need help with rod,reel,line for jigging walleye

[lacywbosu]

You are not going to lose more fish with braid than mono. The braid will allow you to feel many more bites and trigger that jerk to set the hook. With a 7 foot medium rod, it will give insted of the line stretching. Don't set your drag too tight. I even switched all my perch poles over to braid years ago to detect more bites.

[123chadder]

now im confused,i dont know what to get now...i dont really want to be tyimng leaders all the time.i hear berkley sensation is a good sensitive strong line.

[JOE WALLEYE]

Originally Posted by 123chadder

actually sensation is the line i was gonna get.can you explain why you preffer a 6'6" rod?

I like the 6' 3" rod for a few reasons.
1) it is a lighter overall weight and balances well with a light weight reel
2) I feel like I have better control/more contact with my jig
3) If it is windy the shorter rod holds less line up off the water so you get less of a bow in your line from the wind

I agree that the longer rod will cast farther but I don't try to cast jigs very far.

A few years ago when I decided to buy my first higer end rod I read a bunch of articles and listened to seminars, Videos etc, and time and again Pros that were know as very good jig fisherman continued to preach Hi-Vis line, and shorter rods. I figured if its good enough for them it's good enough for me so I bought the st. croix 6'3" and tried it out. I love the rod and the way it feels.

[JOE WALLEYE]

Originally Posted by 123chadder

now im confused,i dont know what to get now...i dont really want to be tyimng leaders all the time.i hear berkley sensation is a good sensitive strong line.

Don't let it overwhelm you. It should be fun. You said you are going to bass pro right? go to the reel counter and get the Patriarch that you want, then go over to the rods. Handle a bunch of them, put the reel on them and see how it feels. Pick the rod that is best for YOU. all we can do is give sugestions based on what has worked for us to give you starting point.

The Patriarch comes with a spare spool. Try braid on one and sensation mono on the other then have fun experimenting this summer until you find your ultimate set up.

[Chad]

If I have only three combos that I can have in the boat here is what I want:

1-6’or 6’6” ML spinning rod and reel for jigging and casting light cranks and jigs
2-7’ M spinning rod and reel for rigging, light bottom bouncing, casting heavier cranks and jigs
3-7’ M casting rod and casting reel with flipping switch for heavy jigging, bottom bouncing and trolling

Here is a list of the rods and reels I have used and recommend:

Value Spinning Reel: Very good reel for the price is he Pflueger President at $60

Favorite Spinning Reel: Top of the line, smoothest, lightest reel in its class-Pflueger Patriarch at $200

Casting Reel-Scheel Dominator (it is a Quantam reel) $100. Abugarcia make good spinning gear. The MAX series have a flipping switch.

Casting rods: I have been using the Fenwick HMX $90 and the Scheels Walleye series $119.

Spinning rods: Fenwick HMX $90, Scheels Walleye Series-$119, Fenwick Elite Tech $140 and Scheels ONE $250

As far as line goes.....I use all superlines. Using 10 & 15lb Fireline and Bionic Walleye Braid 10lb. Love em both and use them for everything.

Dont let guys scare you with stories on fireline. I use it all the time and never loose a fish. Different if you are using a heavy rod with no bend.

I like to try to keep all my gear the same models etc so if a reel breaks I have spare parts etc and tehn they all feel similar even if they are differnt models of the same rod.

[REW]

123
Actually, I hear and respect your wish for a rod that is longer than 6'6" for casting.

I think that if you really do some close checking, the casting difference between the 6'6" and the 7' is pretty minimal.

The real issue I think is the sensitivity, weight and overall balance of the 6'6" rod compared to the 7' rod.

The one thing that you might do - is to pick up a decent 7 foot medium light rod and use it primarily for live bait fishing. It is nice to have the extra length when doing this sort of fishing.

If you do want the 7' length for some casting distance now and then, you can always use this 7' rod for that with jigs as well as live bait.

But, overall, I think that a Jig fisherman will tend to put more fish in the boat with a 6'6" rod than with a 7' rod. Especially if you are jigging in wind and waves, you will find that you have much better feel with the shorter rod.

For line - in your area for walleye, I would just go with decent 8 lb mono.
You will have a decent number of northern hits, and the 8 lb mono will let you land many of these hits.

