High end football jig rod recommendation

[The Pond King]

Hey guys, I’m looking for a dedicated 3/4oz to 1oz football jig rod. I will be using this rod to cast long distances and drag football jigs in various water depths. Now, I do have a GLX 844C MBR, Dobyns Champion Extreme 745HP, and even a GLX 954 FPR. I find that the 844C and DX 745 are fantastic rods. However, I feel like they are slightly underpowered for 3/4oz and 1oz football jigs, in my opinion, but they can get the job done without any problems. For instance, the DX 745 isn’t as powerful as you are led on to believe from reading the specs. As for the GLX 954 FPR, I’m aware that it wasn’t designed for dragging footballs but have tried fishing football jigs with it, anyways, and it’s a tip heavy pool cue, so I can’t fish with it comfortably all day. It’s simply just too powerful and too long.


Anyways, I’m looking for a rod that is between 7’ – 7’ 6” that can handle 3/4oz football jigs and the occasional 1oz. I’m looking for a rod that is perhaps a half power stronger than DX 745 but don’t want a pool cue.


The GLX 855 JWR has piqued my interest, but there are not many reviews on this rod. Anyways, I don’t want to be one track minded and be able to make the best choice. As you know, reading specs isn’t always reliable as each manufacturer has their own ratings, so I need your guys’ help from your guys’ experience. I’m looking for a rod with enough power to be capable of handling heavy football jigs that are dragging across bottom but can also effectively deflect the jigs off of rocks while simultaneously not being a broomstick. In addition, I’d like this rod to be super sensitive to detect what my jig is making contact with on the bottom and to easily distinguish it from a fish bite.


Which rod would you recommend for a high end 3/4oz and 1oz football jig?

[River-Bandit]

Shimano Conquest 905 first choice ,, Shimano Conquest 904 or NRX 894 Second Choice ,,

[BoatBuggy]

Megabass P5 Tequila Baccarac is the one I use. I also use it for a-rigs, 10xds and big glide baits and swimbaits.

[flippingmagician]

I picked up an ALX Zolo Dragger at Philly’s recommendation last season. I really like it for 3/4 oz football jigs.

[LuistLTZ]

Extreme HP 746 or Adrena 76xh

[City17Banner]

I throw the OSP Hunts 3/4oz "hybrid" football a great deal for smallmouth bass, and these are the Top 5 high end rods I own and use for this specific technique and lure. Please note that the order of the rods is from my experience fishing with them and ranking their attributes from most important to less important: sensitivity (how well can I feel the bottom), hookset impact (power and speed of hookset), and ability to control and land fish.

#5. Daiwa Steez AGS 7'5" MHM Botom Contact II: This rod is a fantastic heavy T-Rig and Football Jig casting and catching machine with great sensitivity and overall, it's the best rod for long distance casting.

#4. Megabass Destroyer X7 F7-71X7 AMART: This is marketed as a flipping rod but make no mistake, it is the most sensitive Megabass jig rod I own as I consider the X7 rod series to be the pinnacle of power and sensitivity within the extensive Megabass rod models.

#3. Luxxe Oltre B70H: Words fail me, this is the second most sensitive bottom contact rod I own and the only minor quibble I have with is that the "stinger" tip makes this action a bit too slow for fast hookups and this impacts my ability to hook and land fish by an admittedly small margin.

#2. Daiwa Steez Racing Design 7011HRB: I am fortunate enough to have exactly one of these superb bottom contact rods and for the majority of the 2019-2020 fishing seasons this was my #1 bottom contact rod for presenting the OSP Hunts football jig. Sadly, the Steez Racing Design model line has been discontinued.

#1. Evergreen Kaleido Inspirare RSR-C70XHX Rapid Gunner RSR: If there was ever a situation where I was forced to only have one heavy T-Rig or Football Jig rod to use during the fishing day this rod would be that one rod. The sensitivity is off the charts and it's like you can envision the bottom in your mind simply by interpreting the sensations you receive from this gem of a bottom contact rod.

