Jerkbaits On A 6'8" Mxf 2025

rockchalk06 reply :

I've got an extra rod lying around and was wondering what everyone's opinion on using it for a jerkbait rod, unil I can afford my Dobyns. Is a Clarus 6'8" MXF. Tip has a good amount of bounce. I'll be using 30# braid. I've never fished a jerkbait on an XF action before n

iabass8 reply :

My LTB 68mxf is my jerkbait rod. Perfect tip for working jerkbaits. I use 10# fluoro though. It has a mighty fast tip that I would be hesitant to use braid in fear of overworking and ripping hooks. After using the XF tip /w fluoro for jerkbaits and topwaters, I don't want to go back to anything slower. On the other spectrum of things, I have used braid /w a crankbait rod for jerkbaits and it also worked but i hate braid.

rockchalk06 reply :

Thanks. I use braid for almost everything now so I've gotten used to tasking it slow with braid. I fish some heavy covered lakes and am able to get my jerkbaits back when snagged.

I just didn't know what working it with a fast action would be like.

roadwarrior reply :

I was at a Bass University event a few years ago when Mike McClelland first introduced the McStick.

After his presentation the rest of the guys came up to the front for a Q & A session. Although I don't

think these pros use monofilament much anymore, they were unanimous in recommending mono for

fishing jerkbaits. I'm using Sunline SuperNatural. It's currently on sale (2 for 1) or $5 per 330 yard spool.

Your rod should be fine. My dedicated jerkbait rod is an Avid AVC66MF.

RandySBreth reply :

Two of my favorites for suspending jerks are MXF - and I use superline with a leader. Remember that you control the rod, reel, line, and lure, so you can make it do what you want.

As far as "ripping hooks out" people need to learn how to set the drag on their reels, that's what it's there for after all.

rockchalk06 reply :

On 10/6/2013 at 8:07 PM, roadwarrior said:

I was at a Bass University event a few years ago when Mike McClelland first introduced the McStick.

After his presentation the rest of the guys came up to the front for a Q & A session. Although I don't

think these pros use monofilament much anymore, they were unanimous in recommending mono for

fishing jerkbaits. I'm using Sunline SuperNatural. It's currently on sale (2 for 1) or $5 per 330 yard spool.

Your rod should be fine. My dedicated jerkbait rod is an Avid AVC66MF.

I haven't used mono for a long time. How's the stretch compared to Trilene? What was the reason for using mono?

Hogsticker reply :

IMO a typical xtra fast is to tight to work a jerk. With a typical fast or even some moderate fast you can work the bait at any level. Pull it fast and hard the lure responds by doing the same. Pull it light and soft same result. With an extra fast either way you pull gives you pretty close to the same reults. If you have an opportunity to fish clear shallow water, try it and watch the bait. If you're gonna use it I would suggest mono or fluoro. I prefer braid on a moderate fast because I can make the lure do whatever I want to gauge the fishes mood. Then let do the rod go to work once I hook into that 4 pound smallie. The tips on Shimanos are a little softer, so you may be okay.

roadwarrior reply :

SuperNatural is much softer than Trilene with far less memory.

The reason the pro use mono for this particular technique is to

have a little stretch. The bite is on the pause, but often not detected

until you move the lure again. I suppose the stretch comes into play

as a shock absorber.

rockchalk06 reply :

Thanks. I'll jump on a couple of spools of it. I've never really gotten into jerkbaits hardcore, but what little I have, its been a blast.

Hooligan reply :

On 10/7/2013 at 6:24 PM, Hogsticker said:
IMO a typical xtra fast is to tight to work a jerk. With a typical fast or even some moderate fast you can work the bait at any level. Pull it fast and hard the lure responds by doing the same. Pull it light and soft same result. With an extra fast either way you pull gives you pretty close to the same reults. If you have an opportunity to fish clear shallow water, try it and watch the bait. If you're gonna use it I would suggest mono or fluoro. I prefer braid on a moderate fast because I can make the lure do whatever I want to gauge the fishes mood. Then let do the rod go to work once I hook into that 4 pound smallie. The tips on Shimanos are a little softer, so you may be okay.

