Jigging with MAX DRAG

[gottaflylee]

Hey nice site! My first post & I recognise some of the regulars here - hi guys!

That is my rod built to my specs. It is a Lami 5650 & cropped from the bottom so I could make use of its natural action. Try pulling braid through the guides of a fully loaded rod & you'll understand the high amount of friction across the guide from braided line dispite using hi tech SiC guides. The line being so thin must exert very high pressure on such a small contact area of the guide. This is the reason why I wanted to experiment with LWR's.

Hands up who ever heard of a rod or line breaking because the line touched the grip? I never worried about it despite this occurring. When cropping the rod, I wanted it to be a total lenght of 5', trimming the tip just made the rod tip seem too thick; so 6" was taken off the butt. This rod as can be seen is a beautiful butterfly jigging rod and an awesome fighting rod too! Some of you guys are still thinking along traditional jig tackle designs. The 5' rod lenght makes this rod perfectly balanced when the reel is "palmed" while jigging. Consider a much longer rod - say 7', then add a 14oz jig, then try jigging that for a whole day. When jigging, the leverage of a long rod is going to fatigue much more than a short rod and thats before you even get hit by a fish. Short rods reduce leverage while jigging and fighting leading to longer periods at the rail and shorter fight times.

Now rod load profile has a bearing on this too. The better Japanese jig rods tend to be parabolic. This further reduces the leverage while jigging and fighting. But what is probably most important is the right amount of flexture in the rod (with a balanced jig load) to jig in the Japanese style (high pitch, short jerk). You will know when you have the correct balanced combo, your jigging rythm will be easy to achieve and you can easily increase speed without a hitch. This is important for fish that get turned on more with retrieve speed. Furthermore, these Japanese butterfly jigs were designed for jigging in this particular manner. If you aren't jigging this way with your butterfly jigs, then you won't have realised the full potential of this most productive technique.

I'm sorry if I have tread on toes but I thought some might be interested in an experienced voice.

ChrisW_
www.jigsdirect.com

ChrisW, First let me welcome you to the site and looking forward to more of your posts. Guess I do not understand the concept of a shorter rod, although what you say makes a lot of since to me. For me, I use a 6' to 6'6" rod but I jig with much lighter tackle and not looking for Tunas. Now with that being said, I also want a stiffer rod than the one I see in the picture but with what you guys are doing with it I understand why you want a rod like this one.
Can you explain to me what you mean by (high pitch, short jerk). Is this keeping the rod tip up high while jigging? I try to keep the tip low to the water so I can get a hook set on the top or the fall as we know most strikes are on the fall.

This is a great thread here guys...lets keep it going! I'm a sponge here!

[paul708]

WELCOME ChrisW. i was hoping we could pull some heavy hitters form the jig world this way..great to see you posting..your input will be extremly helpfull to all..that pic inspired me to buy that whole line of jigging blanks, ,thanks, now if only they were as light as the JM

[paul708]

Can you explain to me what you mean by (high pitch, short jerk). Is this keeping the rod tip up high while jigging? I try to keep the tip low to the water so I can get a hook set on the top or the fall as we know most strikes are on the fall.

This is a great thread here guys...lets keep it going! I'm a sponge here!

I think..this is dangerous now ..that that style is the fast Japan style that keep the rod moving up and dowm while reeling...some guys use that style around here..but i dont think most do.(another thread is coming). but the Rod balance is Very important doing that..

[ChrisW_]

WELCOME ChrisW. i was hoping we could pull some heavy hitters form the jig world this way..great to see you posting..your input will be extremly helpfull to all..that pic inspired me to buy that whole line of jigging blanks, ,thanks, now if only they were as light as the JM

Thanks for the welcome Paul. Those Lami rods are fairly close to the action of the Japanese equivalents and prices are more than favorable. My favorites still are the JM rods whose blanks have a thinner diameter but much thicker walls and are more parabolic.

I hope to spank some more 80lb Yellowtail next month at the 3 Kings (NZ) with this gear.

[cbaker77]

Short rods are the way to go to me. Super light weight for jigging and awesome when fighting a fish. Though the japanese style of jigging can be a bit tiring, it is a lot of fun and the strike is incredible. It is the way that I prefer to do most of my jigging. There is never a dull moment.

[ancient mariner]

U all have me ACHIN N BREAKIN for a new style rod.

I still think a 7 foot rodd with extra guides should do the trick on the butterfly jigs. Am I right or should I really think about those short, short rods?

WACKM N STACKM
Joseph B...aka...Ancient Mariner

[paul708]

U all have me ACHIN N BREAKIN for a new style rod.

I still think a 7 foot rodd with extra guides should do the trick on the butterfly jigs. Am I right or should I really think about those short, short rods?

WACKM N STACKM
Joseph B...aka...Ancient Mariner

it depends on your style of jigging, the shorter rods if setup right will you allow to Jig ("high pitch,short jerk") style.more effectively.....those guys have GREAT setups that work for "their" style of jigging..some guys like 8' some 7'..but for that style of jigging a shorter rod and the right reels..are more common

[szoobie]

I looked for a rod taper that was a little faster and don't get any rod flex until after the first guide. It's a 6'6" rod and I built it light and strong. Works for me. Another way to address the rod in the picture would be to have a taller line gathering guide and keep the rest the same. I put a taller line gathering roller on a drop back rod and finished it off with sic boat rod guides and put a roller tip on it. If you have the grips and reel seat on and the tip attached then tape the other guides in place and put the reel you want to use on the rod and run the line out to a tie off point. Make it as real as you can then put some pullage on the setup. You can watch for places where the line gets close. Add a guide or adjust them all and do it again till you get it right where you want it. Thanks

[paul708]

I looked for a rod taper that was a little faster and don't get any rod flex until after the first guide. It's a 6'6" rod and I built it light and strong.

what blank did you use?...I have the JM here and the Lami's in the pic. because alot of guys are going to the Jap style..and those blanks are preferred...but i use a faster action GUSA myself ..

[cape_fisherman]

Good to see an experienced jigger like yourself here ChrisW. Share your information w/o worry. You don't have fret about treading on anyone's toes on the jig board. No self-professed experts here. We're listening and learning!

I also saw where Kilsong had posted...yet another expert to glean information and learn from. This jiggy board may very well become the most informative board on SFC!

Jay