[capt1fish]

I bought an Xtasy 755 on sale and after one trip at Clear Lake dragging 1/2 - 3/4 oz jigs sold off my NRX and Conquest rods. In my opinion I got an uber sensitive rod at a lower price point than the Loomis and IMO better looking with superior components and balance.

[FryDog62]

I picked up an ALX Zolo Dragger at Philly’s recommendation last season. I really like it for 3/4 oz football jigs.

I would second this. I actually sold my Dobyns 745 Champ Ex because I thought it lacked sensitivity for bottom contact. Replaced it with a Dragger and has worked very well.

[coreynov902]

Megabass P5 Tequila Baccarac is the one I use. I also use it for a-rigs, 10xds and big glide baits and swimbaits.

+1 on this. The Tequila Baccarac is such a versatile rod but it does a great job with heavy football jigs. And although it has a lot of power, it's got a great deeper bend into the rod that allows the rod to absorb surges and head shakes from fish so they don't throw the jig.

[alanhore]

Loomis NRX894 for me. If you feel it is a bit tip heavy put some weight on the but end.

[The Pond King]

Hi y'all, I really appreciate everyone taking the time out of your day to respond and send me your recommendations. It's really opened up my eyes to the possibilities that I didn't see before.

I throw the OSP Hunts 3/4oz "hybrid" football a great deal for smallmouth bass, and these are the Top 5 high end rods I own and use for this specific technique and lure. Please note that the order of the rods is from my experience fishing with them and ranking their attributes from most important to less important: sensitivity (how well can I feel the bottom), hookset impact (power and speed of hookset), and ability to control and land fish.

#5. Daiwa Steez AGS 7'5" MHM Botom Contact II: This rod is a fantastic heavy T-Rig and Football Jig casting and catching machine with great sensitivity and overall, it's the best rod for long distance casting.

#4. Megabass Destroyer X7 F7-71X7 AMART: This is marketed as a flipping rod but make no mistake, it is the most sensitive Megabass jig rod I own as I consider the X7 rod series to be the pinnacle of power and sensitivity within the extensive Megabass rod models.

#3. Luxxe Oltre B70H: Words fail me, this is the second most sensitive bottom contact rod I own and the only minor quibble I have with is that the "stinger" tip makes this action a bit too slow for fast hookups and this impacts my ability to hook and land fish by an admittedly small margin.

#2. Daiwa Steez Racing Design 7011HRB: I am fortunate enough to have exactly one of these superb bottom contact rods and for the majority of the 2019-2020 fishing seasons this was my #1 bottom contact rod for presenting the OSP Hunts football jig. Sadly, the Steez Racing Design model line has been discontinued.

#1. Evergreen Kaleido Inspirare RSR-C70XHX Rapid Gunner RSR: If there was ever a situation where I was forced to only have one heavy T-Rig or Football Jig rod to use during the fishing day this rod would be that one rod. The sensitivity is off the charts and it's like you can envision the bottom in your mind simply by interpreting the sensations you receive from this gem of a bottom contact rod.

City17Banner.. dude! This is the motherlode of all responses!!! Holy smokes man, you're the guy I want to be talking to lol. While everyone's responses are valuable as well, I don't think I've found a better recommendation. Your recommendation even top's Cal's from TackleTour.

I'm very interested in Evergreen Kaledio Inspirare Rapid Gunner now. Except that, for myself, I'm going to go with the HD version instead of the Rappid Gunner due to my personal preferences for the larger double footed guides. I'm very close to pulling the trigger, and I've done some research on this rod already. I've read more about this rod on a TT thread: Evergreen Rapid Gunner RSR - TackleTour

Anyways, one question I have about this rod is.. it's essentially a $1000 rod which - not to sound pompously asinine - I don't have a problem blowing the money on. However, since this is a JDM rod that I will be ordering from Japan through JDMTackleHeaven, is this rod not covered by warranty? Meaning, if I decide to throw heavy t-rigs and big jigs in heavy cover yanking out big bass out of snaggy cover or accidentally setting the hook on a rock while dragging footballs, there's a higher likelihood of breaking the rod than say open water fishing. Do you just say screw it and if it breaks it breaks? Is it kind of a YOLO thing?

