I am interested in buying a new rod and reel exclusively for bobber/jig fishing. I am totally new to jig fishing, but have drift fished for years. What one rod and reel would you say is the best for steelhead/coho jig fishing?

You're going to love jig fishing KB. As for the best rod and reel combo for float and jig fishing you don't have to spend big bucks for it. The ultra sensative overpriced rods aren't needed at all for this. The float detects the bites for you. I suggest a mid-priced 9.5 ft. spinning rod rated for 6 to 12 lb. line. Lami's, All-Stars, and GL2's are just a few of many good rod choices. Some like the longer 10.5' rods. If you aren't tall &/or fish large wide rivers, the longer rods are better. For medium and smaller rivers I think the 9.5 is the way to go. Always use muscilan line floatant on your mainline to make it easier to mend or keep off the water, so your float drifts naturally as possible. The spinning reels are best because they cast light weight easier and don't backlash as levelwinds often do when the jig and float sometimes counter each other's forward cast movement. It's hard to beat the Shimano Symetry for an $80 spinning reel. One of the very best is the Shimano Stradic (I think around $140?). The other brands have come a long ways though - just don't have to spend too much on them. I recommend using 8 lb. Maxima Ultra Green line. Good alternatives are Izorline, Berkley Big Game, and Ande Tournament - in 8 or 10 lb. strength. These fish aren't usually very leader shy, but sometimes going down to 6 lb. line with 1/8 oz. jigs and a small stealthy float do help hook fish in low gin clear water. As for jigs, I recommend First Cast Jigs, Rainbow Jigs, Silent Approach jigs, and BeauMac jigs. The bead bodied version with pink and white tail feathers is one of the most consistent producers; for most conditions use the 1/4 oz. size. Also try putting a small piece of shrimp tail on the hook for extra productiveness. Good luck and have fun!

RT

Krome,

RT summed it up pretty well. A couple more things. I recommend the longer rods. A 9.5 footer is OK too, but the 10-11 footers make it much easier to keep your line off the water. The long rods are a pain in the a$$ to carry through brush when fishing small streams, but you can actually cast them easier than a shorter rod when fishing in tight areas, since you can cast them with a flick of the rod tip.

For lines, I would stick to something a little limper than some of those RT mentioned. Berkely XL isn't the best line made as far as strength and abrasion resistance, but it falls of a spinning reel rather than "jumping" off the spool like a stiffer, stronger line would. If you use a limp line, keep a good eye on it for nicks and abrasions, and cut them out as needed.

You'll want to get some 1/16, 1/8, and 1/4 oz. jigs. I prefer the bead-bodied marabou types, and I use the 1/8 oz. size in most conditions, and adjust up or down depending on water clarity and targeted specias. Cerise, cerise/white, and cerise/black would be a good start in color choices.

Fish your jig between 6" and 6 feet off the bottom so you cover the water column, and make sure your line isn't laying in the water, dragging your float and jig downstream.

Good luck.........another jig whore in the making .

Take a look at the St. Croix spinning rods for a nice reasonably priced 10 1/2 footer, good rod for the price and come in 3 different line ratings from a heavy stick to light. As for reels stick with the Shimano's for reliability. I like the Symetre but the Sedona and the Sahara are nice reels and those 3 aren't expensive.

I recieved a 10.5 Shakespear Quantum from my stepson for a birthday present last year. The rod has really surprised me with its ability to hang in there with some bigger fish. Hey, for 45 bucks can you go wrong? Put it this way, I started seriously jiggin this winter and tripled my fish hooking (lets see...0x3 is???) ability. Seriously I like the rod and matched it up with a Stradic F-4 (or 4) whatever the number is. For steelies, I'd go the size smaller to balance it out on the light rods. I went with the 8lb. Berkely XL for the limp line also. After I got used to using a spinning reel instead of my fly reels or casting reel, the system worked mint. It just took a few days to convince myself that a spinning reel was kosher.
I'm so taken with the jig fishing, I had a 12.5 ft. 9wt. two-handed fly rod built and am going to run jigs off of it under a small cork bobber. Have fun!!

