light popping/jigging rod

[Jaap Kalkman]

Hi guys,

I'm looking for a light (+/- PE4) rod that can pop and jig and does not brake the bank. Anyone got experience with a rod that would do the job?

Many thanks,

Jaap

[Andre van Wyk]

Hi Jaap, ( Dutch heritage by any chance? )

There are a number of great options here, but can you define "Break the bank" for us, it means very different thinsg to different folks! :-)

Cheers
Andre

[Ken Best]

Yaap,

Have you spoken with Sami from Saltywater Tackle in New York? His banner is on this site as a sponsor.
He stocks Smith and Zenaq, both of which make rods in the class you are looking at.

I have purchased gear from them before, they are fast and dependable even to Australia!!

Ken

[Chuen Fan]

Yamaga Blanks would be a touch cheaper than Smith or Zenaq and are pretty much faultless! They've also got a massive range to choose from.

[Jaap Kalkman]

Thanks for the tip Chuen, I had not come across that name yet. I'll check it out. Any particular model that would fit the bill?
cheers.

[Chuen Fan]

Yamaga Blue Sniper 70/4 or 75/4... It's more of a personal preference, if you were to do more casting than jigging then a 75/4 as it's a half a foot longer for longer casts but the 70/4 would be a good all rounder being 7 foot.

[Jaap Kalkman]

Thanks Chuen, that is a good starting point.

[Chris Webster]

Have a look at Xzoga rods. They are strong and you can pick up a PE4 jig stick that can also flick small poppers for less that $300.00

I have a friend who uses one with a Saltiga Z4500 S-Extreme and it is awesome.

Chris

[Mark Harris]

Another up for Yamaga Blanks here. Absolutely fantastic rods for the money. In my experience these feel and behave like top end rods.

You might want to look at the Shimano ranges - Caranx Kaibutsu for popping and Jigwrex for jigging. While these are not great rods by any means, they are very good value and get the job done efficiently.

 

[Peter Childs]

Check out the 7' Daiwa Monster Mesh range - the Pe 3-6 is not bad at all if you only want one rod....and they are dirt cheap.  I've sucessfully popped and jigged for Kings with this one.

[Brandon Khoo]

Yamaga are the parent company of Ripple Fisher

Thanks for the tip Chuen, I had not come across that name yet. I'll check it out. Any particular model that would fit the bill?
cheers.

[Brandon Khoo]

Jaap, if you're looking for a rod that you can both pop and jig with, that will limit your choices significantly. Ideally, you'd want a casting rod to be at least 7 feet long and a jigging rod to be under 6 feet. For one that you can do both with, you're going to have to make some compromises. The rod I use for PE3-4 that can be used for both popping and jigging is a rod that gets to go on nearly every trip I go on due to its versatility and that is the Daiwa Saltiga Hiramasa 63S. It 6'3" long so is at a compromise length. It can take a heap of drag, far more so than just about any other PE3-4 rod I have ever come upon and I have landed everything up to a GT that was around 40kgs on it.

[Jaap Kalkman]

Hi guys,

Sorry for the late reply, I was gone fishing for the weekend 

Lots of good ideas there. It is great to have this forum with guys with lots of experience for a novice like me. I did not know where to start. I will check out all the rods you guys mentioned and then I'll have to make a choice.

Again thanks for all the help, much appreciated.

Cheers,

Jaap

[Cam Munro]

I'll second the 63S - matched with the 4500 saltiga the most versatile outfit!