Inexpensive Slow Pitch Rods???

[Steelynorm]

Going panga fishing in Baja in a few weeks, thought i would try slow pitch jigging.
want to try them on yellows, cabrilla, pargo, grouper etc.

Anyone have any first hand experience on the more inexpensive Slow pitch jigging rods, Goo, Tsunami, Harrier or

[jurelometer]

I spend a bit of time with slow pitch and other drop jigs off of a panga.  My take:

If you have the right stick for general Baja panga fishing ( around 7 ft and under 40 lb class), you have a decent rod for slow pitch jigging. This style of fishing is not too demanding on rod performance. As long as the rod is not too long or too heavy, you can make the jig go up and down just fine without wearing yourself out.  I have a slow pitch jigging stick and I never bring it.  A narrower or levelwind reel is more important for some retrieves.  And it sucks to have too much gear in  a panga.  Less is more in a small boat.

The outfit  I reach for most when I want to slow pitch from a panga  is a saltwater low-profile levelwind (Lexa, Komodo, etc.) on a 7' 10-25 lb rated rod.  Very light, sort of springy, and similar to the trend for more backbone in the new generation of slow pitch rods for larger species.  If  the the fish starts running under the boat or around the outboards, it is less of a circus than a classic SPJ stick.  Plus a great rod for casting plugs, irons, live bait, etc.

Not trying to argue with the hardcore SPJ crowd that goes with dedicated outfits. Just pointing out that you can more than just get by with less specialized gear.

Where you going in Baja?

-J

[ExcessiveAngler]

Hahaha...!!!
I'll give you guys a little chuckle lol!
I thought a panga, was a fish lol!
Couldn't get any results back from doing a web search, finally figured out, it's a type of boat with a very high bow, and almost always had an open-hull!
Learned something new here, again today lol!
Tsunami's slow pitch rods are pretty good, I have a 5'6" 3/4-3oz here, that I use for slippery bass fishing and jigging on the piers, and had up to 8 ounces on it lol!
Little rod has/is taken quite the beating, and hasn't missed a beat yet!
Think that one was around $70

[MarkT]

If you're doing the long fall technique... lift and then let fall, any rod will do. If you're trying to work the jig up through the water column, a slow pitch rod will help to work the jig. I do the long fall technique and use an 8' rod to get plenty of lift.

[the rockfish ninja]

Of the 3 you mention the GooFish are the best designed cheap rods for slow pitch. The Tsunami is sturdy but really not a SPJ blank, and the Harrier had few redeeming qualities, their newer Saltiga line is really nice but not cheap.

The best "moderately" priced SPJ rod I've found is the Shimano Grappler but it's slightly more expensive that the ones you were looking at.

As a dedicated SPJ angler for almost 10 years I'll give you a few more tips.

- Your reel choice is just as important, a round reel with strong drag, no levelwind, and a longer arm for torque, as you're fighting the fish mainly with the reel not the rod. Stay away from low profile reels as they don't have the cranking power and with Baja fish you'll need it.
 
- SPJ rods are spec'd for certain gram weight ranges and work best when using jigs within those ranges. So get an idea of the depth you'll be fishing and the jig weights you want to use before spending $$. (*the general rule of thumb is 1 gram = 1 foot of depth)


Good luck in Baja, post a report.


If you want to learn more about the tech of SPJ check out the "Japanese Angler Secrets" website for so much info it'll make your head spin.

[ourford]

I'm partial to the Okuma Hawaiian Slow pitch rods. Okuma tends to give value for the price. An all around nice rod.

[jzman]

The goofish (the black colored spj rods) reel seat is too small for penn fathoms (star, lever, or 2 spd) 15 and up.  This is such a shame because the Fathom 15N and 25N are perfect sizes for SPJ. 

There is usually a sale on goofish's website Buy one get one free promotions usually around US holidays.  Shipping is from china and will take minimum 2 weeks to get to US.

As a beginner like myself, inexpensive and expensive rods feel the same to me: super parabolic and very limp.

[johndtuttle]

I spend a bit of time with slow pitch and other drop jigs off of a panga.  My take:

If you have the right stick for general Baja panga fishing ( around 7 ft and under 40 lb class), you have a decent rod for slow pitch jigging. This style of fishing is not too demanding on rod performance. As long as the rod is not too long or too heavy, you can make the jig go up and down just fine without wearing yourself out.  I have a slow pitch jigging stick and I never bring it.  A narrower or levelwind reel is more important for some retrieves.  And it sucks to have too much gear in  a panga.  Less is more in a small boat.

The outfit  I reach for most when I want to slow pitch from a panga  is a saltwater low-profile levelwind (Lexa, Komodo, etc.) on a 7' 10-25 lb rated rod.  Very light, sort of springy, and similar to the trend for more backbone in the new generation of slow pitch rods for larger species.  If  the the fish starts running under the boat or around the outboards, it is less of a circus than a classic SPJ stick.  Plus a great rod for casting plugs, irons, live bait, etc.

Not trying to argue with the hardcore SPJ crowd that goes with dedicated outfits. Just pointing out that you can more than just get by with less specialized gear.

Where you going in Baja?

-J

This is totally solid advice for fishing off a Panga. The hulls generally have a lot of dory "flare" so it's not as easy to get over the rail as a modern sportfishing type hull. A little extra length (7', but not too much, imo) makes it easier.

The modern LP baitcasters work perfectly fine, until they don't. Its a balance between convenience, dual use for casting, and light weight. I wouldn't leave home without one or two these days for either jigging or plugging. Expect to get cornholed by a big yellow near the bottom though. It gets hard to fish all day anything that would be much better at stopping fish which would be something in the 4/0 or Penn "40" class, imo. Wear gloves and be prepared to stuff thumbs in the spool to stop a big un' from rocking you instead of heavy gear for most fish is my compromise.

8' rods wear you out if fishing deep, imo. Maybe Mark T has bigger guns than me these days. He sure fishes more. I see a lot of guys getting beat up by 8' rods on the sport boats. Probably inexperience and conditioning though who am I to talk .

But you might want that heavy rig if the Pangero wants to take you to a grouper hole and fish a big live bait.

[Steelynorm]

Sorry for late report. I tried to slow pitch a few times for north.

If I high speed jigged I got bit consistently.
Hard to tell if it's me conditions or both.
I will be giving it a try next time I go out
Easy limits of yellowtail in the AM.
They bit anything moving fast.
I took every heavy jigged I owned that have never caught a fish and landed a yellowtail with it