Hello All,

 

I have been enjoying targeting a local bass species that are often found in and around rapids. I've been having good luck on a spinning rod casting jigs between 1/4-1/2 with a crawfish trailer. The unusual aspect of this species is the aforementioned tendency to be around rapids. I spend a lot of time wading in and casting into every nook and cranny.

 

If you were considering buying a jig specific rod (ex Loomis JWR) or an all purpose rod that excels at jigs (ex Loomis MBR), what if any factors would steer your decision making? For instance, would the faster water make you want to use a stouter rod than you would otherwise? Would a stiffer rod with more feel be more or less important in those conditions?

 

Thanks so much for your consideration in this matter.

In that situation, I personally like a rod that has enough power to penetrate the jig hooks, but yet has a soft enough tip to allow you to be accurate with the cast so you can hit those small pockets of eddy's around the rapids, and also have enough flex to help keep the fish pinned, because the water is usually shallow around rapids and the fish end up jumping out of the water a lot more and that is when hooks will get thrown.

 

So pretty much a flexible rod as I could get away with that will still be able to drive the hooks through.

3 hours ago, kayaking_kev said:

In that situation, I personally like a rod that has enough power to penetrate the jig hooks, but yet has a soft enough tip to allow you to be accurate with the cast so you can hit those small pockets of eddy's around the rapids, and also have enough flex to help keep the fish pinned, because the water is usually shallow around rapids and the fish end up jumping out of the water a lot more and that is when hooks will get thrown.

 

So pretty much a flexible rod as I could get away with that will still be able to drive the hooks through.

Thanks, that helps to confirm what I’m looking for and why. 

What kind of bass?

6 hours ago, zell_pop1 said:

What kind of bass?

Shoal, it’s one of our native species, but the section I work has a lot of hybridization with smallies, spots, etc. Its a cool fish and lives in water faster than other bass species.

 

Follow up question for folks who river fish a lot while wading: do you find a longer rod is easier or harder? When I’m on the bank and it’s a bit overgrown it seems like length is a detriment but in the water it’s harder to tell.

Still like shorter rods, in rivers you need pinpoint accuracy in casts.

Someday I want to go around the south and catch some of those Shoalies/Red Eyes.

Shoalies are about like any other riverine bass that I've fished; I used to fish for them on the Chattahoochee north of Atlanta.  They are a lot like smallmouth, IMHO.  Anyway, for the OP,  who asking about a couple of rod tapers, namely the JWR versus the MBR.  I believe that I'd rather have the MBR taper of the 2 for a jig setup for river bassing.  I don't fish 1/2 oz jigs very often on the river, most of mine are 3/8 oz or lighter (some are 1/8 oz), but some have a heavy hook, like the War Eagle finesse jig.  I never have a hard time setting the hook with a rod that I would imagine would equate to a medium power MBR (it's a Falcon finesse jig rod).  I do use braid with a short flurocarbon leader.  I think that I would feel the JWR taper a bit fast.  I have an IMX JWR that I have and I like it to be sure, but river bass tend to stay aerial.  Also, a lot of times, I cast above the rapid and allow the bait to be carried through the rapid into the trailing pools.  I would imagine that I'd be unwittingly pulling the hook out of her mouth a lot of the time with a really fast tapered rod.

6 hours ago, CountryboyinDC said:

Shoalies are about like any other riverine bass that I've fished; I used to fish for them on the Chattahoochee north of Atlanta.  They are a lot like smallmouth, IMHO.  Anyway, for the OP,  who asking about a couple of rod tapers, namely the JWR versus the MBR.  I believe that I'd rather have the MBR taper of the 2 for a jig setup for river bassing.  I don't fish 1/2 oz jigs very often on the river, most of mine are 3/8 oz or lighter (some are 1/8 oz), but some have a heavy hook, like the War Eagle finesse jig.  I never have a hard time setting the hook with a rod that I would imagine would equate to a medium power MBR (it's a Falcon finesse jig rod).  I do use braid with a short flurocarbon leader.  I think that I would feel the JWR taper a bit fast.  I have an IMX JWR that I have and I like it to be sure, but river bass tend to stay aerial.  Also, a lot of times, I cast above the rapid and allow the bait to be carried through the rapid into the trailing pools.  I would imagine that I'd be unwittingly pulling the hook out of her mouth a lot of the time with a really fast tapered rod.

It sounds like you know exactly the strategy and general location I’m talking about! I had it explained a bit in one of our local shops to me, and it’s my new favorite thing to do. I’m still new to it but I’ve experienced some success and I am looking forward to learning more with this strategy.
 