Second question I have is where do you get your OSP Hunts jigs? I'm particularly interested in the Tenaga and Amezari colors in the heavier weights like 5/8oz and 3/4oz, but I have not found a good JDM vendor that have these in stock. I don't want to pay $9 a pop for them through The Hook Up Tackle.

Thanks,
The Pond King

[City17Banner]

Hi Pond King,

I fish almost all deep water so that is why I chose the RSR version of the EG Rapid Gunner, if you are going to be primarily fishing heavy cover or a mix of the two then as you noted, you should get the HD version with the .5-1.0 size larger double foot guides. The rod version you select is entirely predicated on the type of environment you will be fishing and should be chosen to support maximum hookset impact (in this instance) as much of your fishing will be short to medium ranged compared to mine which is almost always at longer range.

From a warranty standpoint, I will share with you that I have been buying JDM tackle (rods & reels) since 2003 and it's been my experience that at a certain price point and within the top tier manufacturers such as Evergreen, Deps, OSP, Megabass, Gamakatsu (Luxxe), Daiwa, and Shimano that you get the quality that you expect for what you pay. That doesn't mean that other JDM manufacturers do not have good quality, it's actually rather that there are tiers of quality and as you go up in tier you get better quality. Lastly, please be aware that the niche custom and semi-custom rod builders are also capable of top tier quality in their tackle builds and this would include companies like Sedition, Designo, Studio Composite, and Legit Design in my experience.

It's with this same thought process that I view rods like my Evergreen Grand Stallion GTX, EG Rapid Gunner RSR, Sedition White Falcon, and Luxxe Oltre to be in the "Heirloom Quality" category and so even without a warranty outside of Japan; I don't worry about using them as they were intended to be used since I know they were designed and built to perform these actions for a lifetime. I find it to be the same with my collection of Antares DC, Conquest DC, Stella, Exist, and Saltiga reels; I believe that one day if I do my part to ensure proper maintenance procedures are followed and barring any accidents beyond my control that I will be able to pass these rods and reels onto my grandchildren for them to enjoy.

To address the "elephant" in the room around the subject of having no warranty outside of Japan for these "Heirloom" quality JDM tackle items, I have over 60 rods and reels of this type of quality and only one rod tip has ever broken during the activity of fishing. This occurred to my unfortunate Megabass Shore Luck Limited SLL-78ULS when my fishing buddy and I were fishing crappie one fine spring day and he had an "incidental" bite from a 2# smallmouth bass and the ultra-light rated rod broke when he attempted to "boat flip" the smallmouth bass into the boat instead of waiting for me to net it for some unknown and inexplicable reason. We both heard the crack when the rod tip broke between the ninth and top guides, he just wrote me a check for the replacement cost of the rod later and we just kept fishing since we were catching 12-to-14-inch crappie at the time. We still joke about him trying to be like the YT people who "boat flip" everything they catch to this day, although for a long time afterwards, he was limited to lesser quality Aji rods and is still banned from using any of my Evergreen Poseidon Salty Sensation rods.

All kidding aside, if you're looking for the "Unobtanium" of football jig rods, I believe you will be well served by the Evergreen Rapid Gunner HD for your specific requirements.

As for the OSP Hunts jig, one thing you have to be cognizant of is that JDM manufacturers don't operate like American manufacturers do in the sense that JDM companies usually have very stringent and limited production schedules, and they don't change them for any reason that I can fathom. For example, one of my favorite finesse soft plastic lures is the OSP Mylar Minnow, and from what I understand OSP only schedules for a set amount of the lures to be produced per year and then once those lures are sold out, they're just sold out until the following year. This "limited" production schedule is actually quite common in the JDM tackle industry so my advice is if you like a specific lure/colorway, buy as much of it as you can while there is the opportunity to do so since there isn't the guarantee of anything being available.

