DTack

Personal opinion, I actually like a 6:1 or even a 7:1 for my squarebills/lipless baits/ baits diving less than 10ft. To me the 6:1 is most comfortable and I don't feel like I'm cranking too fast at all. Especially with lipless and the squarebills I sometimes throw them on 7:1 because I like them to be moving QUICK. Just my personal opinion based on the way that I sometimes fish. Please feel free to ask any other questions, happy to try to help.

I am another vote for the Chronarch 201e. The crazy cranker would be good if you could find it for the right price. Only place the Chronarch may arguably have room for improvement is drag strength (not smoothness of drag) and I don't find a need for more than what the Chronarch can do when cranking!

Is that blade rounded or the coffin style? Good looking bait!

I am a big fan of 15-20lb Maxima Ultragreen. 12 lb works just fine for light cover or lighter baits! Yo zuri in the same sizes is great too!

Sorry man, I was more-so just agreeing with what you'd said. All it was, sorry it came off the way it did. Was just agreeing with "don't throw out the baby with the bath water."

Already posted a local to do it for $10 a guide.

I certainly do... I know some people claim better casting with shorter rods, I won't say I my casting is world class but I have fished with guys who hardly have a rod less that 7'6" in their hand and it doesn't effect their ability to put it exactly where they want. I think it's just something to get used to. I fully believe that a longer rod helps with hooking and landing a fish regardless of what anyone tries to tell me.

http://www.chucksrodrepairs.com/pricing.php#close Hopefully this person is still in business and can help you. I hope they are somewhat local.

Yes it would be good as new as long as you find a haflway decent person to wrap it. If you get someone who has gold thread and is talented then they can make it look like it was not repaired. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with the customer service. Did you have a guide shipped to you?

My favorite so far is Sunline Sniper FC. As far as a knot... Best I've used is a San Diego Jam knot. One thing I like about the San Diego Jam is if you tie it wrong, it breaks when you cinch it.

Only having six rods would truly suck for me. Lots of different water to fish. 7'3 medium to heavy power - spooks/topwater, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, jigs, some crankbaits 8' heavy/extra-heavy - frogs, heavy flipping, buzzbaits some light swimbaits 8' heavy swimbait- swimbaits over 4 ounces 7'-7'4" spinning rod - senkos, dropshot, basically all finesse 8' medium-heavy/heavy action crankbait rod - crankbaits/chatterbaits/spinnerbaits/ 7' medium-heavy action crankbait rod - ripbaits/crankbaits/topwater

I haven't seen the cork problems on the Savvy series myself, not saying there haven't been any just yet to see it. I don't think you would be missing any bites during the times you choose to throw a texas rig. The two rods you're looking at have similar ratings but the actions are different. The Powell will have less tip to it which could be good, bad or indifferent to you. Do you have a store you can feel them both in your area? You can also call Dobyns directly and they can provide some help in your choice.

That's really interesting actually! Thanks for responding, sounds like they were upfront with an answer. If I see this in the future I will ask about the spooling! Thanks!

What type of cover are you fishing your frog in?

I use Sunline Sniper Fluorocarbon... I just use what is left over after I spool up a full reel. There's always some left on the spool that I get use out of.

That's really a sad deal. I feel like Bass Pro and the larger stores have their place but the local shops are probably more important to those they serve. I feel like services and personalized recommendations go a bit further, but luckily the internet age has given opportunities to get questions answered in a helpful way. We are lucky to still have some local shops where I live.

No need to supply a guide, it will be sent by the rod company itself. This rod doesn't have micro guides. Usually tackle shops will have someone who can wrap a guide, if not they can typically recommend someone. There's even a few youtube videos floating around if you're a DIY type of person.

You can call and ask them to send a new guide if you'd like. They will send you a guide free of charge and you can possibly find someone to wrap it for you, generally low cost 5-10$ from what I have heard. Doesn't need to be a Dobyns dealer.

What blank are they using?

Since you're in California I can give you some true advice dealing with a couple of your favorite places (cal delta and clear lake.). You're already addressing the first part, you definitely need a heavier action rod. It's slightly outside of your price range but a Dobyns 805c Champion is a great rod for your heavy flipping. You may be able to find it used local under your budget. For very heavy cover which we have a lot of this rod will put them in the boat. 65+ lb braid and weights 3/4 to 1.5 ounces are right at home on this rod. The rod is a complete brute however it took a while for the balance to get right so it's comfortable to pitch and punch with all day. Please let me know if I can help with more specifics on punching out here, happy to try to help.

Thanks, please keep us posted on the outcome! I appreciate the way you let us know what was going on with the reel.

I'm not sure what lb test you use or are looking for. I only use heavy braid 65lb+. The one I like is definitely not for everyone. I use the Daiwa Samurai Braid in 70lb. I use it for spooks with a leader, flipping in grass or any other heavy flipping/punching, frogs, buzzbaits anything I throw on braid I throw on 70lb samurai. It is very limp and very round, almost feels like thread extremely smooth. For some people they don't really like this and also report that it doesn't cut grass very well. I was just never a fan of how braid felt. I loved the non stretch and strength property for applications but hated the way it felt. Daiwa was the answer to my problems but also it does get knots a little easier in my opinion and can also wrap around your rod tip easier. It is also expensive comparitively, just wanted to give another option.

Did you happen to notice if the reel was like this before you started using it? Definitely interesting. Doesn't look like wear but I appreciate you sending it back and making an open minded post instead of the reel sucks. haha Interested to hear how Daiwa responds, I hope they make you happy with the result.

I'm not sure about this triangle deal, haven't read into it. I heard Brandon Palaniuk talk about it in a seminar a couple years back but that's it. I think some people get things confused sometimes when talking about finding fish versus finding quality or bigger fish.

I would say I throw a hollow body frog around 90-95% of the time, and the toad style around 5-10% of the time. I may try the toad a bit more this year. For hollow body my favorites are Snag Proof Bobby's Perfect and for solid I like the Horny Toad from Zoom. Both aren't wildly painted no added eyes or anything of that sort but they do definitely work and they work well. I have a few frog fish in my gallery if you'd like to see.