Striper setup

[njdevils908]

Looking to get into jigging for striped bass on some atlantic highland party boats this coming fall. Was wondering what's a good set up to get. Willing to spend money for quality just nothing that's out of this world expensive. Thanks in advance.

[TomKaye]

Greetings. I don't post much publically. You can see I have posted 100 something times in almost 4 years.
What set-up do you prefer ? Spinning or Conventional ?
I jig for stripers with either / or.

Tight lines,
Tom Kaye.

[njdevils908]

Conventional

[TomKaye]

On your way to Atl. Highlands stop in and see Pete at Atlantic Bait & Tackle on Rte 36.
He's a sponsor on this board, a great guy, and won't steer you wrong.

TK.

[dory24]

starting at the bottom, the set up I use for guests on the boat is 6'6" uglystick intercoastal with a matched Shakespeare tw30 conventional reel. I have had 4 of these setups for 5 years now and none have failed in any respect, with the exception of 1 tip eye. probably less than 100 bucks and I have used them often myself. feel free to spend as much as makes you feel good but these setups have hauled a ton of 30 and 40 pound stripers with no problems. good luck shopping!

[MoparCharlie]

I'd look at the Avet sxj reel.

IMO $ for $ Avet is your best bet as far as a reasonably affordable conventional reels.

Stop at Atlantic Bait and tackle...Pete will give you very good advice.

[bulletbob]

Penn Jigmaster 500 combo,... Cheap, and will manhandle any striper you can hook up.. 7 Foot Penn slammer rod is included, and they are very nice rods.
New between $80-$100 for rod and reel

Personally I would find a nice used USA built Jigmaster on ebay for peanuts. $25 to $40 will get you one of the best inshore conventional reels ever built in good shape.. This reel was the standard for decades.. they are bulletproof, and cheap.
Team it up with a 7 foot Graphite or composite jigging stick like a penn slammer or an ugly Stick.. Yes you can spend $600-700 on a custom jigging stick and and Avet reel, but that Penn Jigmaster reel and a $75 7 foot jigging rod will catch just as many fish... bob

[Gerry Zagorski]

If you decide to go conventional and with Avet, I'd spend the extra money on the MC cast control. There are times where you are going to need to cast, and if you are like me, I tend to loose my mind and thumb control when casting in an all out blitz and end up loosing a lot of valuable time clearing birds nests.

[Forreal]

I sent you a pm about what I have. I posted it on the classifieds section if you are interested.

[bassnblues]

Check out Star Stellar Lite series. Nice rods for about $100.00. For reels, the Shimano tr200 are durable and inexpensive. Penn Spinfisher or Shimano Soccorro are good spinning reels that won't break the bank.

[TomKaye]

Partial quote from Bob:
""Penn Jigmaster 500 combo,... Cheap, and will manhandle any striper you can hook up.. 7 Foot Penn slammer rod is included, and they are very nice rods.
New between $80-$100 for rod and reel""
I have been using this set-up, among others,since 1978. A friend and I each bought one that Fall.
No memory of what I paid. Still serves me well to this day.

Partial quote from Gerry :
"If you decide to go conventional and with Avet, I'd spend the extra money on the MC cast control."
I bought the Avet SX-MC w/ a Fish Poison rod two Christmases ago for my adult son,
as his thumb is less-educated than mine.
He loves it. I'd love to get another.

Tight Lines Gentlemen.
Tom K.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Partial quote from Bob:
""Penn Jigmaster 500 combo,... Cheap, and will manhandle any striper you can hook up.. 7 Foot Penn slammer rod is included, and they are very nice rods.
New between $80-$100 for rod and reel""
I have been using this set-up, among others,since 1978. A friend and I each bought one that Fall.
No memory of what I paid. Still serves me well to this day.

Partial quote from Gerry :
"If you decide to go conventional and with Avet, I'd spend the extra money on the MC cast control."
I bought the Avet SX-MC w/ a Fish Poison rod two Christmases ago for my adult son,
as his thumb is less-educated than mine.
He loves it. I'd love to get another.

Tight Lines Gentlemen.
Tom K.

Tom - I guess the million dollar question is, if you had both these set ups, which one would you prefer to fish with?


If you get one of these lighter smaller lever drags in your hands paired with a nice light rod, the difference is night and day. I'm not saying you'll catch more fish but they sure do feel nice in your hands.

Don't want to seem like a tackle snob... I've owned several Penn jig master and the like reels over the years... A lot of charter and party boats use them as their boat rods and with good reason, they are practically indestructable. They are kind of like the old chevy 6 cylinders.... They get the job done and always run but they never run great :)

[hammer4reel]

Abu Garcia REVO NACL 50, paired to a Penn Battalion BATIN1530C70.

Fished this set up this spring for stripers, and also used it for bucktailing fluke with jigs to 12 Oz .

It is so light in your hand it FLOATS, and had plenty of backbone to land stripers to 40 pounds quickly.
The REVO is a winch , and with its corrosion resistant finish the reels I have had since last summer look like they just came out of the box.

[Skolmann]

I like a 7' MH or H action rod matched with Calcutta 400 or similar spooled with #20 mono and use either a #25 or #30 leader.

I've been party boat striper fishing (Spring clamming/jigging & Fall jigging with the same 2 GLoomis SWR843C (now remodeled as the GLoomis Pro Blue PBR843C) and the same 2 Shimano Calcutta 400s (I prefer the levelwind, but that's me) with a power/live bait handle since 1996. Reels are serviced every year, drag washers replaced as needed. Other than some boat rash both reels are in fine working order. Both rods/reels have caught over 1000 bass/bluefish

[NJ Dave]

Spinning
penn battle w a shimano terez
conventional
avet sx w a shimano terez.
wont break the bank and a great off the shelf rod.

[TomKaye]

[QUOTE=Gerry Zagorski;372932]Tom - I guess the million dollar question is, if you had both these set ups, which one would you prefer to fish with?

I prefer the Avet & Fish Poison. When my son is not available to fish,
I "borrow" it as he stores it in my garage.:)
TK

[mopie 25]

I use a mojo musky rod med heavy 7' 6" and a daiwa saltiest 20 or 30 ha with 50 lb braid It perfect for bass and blackfish this set up works great on head boats.