So we all made our new year's resolutions, mine is

[Kiboko]

So we all made our new year's resolutions, mine is simple, catch the biggest doggie ever!

To do that, I have a little action list:

1. Area - Sorted, Latham and Mafia

2. Boat - Sorted

3. Reel - Sorted, new Stella 18000 (chrsitmas present from me to me) I opted for the 18000 above the 20000 beacause of the higher gear ratio, drag the same at approx 15kg

4. Rod-??? Last year I spoiled myself with a blue rose from Randy in the states, what a rod! It was the Shimano Blue Rose B5315S on which a stuck a Torium 50 to get as much line as possible, the Torium's only last for a year and the drag was not that great, however the rod stood up. That was in the beginning of my jigging life, the days we believe koffie grinders was for pap swaaiers, oh boy were we wrong!!Will replace the Torium with Ocea Jigger this year.

I am a tru Shimano fan! Thus the rod to fit my new Stella must be a Shimano, I was looking at the new Blue Rose but find the specs confusing. (by the way, if you guys are boertjies like myself and don't understand Japanese- go to http://fishing.shimano.com.sg/publish/content/global_fish/en/sg/index/products/rods/saltwater/ocea_blue_rose.html and click on the more tab for the full range of proper shimano toys)

The Inbreed S537R  seems the rod for the job, however the Full Gene S60MD Full Gene S4815F seems to cater for far heavier jigs.  That is contrarary  to the descriptions of the two rods, Inbreed is supposed to be for the heavy duty action and full gene for a lighter more responsive needs.

Do I have the cat by the balls here ???:rasta

How does the jigwrex S508 compare to blue rose?

5.Line - Most of the new PE lines state that their breaking strength far exceeds whatever is indicated on the packing - that's a bit useless if I am limited to 130lbs under IGFA, if I put 100lbs braid on that breaks at 150lbs under testing, the mission fail!

Anyone know of some decent IGFA rated braid?

 

 

[ChrisW]

The only IGFA braid I know of is FINS PRT from the USA.

If you are going for an OJ, buy the 5000P version as this has greater capacity than 4000P.

No Jigwrex can compare to Blue Rose.  Like Toyota compared to Lexus.

Good luck!

 

[Nepptune]

Kiboko

Nothing quite like the Jigging/Popping addiction is there?

Nice gear you have set yourself up with mate, that new SW 18000 is a serious Popping machine!!! Works great as a Jigging reel too, but you are gonna hurt on that big Doggie with that higher gear ratio!!!!But as they say " No pain, No Gain" and that is definetly the kinda pain you can enjoy!!
And of course, the 18000 is the ultimate popping reel on the market, which can push nearly 30 kilos of drag, so you're rolling in true Rolls Royce style there mate....

If you are looking for Shimano only,and you want rod that will handle and deal with the biggest of Doggies and GT's, then the Full Gene S60MD is what you are looking for...Its a true DONKEY of a rod, and will pretty much pull the plug outta the ocean...
The New Blue Rose's have a much softer action than the originals, thankfully.... the older models in my opinion were a little too stiff, and the actions were a little fast, which makes it alot tougher on the angler...especially if you jigging 300 gram plus jigs for hours at a time in 100 metres plus of water. The new models, have a much more progressive and forgiving action, while still delivering MOUNTAINS of power!!!

The Jigwrex are a great series of rods too.... not quite on the same finish level as the Blue Roses, as their finish is INSANE, but certainly rods that can deliver a hiding to some SERIOUS fish! Again their action is not as parabolic or forgiving as the new Blue Roses though.

If you are not locked into Shimano only, there are a good number of other options, through Randy or elsewhere. 
A couple options:


Smith WGJ S56H
Smith AMJ S54H or S52EX
Carpenter OH56MHS


The above are availble through Randy and Sami at APS, and most are on sale and "reasonably" priced, around the same or a little more than the Blue Rose.

Some other options I would recommend are:

Jigging Master Power spell 500
JM are the original parabolic master pieces. Unbelievably strong and light,with incredible actions....

