Finesse Jig rod?

[Jared Herman]

I'm looking for a new rod to pair up with my Shimano Chronarch MGL. I want something that would be good for throwing 3/8 ounce finesse jigs. In between $200-$300 would be what I would want to spend but I could go a little over that if necessary. I would be using 15 pound fluorocarbon on this rod and I don't fish heavy cover so a reel heavy rod wouldn't be necessary. I was thinking something at least 7 feet but I see a lot of people saying medium power and a lot of medium power rods don't go over 6'10''.

[KickingFish]

1 minute ago, Jared Herman said:

I'm looking for a new rod to pair up with my Shimano Chronarch MGL. I want something that would be good for throwing 3/8 ounce finesse jigs. In between $200-$300 would be what I would want to spend but I could go a little over that if necessary. I would be using 15 pound fluorocarbon on this rod and I don't fish heavy cover so a reel heavy rod wouldn't be necessary. I was thinking something at least 7 feet but I see a lot of people saying medium power and a lot of medium power rods don't go over 6'10''.

Get a St.Croix legend tournament you can find them at 7 foot and are in your price range. I have one and it is an excellent rod sesitve and the rod has an excellent warranty.

[Angry John]

610mxf st croix is what i use and its amazing.  I have a bunch of longer rods but this one is perfect for me.  Its money on 1/4 jigs and will run a lot of other baits like the hud shad and grass minnow just perfect.  Its also perfect for 5" worms.  Drop an alphas or core on top with some 10lb pline 100% or YHB and go....

[Munkin]

I use a 6-9 Kistler with either 10 or 12lb floro and it works great.

 

Allen

[WRB]

I fish jigs from 3/16 to 1 oz with standard 5 power 6'10" jig rod using lined between 8 lb to 15 lb, don't know how finesse plays a role when fishing 3/8 jigs? I catch 90% of my bass using 7/16 jigs on 12 lb line in sparse or no cover.

Tom

[Bluebasser86]

I use a 7' MH/F St. Croix LTB for 3/8oz jigs. Lighter ones I use a 7' 1" M/XF LTB.

[Matt_3479]

I’m using a glx 852c for 3/16-1/4oz jigs and 3/8oz-3/4oz I’m throwing the 894c! 

[newyorktoiowa57]

Orochi XX EMTF is a good one.  

[kschultz76]

Agree with a couple others, 3/8 oz to me is not a finesse jig. For 3/8 jigs I’d look at the Kistler Helium 3 MH/XF 7’1”. For consistently fishing 1/4 oz or 3/16 oz finesse jigs I’d suggest the Kistler Helium 3 Light MH/F 7’0”. 

 

The St Croix LTB series and Megabass Orochi XX as others have noted are great options in your price range. Agree with @Bluebasser86 on power/taper for St Croix based on jig size. 

[Mobasser]

For 3/8 and heavier jigs, I'd go with a med/ ivy rod, regardless of brand. You need more power to set the hook with most jigs of this size. Mine is an older St. Croix, 3/8 to 1oz rated. Works well

[WRB]

If you can effectively cast a 1/8 oz bullet weight and hook with 6" worm your rod is perfect for finesse jigs 1/8-1/4 oz.I use my standard jig rod for 3/16 oz bullet weights and 6" worms all the time and jigs between 3/16-1 oz as mention earlier because I can cast them and effectively set hooks to catch bass. A finesse jig isn't any different then any other jig the same weight regarding the rod to cast it.

Tom

[LegendaryBassin]

3 hours ago, WRB said:

If you can effectively cast a 1/8 oz bullet weight and hook with 6" worm your rod is perfect for finesse jigs 1/8-1/4 oz.I use my standard jig rod for 3/16 oz bullet weights and 6" worms all the time and jigs between 3/16-1 oz as mention earlier because I can cast them and effectively set hooks to catch bass. A finesse jig isn't any different then any other jig the same weight regarding the rod to cast it.

Tom

While you can use the same rods for finesse jigs and bigger 1 oz football jig, it isn't a perfect scenario in both cases. More rods would be much more beneficial to adequate cover the wide range. So while I understand you can, this isn't what I would ever recommend unless money is tight. 

[Jared Herman]

I'm looking at the the St. Croix LTB MH and is rated 3/8-1oz. I don't like when my rods are too heavy for what I am throwing. Will this be the case if I use this rod for 3/8oz jigs since the minimum rating is 3/8oz?

[Bankbeater]

As long as I'm not punching I use a mh/f 6'6" St. Croix premier rod for jigs from 1/8 to 1/2 ounce.

[WRB]

4 hours ago, LegendaryBassin said:

While you can use the same rods for finesse jigs and bigger 1 oz football jig, it isn't a perfect scenario in both cases. More rods would be much more beneficial to adequate cover the wide range. So while I understand you can, this isn't what I would ever recommend unless money is tight. 

My focus is and always has been performance. If I can cast a 7/16 oz jig over 50 yards and detect a strike, set the hook and land hundreds of DD size bass the rod is ideally suited for the way I fish. As mentioned I have 3 custom jig and rods made to my specific requirements and basically 5 & 6 power 6'10" fast action. The 5 power has lure raring 1/4-1-1/4 oz the 6 power 3/8- 1-three*/8 oz, budget isn't an issue.

I believe today's bass angler are too focus on ease of casting and not strike detection with high % hooks sets. Unless someone is flipping heavy cover they can present jigs very effectively with 4 to 5 power jig & worm rods. I always use a little higher power rod then needed because of the size of bass.

Tom

*maddening that you can't use the number one and three on this site!

