Extreme Jigging: Dogtooth Tuna, Yellowtail Kingfish (Hiramasa), Amberjack, Samson Fish > Tackle & Techniques

PE8-10 jigging rod

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Scott Maybury:
Hey guys,

I am considering getting a heavier jigging rod (spin) for those special locations and big brutes out there.

I currently use a Hots Wei World 52XH as my heavier jig rod (I have a PE4-6 Smith as well) and it performs very well and is a joy to use generally.

However, I have found that whilst it is great to jig with, and will fish the level of drag necessary to land big fish, once you get into seriously big territory it is somewhat lacking in dead lift capacity, to get line back on stubborn fish sitting 20 or 30m under the boat at the end of a fight, when the fish has either given up and is dead weight, or is sitting on its side in the current.

I have particularly noticed this with a 63kg Dogtooth in Fiji and a 120kg+ black marlin out of Port Stephens....the rod is great to fight these fish with until this part of the fight, and then it just causes pain and lengthens the fight a lot

I appreciate that a heavier rod will probably come with less general comfort because it will be stiffer, but I would like to have a big gun to go to when the big fish are on. I think the Hots will still be my go to rod for 90% of my medium to heavy jigging. I am basically after something that will comfortably fish 300-500gm jigs (mainly 300 and 400) and PE8 line, with appropriate drag ratings and better deadlifting capacity than the Wei World. A big ask I know.

The difficulty I have is working out how stiff some of these rods are going to be and how practical to use. I am not a biy guy, weighing in at low to mid 60kgs, so I simply cannot use the brutest of the brute rods to anything like full effect.

I am thinking that rods like the JM Three Kings (prob a 350 model?), a JM Powerspell (maybe a 350 or 400)  may be suitable. I am willing to invest in something like a Fisherman Spinoza if that is a suitable rod, but I am not sure which model would best suit, it is hard to work out when some of them are rated to 1kg jigs whether they are viable for use with 300-400gm jigs, and funnily enough my local tackle store doesn't have a few for me to play with.

Other rods like the Hots One Pitch Slider and the Carpenter range are also in the mix, as would be the suitable Ripple Fisher model (I really like my RF popper rods, but can't work out whether the heavierRF jigging rods would be too brutal for me to use). I have discarded the Smith AMJ 52EX not because it is not up to the job, but because I already have a lighter AMJ and am after something a bit different.

Thoughts/feedback really appreciated.

Leo Sorbello:
Hiya Scott,

I do alot of jigging and have done for many years now. Reading your post and explaining your details to good reality, I thought of the carpenter.

You'll probably do good in acquiring a carpenter OH55XH-S 5'5"ft one piece rated jigs 350 - 1000g line PE6 - PE10. I've got one and it's a beauty indeed.

I don't find this rod too stiff either and boy has it got some grunt in close quarters. I've used it three times and is comfortable in jig weights from 350 - 500 g no problem for my weight and height.

Of couse no shops in sydney would carry this carpenter type of rod. The jigging masters would be worth looking at also and would be more readily available. The JM400 and JM450 could be O.K., with the JM400 being a little softer in the tip. The JM450 would have more grunt down below. 

If you want to see my carpenter let me know no worries, let me know to arrange it. I live at Belfield, Sydney.

Regards

Leo     

Eric Tai:
Not sure if this is helpful but here are some pics of mine;

Rods are both lifting 7.5kg.

Hot's One Pitch Slider 56XH
PE6-10
Jig Max 420g




Ripplefisher 5620
PE8
Jig Max 560g



I'm not an experienced jigger by any means, and I've only been able to use both rods on a few trips last Sambo season. From my limited experience I've found that the Hot's loads up early, right into the foregrip and doesn't feel anything like the ripplefisher. Infact I fish it with a 8000sw-pg normally. The ripplefisher on the other hand feels stiffer with more 'backbone' and I fish it with a 20000sw.

Hopefully I'll get to give these rods a thorough workout this season.

Samuel Chieng:
Hi Eric,

Am on the lookout for the Hots OPS as well. Just wanna know if its lighter then the RF5620 ur using? Does it feel like a PE8 reel since ur using only the Stella 8000? Im thinking of pairing the HOts with a Stella 20k.

Eric Tai:
Hi Samuel,

The Hots is about 50g lighter than the RF5620. It is roughly 290g from memory.

It goes well with the 20k, but after I bought the RF5620 I decided there was no point in having two heavy combos.

If you look closely at the photos you'll see that the Hots has a more parabolic action, bending well into the fore-grip. It makes it feel like a PE6 rod when compared to the Ripplefisher, but if you look at some of the fish/tuna caught with the Hots on other forums you will see it is more than capable of handling PE8.

Having said that the Hots paired with lighter 8000sw-pg is such a light/sweeeeet combo!   

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