Jigmaster 500 for Pin rigging

[Ron Jones]

I always thought this i what should happen in Hawaii. I'll never understand expecting to leave a pound of lead in the reef or trying to fight a fish with all that gear.
Ron Jones

[Gfish]

True that, Ron. Got me thinkin 'bout changin-up. The reefs here 'er havin problems enough as it is.

[Bryan Young]

I recently acquired a 501 with all the stainless goodies inside. I plan on the stock drag s because I don't see the need to increase the drag. My intention is to use this reel for bass and bluefish vertical jigging.i reel too fast with the new stuff.

[Squidh90]

Alright so I thought a little bit more about getting a Long Beach or a Senator and decided to see if a good deal on a special senator turns up since it has a slightly faster gear ratio, and can pull double duty as a lbsf reel since I hope to do that in NC as well.

[thorhammer]

what's an lbsf? 4/0 or 6/0?

[1badf350]

what's an lbsf? 4/0 or 6/0?

Land Based Shark Fishing.

[thorhammer]

ah hah.....four hour flight...i wasn't real sharp by then

hm, that's a crossover...i wouldn't really want to LBSF with a 6/0, though could with braid i suppose, and I def am not kingfishing with a 9/0.


Squid, if this is your route, don't rule Daiwa Sealine 400-600-900. Great reels, not as many upgrades as for Penn but there are carbon fiber drags and handle upgardes available. They already have aluminum plates and frames stock at about same price as a Senator, frequently cheaper.

[CapeFish]

very interesting fishing method, learnt something new now. Just a question though, why do you need two rods, why don't you just slide the live bait out on the rod that you have casted? That's what we do using a slide as seen in the picture? To make sure you have enough line on your reel, spool a couple 100m braid of say 50lb backing and 150-200m 30pb mono as topshot, you should easily get 400 to 600m of line on a jigmaster like that?

[1badf350]

very interesting fishing method, learnt something new now. Just a question though, why do you need two rods, why don't you just slide the live bait out on the rod that you have casted? That's what we do using a slide as seen in the picture? To make sure you have enough line on your reel, spool a couple 100m braid of say 50lb backing and 150-200m 30pb mono as topshot, you should easily get 400 to 600m of line on a jigmaster like that?

How do you keep the bait up on the surface with one rod?
We use two because to use one requires the anchor and everything be reeled in with the fish. Thats a lot of gear that adds to the risk of losing the fish one way or another.

[Swami805]

I don't know about there but here in Cali for sharks we use a stryofoam ball.  Remember those 76 antenna balls? Those, it keeps the bait on the surface and easy to see.

[1badf350]

I don't know about there but here in Cali for sharks we use a stryofoam ball.  Remember those 76 antenna balls? Those, it keeps the bait on the surface and easy to see.

A float is yet another thing to reel in with your fish.
I know guys who try to run a one rod float rig on the pier. Due to the angle, the bait inevitably swims over the mainline and gets tangled. If you happen to be using a live eel, forget it LOL.
On a pin rig, once your fish pops the pin and you are free from the anchor line, its just you and the fish doing battle.
Keep in mind too, there are other people fishing beside you so there is alot of over/under happening during a fight. If you have extra gear coming in with your fish, there is a good likelihood of it getting tangled up on another guy's stuff

[Swami805]

The sharks are fairly large so you don't notice all the junk really. For game fish we're using a simple setup with no wire or anything. Most there reel in their gear if you have a good one going but there's some massive tangles at times.
Using an anchor rod like that looks like a good plan, I'll have to give it a try

[CapeFish]

very interesting fishing method, learnt something new now. Just a question though, why do you need two rods, why don't you just slide the live bait out on the rod that you have casted? That's what we do using a slide as seen in the picture? To make sure you have enough line on your reel, spool a couple 100m braid of say 50lb backing and 150-200m 30pb mono as topshot, you should easily get 400 to 600m of line on a jigmaster like that?

How do you keep the bait up on the surface with one rod?
We use two because to use one requires the anchor and everything be reeled in with the fish. Thats a lot of gear that adds to the risk of losing the fish one way or another.

From a pier it will be easy, just use a long trace tied to the one way slide and a big piece of foam. You can shake the bait all the way to the sinker and it will still float up. You attach the breakaway sinker with a thinner piece of line to the stopper ring and if it snags it just breaks off. There is also a different type of sliding clip you can use that allows the live bait to swim up and down the line, it looks a bit like a safety pin on steroids. Or attach a balloon or inflated prophylactic to your line and simply float it out from the pier? It snaps off when a fish takes it although this is not really the way to go with all the garbage we add to the ocean.

[thorhammer]

One huge reason is that the anchor simply is pretty well stuck in sand, and sometimes hung on a rock, old line, whatever which is a one way trip. Remember we might be using a 15" bluefish for bait so you need to be stuck well, and as Chris says it's not good having your anchor drug through through ten other stationary rigs, much less with braid on that will slice through taut mono or hopelessly tangle. As previously stated, we might have small 4X hooks stuck only in face meat, so you're not necessarily winching a king. On any fish, the anchor is likely to be stuck well enough to give the fish purchase to pull off, just as wrapping around a piling. This is a specialized technique honed by thousands of anglers...yes, other things might work, and we will float out one or two baits way out on balloons on a west quarter wind with a large reel (with mono, because it sinks where the Gomers in boats who troll for Spanish right off the end of the pier wont cut it), but you can go on any king pier in the Carolina's, knowing the locals on that pier are usually a clique-ish lot, and not get abused for going out of the box and tangling folks up as the foreigner trying some new stuff   They are usually not shy about calibrating you lol. Just as you might check out a boat, captain and crew, I walk the pier and talk to guys to see how they are fishing....same principles but every pier has it's nuances, such as whether braid is frowned upon, who has pier gaffs / nets  / bait tanks / allows cast nets, etc. so I bring the right gear set out. This goes a long way...as Chris said there is a lot of under over when a fish changes direction, and someone has to gaff your fish, so better to be on good terms

That goes over about as well as parking your truck at Hatteras so the lights shine on the water during drum season... punches get thrown.


Chris, am I off base here? Weigh in as you see fit; I don't fish the OBX nearly as much as I'd like, but this is the drill from Atlantic Beach to Cherry Grove.

[1badf350]

Buddy you said it as well as could be.
If anyone would like very specific details or to learn more just shoot me a PM. I love teaching people who have never done it because it really is an exciting way to fish. There is an open invite for anyone wanting to learn.