Choosing a Slow Pitch Jigging Reel

Slow pitch jigging (SPJ) has become a popular technique among anglers, offering an exciting way to target a variety of species. Choosing the right reel is crucial for success and comfort during long fishing sessions. In this guide, I’ll explain the three key benchmarks I look for when selecting an SPJ reel, share examples of the reels I own, and rate them based on my experience.

1. Reel Size and Reel Weight

For comfort during a full days fishing using the slow pitch technique, the reel should comfortably fit in your hand like a tennis ball, you will be using your dominant arm to lift the reel and rod combo hundreds of times through the day, and from my experience a reel that is too large will give you a sore hand. Likewise for reel weight, as light as possible is always best to prevent fatigue, but light reels with premium material and quality build can be expensive, so a balance is important to stick to a budget.

For reel sizing there is a different numbering system for different reel brands, and what I recommend is 200-300 for Daiwa/Accurate, 10-15 for Daiwa, 1500-2000 for Shimano.

For reel weight between 370G to 480G covers the mainstream reels in the above brands, I find 410G the sweet spot for me.

2. Power Handle

A power handle as opposed to a T-bar or ball grip is a must have in my opinion for two reasons: Balance and control when working the jig, and power when fighting the fish.

A power handle gives great balance and shares the load with your rod/reel arm when slow pitch jigging, sometimes you are working heavier jigs up to 270g in deeper water or stronger current and having both hands/arms working together helps prevent fatigue.

When fighting the fish, and this is extra important when using a traditional SPJ rod and using the method of pointing the rod to the fight while using the power of the reel to wind in the fish, a power handle ensures you always have a strong grip.

3. Star or Lever Drag

An SPJ reel is going to have one of these options, and it is going to come to personal preference and what you’re used to using.

A star drag is easier for a beginner to use and is suitable through to experts, it allows easy and precise adjusting of the drag during the fight, star drag maxes out at 10kg drag

A lever drag has max drag, strike drag, and then variation between strike drag to free fall. The max drag and strike drag needs to be set before fighting a fish while in free drag. Lever drag can range between 8kg all the way up to 25kg depending on reel brand.

My Top SPJ Reel Picks

My first Slow Pitch Jigging reel is still my favourite slow pitch reel and it is the Daiwa Saltiga IC 300H-SJ. It ticks all the boxes that I look for in a reel with 10kg star drag, power handle, the reel weights 405G and I have it spooled with 500m of PE1.5 (28.6lb) jigging braid. As a bonus the IC part of this reel means it has a built in line counter so I can see what depth my jig is at. I now also own the size 100 version of this reel that has 7kg star drag and weighs 310g, I use this reel for light SPJ and it has landed my personal best snapper of 75cm.

For targeting Kingfish I have an Accurate BV500N-SPJ spooled with 300m of PE5 (89lb) braid and 15kg lever drag. At 500 size narrow spool it’s slightly too large for a full day of comfortable jigging, this reel sports the Accurate SPJ power handle and only weighs 468g for such amazing specs. I also own the smaller brother Accurate BV300L-SPJ with 10.4kg drag and weights 356g which is smaller and lighter than the Saltiga IC 300H-SJ.

My 5th and latest SPJ reel is a less well known Gomexus LX50 with upgraded Gomexus Titanium Power Handle. This reel has impressive specs of 22kg drag and weighing 330g while costing less than half the price of the mainstream SPJ reels.

Other popular SPJ reels to consider

Daiwa Saltiga 15H, Ocea Jigging 1500/2000, Maxel Armory 15, and Maxel Hybrid 20c.

Conclusion

A balanced SPJ setup pairs the reel and line to a matching rod for the application of working jigs within a weight range. For personalised advice, talk to one of the Ocean’s Legacy Pro Team Anglers to select the right rod and reel for your fishing location and target species.

  • A fisho who loves sharing his fishing journey with family, friends and the world through videos that capture the heart of the Kiwi fishing life

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Author

  • A fisho who loves sharing his fishing journey with family, friends and the world through videos that capture the heart of the Kiwi fishing life

    View all posts

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