We’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of these rods. Major Craft has made a model specifically for our sportboat bluefin tuna fishery in California targeting the 350-500g jig range. These rods will be able to work the larger jigs and still give you the pulling power to fish well over 30lbs of drag. Vertical jigs have been a very effective way to catch bluefin in California. While we’ve had plenty of success fishing any kind of bigger reel and rail rod setup, the traditional jigging style has still been shown to be more effective for getting the bite. These rods give the jigs a lot more action even at depth, they’re thinner and lighter making them a lot more comfortable to fish with and yet they’re capable of fishing the same drag loads.
This specific model designed was designed for the sportboats. It is longer to allow the angler to keep the line away from the side of the boat and has a longer flattened foregrip to be set on the rail if needed. The spiral acid wrapped guide layout prevents rod twist when loaded up on a large fish.
We’d recommend pairing these with a lighter frame tall narrow reel to eliminate the issue of guiding the line and to avoid the extra weight of a heavier frame reel. The Accurate Valiant 600N/800N, Penn Fathom II 40N and Daiwa Saltiga 55 are all great options for a rod like this for the guys that want to give speed jigging a try.