As an alternative, I've been fishing the Deps Head Rock football jig for several years now and it's produced as well as the OSP Hunts jig and is available in more sizes too. It doesn't hurt that they are a bit cheaper than the OPS Hunts Jig is either.

Deps Head Rock Jig Link: http://samuraitackle.com/fishing/ind..._492_1619_1777

[LowRange]

If you are worried about breaking rods then don't boat flip. Those rods that break on the hook set or cast where actually broken by a boat flip or "swinging in a 2lbr" that then decided to fully let go a moment later on that cast or hookset. Also violent yanking hooksets are retarded anyways. If you are going to be fishing expensive JDM no warranty rods then do a normal person hook set and use a net or bend over to land a fish.

[Bassakwards]

Megasbass Destroyer FMJ, is what I use all great for pitching around docks and lay downs.

[City17Banner]

If you are worried about breaking rods then don't boat flip. Those rods that break on the hook set or cast where actually broken by a boat flip or "swinging in a 2lbr" that then decided to fully let go a moment later on that cast or hookset. Also violent yanking hooksets are retarded anyways. If you are going to be fishing expensive JDM no warranty rods then do a normal person hook set and use a net or bend over to land a fish.

[The Pond King]

City17Banner,

Wow!!! I can't thank you enough for sharing your knowledge. This information is gold!!! It's also mind blowing. It opens up a whole new world that I had zero knowledge of.

Truth be told, I haven't broken any rods that I've cared about, and I've only broken cheaper rods when I was younger. A telescoping rod that I broke on a snag, a telescoping rod I broke on a catfish, and a broke a cheap rod that I left in my old van, and this is in a span of 20 years of fishing.

I've never once had to use a warranty, fortunately, so I guess the warranty doesn't really matter because in reality, odds are fairly low that I'd break the rod.

[City17Banner]

City17Banner,

Wow!!! I can't thank you enough for sharing your knowledge. This information is gold!!! It's also mind blowing. It opens up a whole new world that I had zero knowledge of.

Truth be told, I haven't broken any rods that I've cared about, and I've only broken cheaper rods when I was younger. A telescoping rod that I broke on a snag, a telescoping rod I broke on a catfish, and a broke a cheap rod that I left in my old van, and this is in a span of 20 years of fishing.

I've never once had to use a warranty, fortunately, so I guess the warranty doesn't really matter because in reality, odds are fairly low that I'd break the rod.

Pond King,

I'm glad to share my knowledge with you but rest assured that there are many fine folks who also have shared their knowledge and practical fishing experience with you on this thread. I would expect that if you heed Lowrange's guidance for avoiding excessive hooksets and practice prudent fish landing practices, your new football jig rod will last you a long time.

On a side note, if you do go with the Evergreen Rapid Gunner HD as your football jig rod, I'd enjoy hearing about what you like and do not like about the rod. Since I now have a second Sedition White Falcon (one for each boat) I can focus on the deep football jig and heavy T-Rig rod/reel combinations so I'm seeking to either fill my gap in "coverage" by either getting another EG Rapid Gunner RSR or perhaps the new Luxxe Efreet B74XH-F to accompany my existing Luxxe Oltre.

[evilcatfish]

Awe man, y’all have me thinking about ordering a rapid gunner now. Was thinking my next evergreen would be a grand cobra or Orion cantata but now I’m not so sure….

[City17Banner]

I'm now looking at the Luxxe Efreet B74XH or the Olympic Vigore 20GVGC-71 myself, so I understand exactly where you are coming from sir! It's always frustrating with the JDM shops that won't ship international, so I always have to SNIPE them, but it's far better than using ZenMarket.jp with their much higher acquisition, warehousing, and shipping fees.

I have so many 1st world problems pining away for essentially $1K "Unobtanium" JDM fishing rods let alone yet another Antares DC or Conquest DC reel to go along with the new rod! It's a sickness and I'm happy to be afflicted! Between here and TT it's easy to be sick!

[apresson]

I use a champion dc 736. I throw a 1oz football jig just about year round