# Jig rod input.



## John R

Thinking about a Smith AMF52H for conventional reel jigging for GOM yellowfin. Appreciate any thoughts/experiences.
Thanks, John


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## Eastern Tackle

Smith = pure win.

I think you meant AMJ? 330g is a great all around rod weight. what reel?


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## Eastern Tackle

John R said:


> Appreciate any thoughts/experiences.


As an afterthought, if you are looking for a lifetime warranty deal, this (high end japanese rods) isn't it. I would get clarification so your expectations are set before fishing with it.


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## Chase This!

Holy ****. Does that stupid rod really sell for $600+??? 

I just don't get it. Why are people paying so much for jigging rods??? The cheapo Hopper Rods from FTU (I like the little 4'10") will land any tuna at our floaters. PERIOD. Four years with the same rod and as good as new. And it has a lifetime replacement warranty.

Don't bother trying to convince me other wise. I know from experience. Still love ya, John. Let's go fishing again. Bring this stupid rod and let's see who catches more fish. 

Brandon


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## slowrey

Brandon i'll bring my stupid expensive rods too and we can see who can jig all night =) .....make it happen captain....lets roll!!


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## luna sea II

I've fished with an AMJ52H spinner and a custom conventional and they are sweet rods but not worth the money IMO. I would be scared to death to have one on the boat with some of the guys that fish with me. if you high stick that rod it will break and then you're screwed. they are very unforgiving. I would go with a JM powerspell and save $200. it's a much more durable rod. 

this jigging **** has gotten absurd. most of these guys that have these $1500 outfits don't even know how to fish. I can out fish 90% of them with a torium and trevalla. most of them are internet fishermen...


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## slowrey

hey luna you guys jig much over there?


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## luna sea II

slowrey said:


> hey luna you guys jig much over there?


we do alot of jigging for grouper and jacks.


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## ksong

Choosing a jigging rod is like a choosing a car.
Some just love a pickup trucks and some want fancy cars.
For example SIC guides are not necessary for tuna jigging, but they are preferred.
You can jig with 20 - 30 oz rod, but jigging with 10 oz rod is a pure joy.
Some can jig with stiff rod like a telephone pole, but some prefer right action rods.
Smith AMJ rods are pretty popluar in the US, but not much in Japan.


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## RSN

hopper rods


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## Chase This!

This is from the Big E post. Is this one of them there "fancy cars"???

Brandon


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## John R

Input from boat drivers, aka "marlin fisherman", is obviously suspect.
Also, I don't fish with ugly rods, aka "Hopper".
Post has got me to thinking about building my own - thanks, John


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## Chase This!

John R said:


> Input from boat drivers, aka "marlin fisherman", is obviously suspect.




Bring your fancy rod next time. Let's see if we can land a sword on it.

Brandon

Ps. It's OK to use an ugly rod, as long as you have a pretty boat.


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## slowrey

that might be fun to try man as long as we could chase it in that pretty boat  ...or maybe i'll just stick to jigging tile fish


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## John R

Brandon,
Think you are confusing your boat with your bride.
John


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## Chase This!

John R said:


> Brandon,
> Think you are confusing your boat with your bride.
> John


Touche.



Brandon


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## doughboy361

that rod with a broken tip look like oti rod and you cant compare that to a smith amj rod. theres a big difference in weight between a hopper rod and smith amj. if yall like jigging with a heavy *** pole then more power to yall i willing spend $500 dollar on a jigging rod that i can jig all day. i went out of venice, la this past wed for a yft trip. good thing i had my jigging rod cuz my captain was relying on live baiting for yft. well it sure didnt work cuz all 11 yft we caught was all on jigs(fcl labo jigs and fishermen andaman). the beginning of trip the captain was doubting that our jig would work but all he had to say was fish at 150 ft we drop to 150 and we are tight. they also said well big yft dont bite on jigs well one day im wanna prove them wrong....


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## luna sea II

doughboy361 said:


> that rod with a broken tip look like oti rod and you cant compare that to a smith amj rod. theres a big difference in weight between a hopper rod and smith amj. if yall like jigging with a heavy *** pole then more power to yall i willing spend $500 dollar on a jigging rod that i can jig all day. i went out of venice, la this past wed for a yft trip. good thing i had my jigging rod cuz my captain was relying on live baiting for yft. well it sure didnt work cuz all 11 yft we caught was all on jigs(fcl labo jigs and fishermen andaman). the beginning of trip the captain was doubting that our jig would work but all he had to say was fish at 150 ft we drop to 150 and we are tight. they also said well big yft dont bite on jigs well one day im wanna prove them wrong....


ya'll are good fisherman but don't get too cocky about the jigs...they work sometimes for small fish but not so much for the big ones


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## doughboy361

its not being cocky if we didnt have jigs that day i dont think we be going home with any fish. jigs save the day!!!!



