LAST EDITED ON Jul-26-01 AT 10:20 AM (PST)

Hi all-
I want to get into using Jig sticks to cast out iron. Does anyone have good inexpensive ideas for where to start? Pole, Reel, Irons vs. Live bait?

Also can jigs be used for deep water or is it mostly for surface action? What type of casting techniques are best for surface action?

I saw a couple good anglers on the last Stardust trip use jigs on the stern and they were knocking the cudas dead!! I was also informed that they can work great for albacore too?


Any help is appreciated,

Broom

Where do they sell Calstar's? I have looked around a few tackle shops like Eric's tackle and Hook Line and Sinker, but only saw a limited selection.... I think I am going to go with a 9ft Seeker Jig with a jigmaster. Where can I find an aluminum jigmaster? According to some of your guys estimate that it will be around $200 for this setup. Figuring that the seeker is around $120 and the reel is $70?

I am on a limited budget here cause I do want to have the stardust ticket money too!! ;)

just curious which seeker? the g6490 is supposed to be a good one.

a jigmaster is a good choice. when you have some cash to spare, get a narrow frame and spool. this will make it less of a hassle to wind the line back on when your burning a jig across the surface.

hey brian,
about the harnell 542, what's a parabolic jigstick? never heard of it; sounds pretty cool though...

Most fiberglass rods are parabolic. That means it bends throughout the whole blank, rather than shutting off or having a defined backbone. Non-parabolic rods would have, for example, a really soft tip and then lots of backbone, like a graphiter. Since the sticks we're talking about are 10ft. long, they don't really need a backbone because they're so big that it takes a lot of pressure to put a parabola in that blank all the way to the handle... There are advantages and disadvantages. Parabolic rods kill fish pretty quick, but they're also tough on the angler. Especially 10ft. of em. A good sized yellow will ruin your day. But, if you're hardcore enough you can turn em quick and put the hurt to em. That's sort of the fun with the big jigsticks, you gotta grind on em and pull as hard as you can and hope you don't get your @$$ kicked. Parabolic jigsticks also toss jigs pretty well. Since the blank flexes pretty far down, it'll launch the jig pretty far. When you cast a parabolic rod though, it's more of a slow, sweeping motion rather than a full on jig huck. I couldn't tell you whether or not my 540 is parabolic or not, but it doesn't act like it. There's no way I could put a bend in that rod all the way to the handle if I wanted to. So, I fish it like it's not parabolic and just huck em. I think the Harnell 542 is a little lighter and flexes a little farther down the blank so you have to sweep rather than huck. Those Harnells and Trulines are oldschool, totally awesome rods. I will definitely be buying at least one of each sometime in the not so near future.
-Brian

Tried out the Graftech jig stick. The rod seems ok and inexepensive but the cork tape just sucks. Immediately falling apart after the first use.

I picked up a Shimano Calcutta 400. The reel is sweet and now the quest is on for the rod. I do hear that the calcutta 400 isn't really meant for Iron so I might need to switch up with a different reel for that. I am just happy that I am half way there to the Jig "Master" :)

Funny story about getting the reel. My friend told me about his calcutta reel and how he would sell it to me at about 1/2 cost. We decided to meet up on the StarDust twilight on Friday to make the transaction. I whip out a new crisp C-note and hand it off to him. I took the reel and strapped it on to my rod and admired it's glitter. My friend comes back from purchasing a celebration beer from the galley. For some odd reason he decides to inspect his wallet and the C-note grew wings and decided to go man over board. I looked at my friend and both of started to laugh. I don't know what to think of it. A very expensive Twilight trip or a gift to the ocean gods. I am very thankful that my new reel didn't jump or else the whole scenario would of been a tradegy. Oh well.


Broomy

Match that Calcutta 400 with a Calstar 800XL and you've got an ideal set-up. Knock 'em dead!

I wrapped two 9 foot seekers in the last year. One was the fiberglass 690J and the other the composite CSJ90. The composite makes the rod a lot lighter and easier to cast if you're not a big guy. Either one is a great 20# jig stick for tossing med. sized surface irons.

If you're on a tight budget, I wouldn't spend the extra cash on a calstar. I've got a bunch of seekers and just love 'em. For the reel, you might check out the shimano TLD star 15/30. Bigfishtackle.com has it on sale for $80 right now. Not a bad deal. They've got the Daiwa Sealine-X 30SHV for $110 as well. Those things freespool very nicely and I'm sure cast just as well.

TL,
Adam

If you want a composite, definitely go Seeker.
-Brian

I see through seekerrods.com that they provide 4 different sticks:

A660-6 = 6' upto 50lb
A665-6 1/2 = 6'6' upto 50lb
A670-7 = 7' upto 80lb
A270H-8' Cork Tape = 8' upto 40lb

Which is more useful? I am assuming the 8 footer is ideal lenghth for me but the max weight for the pole seems to be a little low? Hmm?

Any thoughts?