surface iron rod

Started by Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B, April 07, 2014, 05:57:05 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Keta

JT and SCA, I did a bit of editing to fix your quotes, I did not change any text.
Hi, my name is Lee and I have a fishing gear problem.

I have all of the answers, yup, no, maybe.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain

LTM

Mel,

I like to use 8'+ rods for bait and surface iron and have been for decades. With the longer rod you can get your bait out further than other anglers with shorter rods. Specifically in regards to your question of surface iron, I use 8-9' rods. JT and SCA have very valid points/comments. I like to cast WAY past the other anglers and let my light surface iron sink some then retrieve it. This way Im covering more of the water column to target more fish, plus if I catch a fish farther out I get to fight him longer. For long rang fishing however, I only take one 8' rod (which Ive sold) because of the leverage factor and larger fish. My current socal jig rods are a Seeker SJ85 (8.5'),  a Calstar 900M (9'), and on occasions my Calstar 270H-8'. I plan to migrate away from the 900M to an 8' rod due to my age and back issue. You commented on 6:1 gear ratio; I find line retrive per handle revolution to be a more reliable indicator of speed. That said, Ive found 36-41" per handle turn best for jigging. I like 36-38"/turn the best, for I dont want my iron spinning from too fast a retrieve. If for some reason I need to move the jig faster then I just crank alittle faster.

Leo

DBCFR

Hi Leo,
Let me give you a  suggestion for an 8 foot light iron Jig blank (tady 45,tady C, 7X jr, jackpot)
Like you I suffer from back/ shoulder/arm problems I love my 9'and 10' jig sticks but I am getting to the point that there painful to throw more then a few times a day....so I started  searching a few years back for an 8 foot light iron jig stick that can handle 30# & 40# with a Trinidad 16 or 20 and here's what I came up with
A BT270-8H is great for a tady A1light
The real good one is a BT670-8' 20~50# it's kind of a sleeper you don't see many of them  Leon made them for the guys that wanted a 8' rod for throwing  surface iron
So now my jig sticks I never leave home without are:
BT670-8' w/ Trinidad 16A full of 65# 832 w/ flo leader 30#&40#
BT270-8H w/ Trinidad 16NA full of 50# 832 w/ flo leader 25#&30#

As for the BT670-8 it casts almost as far as my BT 690j

This all comes from 45 + years of rod building  experience

Enjoy the info
Dave B
DBCustoms
45+ Years of fishing and rod building its been an adventure!