luna sea II said:


> ya'll are good fisherman but don't get too cocky about the jigs...they work sometimes for small fish but not so much for the big ones


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## mad marlin

uhmmm..very interested debate here!! hoppers are great rods like Brandon have mention it will last you for a decade & it probably, if you take care of it your grandson would fish it as well.
Any rod , even a walmart catfish would work for jigging & even will land a YFT if you're experience enough to handle the fight. However those expensive rods have a place in very specific situations / fish / angler / technique. 
Like john have said as well , let get two of you guys to jig a whole day one with the Hopper & the other with the Smith will rig the with the same reel ( you pick ) same jig ( you pick ) same line ( you pick ) Ill sit down drink my beers and wait for the guy fishing the hopper to say Im worm out !!! While whomever its fishing the smith most likely would say ...bring more fish on.
Disclaimer , Ive own the hopper as it was my first ever jigging rod , learned a lot with it . Now I have from Synit to Smith passing by an Awesome custom Batson Rainshadow that I love ...in the mix some Jaws & OTIs.
I WISH if had lesser gear and more time in the water , does it make me a better angler ? NO , does it make me an Internet fishermen ? NO you know why Im saying this Luna !!! however At anytime & anyplace if i can make it ill love to bring all my tackle and you guys would figure out what is the most appropriate.
dont forget that fishing its not rocket science but Yes it required Technique & experience. but I think the most IMPORTANT PART of all its what you are confident with...
what makes a good angler ?
gear + technique+ expirence = A good angler
experience + technique + gear = A good angler
Let go fishing guys...ill bring my Barbie set up 

BTW I live 400 miles from the closest shore line....otherwise you wont be seeing much of internet posting but at least kills my itch !!


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## Charlie2

*DIY Jigging*



John R said:


> Post has got me to thinking about building my own - thanks, John


Why not?? You can make your own rods as well as jigs. It isn't brain surgery! JMHO C2


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## luna sea II

mad marlin said:


> uhmmm..very interested debate here!! hoppers are great rods like Brandon have mention it will last you for a decade & it probably, if you take care of it your grandson would fish it as well.
> Any rod , even a walmart catfish would work for jigging & even will land a YFT if you're experience enough to handle the fight. However those expensive rods have a place in very specific situations / fish / angler / technique.
> Like john have said as well , let get two of you guys to jig a whole day one with the Hopper & the other with the Smith will rig the with the same reel ( you pick ) same jig ( you pick ) same line ( you pick ) Ill sit down drink my beers and wait for the guy fishing the hopper to say Im worm out !!! While whomever its fishing the smith most likely would say ...bring more fish on.
> Disclaimer , Ive own the hopper as it was my first ever jigging rod , learned a lot with it . Now I have from Synit to Smith passing by an Awesome custom Batson Rainshadow that I love ...in the mix some Jaws & OTIs.
> I WISH if had lesser gear and more time in the water , does it make me a better angler ? NO , does it make me an Internet fishermen ? NO you know why Im saying this Luna !!! however At anytime & anyplace if i can make it ill love to bring all my tackle and you guys would figure out what is the most appropriate.
> dont forget that fishing its not rocket science but Yes it required Technique & experience. but I think the most IMPORTANT PART of all its what you are confident with...
> what makes a good angler ?
> gear + technique+ expirence = A good angler
> experience + technique + gear = A good angler
> Let go fishing guys...ill bring my Barbie set up
> 
> BTW I live 400 miles from the closest shore line....otherwise you wont be seeing much of internet posting but at least kills my itch !!


come fish with me and let me try that gear out!:biggrin:

I have fished with high end tackle and there is a difference. there is a big difference between a hopper and a smith and if you can afford it go for it. like you and I talked about before alot of guys get caught up in the whole bling thing with jigging tackle and instead of buying a $300-400 outfit that will do the job and spending money on actually fishing they spend all their money on gear and don't have money to fish.

my personal jigging outfit is a TN40N on a 400g OTI but I have 3 toriums on XXH trevalas for my guests(most of which have little or no tackle). I have a boat and full complement of tackle and can barely pay the bills!:biggrin:

it's not the best or most expensive tackle but it is in great condition and does the job and is all I can afford.

Scott


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## doughboy361

no hopper or trevela!!!


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## Chase This!

luna sea II said:


> ya'll are good fisherman but don't get too cocky about the jigs...they work sometimes for small fish but not so much for the big ones


Jigs catch the bait to catch the big ones!!!


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## ksong

Some think they catch bigger tuna on baits and smaller tuna on jigs.
That is totally untrue. I jigged so many nights with bait fishermen and I didn't notice any difference.


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## mad marlin

I agree with Kil on that , not all the times the big un is going for the baits...


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## ksong

Here are pictures of big ones on jigs.


