Walleye jigging rod?

[Gunslinger]

I'm in the market for a new rod for jigging walleyes this year. Any suggestions? (length, action, etc.)

[zepman]

I was dealing with the same thing but fixed it by purchasing a Falcon Cara 6'2" med action xfast tip. I was also looking at the new Shimano Compre 6'3" and also the St. Croix 6'3". All three rods in my mind would be an excellent choice for a jigging stick. The St. Croix and Compre were almost identical rods and actions. The Cara seemed to be a little heavier (stiffer) at the tip but not by much and that's why I bought it. Super light and extremely sensitive. I would recommend you getting as many of the rods in your hands and deciding which ones feel the best for you. Good Luck.

[32 degrees]

I went with the Compre. X-fast and the new handle design is sweet. I finally have a comfortable place to rest my pointer finger

[musky hunter]

I have several jigging rods. Normally I'd like a 7' rod, even 7-6"'. But as luck would have it I have a 6'6" "cheapie" that I bought as a "spare" and found I use it a lot, complete with foam grips and all. While there are many good brands out there, I find that the stiffer the graphite the better, ceramic rod guides mean everything, and a comfortable handle. The cork above the reel is important to me, so many jigging rods have such a small amount there, my preference is for more handle above the reel. But maybe that's because I was raised on a fly rod. I just hate it if the little hook holder eye is so close that somehow it rubs into my forefinger. So this is my list of attributes that I look for when I get a jigging rod. I don't look at the brand name, I look at the stuff that counts for me. My best rod is a Shimano, I like everything about it except for where that little hook holder rubs into my finger.

[Quickstrike]

For jigging walleyes I really like a 6'6" med or med lt. I mish almost exclusivly st croix rods and I believe the premier is a great choice if you want a lot of bang out of your buck. I also like the Fenwick HMG series for jigging walleyes.

[Mille Lacs Guy]

St. Croix makes several excellent jigging rods. My favorite is the Avid 6'3' MXF. I really think it is important to have the extra fast action for jigging. The Legend Tournament in the same length and action is also very nice. St. Croix also makes 6'9" MXF jigging rods that are very nice. These would be good if you like using a longer rod. If you are going to be using superline I would suggest considering going to a medium light extra fast over the medium action. The lighter action will give you a little more give with the no strech super lines.

[Team Otter]

Do you have a budget? But, irregardless of price, I would stick to 7' and not any less than that for sure.

[harvey lee]

I use a ST.Croix Legend,med-lite,6-6 and like it very much.

[Tyler Holm]

Jigging for walleyes is my very favorite way to fish. I've got 2 identical jiggin rods and they are by far the most favorite rods in my 20+ fleet.

The Berkely Lightning rod - Gary Roach series. They are both medium light rods. I have one that's 6'3" and one that's 6'6". I like the longer one just a hair better. These rods have the perfect tip on them for feeling and seeing even the slightest hits.

[Mike Walerak]

I see we all have our favorites. I will state my favorites as well.

I prefer a shorter rod for vertical jigging, the reason being that they load faster, faster hooksets are possible and they seem to stronger hooksets that result in more fish (for me).

My vertical jigging rod is a Scheels 6' med rod with a fast action. I am going to invest a St. Croix Avid 6'3" med rod with an x-fast tip.

When pitching jigs I prefer a longer lighter action rod. My favortite right now is actually a drop shotting rod from St. Croix. It is an Avid 6'9" med lite action with an x-fast tip. This handles lighter jigs very well (up to 1/8 oz). If the wind will not allow me to pitch jigs under 1/8 oz. I generally opt to vertical jigging with heavier jigs.

mw

[zepman]

Mike,

I have the 6'9" avid as well. I also use it for the same things you do and it is also a great all-around stick for casting light cranks and working jigs/plastics around cover. It probably gets used more than any of my other rods.

[slick814]

I'm right there with Mike, except for brand.

For Vertical jigging, I've got a 6' Cabela's Fish Eagle II, Med. Lite, Fast tip, and for pitching jigs or rip jigging, I've got a 6'6" Berkley Cherrywood, Med, Fast tip.

I've also used G Loomis, Berkley, and Fenwick rods (not mine, though), and would have to say that the Fish Eagle is close to the more expensive ones as far as feel goes, and is a bit better than some of the less expensive ones.

