Japanese Style Spinning rod for Butterfly Jigging

[JerseyBrian]

Howdy folks! I've been a big fan of Japanese style butterfly jigging ever since I first saw Jose Wejebe on ESPN2's Spanish Fly show use the technique out on the oil rigs off Venice to catch small YFT, Kingfish and Big Snapper/Grouper a couple years ago. I've had some success using smaller 2oz. Butterfly Jigs on my St. Croix Tidemaster rod with an Okuma EB-50 on open boat charters out of H&M Landing in San Diego and on the Spitfire in Redondo Beach, CA catching Cudas, small bonito and yellowtail last year, but that's been it so far for my fish catching experiences with jigging.

Now, with my newly acquired tax return money, I'd like to buy some rods specific towards jigging with spinning reels

Would the best option be to get one rod for lighter butterfly jigs and another for the heavier jigs upto 600g? I've read that you can use lighter jigs with the heavier lure rated jigging rods, but what would be the smallest jig you could effectively use on a 500g or 600g rod? That's the $100 question I'm on a budget (so I can buy one of Paul's custom tuna rods for my Acurrate 665W 2 spd!!!) so cost is a concern to consider. I've probably got around $250 to spend on a jigging spinning rod(s). So far, I've been looking at:
1) Hopper rods - I could pick up 2 of these rods (one for lighter and one for heavier jigs) for under $250. I've been looking at the HOPS165FH for lighter jigs and the HOPS-500FH and HOPS-600FH for heavier duties.
2) OTI rods - From what I've read on here, they have a 600g spinning jigging rod as well and are regarded as top quality products. Don't know how much they cost since I can't seem to find their spinning jigging rods on oceantackle.net
3) Van Staal Jigging Rod - I found that the VJS58-500 is rated upto 500g and is right at my price limit of $249. The big question would be if the VJS58-500 could still handle lighter jigs and not overpower their action.
4) Lamiglas Tropic Pro Jigging & Popping Rod - The TP5650SJ sounds like it could cover 85% of my jig size (rated for 5-16 oz) and is priced moderately at $179.95. It could probably still jig 3-5oz lures well....
5) VFox Tblade Tournament Type rod - This is a rod company that I found on ebay that uses Expert Graphite Blanks/Fuji SiC guides and is built in Japan (although the seller is from Malaysia). I was looking at either the J554S or the J556S rods they have listed. The J554S has a PE line Weight of PE4-8, a Lure Weight of 250-350g and a "Max" (drag?) of 24kg. The J556S has a PE line Weight of PE6-10, a Lure Weight from 350-450g with a "Max" (drag?) of 27kg. Both sell for $217.00. But once again, the big question would be if these rods could still handle lighter jigs and not overpower their action. I've heard nothing, but good reviews about VFox rods, but some people have said it may be a little heavy which is not good if I plan on jigging throughout the night
6) Quantum Boca Jigging Spin Rod and Daiwa Saltiga Boat Jigging Rod - Affordable, lots of rods with a variety of lure weight ratings and made from 2 well respected companies. I haven't heard anything bad about them, but I haven't heard anything great either. Based on other members' reviews and feedback, I'd rather purchase some Hopper Rods for the same price ($99.95) instead of these....

That's all I've found through a few days of searching that might suit my budget and needs. I'm looking for rod(s) that are LIGHT, have a nice parabolic action and sturdy. If you have any feedback or comments on the rods I've listed please post up! I'm always willing to listen and learn more about fishing! Which of the rods above do you think is the lightest? Which has the most backbone? Which has the most flex? Most jigs I will be using will range from 4-10 oz and I will be fishing many different depths and species since I do a little bit of traveling (not as much as Kil tho!) every year.

I'm most likely going to purchase an Okuma V-80a spinning reel since it is economically priced ($174.95), has a good amount of line capacity and is "supposedly" rated for over 70lbs of drag I read on this forum that someone did test the drag upto ~37lbs or so and it was still real smooth....However, I haven't heard of a lot of people using this reel yet.

The other option is dependent on if I can swindle my way to getting a 35% off discount on a Shimano Saragosa 18000F spinning reel from an employee at Ramsey Outdoor I know that Kil has already tested this reel out on some 70-80lbs AJ down in NC so I know it can take a lot of abuse

Thanks for reading this long post!!! Jig'em up!

Brian

[ahistick]

Welcome. This is a great place for you to find what you're looking for; the folks are very helpful!!!

[ksong]

The other option is dependent on if I can swindle my way to getting a 35% off discount on a Shimano Saragosa 18000F spinning reel from an employee at Ramsey Outdoor I know that Kil has already tested this reel out on some 70-80lbs AJ down in NC so I know it can take a lot of abuse

If you can get Saragosa with 35 % discount, buy the reel and forget about Okuma.

[papio]

on the budget side i like both the Hopper and Boca spinning rods as they are stong with good backbone. i have the 500g Boca, HOPS 270FH, and HOPS 600FH. you can't go wrong with the budget Hoppers. The new OTI 600g is excellent rod but not for dropping the light stuff....oh u could hehe...good luck. maybe the Trevalas is what you're looking for if you don't mind staying on a fish too long.

as far as reels, budget wise. i'd look into the Okuma Salina and Shimano Spheros. Tackle Direct got a huge sale on the Spheros right now - go check them out. i use these on party boats where i dont' worry much about dings, scratches, cosmetic abuse in general. but they have worked well fo me and still going strong....budget wise....

