I am thinking about one of these as a jigging/ popping reel and was wondering if this thing is gonna have the marbles to do the job. I am on a tight budget right now and it makes buying good tackle tough. Also if you were limited to just one setup either a jigging setup or a popping set up which would you be more inclined to take on a 2 night trip? Could you get away with a dual purpose rod?
With lots of tight budgets out there it would be great to find an all in one setup. A goto jigging/popping rod reel combo. I'm in the same boat. Trying not to spend a fortune but might have to...Love the stellas but am having trouble justifying the cost. The OTI rods are awesome! Having trouble deciding which way to go myself.
You can either compromise and get an inexpensive set up that will do both but neither remarkably well... Or you can get a set up that will do one better than the other... Or you can choose one that is pretty good at just one... I love top water myself. I would try to buy quality the first time. A boat rod 4/0 will jig for ya if ya wanna. It won't cast well. More trips n less tackle...
More trips n less tackle... best advice ever, all the best gear gets you nothing if you can get out on the water
I use a Spheros and it has served me well. I have caught ajs and grouper on it with no problem. If that was all I could afford I would not hesitate 1 iota. I would buy it again.
upgrade the drag washers and you are good to go SMOoOTH DRAG *** Can Stop Anything *** tell Dawn what you need.
I got a penn 4/0 on a el cheapo Ugly stick tiger that I have been using to jig with but I have not caught anything real big on it. I think the biggest fish I have caught with it was a 39" ling that gave it a pretty good workout and some assorted snappers up to 10#. It will continue to do jig duty for a couple more trips till I can upgrade. I am not sure what my budget will be for a popping rod but I am hoping to be able to have $600 or so to spend on the combo. Just trying to lowball it now in case my budget isn't up to par.
i picked up a spheros 1400fa from Roys in corpus last week for $110. it was the last 1400, but i think they still have a 1200 and 8000. they just got in some OTI popping rods too! i grabbed a a 7'6" 80lb for under $300. a quick call to Smooth drag and im in buisiness for about $450.
tackle direct has the 12000fa for $99 now. It has the alum roter like the 14000. ungrade the drags to carbontex for $10. It will have the marbles. You could then get two rods, one for jigging and one for popping and switch until you got a jigging reel. If you want a great jigging reel now, get a used newell 533-5 used on ebay. You can get both outfits, 2 rods and 2 reels, if you shop right for around $300. But, you cannot overfish it. I would think your line capacity could be an issue on a big YF.
