[Daydr3amer]

My first attempt at slow pitch jigging has left me with on big question, how do you control the fish with these light rods. We were fishing in 150 feet and I was using a 150g jig which worked great. I got a 16" yelloweye snapper on my second drop and the fish behaved well. a few drops later I hooked up to something a little better and I was able to get a 5-7 lb Almaco Jack to the boat. That when the trouble started. I fish off a 32' center console so I stayed away from the other 2 anglers that were bait fishing on the other side of the boat. Well I hooked up something much larger most likely an Amberjack and I had no ability to control the fish. After a 5 minute fight I was so far under the boat and out the other side I was all tangled in another line. I hate it when you can feel the braid rub against other braid. We tried the fire drill to untangle the lines but before long the line broke and I got a I told you so from my son.

I am not giving up and I hope to figure this out because it was really cool while I was fishing but where we fish its 100 - 400 feet and jacks are a real problem. do you just upsize your rod? I bought a Gravitate rod and I was using an Avet JX with 30lb braid.

How in the world do you pull a grouper off the bottom before he pulls you in the rocks?

 

[Tidetraveller]

This may sound a little overly simplistic but, more drag (may require a reel with more + smoother drag) and move your feet - follow the fish around the boat.

The more you do it the more you’ll learn. Good on you for trying.

 

[benwah22]

How in the world do you pull a grouper off the bottom before he pulls you in the rocks?

Time on the water and knowing the limitations of your tackle.

It's a learned skill that requires lots of practice, and unlearning a lot of what you've been taught your whole fishing life (not all of it, but a good amount).

 

[Kim]

I'm not an SPJ guy myself but a couple buddies are and they say the reel has to be able crank like a winch to get grouper off the bottom.

 

[bnz]

Were all of you fishing on the same side of the boat? If on opposite sides that could be the start of the problem right there.

 

[Daydr3amer]

No 2 on one side on I was on the other. its a pretty large boat. 33' Onslow bay so lots of room to spread out. we usually end up with people on each side because we use electric reels when fishing over 200' and there is one out let on each side. Starting to piece all of this together. hopefully this north carolina wind will stop blowing for a day and I can give it another shot.

 

[bnz]

Well, when you are on opposite sides of the boat and you hook a fish that immediately runs under the boat those other lines on the other side make it much easier to get tangled up. Something to think about. Happens often with the biggest charter boats even.

Onslow bay has got to be one of the best riding mono hulls out there.

 

[mag0121]

Our west coast yellowtail fight hard, much like your amberjack. What I do differently: First, button down the drag. Know the capability of your gear and fish it tight when you know you have to drag a fish out of the rocks. Two, point your rod straight down and short pump with the rod tip rarely going over horizontal. Use body english (bending forward on a run, pull straight back on the rod if the fish won't budge, etc.) to get the fish into the mid-column as quickly as possible. Don't be afraid to thumb the spool (again, know gear limits). Benny would tell you that often you can coax the bigger fish up by applying steady, slow pressure rather than my violent short-pump method. Once you are off the bottom, settle in to a comfortable pace and feel for the opportunities to get inches, or feet, as the fish allows. Experience will dictate when to mix up the strategy.

 

[edgarz]

Just plain teamwork for that. If what's on the other end of your line is substantial simply tell the other guys to bring their lines in. Slow jigging isn't about quickly landing the fish. Just me.

 

[redgarvey]

Time on the water and knowing the limitations of your tackle.

It's a learned skill that requires lots of practice, and unlearning a lot of what you've been taught your whole fishing life (not all of it, but a good amount).

What do you recommend the OP should begin 'unlearning' to improve landing?

What ever happened to Shimano Tescata rods?

 

[benwah22]

What do you recommend the OP should begin 'unlearning' to improve landing?

What ever happened to Shimano Tescata rods?

A few:

1) Fight off the reel, not the rod.
2) Pound test means nothing until you know the breaking strength of the line.
3) Pumping the rod almost never helps. Keep your rod parallel to the horizon and you'll have a much better time putting pressure on the fish. Pointing and cranking is generally better than lifting and winding down.
4) Know the limitations of your tackle. (this is not so much "unlearning" as it is having a very very good idea where things break - and knowing when to back off)
5) Pay attention. Always. This is active fishing, not drink beers and f-off fishing.
6) Count handle turns to know where your jig is in the water column relative to the bottom.
7) Good enough usually isn't. Never lose a fish from a preventable error.

 

[HungryJack]

My first attempt at slow pitch jigging has left me with on big question

I got a question too.
Did you catch more fish using SPJ ?

Were you high hook on the boat using this tackle?

Did you catch more and bigger fish with SPJ
than you would have with regular jigs ?

 

[HungryJack]

5) Pay attention. Always. This is active fishing, not drink beers and f-off fishing.

Dang, we all gave up speed jigging because it was spillin the beer
and too much work.
This SPJ is startin to sound like work too,
gonna get me an electric jiggin reel
and enjoy my beer while its still cold.

 

[Dobhar-Chu]

Daydr3amer...

For flutter jigging, also called SPJ in some places, I too use a lighter 8 ft rod than the line weight specifies... I use conventional 2 speed jigging reels for all my jigging, and when I hook a big one, I point the rod down, set it on the rail, drop it in low gear, and pull him in. I do not pump the rod... ie, using the pole to take in line, then crank down to retrieve the line. The bigger the fish the bigger the hook hole in his face gets every time you pump... spectra amplifies this hook hole growing too. Just lower the rod on the rail and crank every time the tip comes up a bit. The bigger the fish, the more I make the reel retrieve the line.... not pumping the pole... The need to pump is why I do not prefer a spinning reel over a conventional 2 speed reel... use the rail

hope that helps...

D-C

 

[HungryJack]

Daydr3amer...
For flutter jigging, also called SPJ in some places, I too use a lighter 8 ft rod than the line weight specifies...

Mark of a SPJ PRO, is a 8 ft long rod.

 

[Daydr3amer]

My second trip got a little better at controlling the fish. no large Jacks but the fish I caught were not and issue. slow and steady while pointing at the fish. I did notice that the more expensive jigs feel a lot better in the water and seemed to produce better fish. groupers and American reds are out of season but good practice and I should be ready to go in the spring.

Also slow pitch jigging is hard to learn when its cold out and you have to wear gloves.

 

[TabsUp]

My second trip got a little better at controlling the fish. no large Jacks but the fish I caught were not and issue. slow and steady while pointing at the fish. I did notice that the more expensive jigs feel a lot better in the water and seemed to produce better fish. groupers and American reds are out of season but good practice and I should be ready to go in the spring.

Also slow pitch jigging is hard to learn when its cold out and you have to wear gloves.

If you're in NC and looking for a couple guys fairly experienced in SPJ'ing, I know of a couple fairly close by