Jig Hook Rods: Parabolic or Faster?

[Kennedy1055]

Hey SU!

Was wondering what yall's rod preference for throwing jig hook/Beast hook baits?

I've messed around throwing hudds and battle shads on both the Expride 80XXHB which is a stiffer rod, but more parabolic and the Leviathan Alpha Soft Swim which is more of a broom stick.

Let me know what you think!

[alabamaswimbait]

I had an 8'6 LDC XH/F built for 8" Hudds with the jig hook. I think that is the way to go. 

[Dink whisperer]

The Expride 8 XXH is one of the rods I use for beast hooks and it is not parabolic at all. It has a soft enough tip to sling baits a long way but it shuts off quickly. 

I like a really stiff rod for these hooks. Many times I'm fishing them in deep water and on long casts. That's when you need a lot of power and a fast rod to move the big chunk of plastic and get that thick gauge hook to penetrate the fishes mouth. 

Edited July 18, 2023 by Dink whisperer

[Mossyback Angler]

For jig hooks, after trial and error, I find , I appreciate a fast tip, with straight Flourocarbon. 
- want as little stretch as possible for driving them thick, oversized hooks in during the hookset. 
- I feel the zero / minimal stretch of Flourocarbon,combined with a faster tip aids in feeling what the bait is doing, especially creeping it along.

This is a question you will definitely get different opinions on. Gotta find a system that works best for you and your style of fishing. 

 

[DEPS_250]

Good post. I was actually thinking about posting the same topic but OP beat me to it and now I don't need to repost the same topic. I am also in the market for a jig/beast hook swimbait rod.

One caveat, I love fishing braid to leader for most of my swimbait fishing. I like the advantages that braid brings while also trying to mitigate the disadvantages of copoly, mono and/or fluoro. 

With that said...

1. I am very interested in the Shimano Expride 80XXH. Some guys are saying its pretty fast and stiff. Would a braid to leader setup with this rod be too fast and sensitive and cause me to pull the bait away from the fish too fast and therefore hinder good/positive hookups? Don't want to be too fast on the trigger. 

2. Anyone use Okuma Guide Select? I have heard that they are very good rods for jig/beast hook style swimbaits also. I have the 7'11" H Moderate Fast for hard baits but was thinking about trying out the 7'11" XH Fast for jig/beast hook swimbaits. 

3. Anyone use Irod Kaimana Swimbait? I am interested in the 8' heavy extra fast. Specs look very good on paper for a jig hook style swimbait rod. Hopefully Ceasar can chime in. 

 

 

[alabamaswimbait]

7 minutes ago, DEPS_250 said:

Good post. I was actually thinking about posting the same topic but OP beat me to it and now I don't need to repost the same topic. I am also in the market for a jig/beast hook swimbait rod.

One caveat, I love fishing braid to leader for most of my swimbait fishing. I like the advantages that braid brings while also trying to mitigate the disadvantages of copoly, mono and/or fluoro. 

With that said...

1. I am very interested in the Shimano Expride 80XXH. Some guys are saying its pretty fast and stiff. Would a braid to leader setup with this rod be too fast and sensitive and cause me to pull the bait away from the fish too fast and therefore hinder good/positive hookups? Don't want to be too fast on the trigger. 

2. Anyone use Okuma Guide Select? I have heard that they are very good rods for jig/beast hook style swimbaits also. I have the 7'11" H Moderate Fast for hard baits but was thinking about trying out the 7'11" XH Fast for jig/beast hook swimbaits. 

3. Anyone use Irod Kaimana Swimbait? I am interested in the 8' heavy extra fast. Specs look very good on paper for a jig hook style swimbait rod. Hopefully Ceasar can chime in. 

 

 

In my experience, if you are using braid you want a much softer and slower rod. I used a Dobyns 807 with 80lb braid to throw hudds for exactly one day. It is way too much for even the jig hook, let alone any treble stingers. It also puts way more stress on your gear. 

[Mossypumpkin]

16 minutes ago, DEPS_250 said:

2. Anyone use Okuma Guide Select? I have heard that they are very good rods for jig/beast hook style swimbaits also. I have the 7'11" H Moderate Fast for hard baits but was thinking about trying out the 7'11" XH Fast for jig/beast hook swimbaits. 

The Okuma rods lack sensitivity big time and the tapers kinda suck. The xh and xxh were broomsticks I thought

[Fishingposer]

G loomis 956 sbr old school model not the imx one. 

[DEPS_250]

33 minutes ago, alabamaswimbait said:

In my experience, if you are using braid you want a much softer and slower rod. I used a Dobyns 807 with 80lb braid to throw hudds for exactly one day. It is way too much for even the jig hook, let alone any treble stingers. It also puts way more stress on your gear. 

Yeah, I figured the braid would be pretty brutal and put a lot of stress on your gear. I also know that the Champion series swimbait rods are pretty parabolic and soft and a lot of guys use them for hard baits. I was thinking they would also be a solid choice for soft baits for someone like me that likes to fish braid to leader in order to mitigate the no stretch properties of braid. On the other hand, I know the braid would put a lot of stress on the rods components and the blank's graphite when casting and retrieving heavy swimbaits. Therefore, it could lead to micro fractures in the graphite and could cause problems in the future. Definitely something I need to keep in the back of my mind if I decide to ever go with a champion series swimbait rod. 

Edited July 19, 2023 by DEPS_250

[DEPS_250]

24 minutes ago, Mossypumpkin said:

The Okuma rods lack sensitivity big time and the tapers kinda suck. The xh and xxh were broomsticks I thought

Yeah, I kind of assumed the same thing too even after fishing my 7'11" heavy for a few trips now. A lot of guys complain about the taper on the guide selects. I don't like the taper/action on the blank at all. I can't seem to get the timing right for casting in order to get accurate casts. I am always too late or too early and the cast always goes off too far left, right, short or long. I think it has mostly to do with Okuma's UFR technology that they utilise in the tip section. Its good for durability against 'high sticking' but its horrible for casting accuracy. 

[ra2bach]

On 7/19/2023 at 12:22 PM, DEPS_250 said:

Yeah, I kind of assumed the same thing too even after fishing my 7'11" heavy for a few trips now. A lot of guys complain about the taper on the guide selects. I don't like the taper/action on the blank at all. I can't seem to get the timing right for casting in order to get accurate casts. I am always too late or too early and the cast always goes off too far left, right, short or long. I think it has mostly to do with Okuma's UFR technology that they utilise in the tip section. Its good for durability against 'high sticking' but its horrible for casting accuracy. 

Are you talking about the Tackle Warehouse collab Guide Select Custom or the original Okuma? 
I currently have a Fury 806, MB Levante, and a  13 Omen Black H. These all seem like hard bait rods with the 806 being the softest and the Omen the hardest. 
Do you think any of the Guide Select would be a better hard bait rod in this weight class than what I already have? 

[monkeyonthemoon]

Quote

Do you think any of the Guide Select would be a better hard bait rod in this weight class than what I already have? 

 

I use the Guide Select Heavy for Sneaky Petes and other treble hook baits (Bullshooter) in the 2-3.5oz range and like it for the price. I don't have experience with more expensive rods but I have caught tons of striper up to 25lbs and I genuinely don't think I have dumped a single fish using that rod. 

[chwebmaker]

The LDC Heavy Action 8' is the best rod I've used for Jig hook soft baits.  I've also used the F5 800 rod for jig hook baits and it is a solid rod. If I were buying one now I'd go with a Leviathan as I like their rods a lot and they have a replacement warranty if you break one of their rods.