JigStar 450
JigStar is a new brand developed by Chris Wong, who is the man responsible for the jigging Storm that has taken over New Zealand. Chris has developed these rods over the last few years, and they are INSANE!!!!
Parabolic, light, incredibly strong, and beautifully built, an absolute pleasure to jig with... its incredible how much pressure these rods take off the angler, both when jigging and fighting fish.
I am hoping to bring these rods ino the country in the next few months in large numbers, but I am able to assist you in getting them sooner if you are interested. Drop me PM. I have 3 prototypes in the country at the moment, they are insane!
Here are a few shots of Chris putting a 450 through its paces down in NZ.....

Pushing 20 kilos of Drag:

And the result:

One BIG BAD A$$ Bass!!!!

You mentioned Ocea Jiggers...... I just had my 2 Christmas presents to myself arrive recently

My new weapons....

The OJ 2000P NR is spooled with YGK Ultra PE 3, around 450 metres worth...its on the Jigstar 250 Prototype
The OJ 4000 is spooled with 300 metres of YGK Ultra PE 5, and a top shot of 200 metres of YGK Ultra PE 6... right now its on the Jigstar Prototype 450.
I chose these two sizes as I can cross them between the 250, 350 and 450 rods ( OJ 2000 can fish the 250 or 350 and the 4000 can fish the 350 or 450 )

I also decided I needed a bl00dy rod rack for some of my rods as having them lying around is a precarious thing..... So I built this last week. It takes up prime space in my lounge/dining room.... but oh well!


The Rod Rack:

OJ 2000P NR on Jigstar 250
OJ 4000P on Jigstar 450
Jigstar 350
Stella 8K on Smith WGJ S56SLH
Stella 20k on Tuna Max S57XXH
Stella 6K with 8K spool on Carpenter DJ83MH
St.Croix with Fin-Nor
St.Croix with 400 Calcutta
Quantumn Casting Stick
Shimano Exage 80

Need to build another one soon for the rest of the sticks....

Let me know about the JigStar if you keen on more info.

As to Braid.... IGFA braid is a rare thing.....and none too trustworthy.... If I were you, I'd look at fishing PE 6 or 8 in YGK Ultra or similar.. Varivas if you can find/afford....Both are colour coded which is lekker... If you start fishing higher than PE 8, then you run the risk of the braid testing over 130lb.... YGK Ultra PE 6 has an average breaking strain of 81.4 lbs..... and I got 520 metres of the stuff onto my Stella 20K.... the PE 8 averages at 105lbs.... more than enough to handle big Doggies and GT's...... its also MUCH skinnier than Tuf-Line, which is great, but WAY to thick for my liking, especially when jigging 100 metres plus, and needing high beaking strains....

I can help you out with YGK and the JigStars, and Jigs, so drop me a PM.

Hope this helps.
Respect
Nepps

 

[Nepptune]

HAha, Speak of the Devil!!!Chris you obviously posted the same time I was writing!!! Brilliant!

 

[B8FISH]

Nepps. That rod rack is insane!!!
The arsenal is impressive. I hope the fish you pull have comprehensive dental cover.

 

[Nepptune]

B8Fish - Thanks bud.... built the rod rack last wek after realising I need somewhere to keep and display the babies!!!

 

[Gerhard]

Nepptune,

Awesome arsenal you have there.

Hope you have them all insured as I do not want to think what the replacement value will be today...

 

[Reefman]

EITA Andre... impressive display that bru! I see you gonna persist with Jigging with the Multipliers eh? I tried with a silly Grandwave and it was just too uncomfortable... ended up with blisters... granted the Grandwave is not an OJ, but still nterested to see how you go...

 

[Ulua]

I was wondering how well multiplier reels work for jigging, as if a big fish picks you up on the drop won't you end up getting a bunch.

I had a big & fast fish pick me up on my Stella on the drop and believe that if this was on a multipier the line would have backlashed???

 

[Reefman]

I hooked a 10kg Jobfish with my first Jigging attempt - had a Grandwave 50 on my MonsterMesh rod... the GW was a standard setup, just upgraded Carbontex Drag washers - the handle was useless, came apart after a few minutes of intense pressure; after the fish was landed had 2 nice BIG blisters on my fingers right THROUGH the OWNER gloves... put it straight back in the bag after that. Changed to my Stella 6000 and was MUCH more comfy...

 

[ChrisW]

Nice rack Andre! Never thought I'd say that to a bloke
Good to see you have the new OJ's, they are beautiful performers. We have the drag upgrades for these when you need them. Give those Fin death!

