# Jigging Combo



## Fordzilla06 (Oct 14, 2010)

Ok so I am finally ready to break down and buy a dedicated jigging rod and stop using the tiagra for jigging. Looking to deep drop for large grouper. I am willing to burn about $500 on a combo. What's the recommendation?


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## red34 (Jun 2, 2004)

When you say deep drop, are you wanting a multi-purpose outfit that will do jigs and baits?

You will want a faster tapered, heavy backbone rod like our Fathom Blade 500g. Depending on target depth, you're also gonna need a reel with pretty large capacity of heavy line. 

A good plac to start would be an Accurate BX-2 600N with an OTI Fathom Blade 500g

Other reels could be a Saltiga 40, Jigging Master PE8, Trinidad 40, Avet HXJ, and maybe a few others with whatever exact specs you're wanting. 

I'd say 2-speed would be ideal for this type of fishing, but I don't generally recommend 2-speed reels for jigging, so there's decision 1. Capacity is going to need to be high. Drag capabilities are going to be very important, etc...

For the rod, a 500g is a beast and is best suited for yanking big AJs and grouper off rig legs and out of structure against their will. Well, there's a flip side to that coin... That power has to go somewhere, so plan on feeling it. This will also be too much rod (for most people) for open water tuna until you get into big bluefins, so you're looking at a fairly deticated outfit. 

I'd say 80# mainline as a minimum, 130# or so wind-on, and a good belt and you should be good to go. One more thing, to stay under that $500, you're gonna have to do some shopping on he classifieds. The BD forum always has good reels, and 360 has top line stuff up alll the time.


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## ksong (Jun 30, 2004)

For deep drop, you don't need a fancy rod and reel if your budget is limited.
JM PE7/8 and 10 are gaining popularity for enormous cranking power.
However, if you install long arms and angled handle to any decent reel with gear ratio of 4:1 - 4.9:1), any reel can do the job as long as it has enough line capacity. 

For rods, you have tons of choices for deep drops as you don't need any finesse rods for deep drop. You should be able to find decent rods in $150 - 200 range.


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## Ex Boat Capt. Carp (Jul 19, 2011)

Jigging master reels!! FISH ON!!


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