[Uncle Russ]

Most of this comes from what I have read in the postings of smarter people than I, but I would make two observations:

1. It's hard to imagine a budget rod capable of 60 pounds of drag unless it is made of solid stainless steel.

2. From some of my friends' experiences with the Okuma reels, even if they are capable of 70 pounds of drag, you might end up having to have the reel's parts removed by a team of proctological surgeons! Two of the hardest things I had to learn from the true experts on this board were that, just because a reel can develop X amount of drag, that does not mean (a) that the fisherman can remain in the boat while holding onto it, or (b) that the rest of the reel can remain intact during the experience.

Russ

[JerseyBrian]

Originally Posted by ahistick

Welcome. This is a great place for you to find what you're looking for; the folks are very helpful!!!

Thanks Gil! I've been reading past threads from this forum for the past few days and I can't get enough! Jigging has always intrigued me and I'm anxious to really put it to use in my fishing repertoire.

Originally Posted by ksong

If you can Saragosa with 35 % discount, buy the reel and forget about Okuma.

Read you loud and clear Kil

Originally Posted by papio

on the budget side i like both the Hopper and Boca spinning rods as they are stong with good backbone. i have the 500g Boca, HOPS 270FH, and HOPS 600FH. you can't go wrong with the budget Hoppers. The new OTI 600g is excellent rod but not for dropping the light stuff....oh u could hehe...good luck. maybe the Trevalas is what you're looking for if you don't mind staying on a fish too long. ....

Thanks Papio, sounds like a few guys have the Boca 500g Spin rod as well as the Hopper 500g spin rod. I think I like the idea of having 2 Hopper rods; one for light weight jigging and the other for heavier stuff. Trevalas are certainly worth a look, but from reading many, many threads on this forum in the last 72 hours, Hopper rods sound like they are fairly light and have quite a backbone at similar prices compared to the Shimano's.

Originally Posted by papio

as far as reels, budget wise. i'd look into the Okuma Salina and Shimano Spheros. Tackle Direct got a huge sale on the Spheros right now - go check them out. i use these on party boats where i dont' worry much about dings, scratches, cosmetic abuse in general. but they have worked well fo me and still going strong....budget wise....

The 14000FA model sounds comparable to the 14000F Saragosa. Wonder how much drag it can produce (the Spheros).

[JerseyBrian]

Originally Posted by Uncle Russ

Most of this comes from what I have read in the postings of smarter people than I, but I would make two observations:

1. It's hard to imagine a budget rod capable of 60 pounds of drag unless it is made of solid stainless steel.

2. From some of my friends' experiences with the Okuma reels, even if they are capable of 70 pounds of drag, you might end up having to have the reel's parts removed by a team of proctological surgeons! Two of the hardest things I had to learn from the true experts on this board were that, just because a reel can develop X amount of drag, that does not mean (a) that the fisherman can remain in the boat while holding onto it, or (b) that the rest of the reel can remain intact during the experience.

Russ

Thanks Russ. If you are speaking about the VFox Tblade Tournament rod's description, I will definitely take that into consideration. Remember, none of these rods are labeled as "budget" by any means. I was just referring to them as the rods that I could purchase within MY BUDGET All I did was copy that information from their Ebay listing(s) except for that fact that they did not state what "MAX xx kg" was...I assumed it was Drag...

VFOX Tblade Tournament Type J556S Jigging Rod - eBay (item 180199060718 end time Apr-22-08 02:51:43 PDT)

VFOX Tblade Tournament Type J554S Jigging Rod - eBay (item 180196775911 end time Apr-15-08 12:23:35 PDT)

As far as the Okuma reel goes, I think its pretty clear I should stay away from purchasing one. I will go with a Shimano most likely then.

I'm not looking for the cheapest jigging rod or spinning reel as I have ~$500-550 to work with so maybe budget wasn't the right term to use.... maybe Middle Class?

[papio]

JB, forgot to mention the Barefoot Jigging Rods is a super bargin for $49. It's very thin and strong and not a noodle. I got the 4'10" conventional and match it with Saltiga 40 for it's baptizmal introduction to Mr. AJ.....lockdown drag manage to power yank a few bragging size AJs out from the rigs.

checkout post with angler manhandling a 200lb lemon shark with Barefoot Rod.

[gman]

where in NJ are you? Im in Northern Jersey if you need to discuss

[JerseyBrian]

Originally Posted by papio

checkout post with angler manhandling a 200lb lemon shark with Barefoot Rod.

Thanks, I'll check those Barefoot rods out as well! I did see that thread while searching last night!!! Nice job fishr1989!

Originally Posted by gman

where in NJ are you? Im in Northern Jersey if you need to discuss

Oh, about 7 minutes from Kil's house probably My dad lives in New Milford, Aunt lives in Englewood Cliffs and I have an apartment in west philadelphia (UPENN). I'll be driving up this weekend. I'd love to talk shop and put a face to a member's name !!