I'm looking to take advantage of the NFC sale and my friend wants a medium power 6'6" to 7" spinning rod for walleye. He will mostly use it for jigging soft plastics probably with 1/8 to 1/4oz jig heads. I originally was looking at the x-ray sj 703 and the x-ray sb 683. I wanted to come back to him with some cheaper options though. I also am eyeing up the FW 704. Any thoughts/opinions? Thanks

Do not know but looked for a ML walleye rod myself. I wish he would list the rods like everyone else, model, length then power. Some rods he only has 3 or 4 actions when I am looking for a 2.

Zach,
My guess is that for jigging for walleye with a 1/8th to 1/4 oz jig heads, you are looking for a rod that is fast or extra fast in action. I would also want one with 6-14 lb test weight line. Also, looking for a jigging weight of 1/8 to 1/4 or possibly 3/8th. I really only fish for walleye and that would be my search criteria.

Also, if the tip size were listed, I would look for a tip size that would be less than 5/54ths. Most likely 4.5, or 4 64th tip size.

I think that the SJ - 703 is too heavy.

However, the X-ray SB 683 - is the perfect blank that matches my criteria for the perfect walleye jigging blank with live bait or soft plastics:

SB 683-1(X-Ray LMX) Mirror Black Finish

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Brian,
I don't understand your problem with the catalog. It seems perfectly laid out for me and very easy to follow and find what you are looking for.
In the name - the length is given,
There is always an indication in the name whether it is a one or more than one piece blank.
In the line following the name there is always a listing for power - i..e. ultra light, light, medicum light, medium, heavy, ex-heavy.
There is always a listing for speed. i.e. slow, moderate, fast, or extra fast.
Then, if you click on the blank you get the dimension of the rod. i.e. length, butt diameter, and tip diameter.

Best wishes all.

Brian,
NFC SJ 762-2 (HM), HS 7600-2 (IM, or HM), or HS701-2(IM). The power numbers only mean something within their own categories, a 2 power SJ is not the same as a 2 power MB, or 0, or 1 power salmon/ steelhead in this case. Line and lure ratings however are similar for the SJ and HS blanks. These differences are not just with NFC, it's industry wide.
SJ = Spin jig
76 = 7 ft 6 in.
2 = 2 power
-2 = 2 piece
( ) = blank material
Again really not different from others, they may use inches vs feet, but it's easy to understand either way.

I use SJ bass blanks for other things like salmon fishing, the SJ 803 makes a nice twitching rod from Coho salmon, the ratings wouldn't make you think that, but it will throw and jig to 3/4 oz in it's presentation to Coho. The SJ804 is a good blank for hover fishing Chinook salmon, much bigger fish possible, more power needed, ratings say it won't work, a phone call to NFC and they told me these blanks are used in their Edge Rods for these purposes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2021 07:25PM by Spencer Phipps.

Walleye fishing isn’t really one of my top angling pursuits. However, during the ten years I lived in Minnesota my job and other affiliations allowed me access to fishing with some well-known experts. All used fast to extra-fast rods in the 6’0” to 7’0 range for jigging, with 6’6” seeming to be predominant. Most were 4-10lb rated rods with 6-12lb’ers being the heaviest ones. These guys have incredible hands and memory bases. They could tell me every time the species and its size at the hook-set, and they would always be within mere ounces. They could jig the biggest and most jagged rock reefs for hours, staying 4-10 inches off the bottom, while never snagging. It is easy to think that fly fishing, bass fishing, and types of saltwater pursuits are the top of the angling arts, but the peak walleye anglers give nothing up in skill.

I would choose a 6’6” to 6’8”, extra fast blank with a 4-10 pound rating based on what I watched experts and about everyone else use. The “In Fishermen”, cable show, professional tournament, league, and really respected local anglers all jig with rods of similar parameters. I am unaware of any “secret sauce” jigging rods. I went to the NFC site after originally posting and looked through their XRay, Freshwater, and Bass blank collections. I didn’t find an extra-fast blank in the length and weight ranged typically used for walleye jigging in any of those lines. They market the XRay and “HM” materials on lightness and sensitivity. Maybe they will get around to a 6’6”, 1/16-1/4 oz lure, 4-10lb line rated blank in the XRay. A sale isn’t worth catching if it doesn’t include a blank that fulfills your functional needs.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/2021 12:05AM by Kendall Cikanek.

When I got stationed on the USCGC Mackinaw back in the mid- eighties out of Cheboygan, MI I bought a Sawyer Autumn Mist canoe to get to all the quieter waters and made myself a walleye jigging rod out of the 3S60MLF blank, it was a fantastic jig stick and caught it's fair share of smallies also.

Thanks for the replies. The walleye rod is what my friend wants. I personally want a rod or two from there so a 3rd rod gets me a bigger discount. He will most likely use it in rivers in the southwest PA region most of the year and on lake Erie during the spring drift bite



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/2021 11:18AM by zachary guyach.

The X-ray 703 would be a good choice. Also the p703 hm is a great choice. I have built on both. Great walleye jigging blanks.

Not an NFC blank, but the Immortal line of the Batson Rainshadow blanks build up into wonderful walleye blanks.
Note: on the right size of the listings are potential uses of each blank and these recommendations are spot on. The blanks are light and sensitive and all work extremely well for their stated purposes.

For my personal use I will often take one of the longer blank to use as a jigging blank by trimming length from the blank off the butt section only. Particularly for the very soft bite of a walleye - I would never, ever trim length off a really excellent blank from the tip of a thin ended quality walleye blank. Trim one of these blanks from the tip and they become a lovely pool cure.

[www.rainshadowrodblanks.com]

Also, their Popping rods work wonderfully well for a rigging or float application for walleye. These rods have a much more moderate or slower action than the fast and extra fast tipped blanks and really excel for flipping live baits on a float or jig for walleye.
I tend to go with longer lengths for the popping rods when fishing for walleye.

[www.rainshadowrodblanks.com]

I’d recommend the HS 7600 ( cut down to 7ft if you prefer). The X-ray 703 is also excellent in this application. DS 6101-1 has also performed well for me as a walleye rod.