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

[gman]

Im in Fairfield, near willowbrook mall area or around 12 minutes from paramus, NYC etc

[papio]

JB, be careful gman will make you a proud owner of a Jigging Master hehehe. i almost bought one till i saw the shipping cost...yikes

[gman]

Papio ... Im a Wei World guy now. I just bought my son the Wei World 52EX man it is sweeeeeeet just alittle longer than my 48XXH

[JerseyBrian]

lol, trust me, I wish I could afford ANY rod on Anglersproshop's website! I've been catching myself drooling for the past 2 days while staring at some rods of those rods.... Hot's, TunaMax, Smith, Wei World...*sigh*

[njnicka]

I was up at anglers pro-shop over the weekend and I was checking out the Wei World rods!! (among all the other insane tackle and rods they have)Thats a sweet rod, it was hard for me to NOT walk out with it!!

[paul708]

Originally Posted by papio

JB, be careful gman will make you a proud owner of a Jigging Master hehehe. i almost bought one till i saw the shipping cost...yikes

he still maybe a JM owner its only a short ride away for him ..i think he likes the stuff he saw at the show last week

[JerseyBrian]

Originally Posted by paul708

he still maybe a JM owner its only a short ride away for him ..

But I can't fish if I don't have a reel to put on the JM, can I? I should buy the reel first because if I still have all this cash in my hand when I buy a rod, I'm definitely not gonna have money left over for the Saragosa! Stop tempting me!

Originally Posted by paul708

i think he likes the stuff he saw at the show last week

ya think ?! Paul, do you have anything that would suit my japanese style jigging needs? What would you recommend for me based on my ~$250 budget for a rod (or rods)?

I'd still like to stop by and check out some of those OTI jig packages you're selling Still never gave me an address though. PM me or email me!

[paul708]

Originally Posted by JerseyBrian

But I can't fish if I don't have a reel to put on the JM, can I? I should buy the reel first because if I still have all this cash in my hand when I buy a rod, I'm definitely not gonna have money left over for the Saragosa! Stop tempting me!

ya think ?! Paul, do you have anything that would suit my japanese style jigging needs? What would you recommend for me based on my ~$250 budget for a rod (or rods)?

I'd still like to stop by and check out some of those OTI jig packages you're selling Still never gave me an address though. PM me or email me!

i am about 2miles off exit 9 of rt 95..may take you 20minutes i ahd that GUSA WAHOO JR for 300 at the show..stop by and see the OTI stuff..its all good

[JerseyBrian]

Originally Posted by paul708

i am about 2miles off exit 9 of rt 95..may take you 20minutes i ahd that GUSA WAHOO JR for 300 at the show..stop by and see the OTI stuff..its all good

Cool! Would sunday be ok? That GUSA wahoo JR would be too long for japanese style jigging, correct? Damn, that was a sweet rod

[paul708]

Originally Posted by JerseyBrian

Cool! Would sunday be ok? That GUSA wahoo JR would be too long for japanese style jigging, correct? Damn, that was a sweet rod

yeah it wouldnt be good for a long time jigging that way. usually guys like a "shorter" rod. but it would work