So from the sound of it, you aren’t so concerned with getting to the bottom since the fish are often suspended. I was thinking I would only be doing well to keep the lures on the bottom, especially as I am jigging with crawfish impressions. Do you find it’s better to try and stay off the bottom or is it more about playing with depth? 
 

So if I’m really not trying to be using jigs to get below the current and stay on the bottom, I can get away with just using lighter jigs and this a medium rod? Something like the Loomis 782 or even the 6’10” medium Expride? 

I would definitely choose MBR over J&W in this situation, but personally like an even softer tip than that. I have a Conquest 843c mbr and it's good for 3/8 up to 1/2 oz jigs, but most of the time I throw a 1/4 or 5/16 oz. Bitsy Bug Jig in the rapids for smallmouth and I prefer the softer tip on my Xtasy 723c or Fury 663c for that, which are more closer to Medium Casting rods than MH. I don't have much experience with spinning gear to know if a Medium would work good though.

1 hour ago, kayaking_kev said:

I would definitely choose MBR over J&W in this situation, but personally like an even softer tip than that. I have a Conquest 843c mbr and it's good for 3/8 up to 1/2 oz jigs, but most of the time I throw a 1/4 or 5/16 oz. Bitsy Bug Jig in the rapids for smallmouth and I prefer the softer tip on my Xtasy 723c or Fury 663c for that, which are more closer to Medium Casting rods than MH. I don't have much experience with spinning gear to know if a Medium would work good though.

I’m looking at all casting gear options, my spinning rod is great but I want a hair more oomph behind it.

 

I will look up those rods and see if it gives me a more clear idea. Thanks!

On 10/19/2020 at 10:38 PM, Scud_Mufffin said:

So from the sound of it, you aren’t so concerned with getting to the bottom since the fish are often suspended. I was thinking I would only be doing well to keep the lures on the bottom, especially as I am jigging with crawfish impressions. Do you find it’s better to try and stay off the bottom or is it more about playing with depth? 
 

So if I’m really not trying to be using jigs to get below the current and stay on the bottom, I can get away with just using lighter jigs and this a medium rod? Something like the Loomis 782 or even the 6’10” medium Expride? 

If you're fishing eddys, I think you'll find a bait off the bottom is better.  While I've caught fish with a jig in these eddys/trailing pools, I actually think a soft plastic itself catches better in these spots.  But surely, this is not the only place to find a nice 4 lb. shoalie, even in the summer.  There are all kinds of habitat that hold fish - pools above the riffle, current breaks close to banks where the water is reasonably deep, and so many more places can hold a bass.  And a jig in these places may be very effective drug/hopped along the bottom.  I don't think I'd try to use a heavier weight to 'fight the current', just realize that the fish are not feeding or hanging out in strong current.  They are staging adjacent to it.  That will help you think about how to best present whatever lure you use.

 

A 6'6 medium Loomis would probably work well, not just for jigs, but for a lot of things you may want to use for river bass.  I don't know the Shimano lines at all, but there are a lot of Shimano enthusiasts on this forum, so they might be able to advise you with the Expiride.  My river jig rod is a Falcon Cara T7 6'10 medium heavy/fast.  It is the least powerful MH I've owned.  I love this rod, and when I learned Falcon was no longer manufacturing them, I bought another in case this one broke (I'd already broken one).  I think that you may like a shorter length to start - even though there is no heavy cover that you need pitch and flip into, accurate casts will really help here.

1 hour ago, CountryboyinDC said:

If you're fishing eddys, I think you'll find a bait off the bottom is better.  While I've caught fish with a jig in these eddys/trailing pools, I actually think a soft plastic itself catches better in these spots.  But surely, this is not the only place to find a nice 4 lb. shoalie, even in the summer.  There are all kinds of habitat that hold fish - pools above the riffle, current breaks close to banks where the water is reasonably deep, and so many more places can hold a bass.  And a jig in these places may be very effective drug/hopped along the bottom.  I don't think I'd try to use a heavier weight to 'fight the current', just realize that the fish are not feeding or hanging out in strong current.  They are staging adjacent to it.  That will help you think about how to best present whatever lure you use.

 

A 6'6 medium Loomis would probably work well, not just for jigs, but for a lot of things you may want to use for river bass.  I don't know the Shimano lines at all, but there are a lot of Shimano enthusiasts on this forum, so they might be able to advise you with the Expiride.  My river jig rod is a Falcon Cara T7 6'10 medium heavy/fast.  It is the least powerful MH I've owned.  I love this rod, and when I learned Falcon was no longer manufacturing them, I bought another in case this one broke (I'd already broken one).  I think that you may like a shorter length to start - even though there is no heavy cover that you need pitch and flip into, accurate casts will really help here.

Thanks for your response, that’s a big help and expands how I was thinking about my approach.