Mini jigging rods

[jmp_fishinn]

Everyone keeps bringing this up and I keep saying the same thing. Here is a little of my experience on the subject. I have had 6 minijig rods and have to say it really comes down to personal preference. All of this is in regards to 2lb test line e.g. action & backbone.

If you use a slower action tip you will cast a light jig/plastic better. It will also create better action. Length makes a difference in the action, but more so on distance. I have seen plenty of guys with 6ft rods still kill them using the right action tip.

Now the pricier rods will not only have a slower action tip for casting and action, but a solid backbone/butt to back it up. A perfect example of this would be the Bass Pro Shop Wally Marshal Mity lite rod. I use an 11ft model. Now this rod has the backbone of the pricier rods, but the blank is also thicker and heavier. Also a little less sensitive. Not to mention the heavy EVA foam grips. At $45 I was happy with the price to performance trade offs. It included Bass Pro Shop warranty.

But the Pac Bays and Phenixs are going to of course be better because they are using more expensive materials and construction methods. Which still are not bad at all for the price to performance value they give you (unless you wrap your own rods).

Now when I go to the Sierras or remote places I bring my Rainshadow RX7 9ft 3wt rod wrapped by NIM Custom Rods for spinning/2lb. This is a true noodle rod in every sense of the word. It is very light and sensitive. The cork grips are contoured well to my palms. Can cast a powerworm weightless with ease. This rod gets me the most hookups I think because of the action it imparts.

Incidentally my friend Jacob has an old $20 fiberglass Bass Pro Shop rod (discontinued & I could not find it) that is a PERFECT noodle rod. So you might try to look into a long fiberglass noodle rod on the cheap. But these rods have NO BACKBONE for fighting the fish.

So decide what you prefer. Do you want a rod that is more likely to get more hookups with better action? Or nah you want a rod that has some beefy backbone for fighting the fish. Or maybe you are a moderate and prefer something with a good balance between the two. The pricier rods will do a better job of offering more of both worlds in a lighter package. So Good Luck.

Wow! thanks for the great information!!
i think im gonna check that BPS wall marshall rod tomorrow
and see how i like it!

thanks a bunch tho for all the info.

tight lines!

[AngryAgent]

Everyone keeps bringing this up and I keep saying the same thing. Here is a little of my experience on the subject. I have had 6 minijig rods and have to say it really comes down to personal preference. All of this is in regards to 2lb test line e.g. action & backbone.

If you use a slower action tip you will cast a light jig/plastic better. It will also create better action. Length makes a difference in the action, but more so on distance. I have seen plenty of guys with 6ft rods still kill them using the right action tip.

Now the pricier rods will not only have a slower action tip for casting and action, but a solid backbone/butt to back it up. A perfect example of this would be the Bass Pro Shop Wally Marshal Mity lite rod. I use an 11ft model. Now this rod has the backbone of the pricier rods, but the blank is also thicker and heavier. Also a little less sensitive. Not to mention the heavy EVA foam grips. At $45 I was happy with the price to performance trade offs. It included Bass Pro Shop warranty.

But the Pac Bays and Phenixs are going to of course be better because they are using more expensive materials and construction methods. Which still are not bad at all for the price to performance value they give you (unless you wrap your own rods).

Now when I go to the Sierras or remote places I bring my Rainshadow RX7 9ft 3wt rod wrapped by NIM Custom Rods for spinning/2lb. This is a true noodle rod in every sense of the word. It is very light and sensitive. The cork grips are contoured well to my palms. Can cast a powerworm weightless with ease. This rod gets me the most hookups I think because of the action it imparts.

Incidentally my friend Jacob has an old $20 fiberglass Bass Pro Shop rod (discontinued & I could not find it) that is a PERFECT noodle rod. So you might try to look into a long fiberglass noodle rod on the cheap. But these rods have NO BACKBONE for fighting the fish.

So decide what you prefer. Do you want a rod that is more likely to get more hookups with better action? Or nah you want a rod that has some beefy backbone for fighting the fish. Or maybe you are a moderate and prefer something with a good balance between the two. The pricier rods will do a better job of offering more of both worlds in a lighter package. So Good Luck.

I like how you broke that down..

I agree with most of it except the part about noodle rods being sensitive. I remember back in the day when guys were fishing with the Kencor's (a true noodle) and they were great for jigging except for one thing, you couldn't feel your hits half the time. The looser a rod is the less sensitive it becomes. The faster the action of the rod the more sensitive it is. Now along with that different materials also produce different sensitivity like graphite is lighter, faster action and in most cases more sensitive then fiberglass. Fiberglass tipped rods are better for casting in most cases because they load up better or slingshot your jig a little easier. Fly rod blanks are my favorite wrapped for spinning especially Sage. There are many variables and every single person will like something different.