I'd have to say that one of the big things is your budget. If you can afford to spend $100 or more on a rod alone, I'd say go ahead and pick up a Loomis, St. Croix, etc...

If you're on a tighter budget, I'd highly recommend that Cabela's rod, for about the price of some of the other rods, you can get it as a combo that'll work quite well for you.

[Gunslinger]

Hey, thanks for all the info. There's nothing better than going and trying a bunch of rods and picking one out! Do most guys use a different rod for pitching and vertical? As you can tell I'm pretty much a live bait rigger trying to expand my skills.

[harvey lee]

I wouls agree with slick814 that if money is a bit of an issue,cabelas fish eagle or a ST.croix premier would be a good working choice.Not every eye is caught with a high dollar rod.

[CrappieJohn]

I have two identical rods built on the "Old Formula" Fenwick HMG graphite blanks. These are 6 footers in a moderate light action and are used with casting reels spooled with 6 pound vanish. For four years these have been my pets and yeasterdays fishing at Alma certainly reminded me why they are so.

[Jason Boser]

the new 7ft tournament series from st croix or the loomis 842 are my favorite

Jason

[Fish Fry Guy]

I love my 7' St Croix Avid rod with medium light action. I find that its light yet will provide a good hook set while still being very sensitive to those light biters.

[Team Otter]

The G-Loomis line of products are darn tough to beat. But, some of my best rods came from a "clearance rack" at a gas station or something. Heck, I have a few rods that I couldn't even tell you the brand.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

[Northlander]

I fish a lot of current so a 6'6" to a 7'6" is a must. If I vertical jig I will go 6'3" at the shortest.

Most of my rods are Croixs or Midwest Rods made on Batson blanks. I like a medium or medium light with a fast tip.

I also have a few of the Gary Roach rods and for the $ they are a very good rod. Not as sensitive as a upper end Croix or Midwest Rod but will do if on a tight budget.

If Im fishing really fast water and or deep I go to a 7' medium/medium heavy casting rod like the Legend Tom S. made me with a baitcaster on it.

Im a big fan of Power Pro and in most waters I fish it doesnt spook the fish at all. If I think it does I tie on some mono with a back to back uniknot.

[TC123]

not trying to take over the thread here - but I just bought an avid 5'6" UL F rod for crappie jigging that I'm hoping will work for walleyes as well. I've had a few people from local stores tell me they use ultra lights occassionally for walleyes. I couldn't pass up on this deal (even though I probably would have prefered to get the medium light - but they didn't have them).

What do you guys think?

[Team Otter]

In my opinion, it's a little short and light, but you may find it useful for vertical jigging if you do any of that.

[eyepatrol]

My own experience, I've tried using an ultra-lite and didn't have much success with it on walleyes. I couldn't get a good hook-set in the fish whereas my wife was using a medium-light action rod and was hooking them just fine.

I've made my own decision not to use ultra-lites for walleyes anymore, but I know there are guys who use them and really like them for walleye fishing. They like them for all the flex and feel they have in the tip when the fish is biting.

[Northlander]

5'6" Ultralight is not a walleye rod its a panfish rod.

Seriously though I would not use it. No backbone for hooksets and if you do happen to hook a nice fish the chances of you losing it are not in your favor. I had a friend hook the bigget walleye I have ever seen in open water a few years back on a Ultralight. Needless to say he got schooled and lost a fish of many many lifetimes. I dont think he ever used that rod for eyes again.

You got it for a good price so be happy with that and use it for smaller fish, lighter line and lighter lures.

Take the money you saved and go get a 6'6" or 7' med with a fast tip. You can jig with it and rig with it. Could even slip bobber with it.

[Chris Haley]

I have 5 of the St Croix 6'3" jigging rods and use them jigging in 3ft-45ft of water. Love em!!

I have avids and am getting new tournament legends this year.

[big musk411]

Awhile ago I was about to buy a new Loomis. I went to Gander and the sales man told me that the Shimano rods are about the same since Loomis was baught by Shimano. I compared the actions and agreed. I ended up buying a Shimano Clarus rod instead of the GL2 I was planning on. It is a great rod and I saved about $80. I highly reccomend the Shimano rods. I have a Gander IM6 7ft med light that I dont even like very much, but for some reason it is lucky. The action sucks, but the fish cant stay off it! At this point I own over 20 rods so the next one will probably be a GLX or some thing like that, but I'll probably still catch most of my fish off one of the old cheapies.