Jigging for Kingfish

[James80]

Cravertosu

Did you leave a mono leader and how did you connect the wire. Mono to swivel to wire?

[Robja]

James,

Although I have never jigged for kings we mostly troll I have a recommendation. Jig for good eating bottom fish and light line for kings with a live bait you jig up or catch. Alot of times when we bottom fish we will have a couple of rods set up in rocket launcher with live pogies and just have them light lined out away from the boat. When you pay 11 to 15 for a jig it gets rather expensive when a king cuts thru your leader wire and you lose the jig. Kings love to cut a bait in half then turn back and nail the rest of the bait.

[BretABaker]

when kings are around - we seem to not be able to avoid them. if i was targeting them, id definitely use wire to avoid the cutoffs. They haven't seemed to be picky from what i've seen.

i was dropping metallic sardines, hammered sardines and hammered diamond jigs and all getting slaughtered. i wouldnt drop anything expensive especially if you arent using wire. i wasn't using wire (wanted to jig grouper) and lost 5 jigs in about 20 minutes

also last year we were throwing crippled herrings and the like and they were hardly in the water 15 seconds before getting hit. kingfish chaos

[cravertosu]

cravertosu,
Is that a Fin-nor offshore rod and reel you have in the pic ? How do you like it ? Thanks

I love it!! Holds a ton of line and has a lot of drag! I think it's a bit heavier than some of the more expensive jigging rods but just means you have to jig more to get used to it!
I'm looking to buy a couple more this summer for when other come out on the boat.

Cravertosu

Did you leave a mono leader and how did you connect the wire. Mono to swivel to wire?

I crimped the wire to the swivel on the mono and then crimped it to the solid ring on the jig. Did the same for the hook. Think I'm going to start carrying a few jigs with wire so they're all ready to go for next time.

Tim

[Van Wildonher]

My buddy has a Fin-Nor Offshore spinner, IMO it's not the best for jigging. Every time you jig the rod, the anti-reverse clacks. While it doesn't matter much while your reeling while jigging (which you do mostly), because you're holding the handle it does tend to sound like the reel is about to break while you're not.

[cravertosu]

My buddy has a Fin-Nor Offshore spinner, IMO it's not the best for jigging. Every time you jig the rod, the anti-reverse clacks. While it doesn't matter much while your reeling while jigging (which you do mostly), because you're holding the handle it does tend to sound like the reel is about to break while you're not.

That is true. It does get a bit annoying but I forgot about that until you mentioned it so it can't be too annoying! I agree it isn't the best for jigging but it holds a lot of line, has great drag and it's a lot cheaper than the other reels!

Tim

[argus]

I now have two OFS spinning reels in pieces in the garage with shattered anti-reverse pawls (dogs). The style of jigging has a lot to do with it... I speed jig with short jerk/fast retrieve. The CAST ALUMINIUM pawl just can't take being rammed home on the upstroke and breaks apart. The resulting loud clacking sound is pretty alarming.

I contacted Fin-Nor (Quantum) to source new pawls. They are out of stock with no ETA available. What does that tell you?
Sounds to me like they can't keep up with demand. The pawls are the same part number across all sizes of OFS spinning reel BTW.

I also tried to provide some feedback on the problem and offered to speak to their R&D people to relay my experiences, with a view to improving their product or at least offering an upgraded pawl. Apparently they're just not interested.

The reels are OK for certain applications, but if speed jigging with heavy jigs is your thing, look elsewhere.

[gottaflylee]

Interesting thread, while jigging works well for Kings, one thing I would not over look with them is poppers, Kings love them and if you get them in the chum, poppers are the way to go...

[cravertosu]

I now have two OFS spinning reels in pieces in the garage with shattered anti-reverse pawls (dogs). The style of jigging has a lot to do with it... I speed jig with short jerk/fast retrieve. The CAST ALUMINIUM pawl just can't take being rammed home on the upstroke and breaks apart. The resulting loud clacking sound is pretty alarming.

I contacted Fin-Nor (Quantum) to source new pawls. They are out of stock with no ETA available. What does that tell you?
Sounds to me like they can't keep up with demand. The pawls are the same part number across all sizes of OFS spinning reel BTW.

I also tried to provide some feedback on the problem and offered to speak to their R&D people to relay my experiences, with a view to improving their product or at least offering an upgraded pawl. Apparently they're just not interested.

The reels are OK for certain applications, but if speed jigging with heavy jigs is your thing, look elsewhere.

Interesting. May just have to save them for deep dropping then. I'd really rather not break them.

Thanks for the info Argus

Tim