[kevcros]

Looking for a good rod match for a torsa 30-- primary target species is school BFT up to 150# on a private boat--

Would like a stock rod-- Anyone have any experience with St Croix jig sticks ?

 

[Fishgeg]

I know Kilsong has a custom St. Croix stick, you may want to send him a PM if he does not chime in. Off the rack, check out the Calstar Grafighters 700XH or perhaps one of the Super Seeker models if you want to go with a standard jig stick. If you are looking for more of the Japanese style rods I am sure other can add some insite

 

[KILSONG]

Torsa 30 can handle 150 lbs bluefin.

Both Calstar 700XH and St Croix PM79XXXHF also can handle any tuna under 200 lbs, maybe more.
The main advantage of St Coroix rod over 700XH. my custom 7' PM79XXXHF(cut 9" from the butt) weighs only 14 1/2 oz while my custom 700XH weighs 21 oz.

If you want to buy Japanese style short jigging rods, I recommend jigging rod rated upto 500 - 600 g rating if you want to targer over 100 lbs tuna.

 

[kevcros]

Thanks Kilsong-- I use the St Croix Premier 7' 20-40 (SWS70MHF) for my tuna popper rod and it has handled 100# tuna with relatively no problem-- I love the rod-- extremely light and very powerful-- I just was not sure that many people used the rod for jigging--

I was looking at the stock 7' SWC70MHF--

Thanks again

 

[KILSONG]

kevcros wrote:
Thanks Kilsong-- I use the St Croix Premier 7' 20-40 (SWS70MHF) for my tuna popper rod and it has handled 100# tuna with relatively no problem-- I love the rod-- extremely light and very powerful-- I just was not sure that many people used the rod for jigging--

I was looking at the stock 7' SWC70MHF--

Thanks again
I know many guys up there use St Croix Premier 7' 20 -40 for popping bluefin. But I'd rather use the rod rated to 60 lbs as you can give more pressure on tuna. Guys up there are influenced by a few charter boat captains and use light tackles for jigging and popping. But I foresee it can be changed in the future.
When I have time, I plan to write about jigging and popping for bluefin in Cape Cod Bay.

 

[kevcros]

Thanks Kilsong-- In my experience in CCB and Stellwagon, many people use lighter tackle because of the many smaller fish that we historically encountered- the class fish we have encountered has steadily increased over the past few years to the point where the average fish this year was probably 45"-50" and pressing 80#-100#-- A few years ago, we had many fish in the 30"-40" range that were maybe 50#-- Next year-- who knows, but my guess is that the average fish will be 55"+ and will be in the 125#- 150# class--At this point, the tackle used by the tried and true captains may be a bit undersized (esp if inexperienced sports are using them)--

In any event, i agree that a 60# blank may be more suitable for the class fish we should see in the coming years--To the extent that we see this class fish, the tried and true spinning reels will also need "updating" as the spheros 14000 and penn 9500 may not be up to the task of many fish in the category (esp at 15-16# of drag)---