You're generally backwards in your thought process for the majority of jerkbait anglers. An XFAST rod recovers quickly allowing the bait to remain stationary for greater periods, compared to a moderate that loads the rod much more and sweeps the bait further. You simply do not have as much control. An XF rod in almost every case is the perfect rod to fish jerkbaits with. Light taps to strong pulls can be executed with much greater consistency.

Line- mono. Braid gets far too much a belly in it, and hinders the action of the baits. I know several pros, now, that use a less dense fluorocarbon for their jerkbaits, or a copolymer line. I'm using all three right now to see which I like better.

smalljaw67 reply :

Being a certified jerkbait nut for a decade or more I'll tell you what I use, which was a medium power fast action, I could not stand the moderate action rod as I felt I had no control, there was a noticeable recovery time for the rod tip, it was like fishing a bait that I had little or no control. I now use a medium heavy with a moderate fast action but it is a true moderate fast in that the rod doesn't have a parabolic bend and the tip is fast, the only difference is the rod has some extra give, very similar to a medium power with a fast action. As for the 6'8" medium extra fast, I'd say it would be fine, you may even find you don't need a different jerkbait rod. You are going to have great control but the medium power is forgiving enough that you will still have a good amount of forgiveness, the only way I'd say a medium extra fast would be a St. Croix casting rod as their medium is like most others medium heavy which I think would be too stout but the Shimano should be no problem.

J Francho reply :

Unless I was throwing very light jerkbaits on spinning gear, I'd prefer to use a MXF rod with copoly - CXX in my case - for the reasons Hoolkigan outlined.

21farms reply :

i have a gazillion rods from 6'6" to 7'11" and from moderate action to extra-fast and i've experimented trying different techniques/baits with most of the rods to figure out what i like. 6'8" medium/extra-fast is my rod of choice for jerkbaits. i hate having a rod "rebound" when i'm working a jerk and i also find that working the bait with an extra-fast rod is easier on my wrists as i don't need to work the rod as hard as i would with a slower rod.

MarkH024 reply :

I use a 6'8" MXF rod as well. Works like a charm for both hard and soft jerkbaits. The rod serves as a great popper or smaller spook rod for me too.

Hogsticker reply :

On 10/8/2013 at 8:12 PM, Hooligan said:

You're generally backwards in your thought process for the majority of jerkbait anglers. An XFAST rod recovers quickly allowing the bait to remain stationary for greater periods, compared to a moderate that loads the rod much more and sweeps the bait further. You simply do not have as much control. An XF rod in almost every case is the perfect rod to fish jerkbaits with. Light taps to strong pulls can be executed with much greater consistency.

Line- mono. Braid gets far too much a belly in it, and hinders the action of the baits. I know several pros, now, that use a less dense fluorocarbon for their jerkbaits, or a copolymer line. I'm using all three right now to see which I like better.

I'm generally backwards on everything, but an xfast rod with braid for jerks is a no go for me. I've lost far to many fish like that. I do use mono on my fast set up

quanjig reply :

Never tried braid with a jb set up. I guess it could work depending on how active the fish are, like summer. If you are planning on a set up for cold water rip bait, I would strongly suggest mono or copolymer. Both are better applied when it comes to keeping your bait. Neutrally bouyant. Floro will more than likely make the bait sink while most braids will not allow the bait to suspend because of its floating qualities

10-12 lb mono for me (trilene XL has been good for me but might give the Sunline a shot), Powell Max rip bait rod, Calcutta 250. This setup has been very good to me!!

tomustang reply :

I use the LTB jerkbait rod, it's a medium fast and works jerks good

rockchalk06 reply :

On 10/10/2013 at 4:40 AM, quanjig said:

Never tried braid with a jb set up. I guess it could work depending on how active the fish are, like summer. If you are planning on a set up for cold water rip bait, I would strongly suggest mono or copolymer. Both are better applied when it comes to keeping your bait. Neutrally bouyant. Floro will more than likely make the bait sink while most braids will not allow the bait to suspend because of its floating qualities

10-12 lb mono for me (trilene XL has been good for me but might give the Sunline a shot), Powell Max rip bait rod, Calcutta 250. This setup has been very good to me!!

