dog style baits. I am thinking I will probably want a rod under 7 foot so I'm not slapping the water with every downward twitch.

[Deitz Dittrich]

a lot will depend on what boat you have.. you can sometimes get away with a slightly longer rod if you have a bass boat vs an alum boat.. I like a 6'8" with a fast tip.. not extra fast.. I also like a M action.. its all personal pref though.

[Nick Kuhn]

If I can use an 8 foot muskie rod for jerkbaits/topwaters with an exaggerated motion, I think you should be able to manage a 7+ footer (hold the rod close to your armpits). Sometimes the extra 20 feet of cast distance comes in handy when working over a large flat. I'd go with a M or MH, too heavy of a rod can make getting the right action difficult.

[RK]

Hiya -

Odder than Wayne here...which is an accomplishment

For small jerkbaits like Pointer 78s and smaller X-raps, plus 1/4 oz poppers or prop baits like a Devil's Horse away from cover, I use a 7' ML x-fast spinning rod with 10# Suffix Fuse and either a mono (topwaters) or fluoro (jerkbaits) leader. Casting distance is better with spinning gear, and I like how much control you have at long range with no stretch braid. At first an ML might seem too light, but the superline can handle it and it won't overpower small baits.

For bigger baits or heavier cover, I use a 7'2" mod-fast medium power rod that's actually a glass/graphite composite crankbait rod. I like the composite for baits with small hooks - I lose fewer fish, and the slightly slower action helps with hook-ups too. I use 13# mono.

For walk the dog baits and poppers, etc., around cover, I use a 7' H mod-fast glass casting rod with 17# mono. Walk the dog baits work just fine with heavier line, and poppers do too, so I go as heavy as I can get away with. Usually making shorter casts close to cover, so I can get away with a heavier rod as distance doesn't matter as much.

The theme here is that I do like either lighter power or more moderate action rods. I have a pretty itchy trigger finger with topwaters, and the glass or composite rods keep me from pulling the bait away from fish...

Works for me anyhow...

Cheers,

RK