Eagle Claw Rod

[budman]

Several years ago I bought a 9 foot Eagle Claw Steelhead rod. Says Granger GRX, IM7 on the shaft. Says 2-8 lb. Line Weight and 1/16-1/4 oz. lure weight. Never used it, bought it because it was last one they had and closing out for $20, what could go wrong. I am  mounting a Quantum 10 reel with 2 pound line and going to try and use it to throw some jigs trout fishing next week below Bull Shoals. I have never thrown jigs for trout, only flies. Anyone ever tried one of these or something like it. Feels like a fly rod with a longer grip above and below the reel. Going to test it out in the yard tomorrow to see how it cast different jigs. Will it work?

[tjm]

That will depend. If the trout see that you are using a $20 rod they will shun you.

As I recall from using a spin reel on a fly rod years ago, the timing is a lot different than a short rod and the stroke is a lot different than fly casting, so it may be a learning experience. I've never used 2# to cast with and rarely use it as tippet, but if that works you should be OK, trout do eat jigs.  I think half the flies used in the parks are jigs.

Are you going to use an indicator?

[budman]

Planned on just casting it out and jigging it back to the boat. Took it out today and tried casting it on the pond behind the house throwing a 1/8 oz jig. The extra two and half feet of rod and the 2 pound test line was really different than throwing a 6 1/2 medium action rod for bass. I was all over the place on distance and direction at first. Took about a dozen cast to get some type of timing down, but still had several bad cast. I also had a few what I call wind knots in the middle of the line about 20 yard out and well behind the jig. Also had one bird's nest in the line at about the same distance. Will throw it a few more time to see if I get any better. Don't have any light action spinning rods that are shorter, may look for one if I can't make this thing work.

[tjm]

I think  the rod tip has about three times the travel arc of  what you're used to, that should make the cast motion quite a bit shorter. I learned how to do it fairly well with a fly rod and I've seen live bait fishers that were quite good with one.

[snagged in outlet 3]

Take the lure off and walk all the line out preferably in grass.  Then reel it back on.  Gets all the twist out.   I used a fly rod with a spinning reel for years.  

[fishinwrench]

There was a pair of guys on the Salt river tribs that liked to use glass flyrods to spinfish with.  They threw little Flatfish and Lazy Ike crankbaits alot, and probably caught more smallies than I did on those rivers.    

I never understood why they preferred longer, more noodly rods, but when someone is catching more fish than you are.... it's kinda hard to tell them they are doing it wrong. 🤔

[snagged in outlet 3]

7 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

There was a pair of guys on the Salt river tribs that liked to use glass flyrods to spinfish with.  They threw little Flatfish and Lazy Ike crankbaits alot, and probably caught more smallies than I did on those rivers.    

I never understood why they preferred longer, more noodly rods, but when someone is catching more fish than you are.... it's kinda hard to tell them they are doing it wrong. 🤔

You can throw a lure farther with a slow rod than a quick one.  I used to tight line egg flies with a fly rod and spinning reel.  Deadly.  

[fishinwrench]

3 hours ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

You can throw a lure farther with a slow rod than a quick one.  I used to tight line egg flies with a fly rod and spinning reel.  Deadly.  

I'd like to challenge that. 

 Especially if it's a flyrod with snake guides.   Line friction on the blank and additional guides just has to be a factor.  

[tjm]

It seemed like I could throw lighter lures farther with the fly rod, but that was 30-40 years ago and I at least had never heard of slower or faster rods (I still think that in the same vehicle they will go equally fast) so I put it down to a longer lever.  I don't recall any line cling on the rod or that the snakes hindered the line at all, of course I wasn't looking for that especially.

[fishinwrench]

2 minutes ago, tjm said:

It seemed like I could throw lighter lures farther with the fly rod, but that was 30-40 years ago and I at least had never heard of slower or faster rods (I still think that in the same vehicle they will go equally fast) so I put it down to a longer lever.  I don't recall any line cling on the rod or that the snakes hindered the line at all, of course I wasn't looking for that especially.

Well with snake guides the line is going to drag across the rod blank.  No getting around that, and that friction, as minute as it might be, just has to slow the line down some.

No doubt that it will still work, I'm just curious why anyone would prefer it for that application.