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gram, BFT Walker Medium 40gram and BFT Walker Light 30gram. All these rods performedwell, but I ended up with aslightly stiffer but still light rodthat was a bit better at handlingbigger fish in more difficultfishing situations. The lightvertical rods have no problemsfighting even big fish in openwater, but in weedy waterswith snags, it is my experiencethat a 40-gram vertical rod isideal. The best rods I have triedfor lighter jerkbaits have been a6ft, 20-40g Pikefighter fromSPRO. This rod is very sensitivebut still have the right stiffnessand backbone to handle big fish.As quite a lot of my jerkbaitfishing is carried out wading insmall lakes, I also use longerrods for jerkbaiting. In thissituation, it is impossible toachieve the downward jerkstrokesyou normally requirefrom a boat; most jerkmovements in this situation aredone with sidewards jerks ofthe rod. As slightly longer rodcasts much better than a stiffsix-footer, you can just as welluse longer rods for thispurpose. For this I have hadgreat success with SavageGear’s 6ft 9in. Butch Light witha casting weight of 15-50g.your line to break immediately.To avoid this I used the newShimano Calais 201 DC with itseminent digital brake systemthat makes it almost impossibleto create an overrun, no matterhow bad you are at casting witha multiplier.In the end I found no realadvantage in going so thin withthe main line, so I ended upwith a 0.20-0.22mm braid as agood compromise. It is thinenough to hold plenty of lineeven on a small low profile reel,but still heavy enough to avoidbreaking in midair if you have anoverrun. The slightly heavierline also gives an extra bufferagainst mechanical abrasion andrough boat fishing in general.My favourite is 0.21mm BerkleyAll you need for the lighter modifications of your jerkbaitWhiplash Clear.If you use line over 0.20mmdiameter and happen to begood at casting with multipliers,there is no need to buy reels asexpensive as the Calais 201 DC.In this case, you can just as welluse reels such as ABU RevoInshore, Daiwa Viento, orQuantum Energy PTi BaitcasterLH, all of which I have had goodresults with.As you can see, there are plenty of ways to get more fun out of youjerkbait and lure fishing, and to experience the pike fight in a much moreexciting way compared to traditional jerkbait tackle. There is no doubtthat after having fished jerkbaits on light equipment for a long time, Iwould find it very difficult to go back to the traditional heavy jerkbaitequipment, where you need a 30lb-plus pike just to get close to a decentbend in the rod.All you need for the lighter modifications of your jerkbaitwww.leslies-luton.co.ukLOW PROFILELow profile baitcasters are theperfect reel for ultra-lightjerkbait fishing. These reels lieperfectly in your hand, fit wellwith the lighter rods andprovide good overall balance.As you can almost have the reelinside your palm, it also gives amore direct feeling with themovement of the lure, and ofcourse, the ability to detect tinybites from wary fish.When I started fishing bigjerkbaits with vertical rods andlow-profile baitcasters, Iexperimented with lines thatwere very thin compared towhat most Scandinavians usefor jerkbait fishing with 12-18cm lures. The standard linehere is 0.33-0.35mm braid, butI used 0.15-0.17mm Fireline.When using big jerkbaits withline that thin, just a slightoverrun and tangle will causeLeft: Fine-tuning with copper or lead wire can balance the bait back to normaldensity Right: The bait can also be balanced back to original density by setting asplitshot under the hook – note the knot on the wire to ensure it does not slide offLeft: By mounting a back extension that protrudes horizontally behind the baits,you can sometimes improve the hook-up rate. Mount a piece of silicone tube onthe wire before it is crimped on to the back eye of the lure. In this eye, you canmount a small plastic coated steel thread (of the same type you use for closingplastic bags). Cut the plastic so it tapers to a point. Right: Insert the plastic coatedsteel thread into the tube to hold the hook in place during cast and retrieve – itfalls out when playing fishWWW.CARPTALK-SHOP.CO.UKPike&Predators 11