[Stephen B]

59 minutes ago, WRB said:

My focus is and always has been performance. If I can cast a 7/16 oz jig over 50 yards and detect a strike, set the hook and land hundreds of DD size bass the rod is ideally suited for the way I fish. As mentioned I have 3 custom jig and rods made to my specific requirements and basically 5 & 6 power 6'10" fast action. The 5 power has lure raring 1/4-1-1/4 oz the 6 power 3/8- 1-three*/8 oz, budget isn't an issue.

I believe today's bass angler are too focus on ease of casting and not strike detection with high % hooks sets. Unless someone is flipping heavy cover they can present jigs very effectively with 4 to 5 power jig & worm rods. I always use a little higher power rod then needed because of the size of bass.

Tom

*maddening that you can't use the number one and three on this site!

Lure ratings are meaningless they are often just arbitrary numbers used as guidelines by manufacturers. You can often find rods with outrageous lure ratings. But finesse jigs often feature lighter wire hooks and I see so often people overpowering it. Its a finesse jig for a reason. But I agree that using a higher power rod is beneficially when dealing with bigger fish and around cover.

[LegendaryBassin]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

My focus is and always has been performance. If I can cast a 7/16 oz jig over 50 yards and detect a strike, set the hook and land hundreds of DD size bass the rod is ideally suited for the way I fish. As mentioned I have 3 custom jig and rods made to my specific requirements and basically 5 & 6 power 6'10" fast action. The 5 power has lure raring 1/4-1-1/4 oz the 6 power 3/8- 1-three*/8 oz, budget isn't an issue.

I believe today's bass angler are too focus on ease of casting and not strike detection with high % hooks sets. Unless someone is flipping heavy cover they can present jigs very effectively with 4 to 5 power jig & worm rods. I always use a little higher power rod then needed because of the size of bass.

Tom

*maddening that you can't use the number one and three on this site!

You want a lure that can load a rod to cast well enough to a certain extent.

[WRB]

27 minutes ago, Stephen B said:

Lure ratings are meaningless they are often just arbitrary numbers used as guidelines by manufacturers. You can often find rods with outrageous lure ratings. But finesse jigs often feature lighter wire hooks and I see so often people overpowering it. Its a finesse jig for a reason. But I agree that using a higher power rod is beneficially when dealing with bigger fish and around cover.

Actually the more moderate the action a rod is the easier it is to load and cast. For example moderate action crankbait rods cast lures with ease, the down side is the moderate action tends to dampen lure feedback do to it's lower tensile properties making them less attractive for jig and worm rods.

The reason I prefer a 5 power fast action over a 4 power Xfast is, everything being equal, the fast action is a little slower and cast a little easier, the higher power is simply stronger in setting hooks and controlling bass. Power and action can only be evaluated by each angler, how the rod balances and cast using your casting technique. Adding lure weight helps to determine the nominal lure weight use, without lure weights it's even more difficult to evaluate a rod without actually using it.

Tom

 

[GReb]

Falcon Cara Head Turner

[LegendaryBassin]

52 minutes ago, WRB said:

Actually the more moderate the action a rod is the easier it is to load and cast. For example moderate action crankbait rods cast lures with ease, the down side is the moderate action tends to dampen lure feedback do to it's lower tensile properties making them less attractive for jig and worm rods.

The reason I prefer a 5 power fast action over a 4 power Xfast is, everything being equal, the fast action is a little slower and cast a little easier, the higher power is simply stronger in setting hooks and controlling bass. Power and action can only be evaluated by each angler, how the rod balances and cast using your casting technique. Adding lure weight helps to determine the nominal lure weight use, without lure weights it's even more difficult to evaluate a rod without actually using it.

Tom

 

The lure weights are just guidelines from a manufacturer. Often times you will see a rod perform well in a completely different range of lure weights.

[WRB]

Ignor the information if it's meaningless to you, it helps me!

For example try to select a swimbait rod based solely on it power and action...

Tom

[LegendaryBassin]

4 minutes ago, WRB said:

Ignor the information if it's meaningless to you, it helps me!

For example try to select a swimbait rod based solely on it power and action...

Tom

I agree lure rating is important but its important to feel the rod as the lure ratings are not always perfect. Some manufacturers will put lure ratings on the lower side and others the higher side. Its important to actually feel the rod and how it loads with lures and where it falls in terms of power.

[Chance_Taker4]

On 10/31/2018 at 6:54 PM, Munkin said:

I use a 6-9 Kistler with either 10 or 12lb floro and it works great.

 

Allen

 

21 hours ago, kschultz76 said:

Agree with a couple others, 3/8 oz to me is not a finesse jig. For 3/8 jigs I’d look at the Kistler Helium 3 MH/XF 7’1”. For consistently fishing 1/4 oz or 3/16 oz finesse jigs I’d suggest the Kistler Helium 3 Light MH/F 7’0”. 

 

Right here is the only place you need to look. I would suggest the 7'3" Kistler Magnesium 2 Heavy Med Hvy X-Fast rod. It is my go to 3/8oz jig rod. My other jig rod is the 7'1" Kistler Helium 3 X-Fast.

[WRB]

8 minutes ago, LegendaryBassin said:

I agree lure rating is important but its important to feel the rod as the lure ratings are not always perfect. Some manufacturers will put lure ratings on the lower side and others the higher side. Its important to actually feel the rod and how it loads with lures and where it falls in terms of power.

You are preaching to the choir, I stated may 100 times on this site there isn't any standards to evaluate a rods power or action without touching and feeling them.

Selecting any rod based on someone else's recommendations is foolhardy without evaluation the persons credibility. My fishing partners can't cast my reels because they are free spinning or rods because they are too stiff from what they are used to using.

Tom

[Deleted account]

Normally, I'll use a Medium rod up to a 1/4 oz jigs, 1/4 I'll go either way depending on what I'm doing. 3/8 and up MH all day long.