I have that same Cara that I bought for jerk baits but it seems to flex to much on the larger baits. It's great for a pointer 78 and smaller cranks.

I might try a spinning rod. I only have two and one is strictly for shad raps the other is for shaky heads.

I think a rod that is to stiff would kill the action on a jerk bait but one to flimsy would make it hard to fish as well.

Thanks for the responses.