[vanillagurilla]

i would personaly NEVER use or recomend a glass rod for jigging. It works like this (with any fishing rod for any kind of fishing, unless physics has changed) the longer the rod the more sensitivity it looses, the further apart the material is, the more sensitivity it looses. More expensive the rod is usually means the tighter the weave in the material. the tighter the weave the more sensitivity you get but, the eaiser it is to break. thats why you see guys put there phenix's back in sleeves or rod tubes most of the time. the cheapo off the shelf wal-mart rods (graphite) can get beat to hell with out breaking because the material isnt as good. if you grab a phenix to high up landing a fish it will snap like a dry twig. but the phenix (or any highend rod) will be 10x more sensitive. Kencore and american spirit along with other fiberglass noodle rods arent in the least sensitive. there mainly for casting bait or lures far. you might be able to cast farther but dose it matter if you cant feel the bite? i went from a $15 rod to a spinmatic at $40 and felt a difference. then i went from that to the $220 phenix and i wont touch the spinmatic anymore for tossin jigs. 85% is in the material of the rod, 10% in the length and 5% in the line. next week if you want to come down to fullerton and meet me at the lake by my house ill let you try both the spinmatic and the phenix and you can decide for yourself.

[AngryAgent]

i would personaly NEVER use or recomend a glass rod for jigging. It works like this (with any fishing rod for any kind of fishing, unless physics has changed) the longer the rod the more sensitivity it looses, the further apart the material is, the more sensitivity it looses. More expensive the rod is usually means the tighter the weave in the material. the tighter the weave the more sensitivity you get but, the eaiser it is to break. thats why you see guys put there phenix's back in sleeves or rod tubes most of the time. the cheapo off the shelf wal-mart rods (graphite) can get beat to hell with out breaking because the material isnt as good. if you grab a phenix to high up landing a fish it will snap like a dry twig. but the phenix (or any highend rod) will be 10x more sensitive. Kencore and american spirit along with other fiberglass noodle rods arent in the least sensitive. there mainly for casting bait or lures far. you might be able to cast farther but dose it matter if you cant feel the bite? i went from a $15 rod to a spinmatic at $40 and felt a difference. then i went from that to the $220 phenix and i wont touch the spinmatic anymore for tossin jigs. 85% is in the material of the rod, 10% in the length and 5% in the line. next week if you want to come down to fullerton and meet me at the lake by my house ill let you try both the spinmatic and the phenix and you can decide for yourself.

Another great explanation.

Hence IM6, IM7, IM8 modulus.

Many...many variables

[vanillagurilla]

lol dont even get me started on hardware (guides, seats, grips) lmao.

[formosa]

i would personaly NEVER use or recomend a glass rod for jigging. It works like this (with any fishing rod for any kind of fishing, unless physics has changed) the longer the rod the more sensitivity it looses, the further apart the material is, the more sensitivity it looses. More expensive the rod is usually means the tighter the weave in the material. the tighter the weave the more sensitivity you get but, the eaiser it is to break. thats why you see guys put there phenix's back in sleeves or rod tubes most of the time. the cheapo off the shelf wal-mart rods (graphite) can get beat to hell with out breaking because the material isnt as good. if you grab a phenix to high up landing a fish it will snap like a dry twig. but the phenix (or any highend rod) will be 10x more sensitive. Kencore and american spirit along with other fiberglass noodle rods arent in the least sensitive. there mainly for casting bait or lures far. you might be able to cast farther but dose it matter if you cant feel the bite? i went from a $15 rod to a spinmatic at $40 and felt a difference. then i went from that to the $220 phenix and i wont touch the spinmatic anymore for tossin jigs. 85% is in the material of the rod, 10% in the length and 5% in the line. next week if you want to come down to fullerton and meet me at the lake by my house ill let you try both the spinmatic and the phenix and you can decide for yourself.

that's very well say, i had the same experience. it take me couple years of time and money
to find this out. now i fish with Phenix rods.

[AngryAgent]

lol dont even get me started on hardware (guides, seats, grips) lmao.

Hardware is simple as far as guides go...
Fuji titanium tatsg's bar none..

Reel seat..well I don't use them

And you can keep the Phoenix rods factory wrapped, but I'll take the blanks as back ups to my Sages, Loomis's and St Croix's in case I break them

[Ultralight]

Angry Agent, if you ever head up to the San Bernardino mountains, let me know. i have a couple of rods I'd love to have you try. They are probably 20-40% lighter than anything out there - including custom jobbies.

UL

[AngryAgent]

Angry Agent, if you ever head up to the San Bernardino mountains, let me know. i have a couple of rods I'd love to have you try. They are probably 20-40% lighter than anything out there - including custom jobbies.

UL

absolutely!

It would be my pleasure

When you going fishing? Let me know!

[Ultralight]

Angry Agent,

Actually time for fishing is limited give my responsibilities but if you ever head up this way, I'll meet you somewhere. So what I do is build as I can do it in small spurts of time. I'm not looking to sell any rods by the way as I realize that I rather build for pleasure than be under the gun. I did not enjoy the pressure of having to build a number of rods in the past months with time pressure. This way, I build whatever I want. Just enjoy showing stuff to enthusiasts. ( May sell blanks in time but that's a different discussion.) I think you'll enjoy it based on my reading your posts. Basically I started with a blank sheet and designed what I thought I'd like from how the guides are configured, the look, to the handle design. It ended up being perfectly balanced and lighter than I ever thought possible though there's no minimizing of any ergonomics for the sake of weight. Casting distance, sensitivity etc is all superb. It is fast action however so it won't work for those who want slow action.

UL