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Posts: 129
Location: Glenmoore PA | I know this has been discussed several times. Just wondering how you work jerkbaits like 10" weighted suicks, manta's, ERC DDD, etc and WTD lures with a longer rod say 8ft. I am thinking of picking a st croix premier 8ft heavy action rod rated for 2-6 ounces. Some have told me to go the the st croix premier 6'9ft extra hevay rod for this application. (I am short 5'8) and having a hard time with this decision. Any help will be appreciated. |
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Posts: 8772
| I actually prefer the shorter rod for those sorts of applications. (I'm 6'-0") While a longer rod takes a lot of the strain off your back and makes doing figure 8's easier, there's something about the 6'-9"H Premier that allows me to get action from those lures that I am unable to get with an 8' rod. Might be because I learned those lures with that rod, but to me 8' is just too long for some stuff. |
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Posts: 1316
Location: Madison, WI | 6"9" avid for me, longer rods put too much strain on my wrists and arms. I'm about your height and don't have a problem with figure 8'ing with the shorter rod. About 95% of the my fish using jerkbaits come during the retrieve and not during the 8, anyways. I will use longer rod for lipped baits though, since I use more of a pulling motion with my arms and waist than in my wrists. |
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Posts: 431
| I was working on the same decision a few weeks ago. I really wanted a St. croix Premier 7 ft 6" or 7 foot in the 2-6 ounce range. Unfortunately there isn't one made in a one piece model. I ended up buying a used 7 ft. Triumph. I like it so far. I was moving up from a 6'6" and the extra 6 inches do make a big difference in doing figure 8s. I just don't like the idea of pulling to the side on jerkbaits-that's why I stayed away from the 8 footers. |
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| I have used about 12 different rods in the past few years for jerkbaits and by far the best one that I have used is my 9 footer.
You control these bait with VERY LITTLE effort. Also I believe the longer rods are great for side to side baits and other jerkbaits because when you get a short strike, as you often do with jerkbaits, the longer rod will allow you to keep that fish pinned longer and absorb all that energy. The shorter rods will help pull the hooks free.
I would go with a longer rod, 8'6-9 foot.
MIKE HULBERT |
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Posts: 742
Location: Grand Rapids MN | I picked up an 8' last year and an 8'6" this year and love both of them. Very easy to work baits and no water splashing. If you're a guy that has to have the rod straight down to work jerks you might have an issue but if you get used to work your pulls close to the 3 & 5 o'clock position you won't have any problems and you will find better hook sets also. another note, some of that length goes into more handle so it's not as big of a change as you think. Difference between my rods is 3" from reel to tip.
good luck... |
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Posts: 375
| my old "short" croix 6 1/2 - 7 footers are now just memories. after chatting with mike hulbert this past winter...i went with 9' footers for everything! personally, i use twin 9' croix legend swimbait rods that keith at proedge built for me. one of them has a low profile shimano reel with 65lb ultracast on it and the other has a daiwa luna with 80lb ultracast on it. those two can handle 98% of everything i want to throw. the other 2% i throw by hand...:) i used to be a "many rods in the boat person" but went with better quality rods and reels vs. quantity and learned how to use them for various applications and i will never look back and i also reduced tripping hazards in the boat considerably...:) |
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| Put me in the long rod club. I throw 10" suicks w/ an 8' H diamondback. I don't throw many gliders but if I did I'd probably use the same rod. You don't need to have your rod pointing down. I work it between 3:30 and 4:30. You still get the same action on the bait, plus you don't need a stiff tip because the rod is not at enough of an angle to bend. Just try it you'll see what I mean. Another thing that bears mentioning is even w/ gliders you don't need the thing snapping maniacally side to side. I think people get carried away w/ the whole rip, snap & jerk. |
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| pure personal choice,just try long and short you will see.personally i have prefer short rod in the past and i still prefer them over long rod |
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Posts: 32880
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I'm with mota. 6'10" Fig Rig for me for the Gliders. I do use an 8'6" Okuma Extra heavy for my double 10 and big stuff though. |
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Posts: 129
Location: Glenmoore PA | thanks for all the feed back. Some good things to consider. |
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Posts: 1462
Location: Davenport, IA | My favorite is the Grandt 7' XH. It is probobly the lightest muskie rod I've seen and it has the action I like for jerkbaits...stiffer than a bucktail rod but not like the 6'9" XH St. Croix. |
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Posts: 38
| I would like to use a 8' or 8'6" rod for suicks but they all seem to track left or right and I have ahard time keeping them deep. I fish them with a 7' any thing longer they just go all wild. I'v tried all the tuning tricks but nothing gives me results like the 7'er. I'm guessing my timing is of with the longer rods or something like that. |
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Rod for jerkbaits and WTD