I went ahead and bought 660 yards of the sunline mono. I was hoping to get away with braid for the line management and lure retrieval.

rockchalk06 reply :

On 10/10/2013 at 5:42 AM, tomustang said:
I use the LTB jerkbait rod, it's a medium fast and works jerks good

Whats the specs?

iabass8 reply :

On 10/10/2013 at 10:10 AM, rockchalk06 said:
Whats the specs?

6'6mf

RandySBreth reply :

On 10/10/2013 at 4:40 AM, quanjig said:

Floro will more than likely make the bait sink while most braids will not allow the bait to suspend because of its floating qualities

BUT - if you use superline (not all are braided, like NanoFil) that "Floats" with a "Sinking" fluoro leader and they would cancel each other out, right? (I'm not picking on you, but this idea drives me crazy!)

I'm sorry but no line will make a 1/2-ounce lure not suspend. Doesn't happen. I sometime let a jerk sit there for a minute or more and if the lure is tuned to suspend right, it doesn't float up or sink in that time. This one of the biggest myths about superlines. Take a tiny split shot and pinch it on even heavy 80-pound test braid and toss it in the drink. Does it float? Ah, no.

tomustang reply :

On 10/10/2013 at 10:10 AM, rockchalk06 said:
Whats the specs?

On 10/10/2013 at 10:31 AM, iabass8 said:
6'6mf

Current model is 6'8 medium fast 1/4-5/8. It's a sturdy stick that can do a bit over the rating if need be

quanjig reply :

Thanks Randy, like I said "most", not all and "more than likely", not all the time. Jerkbaits behave differently depending on water temp as well. If I'm looking for consistency, I'll choose mono every time!

mnbassman23 reply :

St Croix Avid 6'8" mxf for my jerkbaits. Should be golden with that setup bud!

Hooligan reply :

On 10/11/2013 at 7:05 AM, RandySBreth said:

BUT - if you use superline (not all are braided, like NanoFil) that "Floats" with a "Sinking" fluoro leader and they would cancel each other out, right? (I'm not picking on you, but this idea drives me crazy!)

I'm sorry but no line will make a 1/2-ounce lure not suspend. Doesn't happen. I sometime let a jerk sit there for a minute or more and if the lure is tuned to suspend right, it doesn't float up or sink in that time. This one of the biggest myths about superlines. Take a tiny split shot and pinch it on even heavy 80-pound test braid and toss it in the drink. Does it float? Ah, no.

I disagree. Try fishing a prop bait on 12 pound braid and let it sit a little bit. It will drag the bait down. The same will happen with a rapala, the same happens with jerkbaits. This is in regard to a fluorocarbon with relatively high cross section, high density resin. You cannot convince me otherwise as I've seen it not only on the water but in controlled conditions. End of story on that one.

Lower density fluoros may not have as dramatic an effect, however the effect is still there.

As far as a super line floating the bait, that's not the problem. The problem is tht the line bellies and you do not get the full performance of the bait in terms of depth or action.

rockchalk06 reply :

On 10/11/2013 at 10:40 AM, mnbassman23 said:
St Croix Avid 6'8" mxf for my jerkbaits. Should be golden with that setup bud!

Thanks man. I went to BP to check out a few different rods. Brought the Core with me to try. I found a Carbonlite 6'6" MF that was a display model. They marked it down to 65 dollars. Makes the entire combo 9.9 ounces!

I figured I could try it for the time being. The Avid is next in line though. They didn't have any instock or I would have probably bought it. This Carbonlite balances really well though. Kinda shocked me.

rockchalk06 reply :

On 10/8/2013 at 8:12 PM, Hooligan said:
I'm using all three right now to see which I like better.

When you get done testing this, I'd be interested in hearing your opinion.

Thanks

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Jerkbaits On A 6'8" Mxf 2025

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