[papio]

Hey all,

Just got my OTI 5'6'' 600g rod. It's a pretty sweet-lightweight and much much thinner than my Sevenseas Tuna Mania spin jig rod. I'm not sure if the rod can manhandle a large Grouper or a big brute AJ away from an oil rig. I don't think its quick enough for the bruisers initial power surge

Anyone who owns this rod ever try a dead lift test and how much did it lift? I started to but chickened out for I much rather break the rod on a real-world test on big fish. Has anyone had a chance to put this rod thru a good work out offshore yet? I'm supah excited with my new toy but will be a few months before I take it out to the water.

good fishing'
jigging fool

 

[tass]

I don't have the 600 gram but I have used 300 gram extensivley. My jigging reels are set at 22lb of drag and I have even locked the spool once or twice. I caught Aj & BFT and the rod held up great when I had to muscle the fish away from the shrimpers. Although the dead lift is an interesting test, I don't believe it's a good representation of how good a jigging rod is because it is dead weight. A 50, 60 lb aj is going to put more then 30 lb of dead weight pressure on that rod when it makes its run to the rig. If you can move the boat you stand a chance of winning the battle if not the odds are in his favor because when you have 3, 4 or 500ft of line down there, it gives him plenty of line to run before you can get it back .
Spare your rod the deadlift test and fish.

 

[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.

 

[STx Fisherman]

Damn, Mr. Bill,

I have to admit....you have more bawlz than I do....jigging in 7 ft. seas? It's not the jigging that I'm afraid of....but fighting a fish that would hit a 28 oz. jig in heavy seas would beat you up in those conditions. I guess the gonads grow with each adventure....lol. The Zenaq rod looks pretty awesome.

I just bought an Accurate 870C today.....as a jigging reel.....looks like it will a fun reel to jig with....looking forward to trying it!!!

 

[jt2hunt]

i got to use my blue heaven this past week in venice. weather was very unstable and we were too impatient, but learned a great deal. the reel is awesome, really covers some ground with each crank. makes deep drops much easier to manage!

 

[DeepBlueGulf]

Jason, Did you post a Venice trip report anywhere? Just curious how the fishing was. If you posted it, I missed it.

Tom - DBG

 

[SkeeterRonnie]

those rods wouldnt have the max drag rating on them, if they havent been pushed above that rating. I think the 600 gram has 30# max drag rating... If my memory serves me well, I believe they pushed that rod up in the 40# range to matain a 30# rating. I wouldnt go above 30# though, it fear of wearing a OTI symbol on my forehead..hehe

 

[STx Fisherman]

Hey Jason,

What rod have you tried with that Blue Heaven reel?? I saw Rick's blue heaven reel on the last Big E trip that we were on....and was wondering what recommended rods would best go with that reel.

 

[txseadog]

was wondering what recommended rods would best go with that reel.

They have a good drag range so you would be able to fish it almost any way you want but line capacity may be a little short with 80# braid at ~350 yards.

 

[jt2hunt]

i used an oti jigging rod!

 

[jt2hunt]

no, i did not post up a report, because there was not a whole lot to report, unless you consider experience a report. i will be much better prepared. every day had thunderstorms and ugly water in certain areas. we fished three out of four days.

some chicken, a bull, and at a rig forty feet deep within site of shore we caught snapper, reds, sand trout, baby cuda, and a shark. my reds were on a tipped snapper slapper, lol.

 

[jt2hunt]

richard, u not going on TBB 07?

 

[STx Fisherman]

I decided not to go on the TBB '07 because I'm on the Puerto Vallarta trip on Sept 7 - 11. I think I'm going to be way too sore and tired to make the Big E trip. Etan is going in my place. I'm sure that I'm going to regret not going whenever you guys come in with a report. Good luck on the trip!