Flywatersmallie

I am going back for my masters in fall after having been out of school for 10 or so years. Obviously I never fished competitively in college, I don't think that the college circuit existed back then. Anyway, since I will be a student again, albeit not an underclassman, will I be eligible to fish? My school has a team, just curious if anyone knows. Thanks!

I must sound like a broken record but..... For the stuff you wanted to do with them, buy 3. Dobyns Savvy 693 Spinning, Dobyns Savvy 703 casting, Dobyns Savvy 704 casting and then go to Bass Pro or something and buy a $50 crank rod. Done. You should be able to fish everything you would ever want to reasonably effectively

Me too, that and as far as the wife will allow too. ;D I ended up selling a lot of rods off to buy Dobyns stuff and have not been disappointed.

That thing weighs like 13 lbs if my math is correct, what kind of rod would balance that thing?

Lightweight! ;D I have bought a total of 7 since the beginning of February. Seriously, they are great rods, you'll love it. All but one of my rods is now a Dobyns, soon enough I'll list that and pick up another Savvy likely. They are great rods, especially at that price, I've got my eyes on the 692 spinning next to fill a hole between the DX701 and the Savvy 693. The casting rods are very, very comfortable in hand

Balance is more important than weight. The rod could weigh a pound but with the reel on it, if it balances right where you hold it, it won't feel like much. When you have a reel on it, if that tip wants to go right to the floor, you are going to feel that after a long day on the water holding that tip up. Dobyns rods for example aren't the lightest out there but.... they balance so well that they feel almost weightless in hand. One of the reasons they became so popular. Good luck with your new rod!

Dobyns Champion 702/Shimano Stradic 2500 spooled with Sunline Sniper 8lb

My local Gander Mountain has the Daiwa Exceller spinning reels (last years model) on sale for $39.99 as opposed to the normal $80 or whatever they were. Tough to beat that. Thought I would pass it on. Looks very nice on the Dobyns Savvy 693 that has been hanging there naked since it came a week or so ago. Figured I would pass it on

My pair showed up today. I haven't fished them yet but they seem well built and pretty solid. Whether they are, time will tell. I'm not disappointed at all buying them sight unseen. They seem to be built on the same frame as the Revos, going by the profile alone. Whether they are or not, I don't know. They do seem to sit a little lower than any BPS branded reel I have ever held. Will I give up my higher end stuff for these? Not likely but they seem to be one of the better buys for under $200. Again, thats just my initial impression, take that for what it is. I think for the money, one could do worse than these reels. The low end one is really interesting to me. Is there another (non house branded) manufacturer that has a decent aluminum framed reel for $90?

I don't use them often, only because I like the palming aspect of lower profile reels a lot better. That said, I have a 5500 C4 on my swimbait rod. It could pull a truck out of the mud and even at that, the reeling is effortless and like has been said, it casts a mile

I pulled the trigger on 2 of them over the weekend. I was just curious enough. I figure if I don't like them, I'll resell them. From the reviews here and elsewhere, I don't think that will be an issue. They are scheduled for delivery tomorrow. Gonna be a long day waiting for that brown truck I think

Or get a new Lew's Speed Spool for around the same price. Or a Citica for $90 on the bay

VERY tip heavy. Had a chance to give all of them I wanted to a wiggle a few weeks ago at a local show. Not impressive at all. Very tip heavy even with a reel on. The cork isn't very good and the guides look cheap. Doesn't mean they are but that was the impression I got. Better rods for $99 out there.... Quantum Tour PT is now $99, BPS Carbonlite, Abu Veritas, St Croix Triumph/Premier or Mojo, Falcon Bucoo to name a few. Or buy used and get an Avid for around the same price be glad you did.

I got some of the old YUM stuff a couple weeks ago (Craw Papis, dingers, Sooies and Big Show worms) for a buck a bag at my local Dicks. Deals are to be had on the non F2 stuff to be sure.

Dobyns Savvy 735. Will cost right around your limit but should do you well for both those techniques. I've got one, though the water is still hard here and it hasn't been used, I bought it for the same reason

7' ML Legend Elite with a 1000 Stradic and 2/10 PP

If the money is in the bank, mine lets me do what I want. There have been times when I come home with a couple dozen Lucky Craft baits or 50 bags of plastics, I never get a bad time about it. Her attitude is that its better than sitting in the bar or the casino and having nothing to show for it.

I have the LES70MF (the new version of the rod mentioned). Use it mostly for weightless plastics as well, 4" finesse worms with light weight. Things like that. Makes a pretty good wading smallie rod too.

All my casting rods are either 20 or 30lb PowerPro, except my flipping rod, that has 50. I use a leader of mono or floro as necessary. Spinning rods, I use 2/10 PP with a leader as necessary. The hair thin line allows me to use a smaller reel (I use 1000 size Shimano reels) and it keeps the overall weight of the combo down. More often than not, I'll just tie straight to the braid in all but the clearest waters.

Will post pics tomorrow if I can find the %^&%$&* camera. The wife seems to leave it somewhere everytime I want to use it. Here is my list, I'm looking at the racks right now.... 6'8" St Croix LTB med xfast spinning/2500 Stradic 6'6" St Croix LTB Med casting/Daiwa Fuego 6'8" St Croix LTB med xfast casting/ Daiwa Zillion 6'6" St Croix Premier med casting/Daiwa Tierra 7' St Croix Legend Elite spinning ML/2500 Stradic Ci4 6'6" St Croix Legend Elite spinning/1000 Stradic Dobyns Champion Xtreme 702/Daiwa Sol Dobyns Champion 681 spinning/Daiwa Exceler Dobyns Savvy 703/Daiwa HSTA Dobyns Savvy 704/Daiwa HSTA Dobyns Savvy 733/another HSTA will be here this week Dobyns Savvy 735/I have a pair of HSTA's coming. Nothing super high dollar like some of you but it does the job. Oh, and the wife has an Avid Pearl with a 10 size Quantum Energy over there.

Just the Z Bones Hooligan.

The spring sale is going now. Look at the GSX Tournament rods. They run, I think 60-80 bucks depending on model. Very nice rods for the money, also include a lifetime over the counter warranty and full cork or split grip, depending on what you prefer. The Tec Spec rods are pretty nice for the price too. I had a coupon last spring and picked one up. I don't use it often but its well built and seems reasonably sensitive.

That is a deal!

I fish all year. The river that flows near my house never freezes and bass are open all year. A lot of the inland lakes have to wait till the first Saturday in May

That's exactly what I did (that's my rig for sale, thanks for the advertising by the way ) I ended up with a Sage Smallmouth rod. Not the stealthiest rod out there but you could double haul a Buick with that thing! The combo I have listed for sale is a nice one, not the best for creek trout but, bass, pike, steelhead, salmon and the like, its a great setup! I just don't use it. If you are going to use it strictly for trout, maybe look for a 4 or softer action 5 weight.