[MrBill]

Papio,

I'm sure the OTI 600 gram rod will catch most anything in the GOM. Just put a 15 pound dead lift load on it. It should handle it with no problem. A 600 gram rated rod is a heavy duty rod. I haven't heard a single negative response to the OTI rods. I guess I need to buy one and do some lift test if nobody else has the guts. I do believe in dead weight lift test. Not only does it show you how the rod loads up, it gives you a feel for the limit of the rod.

As far a jigging rods go, the baddest of the bad that I am aware of is the Zenaq Monster Buster for Ironman. It's rather expensive $542.00, but I wasn't afraid to load it up. A couple of weeks ago, I was sending down some 28 oz jigs at Falcon. We were holding the boat about 20 feet off the rig in 7 foot seas. I knew I need some serious drag so I parked a Tiagra 50wlrsa on it. My right hand was also messed up from a fall earlier in the day. Since it has aluminum reel seats it mounted without any problems. I had the drag set at 34 lbs. That's a lot of drag. I lost 3 big jigs even with that heavy drag setting. I'd post some pictures, but the guy that owns the boat I was on, doesn't want any pictures on the internet. The seas were busting over the transom as the boat was backed up the rig. He has to put the gears in reverse to hold it in one spot. Definitely not for the weak at heart. Having saltwater hitting you in the chest and face while trying to jig with a lot of drag is actually exciting.

Here's a picture of around 33#'s of drag on a jigging rod. It's not easy to hold on to that much drag for long periods of time without the aid of a harness or rail. When a grouper or AJ hits the jig in deep water next to a rig be prepared to get your heart pumping. When the boat is pushed forward at full throttle for around a hundred yards, you better be ready or you'll be in the water yourself.