Crankbait and Jerkbait rods?

[TNtransplant08]

Hey guys, I'm gonna head to BPS this afternoon and pick out two new rods: one for crankbaiting (baitcaster) and the other for jerkbaits (spinning).

What do you look for when picking out these two types of rods? I'm not looking to spend a ton of money. From what I understand for crankbaits, you want a glass rod with a soft tip. But what action (I was thinking medium) is best and what length? I'd like to have good casting distance to stay in the strike zone longer. I am looking at the BPS Crankin' Stick.

Basically the same questions for the jerkbait rods as well, except I want a spinning rod.

Feel free to recommend rods you've enjoyed currently or in the past!

Thanks guys!
Jamie

[MNfisher]

What price range are you looking at? The bionic blades and extreme are good rods for the price, $70-$100 I believe. My jerk bait rod is a 6'6" M, but sometimes I wish it were MH.

[Travis C.]

Originally Posted by TNtransplant08

What do you look for when picking out these two types of rods? I'm not looking to spend a ton of money. From what I understand for crankbaits, you want a glass rod with a soft tip. But what action (I was thinking medium) is best and what length? I'd like to have good casting distance to stay in the strike zone longer. I am looking at the BPS Crankin' Stick.

Jamie

You don't want a glass rod with mono line. I believe the reason most use glass is due to either fluoro or braid not having give. I don't think you would have a good hook up ratio with glass rod /mono line. That is "if" you use mono on it. There is more flex in the rod too where you could cast a little further. For length the theory is longer rod longer cast. All the Elites pretty much use as long as they can get away with being 7' 11".

Since you mentioned the cranking stick, they show on sale for about $20 off on the website. Another rod brand in general to check out is TFO (Temple Fork Outfitters). They have both spinning and casting for $99 which comes with a lifetime warranty. If the rod breaks for any reason they will replace or repair for $35 plus ship. Gary Loomis also helped in the designing of these rods.

[bfish]

First of all; Power and Action are not interchangable. Power is how much weight it takes to load the rod. UL, Light, Medium, MH, Heavy, XHeavy etc. There is no consistancy at all amongst the different rod companies. You are better off looking at the lure weight range as a primary indicator, then power as secondary. Action is where the rod bends when loaded. Slow, Moderate, Fast etc are generally used.



Now that we have that out of the way. For crankbaits, I like a moderate action rod. Glass if fine for many, but I find them to be physically heavy. I prefer a graphite or graphite/glass hybrid. I like crank to be in the upper 1/3 of the weight range. I like longer rods because I fish cranks standing up (or leaning) with the rod tip near the water.

For jerkbaits, I divide them into three groups.

For soft jerks (ie flukes), I like a moderately fast action rod. I like the lure weight (along with hook) to be right near the top of the recommend lure weight range. For open water I like a long rod. For skipping under docks or low hanging trees branches, a shorter rod is much easier for me.

For stickbaits, I like a fast action rod. The tip must be soft and have a rapid transition. The soft tip helps with casting distance. I exclusively use braid for sticks. I could switch to moderately fast action for longer casting distance, but I think hooksets (especially long distance) suffers. The lure weight should be in the upper 1/3 of the weight range. I prefer a long rod.

For suspending jerks, I like an extra-fast action. Think pool cue. IMO it is necessary to get the right jerking action without tiring oneself out. I use a wrist snap/sweeping hookset. For this reason I like the lure weight to be at the bottom end (or slightly below) the recommended range. The stiff action and heavy power do make my casting distance suffer, however I think my hooksets are more solid and I am not wearing myself out from jerking. I prefer a medium length rod. Longer rod would give me more casting distance, but takes more effort to jerk. A short rod doesn't give me good hook sets that I like.

My 2 cents. Your mileage may vary.

[TNtransplant08]

Thanks for the tips guys. I went to BPS Thursday afternoon after work and I literally looked at and felt every single brand rod they had in the store. I did look at bionic blades, extreme, and TFO that you guys mentioned, but I decided to go with the 7'6" Medium BPS Crankin' Stick in part because it was on sale for $20 off. I was surprised that the glass rods were hard to find. The only glass rod that I could find that I liked and was within my budget was the W&G Skeet Reese rods. But I'm always wary of buying products with a pro's name slapped on it. My past experience with that has not been good. I decided to hold off on the jerkbait rod and save it for later. I REALLY liked the St. Croix Premier rods, so I will probably end up getting that.

[Spencer L]

The skeet reese rods are very good.