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Ok guys I'm in the market for new rods that suit my application and comfort. I cast jigs 80 percent of the time. I like ultra light one piece rods that are 5'6 to 6'6 in length. From what i have read I would want a one piece rod. If anyone has any suggestions or advice any input is welcome. Thanks
Budget?
I do a lot of casting jigs as well. From 1/64 - 1/8 oz. sizes. I have been using the B n' M Sam's Supersensitive (SHSS) in 7' length (2-pc rod) for several years now and I would not go back to a shorter rod for this purpose. JMO mind you....and it depends on what you like. I have taken a lot of crappie, yellow perch, bluegills and bass on this rod, so I'm a firm believer in it's capabilities. I really believe that if you try one of these rods out, you will be impressed. Going for about $50.00 these days. You did not mention your budget either? There are many less expensive rods and some quite a bit more expensive too. Good luck! :)
I'm not looking for a cheapie. But not high end either. Somewhere between 40 and 80 would be a good range
I had been looking into the st Croix triumph rod. Anyone got opinions on that particular rod
I have two St. Croix Medium Light rods that are 7'0". I too cast about 80% of the time and cast 1/16 to 1/8 oz jigs most times. I used to use a lighter powder but have settled on the medium light seven footer. Cost wise I am not sure because I build my own rods.
If you have a Gander Mountain near you stop in and see if they have any of their Vortex series left in ultra light. Very nice stick and clearence priced at $19.99 from $59.99. I see they are sold out on line but our local store still has a few left.
I used to use medium priced rods- $40 each. Then stepped up to the St. Croix Premier series. I have two 6'6" Ultra lights- fast action that work excellent. I also prefer single piece rods. I think they transfer feel through the rod better. Your going to pay about 50% more than your budget, but its worth it. Check them out at your favorite fishing store. Their action is unbelievable.
That's what I'm currently fishing with is the vortex. For the money I don't think you can beat it
I use a ESP PowerLite 6'6" rod for most of my jig casting.
Features : ESP™ Rod Features | ESP™ High Performance Ultra Light Rods by Norsemen Outdoors (specs and their line of rods can also be seen on this link)
I'd purchase one from Grizzly Jigs, since they're cheaper there than the main retail website.
I was a field tester for ESP's designer ... and changed from using a 7' Sam Heaton Sig Series rod to the 6'6" ESP ... mostly for the very fast action tip, and greater sensitivity. The Tenn style handle also allows me to balance the outfit with different size/weight reels, should I decide or need to change reels.
... cp :kewl
I love my St Croix med/light 6'9" Avid
If you are looking to spend 80 bucks on a rod I would go with an ESP. I owned two of them...a 7 foot 2 piece Power Lite and the 6' 6" UL. I fished the living fire out of them 4-5 days a week 365 a year...one more than the other....I was very partial to the 7 foot 2 piece. I caught thousands of fish with them. I gave the UL rod to a nephew to get him started in UL fishing and had the 7 foot Power Lite stripped and was going to have the guides all replaced with same type guides...micro guides....but with titanium frames and SIC inserts. I also wanted the lacquer stripped off as it was cracking all over. I liked that rod that much to spend the money to do that.....but the rod builder made a mess out of it. By that time I had gotten into high end rods made in Japan and have never looked back. I may not have owned every UL rod sold in the states but have owned a lot...St Croix.....Fenwick Elite Tech River Runner......Daiwa Presso....Loomis Trout Rod.....and many less costly rods. If I was told I could not have my Japanese rods anymore and could have only a rod sold in US stores I would pick an ESP hands down for casting. Those rods are very unique with the sensitivity....made from a great blank. The action is great for casting for crappie....Gills. Just be aware that the inserts on the guides are metal...I never had any problem at all with them....just was not partial to metal inserts. You will not be disappointed if you get one.Quote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
Regards
I second the ESP rods... I personally like the 6ft power lite... It's a great rod for tossing jigs... I have used it for a couple years and wanted a second one to just have in case something happened to the one I have so around Black Friday ESP ran a sale of free shipping which for some odd reason normally it's outrageous... The first ESP I got thru grizzly jig but when I checked on the backup they didn't have it and didn't think they would get any in for a month or so... So they might have them now... It's a great rod that I'm sure you would be satisfied with... I also have a ton of other rods (bnm sam heaton, st croix, fenwick, daiwa presso etc) and for casting jigs I'm extremely pleased with the ESP
the ESP is a great rod for sure . but there are alot of nice rods around that price . St. Croix is nice as well ...but again there are alot of nice rods in that price range .