 

[Nepptune]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Chris - The OJ's are better than I expected!!! I can see why so many of the Kiwi jiggers have gone with, and stuck to the overhead route!
Make no mistake, nothin will replace my Stellas, but the OJ's matched to the JSR's are BEAUTIFUL to jig with....

Reefs, ck - On the overheads.... These OJ's are designed specifically for jigging ( quite obviously, being called Ocea Jiggers! ) and are incredibly comfortable to jg with..... As you can see, both mine have Power Handles fitted to them, which are incredibly comfortable on the hands, and when used mechanical jigging style, they are effortless.....
As to a fish picking up the jig on the drop.... I always have my thumb on the spool anyway to feel for any pick up, so if one does get a hit, you should be alert enough to feel it and slip the reel into gear and hammer home the hooks....

I think its pretty important that one uses a reel designed for jigging, or at least use an upgraded handle and handle arm, when using overheads. As you can see too, the handle arm on the OJ's is set to the last setting, extending the arm as far/long as possible. This makes your rotations that much easier, with larger revolutions.... and the power handles, makes it so much more comfortable.

Of course the super narrow profiles help fit the reel nicely in your hand, and prevent any side wobble, along with the palming reel seat on the JSR rods, means a very very comfortable set up in hand...

Add the smooth parabolic action of the JSR rods, and you are smiling!

 

[Kiboko]

Cool rack, now imagine that was the kit on a tackle dealer's shelf???

He will be sold out in a minute!!!!

Surely there is a market in SA for someone to bring the proper kit into SA and do mail order throughout the country? Small little online shop and ship anywhere in SA?

At the moment we are paying huge bucks to the couriers to get kit from the states and east, I'll much rather pay that to someone in SA!

Coming guys, have some balls and start a shop!

 

 

[FREE THE FIGHTER]

Yussus, those rigs Nepptune  look awesome. Kiboko, you live in Dar so know the game  - the big doggies must be coming in numbers soon !!

What is the gear ratio/line intake per turn on the bigger OJ ? What is max drag.

On the question re jigging with multipliers vs spinning reels- recently spent the good part of a week jigging hard at about 80m with 200g jigs - had both spinin and multiplier  set ups - am totally convinced that the MJ ( one lift/one turn) is the easiest to do for long periods with the muliplier. The   high gear ratio of say 6.2:1 is not necessarily ideal but I found if it fits into your MJ action thats what counts. I found the Stella 20 with a lower ratio hard work, simply coz the rip and wind down had to be quite aggressive. I couldn't get the MJ action with the lower ratio - could get it on a10k though with the higher ratio.

Yes, once that big doggie on a hard first run the multiplier had to be thumbed and almost straight sticked coz the drag was pap. When the fish was on you'd wish you had the Stella in your hand. My view though is rather use a rig that is comfortable in your hands when jigging and get the action right - the adrenalin should kick in to get you through the ratio problem when a big fish gets on !!!! My son started using the Stella 20 then we swapped periodically coz the bites definitely were far more numerous on the multiplier. Once he got the MJ action sorted and not that aggresively either, the pulls came.

In short, I need one of those OCEAN JIGGER/JIGSTAR rigs in the pic before my next trip !!!

 

[Nepptune]

Hey Guys,

Kiboko - Mate two JogStar prototypes are on their way to you on Monday with Charles and Andrew, so I wanna hear your thoughts on them matey... and I wanna see pics of course of those rods bent under serious load!!!

The rods I've sent you are the 350 gram and 450 gram,,, the 450 is an absolute monster of a rod.... but with that incredible parabolic action to them, they mak jigging and fighting fish an absolute pleasure..... you'll see... ;-)

Oh, and PLEASE make sure that you send them back!!! They are the only two on the planet!!

FTF - Mate the OJ 4000P has a stock standard drag out the box of 15 kilos.... With carbontex and a Cal's drag plate I should be able to get around 22 kilos out of it... more than enough!!! The 450 rod can handle 18 kilos of drag quite easily... and blank tests on these rods have them lifting over 25 kilos..... and with the para action, its AMAZING how much drag you can comfortably fish on these rods...

