Good Morning, Mike – Nothing like a little sleep to freshen the brain gears, eh?
Sometimes, buddy, the answer can be so obvious that it is just staring you in the face, but you can’t see it until you slow down or calm down or just plain drop-it until later.
Well, I think this is one of those times. So, let me “extend†to you my nocturnal revelations. … The light is coming on now, isn’t it?
BUTT-END EXTENSION of a shorter rod, with the kind of Power and Action that he would already like, is most likely the most practical answer to this conundrum.
RainShadow HS-Series: Hot Shot / SteelHead - RX7 Graphite Rods, Xtra-Fast
Available at: [
www.fishsticks4u.com]
RS-RX6 HOT-SHOT: HS-102-3-F
Matte Clear … 8'6" … 2-piece (-F = Ferruled, not “fast†here)
12-25lb. … 1/2-4oz. … 0.595†… 5.0 / 64ths
Xtr-Fast … Med-Hvy … 3.40 oz. … $80.00 – Add
Among ALL the Batson Salmon / SteelHead Rods in the current Catalog, only the Hot Shot Series offers an XTRA-FAST Action. Of these, the LONGEST Rod Blanks are the 102†(8’6â€) Models. Of these, the –3–POWER– has the 2nd LOWEST Lower-end Lure Rating (1/2 oz), indicating sensitivity; and a HIGH Upper-end Lure Rating (4oz), indicating enough backbone power to control a fish in tight quarters.
Mike, it possible that the lighter –1–POWER– Hot Shot Model (HS-102-1-F)
RS-RX6 HOT-SHOT: HS-102-1-F
Matte Clear … 8'6" … 2-piece (-F = Ferruled, not “fast†here)
10-20lb. … 3/8-3oz. … 0.595†… 4.5 / 64ths
Xtr-Fast … Med-Lite … 2.92 oz. … $75.00 – Add
will have a softer tip, which he may prefer. A lot of this rod’s backbone will also come from and depend on how you configure the rod handle, and on the EXTENSION length and material you select. (All of these Hot Shot Rods also come in an Olive Green.)
If his Walleye Tournament Rules allow a tandem type rig, he can use a larger / heavier jig as a mini down-rigger ball, and run a smaller wisp of a jig behind it. Or just tie his own cork-head or sponge-head floating type fly-jigs, so that it will prevent bottom fouling.
Or he may be able to use a dipsey sinker to hold it down, and fly a teeny jig off a 3-way type rig and keep the jig off the bottom, and trailing off the main line.
The proper length of the leader behind the mini down-rigger ball, or off the main line will depend a lot on his swift current and the hydrodynamics of his jig, and how tight his fish lay to hard structure or wood.
People fishing down here in the tail-race of Rodman Dam (Rodman Reservoir) routinely use this streamer approach to nail stripers, just like surfcasters do around NY.
I used to swing mullet on the St. John’s River, fishing worms. If ever there was a timid biter, it is the mullet, since it is a vegetarian, and has a tiny mouth. I fished a fluorescent in-line sliding cork to maintain proper depth of my hook. That was my visual signal, because with 14 feet of cane-pole hanging forward of my hands, the rod tip is going to shake as much as a nibble, just because of the wind, and the current, and your arm moving, and your blood pressure going. Slowly but continuously moving the hook is sometimes the only way to sense a nibble in swift-water vertical jigging. IMO.
Is that a little better advice this time around from a duffer like me? –Cliff Hall+++
BTW – Any time one of my Replies has it’s usual dose of “Information Over-Loadâ€, it is so that we all have a common reference or definition for our terms, and so that all the other dozens of RBO Readers know exactly what we are talking about. Especially if we are trying to split hairs, as I often do. … And considering that I am the guy who Posted a "Table of Effects of TRIMMING or EXTENDING a ROD BLANK" [
www.rodbuilding.org] , it’s a wonder I didn’t think of butt-end extension last night myself. … Maybe you did, Mike, and didn’t like the idea much yourself.) -CMH+++
