About the Rig Creator
Captain Mark Galasso
Captain Mark Galasso out of Grasonville offers custom trips for fishing or cruising. He operates a 21 parker SE and a newly renovated 35 Markley for your comfort and safety. He fishes Chesapeake Bay from The CBBT to The Susquehanna with a home base in Kent Narrows. Bait, Jigging, Fly and Trolling are all available.
More info on Captain Mark is available in the Captain's Corner......
Captain Mark Galasso
About the Rig
Captain Mark's Rockfish Jigging Set Up
On the right, we have a representation of Captain Mark's standard jigging set up. The theme here.....keep it simple.
Rods
As with his trolling rod set ups, Mark fishes Bill's OB Custom rods. He fishes a range of medium and medium light rods - 6'0" and 6'6". Bill built these rods for Mark on Saint Croix Premier blanks.
We modeled the the Cove Regional Series jigging rods after Bill's OB Custom jigging rods. There are two jigging rods in CRS lineup. Both offerings are medium power / fast action. In line with Bill's OB Customs, we offer a 6'0" and a 6'6" option.
You can't go wrong with the Saint Croix Premier series of rods. These are Saint Croix factory rods - built on the same blanks that Bill uses for his custom rods. A few excellent choices for jigging include the PS60MF, the PS66MF, or the PS66MHF. The first two are medium power selections with recommended line weights of 6-12 pound test. The PS66MHF is a little heavier rod with a recommended line weight range of 8-14 pound test.
If you are looking for a solid rod that will go a little easier on the wallet, we recommend Shakespeare's Ugly Stick Series. These are well built graphite rods at very reasonable prices.
Reels
Mark's reel of choice is the Penn 550 SSg, one of the graphite body reels in the Penn Spinfisher family. A good lightweight choice, weighing in at 15 grams with a line capacity of 275 yards for 12 pound test.
Within the Shimano line up, we like the Stradic series. The ST4000fl hits the sweet spot for Rockfish jigging. A lighter model that will also work during the summer months is the ST3000fl.
If you wish to step further up the foodchain, check out the Quantum Cabo with the TiMAG Salt magnetic bail system. We recommend the CSP40PTs within the Cabo line up.
Line
For the mainline, Mark uses a 12 pound test mono
For the leader - 40 pound test flourocarbon
Terminal Tackle
All you need here is a barrel swivel - 90 lb.
Lures
Mark will jig 5" plastics for most of the season. When he hits the Susquehanna Flats in the early Spring, he will move up to 7 inch plastics. Mark's favorite jigging plastic is the Albino Bass Assassin. He'll also mix in some Chartreuse. His jig head selection will range from 1/2 ounce to 3/4 ounce for most of the season. When he heads south to the Bay Bridge Tunnel in the Fall, Mark will step the weight up to 3/4 to 2 ounce, depending on the current, and the depth he is targetting.