The OJ 4000 P has a 4.1:1 gear ratio ( the "P" stands for POWER ) whereas the regular OJ 4000 has a 6:1 ratio.... for MJ the lower power gear ratio is far better
The OJ 2000P NR has a 4.9:1 Ratio..... also perfect for lighter MJ.... out the box the 2000P pushes around 7 or 8 kilos of drag, but with C-Tex and Cals plate I shoukld be getting around 12 or 14... again, nmore than enough for what I'm gonna use it for...Yellowtail, and Longfin... spooled with 450 plus metres of 20 kilo PE, its a SICK little set up on that 250, and can be comfrotably fished on the 350 as well, as can the OJ 4000.

I agree completely in what you say about finding a rig you can comfortably fish, be it Overhead or Spinning.... the action is more important than anything.... I find either pretty easy, but for MJ rather tahn speed Jigging, I prefer the Overheads.... the action is more mechanical... but with practise they are both equally comfy....

Something which is often overlooked is the jig weight to rod spec ratio....

Using too lighter jig on a heavy rod will actually make things more difficult... the action on a 250 gram rod is suited best to 200 to 300 gram jigs... some can handle more, like the Jigstars and Jigging Masters.... But optimally you wanna fish jigs in that weight because the bend and action of the rod, when jigged rythymically, actually helps you, and works in your favour, and imparts the correct action on the jig... as well as creating less pressure on the angler, meaning more jigging time... which at the end of the day means more fish!

I fish both, and love both... overheads and spinners....

Jigstars should be available her soon guys..... patience but it will be worth it....

Kiboko - I'm looking forward to hearingyour thoughts... sorry I couldn't send the OJ's with them, but those little babies are still a little precious!!

Please don't forget to send my rods back!!! HAHAHAHAHA!

 

[FREE THE FIGHTER]

Great thanks Nepps - have heard guys often say "Jigging is such hard work" and go pale at the mention of it. Yet it doesn't have to be that way with correct kit and practise, hey ?

Often thought how nice it would be if a tackle shop had a 150m water filled hole in the middle so could spend thirty mins or so testing a jigstick you keen on !!! Easier buying a  golf club - can smack a ball into the netting before buying it.  

Sent you a PM but others probably also wanna know are the Jstars one peice and what length are they? Looking forward to hearing how the rods go on a big Doggie load up north.

 

[Nepptune]

Hi Bruce

Sorry mate, only saw your PM after posting here, thanks.

JSR are 5ft long, and are one piece rods... The parabolic action really shines in a 1 piece rod.

Be awesome if it was as easy to test rods and other tackle in "real applications" but hopefully some people like Kiboko can give us first hand reports on Doggies, and hoping Tkei can do the same on some big Coppers in the Kei in the coming months on these rods, as well as on the Tuna and Yellow tail down here in the Cape from myself and others, so we can get as rounded and exact opinions and tests from a wide variety of anglers, to give everyone a real idea of just how well these rods perform.

On a side note, are you looking for a OJ 4000P? I have one lined up which is for sale, spooled with PE 6, brand new in the box.... Its in Oz unfortunately, as they aren't available here, I think I own the only two on the Continent... ;-)
I'm just checking to see the payment option possibilities and will let you know.

Cheers
Nepps

 

[FREE THE FIGHTER]

Thnks Nepps. In short am looking for the ultimate multiplier rig for big dogtooth - am sorted on the spinning side. When I next get a good one on I want to be in the best possible position  tackle wise to get him in without the jigging side of it being too shoulder/arm burning.

I beleive the OJ similar in shape to the Trini Narrow models - never used these but have used TN16 and 20's to jig with. With left thumb I put mine against the side of reel - is this comfortable with the higher profile of  the OJs. Also you happy with the T bar handle set up  on the OJ - only  know for popping I took off my Stella 20 Bar and put the knob on but then thats a different game, rod angle/type etc,etc.

Is a long handle easier than a short to MJ ? I ask coz on a Trinidad can move the handle to a longer setting - I have left mine on the shorter setting simply coz I bought it like that. Should I move it to the longer setting ?

Many thanks, cheers.

 

[FREE THE FIGHTER]

Sorry, just read your comments above re handle length - will move mine out !!

Very keen on the OJ 4000P if can get hands on one - many thanks

 

[Hoodlum]

Ok..been reading the post and i think i need a belated birthday presant! lol

Anyidea where i can get my hands on a JigStar450...Just like the one nepps uses!?!