Fishing Rods

A friend of mine ( who does not have internet access) and I were discussing fishing rods. He is looking at purchasing a new rod, and was curious as to what brand, action, and/or power would suite him best. Whats the difference between power & action? Different rod makers rate them differently; some use both power and action to classify; others just use action. He is looking for a good jigging rod for walleyes & smallies. I gave him my suggestions and thought I would poll you guys for your preferences.

I think power is in reference to the overall strength of the blank and action is in reference to the tip. The faster the action, the stiffer the feel because there’s less flex up front.

For walleye jigging, I think a light weight rod, medium power, a light weight spinning reel that balances the rod tip level or slightly raised, around 6′ to 6’6″ long, and medium/fast to fast action. Sensitivity is key to jigging and this kind of set up should maximize balance and sensitivity.

I’ve used many rods in many price ranges but you don’t have to have a GLoomis GLX or a St. Croix Legend Elite to jig successfully. Most ANY GLoomis or St.Croix product will do the trick very well. Also keep in mind, personal comfort and feel, so go to a place where you can try a few set ups and see what the “feel” preferences are.

If you don’t want to spend the money those brands demand, there are models from Berkley, Mitchell, FLW, Shimano, Quantum, and so on, that will do the job very well too. I look for IM7 graphite or better, a light feel, good seat positioning for balance, blank access (for added sensitivity), and again, a stiffer action. The shape of the cork handle can also make a difference in the feel so pay attention to that as well.

There are a ton of choices so go shopping and get what value you feel is going to meet all your criteria best. More expensive is not always better, but I wouldn’t ignore it either.

Good Luck!

I’m certainly not as hard-core as a lot of the people who will be responding to this, but here’s my two cents:

For me personally, I’ve noticed that there is a dramatic difference between rods that cost $10 and rods that cost $40 or $50. From that range up, the differences become rather subtle, and you’re paying for things like lifetime replacement warranty, etc. If someone were to blindfold me, I doubt that I could tell the difference between a $50 rod and a $400 rod.

I just bought a 6’6″ St Croix Premier med/light with a fast tip.

It’s an entry level St Croix that I picked up for around $75.00.

I put a Shimano Sedona 2000 on it and I’m VERY pleased with it. Nice combo for around $120.00. I’d highly recommend it.

I can feel a rod and tell you if I can jig fish with it or not! I am spoiled, and need a sensitive rod to jig fish with. I’ll explain why.

If you are throwing cranks, spinnerbaits, top-water, bottom bouncers, three ways, Lindy Rigs, or snagless sinkers, you do not need a very sensitive rod. However, for light jigs of 1/32 to 1/4 oz. a super sensitive rod is a big asset.

I got my first GOOD rod from Cabela’s some 15 years ago. My fishing buddy “Skip” got one too. It was a Loomis blank shaped like a pool que. It had no handle and the reel sat inside the blank. It had total “feel” to it and I could feel every tick as my jigs toutched a rock on the Rainy River’s gravel and sand bars. Skip and I creamed the walleyes that year with those GOOD rods jigging light jigs, like I had never done on the same water before!

The next year Skip and I went up to the Rainy River, I had broken the GOOD rod I had, but skip still had his GOOD rod. I had to fish with my Lighting Rods instead. Lightining Rods were simi-expensive at the time. Same water and jigs, same boat with Skip, but Skip had his GOOD rod and I did not….he kicked my rear real bad. And I mean bad. I asked to try using his GOOD rod for a while and it made all the difference in the world. The walleye werre just pecking the jigs and you had to be right on them to set the hook! I could not feel the fish on the pick up and missed 1/2 my fish without the GOOD rod. This got very fustraiting! And espically when Skip got the biggest fish of the trip….11 lbs.

Now, I have many GOOD rods! I use Berkley Series Ones mostly. There are better GOOD rods out there, but not for the money, these are GOOD enough! Like you say Gianni, after they are GOOD enough, or sensitive enough, enough is enough!

Hey you guys, go get yourself at least one GOOD rod to jig with!

“Hoggie” Hoggard

I’d like to throw in my two cents on rods. I’m a firm believer you need a very good jigging rod. I can relate to Hoggie’s story completely. My uncle was using his Hagen($150) and I a shimano compre($35). He’s just nailing the fish in the front of the boat, me, I get one every so often. He sits down to eat a sandwich and dink with something in the boat. I grab his rod to try it. It’s amazing how your eyes light up when you can feel exactly what is happening to a jig. So, in my humble opinion, yes a more expensive rod will make you a better fisherman.

The first thing I would do is ask you buddy how much do you fish??? This, in my mind, helps justify the cost of buying new equipment.

Here is my “cadillac” choice. I like my rods just a little longer than most. 7′ medium light, fast action Legend Elite paired with a Shimano Symetre 2000. ($385 msrp) Not many of us joe weekend guys can afford this combo. Nor should someone that fishes twice a summer invest in this combo.

I think a great setup for the weekend fisherman was mentioned earlier. The St. Croix Premier with a Shimano Sedona 2000. You get a two year warranty from Croix, and after that they are very good about taking care of the customer. I could talk about this stuff all day long!!!!

I have two St.Croix Legend Elites and if I could afford more I would by a dozen! They are awesome. Someday I hope.

Steve Hougom – FTR Webstaff

I have 3 G-Loomis IMX and a half dozen other miscellous rods and even a poor to average fisherman like me can tell the difference.I’ll not buy another inexpensive rod.

I’ve got an expensive G-Loomis that I like to jig with. But to tell ya the truth, that rod spends more time in the garage than in the boat. Guess I’m somewhat afraid it will get busted or stolen.

