throwing jigs & live lining.... rods & line

[YaknBass]

new to saltwater angling. what type of rods are you guys using to effectively fish jigs that weigh 1 1/2 oz and what type of line mono, fluro or braid? what lb test line? also is there a different set up for live lining? i would think to set the hook in 25ft of water with a 1 1/2oz jig you would need a rod with some backbone to be effective. looking for a little help with your experience before a purchase is made...... thanks!!! and tight lines always!!!

[Pinch]

Medium heavy fast action. 6'6" to 7'6" length. Braided line and floro. Leader

[Redfish12]

All MH's are not created equal, so also check the lure weight rating. Usually rods rated up to 1 or 2 ounce work well. Above all make sure you get fast action or extra fast action for your jigging rod.

[YaknBass]

rods the line weight they should handle is 10 to 20 lbs OK... or something a little heavier? what lb test for the braid and the flouro leader?

[Redfish12]

I like 15 or 20 lb braid and flouro at 20lb too. If I'm fishing around some really bad rocks or oyster shell bottom, I'll bump it up to 30lb HiSeas but that's because I carry it for making leaders for trolling.

Rods in that range work, maybe post one you're looking at?

[ictalurus]

Most of my rods have an upper lure rating of 5/8-1oz, but all of them can cast and jig 1.5-2oz well enough. At the Bay Bridge, you won't need to cast it very far.

For braid, I use 10, 15, and 20lb test. Even 10lb test breaks at a much higher load than 10lbs, but it won't be as abrasion resistant. Lighter line seems to be more sensitive, to me anyway, and doesn't experience as much drag from the current.

For the fluoro leader, I'll use 15, 17, 20, or 30lb test depending on the size of fish I'm targeting and the location. The 30lb is probably overkill, and the knot tends to hang up in my guides.

Keep an eye out for Bass Pro sales. Even their Carbonlite rods sometimes get down to $80, or less. My first jigging rod was a BPS Extreme that I picked up for $50 or $60. It's not the most sensitive in my hands, though. My go-to jigging rod now is a old model Carrot Stix that I found for $70. St. Croix rods are pretty sweet but pricey. The ones I've held felt like an extension of my arm. Powell rods are nice, too, and I've missed some good sales at tacklewarehouse.com.

[YaknBass]

Thanks for the info... it is appreciated greatly!! now i will be lookin thru the bps catolog for the 3000 time

[Redfish12]

Bps has some good choices, are you going baitcaster or spinner?

[YaknBass]

baitcast reel for sure. would like to have a 6'6" rod because it will fit in the car easier.... but i'm sure the 7'ft gives me more choices and probably performs a little better....... i did look thru the bps, cabela's & gander mtn catologs last nite seen several rod in the 10 t0 25lb line rating with the fast to xfast action. the one question i still have...... the rod used for jigging is that the rod you would use for livelining....?

[Redfish12]

There's been a lot of talk on live-lining on here lately with a lot of good info. For me, I like ugly stiks for live-lining and I use a baitcaster with a clicker (cardiff 401/corvalus 401/abu garcia 6501c3/etc...) with 20lb mono or 40lb braid. I like the ugly stick intercoastal M 7' rods so that I can go around the front of my kayak. You could also get a spinner with a baitfeeder to do double duty for casting lures / bottom fishing / live-lining.

As far as jigging rod goes, get something with an exposed blank in the reel seat. That will help your feel for the jig. A shorter rod will also be more sensitive.

[Redfish12]

Here's two good artciles to reference when looking for light tackle jigging tactics/rods (and the rest of the site too!)

http://www.chesapeakelighttackle.com...ckle-stripers/

http://www.chesapeakelighttackle.com...vity-training/

[YaknBass]

Redfish, Thank you for your info it is appreciated so much!!! the two articles were perfect, clears up some of the questions i had as well confirms the idea i had in mind for this type of rod & reel set up. thanks again!! phil