rear seat jig pole?

[Iwannafish]

I bought my dad a 10ft Ozark rear reel seat jig pole for Christmas. Looks like its gonna be a nice pole, and suspect Dad will be thrilled. Problem is that I have never fished with a rear seat for my reel, and I am not sure what kind of real to put on the pole for him. I suspect the only option will be a spinning reel. A casting reel would have the line to close to the pole, and would be touching/rubbing the back of your fingers, constantly.

For those of you that use the rear reel seat jig poles, what reel are you using?

[ifish4redd]

a underspin reel(trigger type)

[Cray]

Spinning or small trigger spin. I have used both. Main thing is finding something that balances the pole in your hand.

[Bunk]

I have that rod and really like it. I use a small spinning reel on mine. Some use baitcasters and I tride one on my pole but I prefer a spinning reel. Another option is a flyreel. I have one on a rod for shallow water wade fishing but I wouldn't want to use it for deep water. Also see guys using the automatic flyreels deep and shallow. It all comes down to personal preference. What ever you get I would suggest getting a reel that will balance the rod at the point where your hand will be.

[CrappiePappy]

While I don't have, nor have ever used, a rear seat jig pole ... the comments concerning having a balanced outfit are dead on & most important. Too much weight towards either end of the rod, and you have a unwieldy outfit that will be uncomfortable to use & put unnecessary pressure on your wrist/forearm (in an effort to correct the imbalance).

That being said ... what is "balanced" in my hand, or yours, may not be in the hands of your Father. HE needs to be the one that determines which reel balances the rod, to his satisfaction. What I would do is either one of two things ... give him the rod, then take him & the rod to a store & let him find a reel that works -- or -- give him a gift card & let him find a reel. The first option would be used if you wanted to wait until after Christmas, and still be along to help with the balancing effect .... while the second option would allow you to present the whole package at Christmas, but allow him to make the determination of what to buy (with the understanding that it would make the rod more comfortable to use, if correctly balanced by the proper weight reel ... held & tested in his hands before the actual purchase).

His level of expertise, age & level of fitness, and how experienced he is with long rods, jigging, and/or fishing in general ... should be taken into account when choosing which option you use to get him a reel to complete the outfit. He may or may not need your help ... and these two options allow for either case.

... cp

[kingkrappie]

Fly reel (automatic or not), triggerspin, or one of the high end ($24) mini-reels. I use a full-size baitcaster on my rear reel seat BnM, but it's a 12 fter and requires more weight to balance.

[arrookie]

I own this rod. I have mine equipped with a Browning 5 bearing small spinning reel. Reel retails around $29 plus tax. This reel really compliments this rod in regard to size and weight. I have mine spooled with 10lb PLine flourocarbon which has same diameter of 6lb mono so I can hold around 60-70 yards of line which is usually enough to last me a season with not much waste. I only verticle jig with this set up. I generally hold the rod with my pointer finger up near the top of the cork and the balance of the rod rests nice just under my wrist and into my forearm giving me plenty of leverage to handle most any fish that tries me. I fish this rod as well as an 11' forward seat Ozark with same reel. The rear seat set up I prefer over the forward seat. After a long 8 to 10 to 12 hour day on the water of verticle jigging, my wrist and forarm is not as fatigued with the rear seat as it is when I fish the forward seat. Hope this helps !! Worst case scenario, if he doesn't like it, look me up and I'll be happy to take it off your hands as it's my favorite set up that I own !!

[alabass]

I do a lot of vertical jigging with 12' rear reel seat rods. I found some miniature fly reels on e-bay for $8.99 each and free shipping. I love them! Basically all you need is something to hold your line and I tried a couple of different reels and these are the best thing I've found so far.

[wilbur]

I use one of them small ice fishing spinning reels.

[bassbull]

I just take a couple of my (bass) smaller bait cast reels and just add on top of the power pro 30 ft. of 4 our 6 lbs. high vis. mono. They have very smooth drags and saves me from buying more stuff. If I didn't use them for that they would just be sitting in the corner collecting dust. STEVE