I must confess, as we loaded up our arsenal of fishing gear for the Three Kings – including big Shimano Stellas and Ocea Jiggers – I had written off the comparatively petite Shimano Ocea Jigger LD 2500MG and Game Type J PE6 jigging/ livebaiting set.

“Rig up the big Stellas and that PE8 Ocea Jigger, thanks boys,” I told the deckies.

“Chuck that little set up top for now, we probably won’t use it much for those big kingies.”

How wrong I was!

The ’24 Ocea Jigger LD 2500MG has been designed specifically for jigging with a large, ergonomic T-type handle knob, compact and lightweight body, and finer details to make for comfortable handling, like a palming side plate smaller than the handle side plate. Don’t let yourself fall into the same trap I did and be fooled by its small stature, however. Despite its body size being comparable to the Ocea Jigger 2000, the Ocea Jigger LD 2500MG achieves an impressive maximum drag force of 20kg —all while retaining full freespool.

Of course, one of the highlights of this reel is that it’s the Ocea Jigger range’s first foray into the lever drag realm. While the star drag Ocea Jiggers are well regarded, many anglers simply prefer the functionality of lever drag reels. Lever drags are quicker to adjust and visually easy to control. In addition, their drag performance does not suffer from power loss due to heat generation during an extended fight – helpful when targeting powerful fish like kingies. Shimano reckons the new lever drag system reduces the loss of drag force during an extended fight by up to 25% in comparison to the Ocea Jigger 2000.

The inherent design of conventional lever drag reels results in binding as the drag force is increased, making handle rotations feel heavier. However, Shimano claims the newly developed Infinity Drive (essentially a double drag structure with two drag washers) in the LD 2500MG reduces the resistance of the handle rotation in high drag settings by up to 30% in comparison. The Ocea Jigger LD’s 105mm cold-forged handle arm also delivers a jiggingfriendly, fast retrieval rate of 107cm per crank.

There are some more unconventional features, too. The stopper button (that stops the lever securely at strike and reduces the risk of overtightening the drag accidentally) can be turned off on the LD 2500MG – a handy function for anglers who want instant access to high drag settings to stop big fish.

The Ocea Jigger LD can be customised in another way, too. If you replace the standard drag cam that is initially built into the product with the included light line cam, the change in drag force will be smoother, making it better suited to lighter line (PE 1.5-2.5) applications such as slow-pitch jigging.

The final intriguing feature is a spool lock mechanism. Although it is operated by a switch that entirely resembles a standard reel ‘clicker’, this mechanism completely holds the spool in place. I wouldn’t recommend using this for fish-fighting purposes, but it would prove useful in cases of snagging the bottom!

The Shimano Game Type J B566 Overhead Jigging Rod that was paired with our test reel is a one-piece rod rated for use with PE6 braid. The high-carbon blank is made with what Shimano calls Spiral X. This construction consists of three layers: a blank made of vertical fibres, an inner layer, and an outer layer. The inner and outer layers both consist of carbon tape that tightly winds the blank diagonally in opposite directions. What does this mean though, you ask? Essentially, it makes for a robust and lightweight rod. The rod is fitted with high-quality Fuji series SIC guides on stainless frames, a Fuji reel seat, and comfortably shaped EVA grips.

Upon picking up the Shimano Ocea Jigger LD 2500MG and Game Type J PE6, my first impressions were that it felt very light and precisely balanced. Our first efforts using this combo involved jigging in 120 metres of water with a 300g jig. The set was easy to jig with, even with the fast drift making it impossible to keep the line vertical. The rod perhaps didn’t have the tip sensitivity some very keen jiggers would desire from a PE6-rated jigging rod in order to get that perfect lure ‘flick’ with each lift, but with the 300g jig at the upper end of the rating scale, this wasn’t an issue. The LD 2500MG’s large handle knob and long handle arm made for comfortable rotations, and the compact body minimised any twisting or discomfort.

While designed primarily as a jigging set, often our kingfish simply want the real deal!

And so it was on this trip, with most of our success stemming from livebaits. Slow-trolling big livies around islands and reefs in only 20 to 40 metres of water is a game not for the fainthearted, and the compact power of the LD 2500MG set was well received by all anglers aboard. The drag was easy to operate and silky smooth, even when going ‘past the button’ on a rampaging fish. And the Game Type J PE6 rod seemed to come into its own when livebaiting. The firm tip enabled solid hook-up rates and the moderate-fast action provided plenty of lifting power for a PE6 rod.

The experience with the Shimano Ocea Jigger LD 2500MG and Game Type J PE6 set was so much fun that I’ve recently purchased one for my personal arsenal. It’ll be perfect for engaging modest kingfish foes around the Hauraki Gulf, yet still capable enough to join me on more remote expeditions.

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