For jig fishing, I have never been a big fan of braid. You can certainly use braid or super line if you want - with or without a leader, but that is up to you. When the braids came out and every year or so, I will try some braid for jigging. But any more, about the only time that I will use braid if I am deep water vertical jig fishing. The lack of stretch under this condition can help. But for shallow water fishing, I think that one is better off with a bit of stretch in the line to let the fisherman land more fish.

For a reel -
Get a spinning reel that has:
1. Velvet smooth gears and turning ability.
2. Velvet smooth drags with no catching or herky jerky.
3. I generally prefer a reel with a somewhat larger spool to reduce the amount of line twist and to give a smoother cast and retrieve.

The reel itself can be any brand that meets the aforementioned list of requirements.
Often the house brand reels that are stamped with the name of the store from which you purchase the reel - can be a very good buy.

Good luck
REW

p.s.
When the move several years ago was made in jigging rods to go from a 5 1/2 foot rods, I tried jigging with rods of virtually every length and style. Since I build rods, I have had access to a very large variety of rods. I went to 6, 6 1/2, 7, 7 1/2, 8, 8 1/2, 9 9 1/2 and 10 feet.
I also fished with various lb test of both mono, fused and braided line.

But after a couple years of experimenting, I still find that my go to jig rod is 6 to 6 1/2 feet in length, and depending on the waters will be either medium light, or medium power in action.
All of my jig rods are of very high quality and all are very sensitive. But again for length, power and action - these are the ones that I like to use.

When fishing in very heavily pressured waters as are found in many areas of the states, it seems that I generally do better with a medium light rod.
But for the chance of a larger size variety of fish that I encounter when fishing Canadian waters as you fish, I then generally tend to use shorter and more powerful rods like a 6' medium action rod.
On my recent trip to Canada, I started with light, medium light, and medium jig rods in the boat. By the 3rd day of the trip, all of the longer and lighter rods had been left out of the boat. I completed the trip with great success using only 6' medium action jig rods and had a very happy time.

p.s.
If you don't use two hands when casting your jig, try it. It is surprising how much faster you can get the tip of your rod to move and how much further you can cast when you use both hands when casting than when casting with only one hand.
If you can't hear the tip of your rod whistling through the air when casting, you are not casting hard enough if you are trying to get maximum distance from your cast. When you do cast this hard, you have to either be using plastics on your jig, a hair jig, or very well attached live bait, or you will flip the bait off on the casts.

[123chadder]

Originally Posted by JOE WALLEYE

Don't let it overwhelm you. It should be fun. You said you are going to bass pro right? go to the reel counter and get the Patriarch that you want, then go over to the rods. Handle a bunch of them, put the reel on them and see how it feels. Pick the rod that is best for YOU. all we can do is give sugestions based on what has worked for us to give you starting point.

The Patriarch comes with a spare spool. Try braid on one and sensation mono on the other then have fun experimenting this summer until you find your ultimate set up.

that is great advise...thanks...all great advise.thanx guys!so a 6'3" to 6'6" med light with fast tip?sound good?im really liking the looks of the fenwick elite tech walleye series rods.they look very sharp and have great reviews.i think thats the combo im gonna try first.now for a casting/trolling combo,id prefer a baitcaster and a medium to medium heavy 7' with a med fast tip for sweeping hook sets,what you guys think?and an abu garcia revo s baitcaster.it has great reviews and its only a hundred bucks.

[Chad]

Dont want MH for walleye that would be just a stick.

M-M is perfect for trolling and bouncing. Medium action allows the rod to load up a little more with flex. If you have money left over you could get an abu garcia 6500 line counter for $100. This would be a good double duty reel for trolling and bouncing but not so much for casting for bass, etc...

[123chadder]

does the stradic come with an extra spool?should i get a 8 pound reel or a 6 ound reel.it says 6/120 and 8/140 for the patriarch and 6/230 and 8/240 for the stradic....how come such a difference in line holding capability?

[123chadder]

so for trolling and bouncing a medium rod with aa medium fast tip?say i got a fleuger president reel what line capacity should i get?or should i get a medium rod with a baitcaster for trolling and bouncing?