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## doughboy361

Anyone can drop a live bait/dead bait down and catch a fish it's more chAllenging and rewarding when you hook up on a jig/swimbait even more exciting when they crash a popper.


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## mad marlin

doughboy361 said:


> Anyone can drop a live bait/dead bait down and catch a fish it's more chAllenging and rewarding when you hook up on a jig/swimbait even more exciting when they crash a popper.


Agree . 
It takes a bit of practice & technique to get that jig or popper to work properly so it will attract the fish to strike.
While a bait or a chunck its just doing the work self. Sometimes the fish would not bite a chunk/bait but it will strike on a jig/popper and some other times totally the opposite, but Yes working with artificial its has its rewards .JMO


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## luna sea II

doughboy361 said:


> Anyone can drop a live bait/dead bait down and catch a fish


not true. I fish beside folks all the time that couldn't catch a yft if it jumped in the boat and bit them on the arse. there is alot of technique that goes in to consistantly catching fish on bait and catching the bait to do it with. I take guys all the time that can't drop a jig without backlashing and still catch fish jigging. sometimes it's hard to watch their spastic jigging technique without laughing but the fish seem to like it

truth is on any given day the fish may be in a different mood and a good fisherman will adapt. it's true that jigging and popping is much more interactive and gives the crew a chance to bait and hook their fish.

I'm still waiting to see a pic of a 150lb + yellow on a jig from the GOM....


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## mad marlin

Scott , do you think YFT are different whether from GOM, EC , WC , Mexico ? same species right.
They nigh have different feeding habits thats no doubt but If you put us on school of YFT over the triple digit , I bet some would inhale the jigs


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## doughboy361

who say yft in the GOM 100 lb plus dont eat jigs. check out mrbill pix 121 lb caught on a oti jager pink 300g jig

http://www.360tuna.com/forum/f76/does-big-yellowfin-tuna-like-jigs-14265/#post154060


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## luna sea II

doughboy361 said:


> who say yft in the GOM 100 lb plus dont eat jigs. check out mrbill pix 121 lb caught on a oti jager pink 300g jig
> 
> http://www.360tuna.com/forum/f76/does-big-yellowfin-tuna-like-jigs-14265/#post154060


I said I'm still waiting to see a pic of a 150 + on a jig


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## doughboy361

luna sea II said:


> I said I'm still waiting to see a pic of a 150 + on a jig


any fish over 150 is consider over 100 and why is GOM yft different from the westcoast yft or any other place?? i just think its a lot easier to catch a big one on live/bait thats why yall dont jigs.


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## luna sea II

mad marlin said:


> Scott , do you think YFT are different whether from GOM, EC , WC , Mexico ? same species right.
> They nigh have different feeding habits thats no doubt but If you put us on school of YFT over the triple digit , I bet some would inhale the jigs


Anthony, they are the same species but they do have different feeding habits. for example our fish feed on smaller baits than the pacific where they catch 150lb tuna on 5lb skipjacks. jigs do work well sometimes but it has been my experience and many others as well that day in day out bait will greatly outfish jigs in both numbers and size.

the big fish being caught around Venice lately are following shrimp boats eating cull and it would be very hard to switch them off that to jigs. now if they were deep feeding on squid I believe they would be more prone to bite jigs. I probably have had 60 or so legal yellows on jigs put in my boat over the years but never one over 75lbs.

offshore fishing and boat ownership are expensive and I depend on happy guests to pay for fuel to allow me to fish often and that means putting fish on the dock consistantly. most of these guys are south Mississippi ******** and don't care how I accomplish that as long as they leave with coolers full of fish.

when you come over we will definitely give it a try and I may learn something new.


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## mad marlin

Good point there Scott . 
Totally agree that YFT or any pelagic would be prone to react/bite/eat on what its feeding basic are.
On a feeding frenzy , when the school of tuna its located & some triple digits are around if you present a jig with good erratic action , I can most likely say that you'll get a strike.
You,ve nailed the whole scenario when you said.
" for example our fish feed on smaller baits " That's exactly the jig to be presented a long 400g wont induce the YFT to bite but a short erratic 100g or 120g might  course if we,re able to pass the BFT & current aint ripping.
I think it has to be at the right time , the right jig . 

If the jigs works all over the world & you've seen reports that confirm the fact , why would be any different in the GOM ?
This is not my quote but its a fact:

"Jigs induce both feeding bite and reaction bite, that's what makes them so versital."
The only way to find out Is???????  : D GO FISH fellows


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## doughboy361

fishing shrimp boat poppers/swimbait probably be a better bet then jigs but if you marking fish down deep i think most of the time jigs will get them to bite.


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## mad marlin

BTW I have nothing against chunks or bait , as I would be the first one to drift a bait or a chunk if the fish its biting on that. 
Does not make me a better or a worse angler


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