Suspending Jerkbait Comparison

This past week I compared five different suspending jerkbaits. These five were the Smithwick Rogue Limited Edition, Strike King S, Lucky Craft Stacey King JGK100, Lucky Craft Pointer Sp, and the Rapala X-Rap. They were all tested with the same setup, which was a Pflueger President spinning reel, a 6'6" Bass Pro rod, 10 lb Berkley Big Game line and 65 F water. Please keep in mind this is not a scientific, by the book, completely accurate experiment, but it is my own experience with these lures.
Also, I want to make it clear that I am not sponsored by nor endorse any of the products mentioned in this article.

Casting Distance:

The Lucky Craft Pointer Sp, Strike King S, and Smithwick Rogue Limited all casted about the same distance. The difference was negligible.
The Lucky Craft SK JGK100 casted the farthest. In fact, I could launch it a good 50 -75% farther than the first three.
The Rapala X-Rap casted the shortest.
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Suspendability:

None of these lures were completely suspended, staying in one spot as long as I wanted it to. The closest to doing this was the Rapala X-Rap. It did eventually rise, but very slowly.
The worst suspender was the Lucky Craft SK JGK100. It rose fairly quickly to the surface.
The Smithwick Rogue Limited and Lucky Craft Pointer Sp were the second best suspenders behind the X-Rap. They did rise, but very slowly.
Surprisingly, the Strike King S suspended for a couple seconds, then sunk very slowly.

Action:

The Rapala X-Rap had a very predictable action. Each time I twitched it produced almost identical movement.
The Lucky Craft Pointer Sp and the Smithwick Rogue Limited also had a very predictable action, but not quite as predictable as the X-Rap.
The Strike King S had a more erratic action. The most intriguing movement of this lure is when it was paused it turned to the side, making the next twitch almost like a "walking the dog" action.
The most unpredictable and erratic action was the Lucky Craft SK JGK100. I couldn't tell what it would do next. One twitch it would go right and one it would rise and go left. A very unpredictable lure.

Hooks:

Smithwick Rogue Limited and Strike King S both had 3 treble hooks.
Lucky Craft Pointer Sp, Lucky Craft SK JGK100, and Rapala X-Rap all had 2 hooks.

Cost:

Most expensive - Lucky Craft
Least expensive - Strike King
In-between - Smithwick and Rapala

My Opinion:

I liked different aspects of each of the lures I tested, but overall, I believe the Smithwick Rogue Limited was the best for me. The reason is although I couldn't cast it as far, it had a very predictable action when retrieved on any type of cadence, and it suspended fairly well. I think one suspend dot added to the underside would make it suspend almost perfectly.
My least favorite was the Lucky Craft SK JGK100, because I couldn't tell what it was going to do next. I guess sometimes bass like this unpredictability, but I like to know how my lure is going to react.
The others were all usable, but I tend to pick the one I like and stick to it.
Also, if one wanted to factor in price, you can buy 3 Smithwicks for the price of one Lucky Craft.
Once again, these are my opinions based on my testing. You do not have to agree with my results. I strongly encourage you to test the products for yourselves and use the ones that you prefer. After all, if we are to become better anglers, we need to know what to expect when we tie on a lure.

Coming Soon - Comparison of Popular Jerkbaits

I am currently testing products in order to write an article comparing several types of suspending jerkbaits, including Smithwick Rogue, Lucky Craft Pointer, Lucky Craft Stacey King, Strike King, and Rapala X-rap. I am trying to be ready to post the results and my opinions on Saturday night, 4/25/09. Please check back.