I have found some excellent rods in that $50 price range. I have a pair of Diawa’s that I picked up on clearance at Reeds. I found a Browning in the bargain bin at Joe’s too. Both great rods.

The “Gaylans” house rod are very good rods in my opinion. You can get a IM7 graphite jigging rod for $50-70 that would serve you well. Pretty good replacement guarantee too.

The key is to go as light as possible. Find a lightweight stick and match it with a very small reel. (The Shimano’s are top notch reels) You can jig all day and not get fatigued in the wrist or elbow.

God Luck.

J.

In rods, I feel that you get what you pay for. I love my loomis jigging rods, and would not ever part with them. It is like buying a gun in a way. If you don’t use either one of them very much it is a bad investment to buy the higher end.BUT~~~If you fish a lot get a good one you will not be disappointed.Having good rods just making fishing more fun and productive.

~~~~~~~~~alkfish

To add my two cents to this conversation. I think it depends on how you want to “feel” the lure. I throw alot of tubes for smallmouth, don’t vertical jig much. Anyway, I think you need a fast tip with a really fast taper, and it should be a one piece as well. I think you can find rods like that for between $50 and $115. I like the Fenwick HMG and have been happy with the HMX . I use a 7ft Falcon Lowrider as well. All of them are in that midrange price area. I’ll say though that they feel completely different then a BPS IM8 medium I just tried tubing with the other day. That is really stiff and the taps of both the bites and the bottom were really distinct with that one. They were really sharp while with the other rods the taps telegraph much softer. With any rod you have to use it enough to understand how to translate what it is telling you.

Beyond the rod is the type of line you are using with the combo. For instance, mono translates much differently then the braided lines.

O.K., I just have to throw in my pennies worth! I have an IM7 rod by Quantam and a low end St. Croix Premier with medium action and a fast tip. I liked the Quantam quite well until I fished with the Croix for a little bit. I pair it with spool of 8 or 10# Fireline for deep jigging, drift jigging, etc. I use 6# Trilene XT for pitching light jigs in shallow, and in all applications I feel the slightest tick, I think gnats landing on the line are noticeable! It has made a great difference in my catch rate. Miss far fewer fish, and an added bonus is I have to fish more to justify the expense of the St Croix. It’s a win win situation for me!

Rooster

I agree, St Croix makes a great rod. I have five of them in my boat ranging from an ultra-light to muskie rod and like every one of them. If you ever make it Park Falls, Wisconsin about 50 miles s.e. of Hayward visit their factory. You can by a factory second for a discounted price. The rod may be 6’4″ instead of 6’6″ as marked, or have a bubble in the laminate. And they still have a limited warenty. Just my two cents.

Hi Keith

Give the 6′ 3″ Avid Series St. Croix a good look. These rods are my absolute favorites for casting or vertical jigging baits in the 1/16th – 1/4 ounce range.

James Holst

Moving Waters Guide Service

http://www.movingwaters.net

Is that because of the extra-fast tip that St. Croix tends to put on their 6.3’s?

That’s a huge part of it for me. I use the 7′ Avids with a fast tip and LOVE them! I use them for rigging, jigging, and slip bobbers as well!

Tuck

The fast tip is part of it but there’s more to a good rod than simply having the worlds highest modulus count and the lightest weight. Many of the top end manufacturers have made their rods much too fast, and too stiff, in the tip section to fish light jigs very well. Or should I say cast jigs very well. These rods are so stiff at the end that its actually work to cast light jigs because its impossibly to properly load the rod with the weight of the jig to make a decent cast. Anglers are forced to compensate with exaggerated arm motion and that gets plenty old after 10 hours. The 6′ 3″ Avids just have the right blend of speed, action, and the often overlooked, balance in an anglers hand when teamed with the right spinning reel.

James Holst

Moving Waters Guide Service

http://www.movingwaters.net

For jigging I use a Gander Guide series rod, its economically priced ($50) it has good backbone and is pretty sensitive. But I still see more bites than I feel.

Hook

James,

You must be a god or something!!!! I can’t wait to get out in the boat again to tap some more of that never ending knowledge. The whole time I’ve liked the croix is the sensitivity they offer and now you’ve given me another reason to buy them.

God? Paaaaleeze. No, just a guy that’s spent most of the last 5 years in a boat…. with plenty of time to ponder almost irrelevant points like why I like one rod VS. another.

By the way…. that 48″ sturgeon you caught…… that came on one of those 6′ 3″ Avids and 6 Lb mono….. Sten Sensor if I remember right. Great action for light stuff and plenty of backbone to muscle a big fish to the boat. Nice huh?!

See ya’ tomorrow.

James Holst

Moving Waters Guide Service

http://www.movingwaters.net

He’s a magician though! He keeps flipping which picture he’s going to use on his posts! LOL! :O)

Keith,

If your friend lives in the Hastings area you should come check out Hastings Outdoors. One of our Top selling rods is a Walleye Signature Series Rod from BPS. We carry both the Jiggin and Jiggin/Riggin rods – IM6 & IM8. They range in price between $59 & $69. Once you pick out the perfect reel (or bring a reel with you)we then have a weight balancing kit that can balance everything out for you. Our most popular Walleye combo is the 6’6″ IM8 jiggin BPS rod with a Tica Libra 2500 10bb reel..Have your friend come into the shop and will help him out. ..

Kriss

Hastings Outdoors

Keith

I did forget to mention that my husband let me out to

go fishing about a month ago and I caught my first BIG

(Big for me) Walleye -25″ 5.5-6lbs on the combo I mentioned…. He swears it was the rod and reel combo… But I’m sure I had a little something to do with catching it.

Kriss

Hastings Outdoors

Thanks for all the info guys and gals. It was very informative and appreciated.

Keith