Flat fall jigs recommendation

I don’t have much experience with flat fall jigs.
I’ve seen them used on rock fish and salmon (mooching) though.
I’d like to try them on rockfish first.
Can folks help with this:
- which brand (I heard Shimano overfished Calissa)?
- which weight? 80gr or 100gr or more?
- when to use compared to swimbaits on jig head?
- when not to use
- reel/drag/rod setup

And any other tips would be greatly appreciated

I love jigging. My go to is 130g jig and that seems to work well for me most days when the current is calm up to 100ft (even pushed it to 200ft before).

For rockfish, I haven't noticed any patterns of success between color or brand (I've had just as much success on generic flatfalls than shimano), same goes for color. I usually try to go for sardine patterns with all my gear but after a few heavy uses I've noticed the flatfall chips down to bare metal (maybe consequence of cheaper bulk brands) yet the fish still bite which makes me think the action>>>pattern.

I like jigging more than swimbaits because when you get a bite on the jig they are usually hooked pretty well, but this is just my personal preference. I tend to use jigs most days because there's no fuss with bait or wondering if the swimbait is slipping/bit off. I'm a fan of my penn squall low profile which has the thumb bar for freespool, and I recently picked up one of those goofish slow pitch rods which has been pretty sweet. Get ready for an arm workout and some good fights 

genuine question: why flat fall for rf? huge $$ spent on rod and jigs. to catch a billion dinker rockfish? spend a day with a diamond jig and see if u still want to spend hundreds of $ to do basically the same thing?

I started jigging with a $20 cabelas whuppin stick and off brand jigs, not very expensive at all and the fish are usually pretty decent sized. I've had less success with diamond jigs but they are are also a good option. Rockfish basically bite anything, and I find flatfall jigging fun. I got that goofish rod a while back when someone posted it here during amazons super sale.

If I was actually conscious about money I would go to costco for fish and not burn gas, gear and tackle money.

I love flat fall jigging. It depends on the depth, drift rate, wind etc on how heavy of a jig you want to use.
I use the following.

* Daiwa sk jig (amazing jigs)
* Daiwa Mr Slow jig
* Daiwa fk jig (fast dropping)
* Nomad buffalo jig
* Nomad gypsea jig
* Nomad streaker jig (fast dropping)
* Shimano flat fall jigs
* Tady TSP slow pitch jigs (pretty effective)

Most of the jigs I get are from discounttackle.com. They do not charge tax and ship fast from OR.

I found a guy on FB that makes flat falls for like 4$ a pop and I just rig my home-made stinger hooks on them. I save all my nice tuna jigs for tuna trips and loose these cheap ones rockfishing. Im just about out now I've probably gone through 20 of the 150g.

Kevin Cummings on FB, nice jigs and custom powder colors.

Also Kaiju jigs on here has tuna grade flat falls and makes nice stinger hooks.

Don’t make me spend anymore money   I bought a grappler Shimano slowpitch rod from eBay and paired it with my Tranx 301, 20lb braid backing and various top shot shock leaders depending on species…

on the topic of budget SPJ rigs,

I got the goofish amazon deal that 3$J MADE us all buy, I was pairing it with a 300 size baitcaster that worked great for jigging but I just got the new piscifun SPJ reel (a lefty Valtix) at a discount, then when I received it and it was missing a frame screw so they knocked off another $25 so this think was $100 total! So my entire setup is under $200 lol.

BUT its build a little funky and small, 150 size reel it says with 30# drag at full.

the clicker is also weird, it locks the reel so you can "cut the line". Might be useful for snags but i still just use my thumb.

It does have an auto engage on the lever which is cool but i miss the thumb bar of the baitcaster for ease of jigging and 1 handed operation.

Looks cool tho! You get what you pay for but it's fun and we will see how long it lasts in the salt.

 

Try Bob, who is a member here, if you are looking for jigs.  I agree with others, for rockfish, you dont need a fancy jig, just something that will go up and down the water column will do.  I use 4 oz minimum, often times 8oz or more.  Bob's jigs are killer.  Also, for jigging, I prefer a stiff rod, easier on me when I have to do it all day (medium+).

https://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=75876.msg866216#msg866216

on the topic of budget SPJ rigs,

I got the goofish amazon deal that 3$J MADE us all buy

Yes, thank you 3$J for forcing me to upgrade the lead on a good deal

like some others have said, I don't think RF are that discriminant...just aggressive and hungry, I had good success with Calissa 150g red crab and also with the no-name stuff you get at FW black and silver.  It is also my impression that when they bite on that, they'll bite on anything, often on the first drop

Thanks for the advice and references folks!
I think I’m going to start with a 100g and see how it goes.
I’ll probably use it only for mid water column (blues/blacks) and less for rocky bottom.

I’m liking Majorcraft Jigpara stuff and the nomad stuff, for sure Shimano butterfly and wing fall…

I’m liking Majorcraft Jigpara stuff and the nomad stuff, for sure Shimano butterfly and wing fall…

Nice collection, Eddie. Looks like you've been tying some of your own assist hooks as well. Mind sharing the supplies you use? I'd like to make some of my own...

Ditto.Nice collection Eddie.