[shanker]

On my recent trip out of PM, I tried using some of my new OTI 600g jigs and was not very successful with them, the Blue 4-6oz River2Sea Knife jigs were my most productive.

Is there a trick to getting action, or do I work these jigs just like Knife jigs?

 

[shanker]

this is the one I tried, in 400g and 600g

http://www.360tackle.com/image.php?id=54&type=P

 

[A.whitman]

600gm jigs are very heavy.what kind of rod are you using. you need a stout rod to impart action to those heave jigs. my saying is use the lightest jigs possible. i use the 200gm jager jigs and love them. try using som smaller jigs, like the knife jigs you mentioned. i think that they will perform better. unless, of course, you are fishing in 5-600 feet of water with heavy current.

 

[shanker]

I was fishing in about 250-300ft of water with a custom rod from Jumbie Tackle Company, its a rainshow blank that I absolutely LOVE

 

[newman]

Heavier is not always better. You need to match the weight of jig to the conditions at hand. You must consider the rotary current, wind, depth of fish, line, rod, and the minimum weight needed to stay vertical.

I have been 200 miles out and needed only 4 oz to get 200' deep and on other trips to the same area 16 oz was at about 30 degrees at about 200' deep. This is a great example of why we all need a variety of jig weights in our bags! I'm glad the lighter ones got the bite!

 

[Minnow]

Shanker,

How many ounce/gram is your rod rated for?
Lighter rod will not give the proper jig action needed to entice strike.
I have used it on Cinco trip and it works fine. On Cinco trip the current was ripping and we were drifting too fast, I had to cast down wind because we were drifting too fast. As soon as the jig is straight down, I would jig it few times and almost hooked up on blackfin tuna every cast. I am bias.

 

[shanker]

Minnow, I am using a Custom Rainshadow rod from Jumbie Tackle Company, its a 60lb 6'6" stick that was made to jig/pop with.

I had strikes on the OTI jigs, I just couldnt figure out how to work them and make them flutter as much as the R2S knife jigs....I guess its my technique

 

[bighead]

Might just be me but I've never heard anybody say that the characteristics of a jigging rod and popping rod could be combined into one.

 

[Knothead]

In your opinon, what are the characteristics of a jigging rod and popping rod that are not able to combine ?
I have got into the jigging scene, but am looking to start and need advice on a good rod. I have a good top water rod, but need to know what the difference is. I have heard of some hybrid blanks on another board and did not know the difference.
Thanks for the help.

 

[Ragman]

On my recent trip out of PM, I tried using some of my new OTI 600g jigs and was not very successful with them, the Blue 4-6oz River2Sea Knife jigs were my most productive.

Is there a trick to getting action, or do I work these jigs just like Knife jigs?

Hey shanker!

First of all, thanks for the business!

Like others mentioned, you have to match the jig with the conditions, but especially your equipment. 600g jigs weigh almost 21 ounces (200g ~ 7 oz.) so compared to the R2C 4-6 oz jigs, the action the rod imparted would have been really different.

Check out the "Jigging Basics" threads on this board and look for pics and video links to different jigging techniques (Japanese, West Coast, East Coast, etc. styles) to help see the different methods.

 

[Ragman]

In your opinon, what are the characteristics of a jigging rod and popping rod that are not able to combine ?
I have got into the jigging scene, but am looking to start and need advice on a good rod. I have a good top water rod, but need to know what the difference is. I have heard of some hybrid blanks on another board and did not know the difference.
Thanks for the help.

Hey Knothead!

The qualities needed in a good jigging rod vs. a good popping rod are, IMO, so diverse that to be really effective, you need two different rods.

Now that can -and probably will LOL- be debated based on an unlimited amount of variables like budget, times per year fishing, class of fish targeted......!

Below is ALL subjective, but will give you a start on the info you're asking for:

From what I've read, experienced, and been taught, the best jigging rod -either conventional or spinner- for Private Boat is a 5'-5 1/2' foot ranging from 300g to 600g rating. On a Party Boat, a 6'-6 1/2' rod is considered by some to be better so that you can better maneuver the fish away from the hull, anchor line (Party boats aren't inclined to chase fish), or other anglers.

Jig rods have a parabolic action to impart the best/most action to the jig, but also have very strong butt sections to move/pressure fish up once their initial run is over, if any ( Tuna vs. grouper for example).

Remember that the above all depends on the conditions you are fishing in, the location (deep or relatively shallow with structure), the species, and your reel/line/jig.

A popping rod usually needs to be at least 7', but I know some anglers that won't use anything less than 8' and choose 9'-10's in order to get the longest cast available!

The rod needs to be able to let you effectively cast 2oz to 4oz heavy duty top water lures up to 100 yards (flexible tip), but also have a strong butt and middle section to handle and move/turn a fish when needed.

This info mostly relates to fishing in the G.O.M.

You can try to fish with a rod -like your 6'6''- that is supposed to be able to do both, but you will lose many of the critical characteristics of the technique specific rods provide.

A little long, but does that make sense or give you some direction?

 

[shanker]

i am really bad at math, I had the 200g jigs

 

[newman]

200 gram jigs weigh 7 oz so you are not far off your original 4-6oz statement. You also need to consider that each type of jig emparts a different action. There are times that fish react better to certian actions and other times that they will hit almost anything dropped near them, thus the necessity for having a variety of jigs in a variety of weights.

Color (not counting glow) however is not as important expecially on deep drops. The color spectrum is all gray after about 60'. Glow is brighter deeper and allows fish to feed both on sight and feeling the action through heir lateral lines.

 

[Pescador]

I recently jigged along side a guy who was a complete greenhorn.
I was using a jap centre weighted jig and he used a R2S copy, both were around 200gms.
There was a bit of current running (2-3knots) and he was just lifting and lowering his 7ft jig rod (about one lift per 5 seconds) I was using a semi-fast short stroke on a 5.5ft rod.
He was getting blasted almost every other drift, I was getting nothing.

IMHO the knife type jig was fluttering in the drift/current (like an injured fish might do) and mine was just powering thro like a healthy baitfish and not getting a second look.

I had some knife jigs in my bag but continued to hammer away cuz its always worked before - yeh I know - but we've all dunnit eh?

 

[jaredchasteen]

His arms were less tired than yours also.