I like a long rod (10.5) with a good casting reel. Better control, and it casts well. I taped a stack of quarters to the butt, then dipped the butt several times into liquid rubber. Balances perfectly.

Hey RT, When you use a spinning reel for jig and bobber,how do you do a hook set when free spooling your rig downsteam? Do you run the line through your off hand and set like a fly? How do you lean on the bobber? I'm new to this style and any info will be appreciated. Thanks, Bigdog

And that is one very good reason to use a levelwind.

I use an 11'6" 4-10lb St. Croix Wild River series rod and love it for jigging. It is $140 http://www.stcroixrods.com/stcroix/products/rods/wild_river.html

I use a shimano sedona 2000 spinning reel. My mainline is 10lb fireline and I use Ande for my leaders.

Personally I would not use anything shorter than 10ft for jigging. I would stay away from the Browning rods. I have broke my 10'6" browning twice and now it stays in the rack at home. Also I am not happy with the 10'6" Shimano Convergence. I started with a 10ft silstar and it was a very good rod. I believe it was around $50.

Good Luck. You will enjoy jig fishing.

Bigdog, when I am free spooling line downstream with a spinning reel I keep the slack out by having my right index finger lightly rubbing the coils as they come off the reel. It still often requires an occassional mend if I'm drifting the float downstream on the opposite side of the river. By keeping the amount of slack reasonable I am able to instantly stop line coming off the spool with the index finger as I simultaneously set the hook on a bobber down, while quickly cranking the the handle lefthanded to trip the bail closed. I usually do a longer downstream, and upstream, drift than others to cover more water w/o having to hike as much. It's a little more common to get a marginal hookup when the float is a long ways away, especially downstream, so it's better to work over a section with shorter drifts and move yourself around to cover water, when you can.

RT

Great, thanks for all your suggestions guys!! Now I've just got to decide which to pick...

One other comment on rods for jig fishing. If you use a hard graphite rod you may have some trouble. I have shattered three Lamiglass Certified Pros in the last 2 years by hitting it with the jig as I cast. On the very clear river I fish I use an 8 foot leader because the fish get very spooky in the summer time. If you use a long leader you will eventually hit your rod with a cast. Even a glancing blow at the speed of a cast can shatter a hard rod. I also fish with a loomis and I haven't broken it yet so maybe the Loomis graphite is a little more forgiving. On the good side, Lamiglass has replaced the rod tips without any problem. (I haven't told them about the third one yet).

Every person seems to have a different preference. I use a 10.5 foot Lamiglass. It's the Dave Vedder signiture rod (I forget the model number) and a Shimano Curado. I like using casting reels more than spinning because it's much easier to freespool line with a casting rod than with a spinning reel.

Im my opinion a bait caster is better for jig fishing. But in summer time you have to be more stealth using light line and less or no weight other than your jig or bait. And although throwing the lighter stuff can be done with a bait caster using a spinning real is much easier and more proficient for the stealth stuff. I almost always use my casting rod in the winter time for float fishing, but when summertime low clear water and the ultra spooky picky summerruns are in its time to be as stealth as possible and the spinning set up is the best way to go to catch more fish.

I'll chime in on this too,for a reel check out the new Okuma's,just picked up my new 10 ballbearing "Elite" on Friday for $54 bucks out the door at Sportco,WoW smooth and sweet ,with a larger surface drag than my Shimano.(how do they they sell it soo cheap?)

I also suggest to go long on the rods too,I use a 10-5' Fenwick HMX series rated at 2 to 10 lbs,for 70 bucks a great rod. "Length does matter"

For Line I love to use Ande Envy (Flo-green)sure makes it a lot easier to see to keep track of whats going on,I always use a barrel swivel and at least a 3ft leader....

I remember first starting out jig fishing 6-7 years ago,you have to leave you're drift rod at home...and keep the faith....Os

For some advice on Great jigs contact the fine people at
Silent Approach Jigs

[ 05-21-2001: Message edited by: The Reel Osprey ]

I'll chime in with a little plug for Fireline when jig fishing. It's pricey but doesn't need to be changed nearly as often as mono and it naturally floats. I'm looking forward to trying out the new green 10# on my mainline but will stick to UG 8# for leaders. Have fun.

Bruce