Help choosing a rod to go with Stella 20K please.

[Van Wildonher]

By what I can see I have 4 choices. I thought of going with the OTI rod, but I don't want to not like it and want something better so I may as well pony up the dough once.

I plan on using PE 8 and 150-400 gram jigs.

The choices I seem to have are:

Shimano Blue Rose S60MD @ $620.00 shipped.
Smith Smith AMJ52EX @ 455.95 + shipping.
Zenaq FS58-18 Bull @ $647.95 + shipping.
JM Power Spell 500 @ $458.00 + shipping.

Stocks are very limited on these Japanese rods. I was originally wanting the Hots Wei World 52XH... out of these though I think I may like the Zenaq the best because of it's longer length as I should be able to do slow jigging and fast jigging?

Edit: The only online stores that any Japanese jigging rods are Angler's Pro Shop, jignpop.com, and ebay by what I can tell?

[paul708]

there are alot of good rod choices out there.
you may be just as unhappy with a high dollar rod as you would be with the OTi or another slightly "cheaper" brand.

i have seen reports of the guys not liking one rod or another for different reasons.

some guys take blank/rod weight into acccount.
some are heavier than others.
there is a few there with very different actions.

[markc]

for that price go custom and get exactly what you want

[Sea Draggin]

for that price go custom and get exactly what you want

I would do custom, or just get a JM 350, but only from jignpop.com, as Kil will take car of you if anything happens with quality. The 350 is a better all around weight. I have a 500 that I almost never use.

Bad thing about custom is the wait. I have been waiting 5 weeks for one now.

[shoefish]

When I look at that list, the rod that jumps out at me is the 52ex...it would be killer paired with a 20k.

[NJNickA]

I agree, the 52EX is a BAD AZZ rod if you can get one!.. I didn't really care for the action in the bluerose. The JM's are nice also, but I would recommend having someone like Paul build it!

[Tuna Meltdown]

Another vote here for the AMJ-52EX. I got one and absolutely love it. Good luck with finding a Hot's Wei World anywhere right now. I have been looking for a month and the only one I saw was sold within minutes of it being posted for sale! You will not be dissapointed with any of those choices but as an owner of a 52EX they are awsome.

[Sea Draggin]

I see the smith is rated at 400g. What is the smallest jig that will load that one. I really need to get my hands on one, because everyone seems to really like them.

[gman]

Smith makes some of the best rods out there ... Out of your choices the Smith 52EX hands down without a doubt would be my choice if you can get one as i believe they are sold out

Another good smith choice is the WG56H, its a dream rod but it is sold out at the moment.

The particular Blue Rose you chose isnt a good one its too long and heavy.

The zenaq is a great rod but nor as good as the Smith and its less money

Jm is a nice rod as well

In the end don't settle, wait for the rod you want or let me know and I can help source it for you

Glenn

[Van Wildonher]

gman, I sent you a pm.