Thread: Rods for jigging

What type of jiggs should I get. I know there is a large variety, thats my problem. Where do I start? What brands? I will be fishing stump fields, and downed trees in lake Talqin and Seminole.

Originally Posted by skeetbum

Crestliner brought up what I had in mind. Rods depend on your individual style of fishin. We cast, drift, troll, anchor, shoot, push, and probably a few more styles that I can't remember right now. Some rods are task specific and others do multiple duty. A good start is a 5' ultralite with 4lb hi vis line. Next is a 7' lite action with 6 lb hi vis. With these two rods, and these don't have to break the bank, you can get cranked up on some of the most fun fishing at just the right time of year. Jigs are also a matter of choice. All have varied applications. For a start, tubes or panfish assassin tiny shad are a good starting point. Walmart plain lead head jigs with red hooks are cheap enough and are also a good starting point. 1/32, 1/16, and 1/8 are the most common sizes. Everyone has a favorite color or confidence bait, and you will have your own in no time. Pearl, black/gray, chartreuse, black/chart will get you off the ground. Small bobbers help keep you at the right depth during the spawn which has the fish in as little as a foot of water at times.
Welcome to the best Crappie forum there is, look forward to hearing of your exploits as you experience it firsthand. Middle Tennessee wavin its hand.

Thank you for the info. I am grateful for the info.

Originally Posted by Bigh

What type of jiggs should I get. I know there is a large variety, thats my problem. Where do I start? What brands? I will be fishing stump fields, and downed trees in lake Talqin and Seminole.

Unless you want to be constantly buying jigs, to replace the ones you lose in those stumps & downed trees .... consider weedless jigheads & plastic bodies.

Even when "jigging" .... you're subject to snagging your jig. A weedless jighead will help you avoid that, for the most part. (they are not, however, a good choice for trolling ... IMHO)

As to your original question ... are you referring to "vertical jigging" or casting jigs or just generally "using" jigs, when you say "jigging"

Were I to only be vertical jigging .... my rods would be 10' or longer.
For casting to open water targets ... 6-8ft rods would be my choice.
For shooting docks, casting to short range targets, or casting to/in confined areas ... 5' rods would be my choice.

Be sure and put a reel or two on any rod you look at .... and check for how the weight of the reel balances the length of the rod. An unbalanced outfit will wear on your wrist/arms, taking away from the usefullness & pleasure of the method you choose to use.
I balance my outfits this way : I put a reel on the rod, then lay the rod on my finger ... the very front end of the rod handle is resting on my finger, not the rod blank. If the rod falls forward, towards the tip .. it's tip heavy (needs a heavier reel). If it falls towards the handle ... it's butt heavy (needs a lighter reel). This is how I balance a rod with a fixed reel seat. For rods with Tenn handles (depending on length of handle), this can be done by sliding the reel forward/backward on the handle, until a balance is achieved. Even so, it still has to be comfortable to use, before I stop the testing.

And just so you know ... I don't vertical jig, & I don't have/use any rods over 8 feet in length. All of the rods I use are 5ft to 8ft in length, and they're all spinning rods. I'm primarily a jig caster, with some dock shooting thrown in (when/where available)

... cp

Outlaw will have a 12 foot cork here soon

Originally Posted by CrappieKillerJigs

Outlaw will have a 12 foot cork here soon

Then soon I will own a 12' Outlaw. Let me know when they are available. Thanks.

Good luck on getting anything cork from Outlaw any time soon. I know they are trying but that doesn't put a cork rod in my hand before spawn.

I like 11ft poles the best,the BnM ultralite is probably my favorite.

First of all welcome! You have gotten a lot of good advice from everyone thus far and as you can see and tell, they have covered almost everything, in general, for the type of fishing that one would want to try and do. As a somewhat newbie myself,on this site, there is a lot of very good info on this site and some very good people that chimes in with their responses to each and every question that one may have.

For my two cents worth, everyone has a different style of fishing and it is primarily based on what they have had the most success with even though, the "seasoned" ones could adapt to many different types of situations, that is called for when necessary.

I don't know what your status is or how new you are to crappie fishing but as far as rods go, I would have to agree with the ones that has stated that " it all depends on what type of fishing you are going to do." I, myself, mainly do vertical jigging with jigs and sometimes rarely on occasions will use a minnow as well. I use mainly 8' rods now and used to use 7' for all of my jigging but have found that the extra foot gives me more leeway. As to the brand or types, it is more or less based on what you can afford and what you are looking for. A rod and reel can get very expensive and by the time you have purchased what you "really" need, you will have spent quite a bit. LOL

As for jigs that I use, I mainly like the 1/16 oz. with a #6 bronze hook and are made with chenille and feathers. However, when using tubes, I always use a 1/16 oz. redhead jig (with eyes painted on) that I buy from BPS and they have a #4 hook on them. My main go-to color on the tubes is a black body with a chartreuse tail. But it all depends on what you have the most confidence in, as always.