i would suggest going here and there and holding and playing with them all until you have to return to hold one more than once .
and if it requires you to go back 3 times to hold it..... buy it .....LOL KABOOM
Sounds like i will be looking more into bnm and the esp rods. Anyone have any opinions on bnm vs the esp rods
I throw jigs with One! I think its 5' 6".I love it,i have a middle of the road Okuma on it right now.I'll be taking that reel off soon when i can find a President 25 for a good price.My brother and i are having the same problem with the same Okuma reel.Im tough on rods and the little Triumph has held up good.Its been my primary jig caster for 5 or six seasons.Quote:
Originally Posted by fishbrain
Nothing other than what I mentioned before ... that I stopped using my BnM Sam Heaton 7' rod as my primary jig casting rod, when I field tested the ESP 6'6" PowerLite.Quote:
Originally Posted by fishbrain
The two biggest reasons were : the Sam Heaton has a soft action parabolic bend (bends like a C) whereas the ESP has a very fast action tip (bends like a J). And the Sam Heaton has a fixed reel seat, whereas the ESP has a Tenn handle w/graphite grip rings ... so I can use a variety of different reels on the ESP and still balance the outfit by where I place the reel on the handle. Fixed reel seats don't allow a balanced outfit, outside of a narrow reel weight parameter.
(Disclaimer notice, FYI)
The Sam Heaton was a rod I won in a tournament, and the ESP was a free rod I received to field test for the ESP designer/marketing dept ... so I had no financial binding ties to cause me to favor one over the other. I still use the Sam Heaton, just not as a jig casting rod. I'm not knocking the Sam Heaton, or BnM, by my choice. I field tested the 8' Duckworth FnF rod for BnM, and have good relations with the company & Jack Wells (President of BnM).
I just happened to prefer the action of the ESP rod over the Sam Heaton's action, for my primary jig casting methods. I chose the 6'6" ESP because I already had a 7' rod in the Sam Heaton, before knowing the difference in the tip actions of the two. Had I known the difference beforehand, there's a good possibility I would have chosen the 7' PowerLite ESP.
FYI - Another couple of things of noteworthiness, IMHO ... is that the 6' PowerLite ESP rod has the same length of rod blank from the handle to the tip, as the 6'6" PowerLite ESP. The 6" difference is in the rear extension of the handle (the poodle tail) of the 6'6" version.
Extended handles are for leverage when fighting a fish and/or hook setting ... and the poodle tail version is for the same thing, plus less weight than a fully corked/foamed handle.
The micro guides/tip of the ESP rods are not particularly user friendly with slip float/bobber stop use, because of their tiny eyelet openings.
... cp :kewl
I didn't see the esp rods on grizzlys site
They are not shown on the website. They are shown in their catalog. You can view the 2015 catalog by downloading this pdf : https://grizzlyjig.com/Custom/Linked...CatalogWeb.pdfQuote:
Originally Posted by fishbrain
Scroll down to pg28 and you will see the models they carry. And remember : all rods longer than 6' will have the extended (poodle tail) handle. Rods 6' & shorter will have the "regular" style handle. The page shows both styles of handle, but the specs do not indicate which rods have which style handles.
You might also want to call them, just to make sure they have the rod you're interested in, in stock :ThumbsUp
Sometimes they do run out of stock.
... cp :kewl
Thanks for all the input everyone. I'm going to be ordering a powerlite esp and a bnm Sam heaton and playing with them both to see which one I like better then ordering more of the one I liked better. I'm confident that the bnm and esp are both great rods and thanks for steering me in the right direction