Looking at possibly picking up my first Expride tomorrow on Black Friday. Something for 1/4 oz and 3/8 oz jigs, maybe 1/2 every once in a while, but I'm not worried about that.

 

I was looking at the 7'2 MH because I feel like for most companies that would be the right pick, but the Expride's lure rating is 3/8-1 oz. Where as I feel like most MHs are 1/4-3/4 or 1. Would the Expride be too overpowered for 1/4 oz jigs? I fish around a lot of grass so I feel any extra power wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I don't own any exprides but my initial reaction would be that a rod rated 3/8oz-1oz is not at all going to overpower a 1/4 oz jig. The only way it would overpower the jig would be if the jig had some kind of fine wire hook. Then, a softer rod would be more appropriate as it would not bend out the hook.  Sometimes, it is better to judge the power of rod you'll need by the kinds of hooks you'll be using. 

 

Now, the reasons I think the rod you're looking at is just fine: The jig is 1/4 oz but im going to assume that is just the weight of the jighead itself. With the skirt and trailer, your jig is definitely 3/8 oz or at least approaching it. So in theory, your casting distance should not suffer as the whole presentation itself is 3/8 oz and the rod will load up properly. You also mention that you fish a lot around grass. The "extra" power of the MH will help when you're hauling up a fish which buried itself in the grass.

 

I wouldn't be worried with your purchase at all, a MH/F can do all sorts of things and I've used mine (Avid X 3/8-1) for weigthless stickbaits and soft jerkbaits and done perfectly fine. Best of luck with your purchase!

15 minutes ago, Finessegenics said:

I don't own any exprides but my initial reaction would be that a rod rated 3/8oz-1oz is not at all going to overpower a 1/4 oz jig. The only way it would overpower the jig would be if the jig had some kind of fine wire hook. Then, a softer rod would be more appropriate as it would not bend out the hook.  Sometimes, it is better to judge the power of rod you'll need by the kinds of hooks you'll be using. 

 

Now, the reasons I think the rod you're looking at is just fine: The jig is 1/4 oz but im going to assume that is just the weight of the jighead itself. With the skirt and trailer, your jig is definitely 3/8 oz or at least approaching it. So in theory, your casting distance should not suffer as the whole presentation itself is 3/8 oz and the rod will load up properly. You also mention that you fish a lot around grass. The "extra" power of the MH will help when you're hauling up a fish which buried itself in the grass.

 

I wouldn't be worried with your purchase at all, a MH/F can do all sorts of things and I've used mine (Avid X 3/8-1) for weigthless stickbaits and soft jerkbaits and done perfectly fine. Best of luck with your purchase!

Thank you man that is exactly what I was hoping to hear! 

44 minutes ago, Finessegenics said:

With the skirt and trailer, your jig is definitely 3/8 oz or at least approaching it.

I think you are dead-on with that assessment. 

As long as your 1/4oz jig has a solid hook, then you should be fine. I would prefer to throw a 1/4oz jig on a Medium+ rod (typically 8-17lb line rating), but it's not required.  I will also note that I think the Expride's lower rating of 3/8oz is a little bit conservative - it won't throw nearly as well as a 3/8oz jig, but you should be fine.

 

You can also throw 1/2oz jigs, so unless you're fishing finesse jigs with light wire hooks then I would go with the MH Expride.

Can't say. Best is to have the rod in hand. It's a pain to send rods back; Otherwise you could end up with another rod and still looking. Been there. 

 

Depends on the actual power and power distribution (taper/action) of the particular rod, along with your experience and expectations as a caster, and your specific use for the rod. I do not know how experienced a caster you are, and bring this up bc it may help some anglers who are wanting to buy rods sight unseen, and may find themselves struggling a bit with casting distance and accuracy.

 

I had a conversation with an angler who owned a rod I happen to own (and like), and he was having some trouble with it. The rod is "rated" 1/4 to 3/4oz, F, but is pushing XF in my mind, with a rock solid wall of a butt -not a whole lot of mid-flex- making this a somewhat extreme example. He was relatively new to casting rigs and was having trouble with distance, accuracy, and backlashes with his 1/4oz jig-n-trailer (prob up to 3/8 total). Knowing the nature of that particular rod I felt like I understood the problem right away.

 

It having so fast a taper, coming into power so quickly, made it rather critical to cast, esp with lighter lures, the tip loading and unloading so quickly. I suggested he keep that rod for heavier applications, and find one with a longer/slower taper. He did and reported back how happy he was with a different rod. His backlashing essentially disappeared and he was really enjoying his casting. “Wow! I thought it was me!”

That said, I will use this rod with 1/4oz jigs just fine, but recognize, and adjust to, the critical nature of that taper.

