A jigging rod with backbone

[Formula4Fish]

I have a Hoo-X with 80# PowerPro on a Trevala TVC-66H, and jigged up a nice Yellowfin with it at Noble Clyde. The Trevala didn't have the backbone to deal with that fish, it just bottomed out.

My target is Yellowfin and Horse AJ's. I need a rod that has good jigging action at the tip, but still has the muscle to lift these fish if you really want to slap some drag on them.

What rod would be a good match for A Hoo-X and 80# braid?

The Hoo-X will pull a little over 25# of drag. What rod would you use with a 35# drag Accurate?

[Minnow]

Do you really need that much drag? if you use less than 30lb of drag OTI is coming up with all new 5 1/2 ft 80lb rod that will handle up to 30lb of drag MAX.
It will be available in couple of days. PM me if interested

[MrBill]

Dick,

You must eating well at Floyd's with the CC Tunaheads to be able to handle that much drag. The cook must be adding extra protein for you guys.
I'm also sure that the BS still flys at Floyd's on Saturday morning.

The only jigging rod I know of that could handle 35#'s of drag or more would be the Zenaq Monster Buster MB-B60H. It's rather expensive but if you are capable of handling 35-40#s of drag then go for it.

Otherwise the OTI rod minnow just posted about should do just fine and cost about half of the Zenaq.

[tass]

Unless you are willing to put out the money for something high end or custom I would agree with Mr Bill. I have a tuna Max and a Bar bar custom. My last tuna trip I mated the bar bar with an accurate 665 2spd and made short work of a 80lb tuna. I have also caught 60lb AJ on my oti rod. I like to use heavy drag also, especially with star drag reels like my kaikons and ocea jiggers. I just lock out the drag at full and go for it.

[gman]

There are two parts of this post ...

1st -There is a rod that is rated for the heaviest of drags. I own two of them. Jigging Master 500G limited or monster rated for over 48lbs of drag. I have the limited which is rated for 45#'s of drag

Here is an image with a deadlift of 30lbs by a 12 year who is 112lbs. It has a 15lb & a 8lb dumbell and a gallon jug filled up which was roughly 7.5. This jig stick is a monster. Certainly not up to the MR Bill standards of testing but it does the trick. JPR custom rods who is a member here built it for me



2nd - You are going from the worst possible tuna rod to hyper speed to the heaviest. There are a million really good rods in between that are rated high

Smith 52EX
OTI
Carpenter 56MH
Seaker

Any of these rods will do the trick, the trevalas are good for small schoolie but cant compare to any others. I would find a rod that is popular with the tuna people that is tested and has a good reputation that is rated around 20-25lbs and you should be fine

[Pope]

I saw the 80lb OTI rod last night and it was impressive. Very light and powerful. You guys did a good job TJ.

[Formula4Fish]

Originally Posted by MrBill

Dick,

You must eating well at Floyd's with the CC Tunaheads to be able to handle that much drag. The cook must be adding extra protein for you guys.
I'm also sure that the BS still flys at Floyd's on Saturday morning.

Mr. Bill,

I stand corrected. I just put a scale on the Hoo-X and discovered it was only pulling 12 pounds at strike.

My bigger scale is in the boat, quite a way from home, where the tackle is. I'm reconsidering this question until I can get them together and do a little more testing.

Apparently we don't have to wait until Saturday morning for the BS to fly. I woulda sworn I had that reel set higher than 12#

Yeah... breakfast on Saturdays if we're not fishin'. Come see us again.

I still think I need a tougher rod for that reel.

[MrBill]

Originally Posted by Dick_Formula233

Apparently we don't have to wait until Saturday morning for the BS to fly. I woulda sworn I had that reel set higher than 12# .

I've been to two of those Saturday morning BS sessions at Floyd's. I was actually surprised that fishing and tackle is the main subject. Maybe that was just because I was attending. I did however see some eyes checking out the waitresses. Men will be men.

Your rod is the Trevala TVC-66H. From my testing it's a good thing you were only fishing 12#s of drag. That's about the max of that rod. The 66MH is max-ed out at 11#s and the 58XXH at 16#'s. That is the point where the line touches the rod or grip. Braided line line cut you fast. If you have large hands and have a hold up high on the rod, less drag would have to be used unless you like bleeding like a tuna.

Here's some close ups of the line on a 66MH to prove my point. I highly suggest you buy another rod for your tuna adventures. Fifty minutes on a 75# tuna is hard on you and your fellow anglers. The trevala rods don't break and are great for the price. Just make sure you target smaller less aggressive species than YF tuna.

[STx Fisherman]

I am building a spiral wrap jigging rod out of the 80 lb. blank that TJ is talking about. It will be a strong jigging rod, but I have concerns that the action is not soft enough to provide good jigging action.

I want this rod for my Accurate 665NN and hope that it makes a strong jigging combo for big AJ's. (I have a quest to jig up a huge AJ).

[Formula4Fish]

Hey Stx... Post a picture of your "work in progress"

Great pix Mr. Bill, thanks.