Hey guys so I am looking to build a jerkbait rod soon. I will primarily be throwing Lucky Craft Pointer 100's on it which are 5/8oz, and Strike King KVD 300's which are 1/2oz. I am looking for a blank around 6'9. I am willing to cut a blank if I need to, but I would prefer not to. What would you recommend? thanks!

Hydra MB814-NG
1/4 – 1 oz Lure | 10 – 17# Line
General Purpose Use

It's the same power Hydra NG used by jerkbait expert and Elite Series Pro Kelley Jaye. Kelley uses the ALX Rods Deputy which is the 7'1" version. He's using this for larger jerkbaits. It saw heavy use and took him to #6 at Toho in the Open a couple weeks ago.

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I'm no expert on jerks, but there are a couple ways to go on this, as I understand it. There is the old "gotta be glass" and slow, slow to the point that builders were putting weights on the blank near the tip. One day last fall on Lake St Clair we were using slow crankbait rods on lures like you mention, the same lures a guide was using at the same time in the same water. And his clients were catching fish and we were not. It turned out that his rods were higher power, and much faster actions than the traditional crankbait rods we were using, and we think they imparted a different action on the jerks. The action the smallies wanted that day.

My only point is, be sure which type of action you want to impart on the lure, the slow acceleration provided by the old slow action rod, or the sharp, quick acceleration of a fast action higher power rod.

Thanks for the advice so far guys! I have never had a jerkbait specific rod before. I have thrown them before on a 6'6 medium fast. I guess I should probably stick to a fast or xf blank then, I am not sure I would like it so much on a glass rod or a slower rod in general. I guess my other question is do I use a normal xf blank or do I use one that is considered a popping blank? Is there any significant difference?

My favorite for jerks is the 6'8" MXF from the St Croix lineup. Pick your poison: SCIII, SCIV, or SCV.

jeremy

Mud Hole has new blanks out that are MB813XF 3/16-11/16 10-17#. Maybe is that you are looking for?

If you want a fast or extra fast, a popping blank is not what you want. Popping blanks are medium action, between a fast action and a traditional crankbait rod. My personal preference is with graphite. Even if you were to decide on a slower, traditional crankbait action, the graphite will be lighter and crisper feeling. From your past experience with a 6-6 medium fast, I would go no slower than that. there are a lot of good graphite blanks out there that are not that costly and perform very well (AMTAC Bushido, for example) that you can build what you think you want, then do it over with another if that doesn't please you. Both builds will be usable for some kinds of fishing in the future. You cannot have too many rods.