Slow Pitch Jigging

[sharkman]

I am just getting into jigging and already have regular vertical jigging rods. My question is regarding the slow pitch jigging rods. Is the action of the rod due to the material made of or is it from the heaviness of the jig being used. The rods look very similar to bait caster rods. I have a trip coming up and no local shop carries slow pitch jigging rods can I mimic the action with an some off the self rod that is not slow pitch jigging rod until I am able to obtain the proper rod?

[jurelometer]

if you ask a slow pitch fanatic, they will tell you that you need lots of different slow pitch rods to accommodate various lure styles and weights.  I think there is a bit of marketing hype involved here.

Slow pitch rods are very bendy.   They have a slower action than typical modern rods.  This allows the rod to store energy on the up- jig motion, and release it gradually on the down jig motion.  In addition to theoretically affecting the jig action, this more gradual unloading also helps you wind without slack.  When the jig is dropped to  shallower depths, the rod loading and uploading will impart some  action on the jig. As depth increases,the friction of the water on the the line, combined with the curve from  any drift or current means that the easily bent  rod loading and unloading does not generate enough force to move the jig very much, and much more of the action is coming from the start/stop of winding.  At this point, the rod makes much less of a difference.  This probably explains why very thin spectra is preferred in Japan, as it increases the maximum depth where all all these gymnastics will have some effect on the jig.

Since a slow pitch  rod bends more easily and fully, fiberglass is often used in place of carbon fiber [corrected- some rods use a combination of glass and carbon- but high end rods are often all carbon fiber], and the lack of backbone sacrifices casting distance and fish fighting abilities.

A stiff / fast action rod is less fun for his type of fishing.  If you have an older fiberglass rod available, you might want to try this.    I fish slow pitch jigs a bit, mostly my own designs.   I like to carry as little gear as possible, so I fish slow pitch jigs with a stiff casting rod, and catch fish just fine.   If you are using a fast swing and wind (slow pitch is a misleading name), it is hard  pack the reel evenly on the reel unless you are using a level-wind or spinning reel.  I think having the right reel is more important than the right rod  in these cases.

-J

[sharkman]

Thank you for the information.

[boon]

Not sure about the fibreglass bit. Modern slow-pitch rods are all low diameter pure graphite. Very easy to snap if misused!

How to put this... you can slow-pitch with virtually any rod, but consistently imparting the intended action on the jig requires a specialist rod.
The most important aspect is matching the jig weight to the rod. This is why slow jig specialists will have several rods; different depth, current, and drift speed will dictate the use of different weights and styles of jigs. Also if you're targeting large fish you may be forced to use a heavier rod, which necessitates using a heavy jig so that the rod will load correctly.

Basically, you need the rod tip to "kick" after a "pitch"; the rod should more or less straighten out when it recoils, this allows the jig to hang unsupported by the line for a moment, which in turn initiates whatever the jig's falling action is. If the rod is too light it will not kick, and the jig will just bounce up and down upright as it is constantly suspended by the line. If the rod is too heavy it will "punch" the jig, that is to say toss it upwards excessively, which can result in the jig entering the "falling" action in an upwards direction, making the line go slack and preventing further input from the angler until the jig has completely settled again.

It's hard to describe the action of a dedicated slowpitch rod. They seem soft, but they have lots of "recovery". The type of slow jig you are trying to use will decide how effective the final action is; if you're fishing Kabura or Inchiku (slow jigs, not slow pitch) they will work reasonably well on most rods; if you are trying to use long-fall or flutter-type jigs you really need a rod that will "kick" correctly.

[jurelometer]

Not sure about the fibreglass bit. Modern slow-pitch rods are all low diameter pure graphite. Very easy to snap if misused!

I meant to say a blend of carbon and fiberglass, but even this was wrong!   I must have been looking at the cheaper rods.    It seems that you are right, and  as you get toward the higher end rods pure carbon fiber dominates.   Which is a bit silly IMHO,  The point of carbon fiber is stiffness.   An S-glass/carbon blend will be plenty springy and be much more durable, with only a modest increase in weight.

I corrected my post, so that I do not mislead anyone - thanks!

How to put this... you can slow-pitch with virtually any rod, but consistently imparting the intended action on the jig requires a specialist rod.
The most important aspect is matching the jig weight to the rod. This is why slow jig specialists will have several rods; different depth, current, and drift speed will dictate the use of different weights and styles of jigs. Also if you're targeting large fish you may be forced to use a heavier rod, which necessitates using a heavy jig so that the rod will load correctly.

Basically, you need the rod tip to "kick" after a "pitch"; the rod should more or less straighten out when it recoils, this allows the jig to hang unsupported by the line for a moment, which in turn initiates whatever the jig's falling action is. If the rod is too light it will not kick, and the jig will just bounce up and down upright as it is constantly suspended by the line. If the rod is too heavy it will "punch" the jig, that is to say toss it upwards excessively, which can result in the jig entering the "falling" action in an upwards direction, making the line go slack and preventing further input from the angler until the jig has completely settled again.

It's hard to describe the action of a dedicated slowpitch rod. They seem soft, but they have lots of "recovery". The type of slow jig you are trying to use will decide how effective the final action is; if you're fishing Kabura or Inchiku (slow jigs, not slow pitch) they will work reasonably well on most rods; if you are trying to use long-fall or flutter-type jigs you really need a rod that will "kick" correctly.

A good description.

Check out this video:

It is easy to see how a stiff, fast action rod would not be as desirable for working the jig, and how important having a level-wind is.    BUT:  At 180 meters with a slow falling 8.5 ounce jig, I don't see how the bend in this rod is going to affect the movement the jig much at all at all in the bottom 80% the water column.     A very specific rod seems unlikely to make much of a difference


For flutter jigs- I almost always get bit on the drop, so the rod doesn't matter here.  However having a rod that can cast well (not a slow pitch rod) allows me to cast to a specific dorado in the school (a great way to pick off a big bull), and also to huck the jig  next to a tuna or yellowtail boil, which is usually not right next to the boat.    It would be fun to fish next to a slow pitch master and find out in what circumstances the slow pitch rod  provides a strong advantage. My guess would be I might get my butt kicked when we were both fishing a medium drop jig in 60 feet or less.

I really like the idea of lures designed to work on the drop as well as the wind and that work well with a variable retrieve.   So I am sold on the jigs.  I also think that there is a big advantage in fishing small diameter line when dropping deep.  And paying attention to how a jig is working makes a big difference.  I just think that some of the designs on the slow pitch  rods are a bit extreme for my taste, and probably have more disadvantages than advantages when fishing deep. 

I spend about 80% of the time ocean fishing with a fly rod, so I am familiar with fighting big fish on a bendy rod that breaks easily  (come to think of it, not very easy to defend either  ).   A bendy rod the last thing that I want when fishing conventional.  But lots of folks find fishing  with a very light bendy jigging rod lots of fun, so I see no reason to discourage anybody from trying it.    But it is possible to do pretty well with a regular rod and just the jigs.


-J