Jigging rods

Seems like salt water bottom fishing is likely to be my most common kayak fishing activity.  I have the Berkely IM-8 X-Heavy 9' rod right now.  It works well enough, but it would be nice to have a shorter rod and make that IM-8 into more of a trolling rod.  What is a good value in the shorter jigging rods? 

My current reel is an Abu 6600.  I'll probably just stick with that for now, though I do have a couple old spinning reels that were originally used for surf casting in New Jersey that could be used as well.

What are you looking to spend and how much weight do you plan on using? Ugly sticks seem to have a strong following.

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A couple of the guys of picked up the below rod and really like them. They look pretty nice.
http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-One-Piece-Action-Jigging-6-Feet/dp/B0032OU5H4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354643935&sr=8-1&keywords=ugly+stick+jigging+rod

The first rod I bought specifically for kayak fishing was an Okuma 7'6" MH rod. It was on clearance at bi-mart for 23 dollars and it works for just about everything. I use it for bottom fishing, sturgeon, and salmon. I have since added an 8'6" MH rod for salmon trolling but I still really like the 7'6" length for bottom fishing. It's light enough to be able to use all day long but heavy enough to jig 4-6 ozs without any issues. I've also picked up a few other IM6, IM7 and IM8 rods in the 7'6"-7'9" length and they all work well. I also got the IM6-IM8 rods on clearance and I think they were 20-30 bucks each. Recently I also picked up a couple of 6'6" M and MH ugly sticks but I haven't really tried them out yet. I think they retail for about 30 bucks and I think they should also work well. Yes, I know I have a problem 

At the ORC I caught almost all of my fish on a 6ft Medium Action Ugly Stick (bait casting).  It's the same one I use for bass fishing.

I've got it spooled with 30# braid but the last 10 ft it's dropped down to 20# mono.  That fixed the abrasion problem you get with braid on rocks.  It worked great and was a blast to real in those larger fish.

I've also snagged 20# carp with this setup and it was a fun sleigh ride getting those in.

After reading Noah's post I remember that I didn't go over 4oz with my jigs,  6oz was a little too much.

$$ are uncertain.  It will probably go on my Christmas list.  My MIL works for Bi-Mart and gets the good deals.  That said, this would be for bottom fishing around the Sound, out at Hobuck, and Depoe Bay.  So I can easily see the need for 6oz.  Be nice if it could take more weight but if the current's ripping so much that 8oz isn't enough, it's probably time to head in.

I picked up a Diawa AccuDepth combo last summer that's been working really well for me.  I still love my Uglystick/Penn combo but it's now relegated to Halibut hunting only.

The nice thing about the AccuDepth is that it's well balanced and lightweight but still has the backbone for big lings and sturgeon.  The weight makes a huge difference when jigging all day.  Also, since the reel is a line-counter, I get much better feedback on exactly where I'm fishing.

The rods go for about $40 and the rells for about $60.

-Spot-

http://shimano.fishing-store.us/shimano-tvc70ml-trevala-jigging-casting-rod.html

Love these rods for fishing 4oz or less (fish 1-3 perfect).  They make blacks, average lings etc. a blast and with a good reel can handle big lings.  They also make great sturgeon rods when heavy lead is not needed.   These are the only rods I use in the ocean for clients.  I run them with 5500 or 6500 abu's spooled with 30 or 50 braid and a topshot of 30 big game.  Biggest ling of the season came on one off a north coast launch. They even do decent duty as a salmon rod in a pinch (a bit short but they work). Comes in both spinning and casting, have both, and prefer the casting.   No complaints

+1 on the Trevalas.  I usually reach for a TVC66MH, but as PP stated the TVC70ML is perfect for the lighter jigs.

On a sad note, I donated a trevala to the ocean yesterday.  I'll miss her and her partner Avet SX. 

-Allen

+1 on the Trevalas.  I usually reach for a TVC66MH, but as PP stated the TVC70ML is perfect for the lighter jigs.

On a sad note, I donated a trevala to the ocean yesterday.  I'll miss her and her partner Avet SX. 

-Allen

+2 on the Trevala rods.  I use it for everything but downrigger applications on the saltwater.  Ouch on losing that avet sx.  That's the pairing I use. My condolences Allen...it must be difficult times but I hope you recover quickly.

+1 on the Trevalas.  I usually reach for a TVC66MH, but as PP stated the TVC70ML is perfect for the lighter jigs.

On a sad note, I donated a trevala to the ocean yesterday.  I'll miss her and her partner Avet SX. 

-Allen

I feel your pain .  Out of 36 anglers I took out this year 6 rod/reel combos were lost or broken including one guy that lost both the rod/reel, the rod holder and the leash

Note to self, the one application where a leash may be a good option is when securing crab pots in your tankwell.  Something caught the rod and launched it into the ocean.  There was a moment of pause as I contemplated jumping in after it, followed by a long moment of sadness as I bid a friend farewell.

-Allen

I loved my travalla until I got a Lamiglas Tri-Flex. The 10-20 pound 7' casting is my new favorite rod. Paired with my Talica 8 all my other bottom fish rods have been collecting dust.

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I loved my travalla until I got a Lamiglas Tri-Flex. The 10-20 pound 7' casting is my new favorite rod. Paired with my Talica 8 all my other bottom fish rods have been collecting dust.

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$290 MSRP for the Tri-Flex?  Ouch!  But the way you were talking about that thing at Brouwers, it sounded pretty sweet.

Which Trevalla?  Selling it perhaps?   

-Allen

+3 on Trevala rod. 6'-6" medium or medium heavy.  They have both one- and two-piece rods - I like the two piece for portability.  I have hauled in a couple nice salmon with it, seems to have plenty of "bend but don't break".  It always helps to have a reel with a smooth drag also.