 

So, this is just a head’s up when buying rods sight unseen: Ratings can vary with rod company, or rod line. Best to have the rod in hand of course, but that’s not practical. You may need to adjust your casting to the nature of the rod, find it just fills a different purpose from what you intended, or be willing to send them back. I’m also apt to modify some rods I buy, by trimming —a potentially expensive learning curve there.

I agree with wanting to hold to rod but I've thrown Shimano's Crucial for as long as they were in production. I have some experience with a Curado & Expride.

 

Shimano's MH Moderate Fast 3/8-1 oz is considered their Jig Rod. Draw a line between the Medium & the Heavy in MH, this rod leans towards the heavy side.

 

That's my review of the rod ?

6 hours ago, Paul Roberts said:

Can't say. Best is to have the rod in hand. It's a pain to send rods back; Otherwise you could end up with another rod and still looking. Been there. 

 

Depends on the actual power and power distribution (taper/action) of the particular rod, along with your experience and expectations as a caster, and your specific use for the rod. I do not know how experienced a caster you are, and bring this up bc it may help some anglers who are wanting to buy rods sight unseen, and may find themselves struggling a bit with casting distance and accuracy.

 

I had a conversation with an angler who owned a rod I happen to own (and like), and he was having some trouble with it. The rod is "rated" 1/4 to 3/4oz, F, but is pushing XF in my mind, with a rock solid wall of a butt -not a whole lot of mid-flex- making this a somewhat extreme example. He was relatively new to casting rigs and was having trouble with distance, accuracy, and backlashes with his 1/4oz jig-n-trailer (prob up to 3/8 total). Knowing the nature of that particular rod I felt like I understood the problem right away.

 

It having so fast a taper, coming into power so quickly, made it rather critical to cast, esp with lighter lures, the tip loading and unloading so quickly. I suggested he keep that rod for heavier applications, and find one with a longer/slower taper. He did and reported back how happy he was with a different rod. His backlashing essentially disappeared and he was really enjoying his casting. “Wow! I thought it was me!”

That said, I will use this rod with 1/4oz jigs just fine, but recognize, and adjust to, the critical nature of that taper.

 

So, this is just a head’s up when buying rods sight unseen: Ratings can vary with rod company, or rod line. Best to have the rod in hand of course, but that’s not practical. You may need to adjust your casting to the nature of the rod, find it just fills a different purpose from what you intended, or be willing to send them back. I’m also apt to modify some rods I buy, by trimming —a potentially expensive learning curve there.

Glad to hear you were able to help fix his issue! 

 

I wasn't too worried about casting difference, but more so of working the jig. Like if I popped it, would the rod be too stiff and feel like I couldn't work the jig well. Like I wouldn't feel any resistance, I would just be ripping it. I'm not really sure how to describe it, but I'm guessing since you're experienced you'll understand what I'm saying lol. 

 

I appreciate your take though, that's definitely super important to keep in mind.

 

 

Just an update on this thread: 

I missed out on the expride because the TW sale started early this year it seems. Someone on instagram told me 11:30 pm (not sure if they were ET or PT) last night I believe. So when I woke up this morning the 7'2 Expride was already sold out. There's always next year lol. 

Oh, that's too bad. I've liked every Shimano rod I've seen. (Except one. Think maybe someone was trying to kill too many birds with that one stick. Or someone snuck into the design shop one night. )

 

I was only able to fix that issue bc I had that particular rod and it was mighty fast and strong for a supposedly "Med" power rod. Most of the time I can't comment bc rods are difficult to describe and trouble could be with the caster or the reel settings. That one was a good bet.

 

And, I know what you mean, not feeling some tension when working a lure. 

 

Hope you find an Expride with your name on it.

 

 

On 11/26/2020 at 11:36 AM, BigBass'n_Harrison said:

Looking at possibly picking up my first Expride tomorrow on Black Friday. Something for 1/4 oz and 3/8 oz jigs, maybe 1/2 every once in a while, but I'm not worried about that.

 

I was looking at the 7'2 MH because I feel like for most companies that would be the right pick, but the Expride's lure rating is 3/8-1 oz. Where as I feel like most MHs are 1/4-3/4 or 1. Would the Expride be too overpowered for 1/4 oz jigs? I fish around a lot of grass so I feel any extra power wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I wanted to pick one of these up but it didnt show any discount in pay pal when i was one click away from ordering it

3 hours ago, Rusty_Shackleford said:

I wanted to pick one of these up but it didnt show any discount in pay pal when i was one click away from ordering it

Typically it shows up in your receipt only

21 hours ago, BigBass'n_Harrison said:

Typically it shows up in your receipt only

Every other Black Friday sale you could see the discount if you used pay pal