DTack

7'3" medium-heavy fast taper. Braid to mono leader.

Nothing wrong with matching it, but I don't pay too much attention. Just want it to perform!

705cb Graphite would be my choice. That is what I pick up for both.

Thanks! I will have to read up on the drag a bit, weirdest part was I have 3 citica E as well that I got before the Curado E and the drags on the Citica are still as strong as the day I got them. Thanks for the insight!

If you were ONLY throwing lipless cranks, I would possibly recommend the 705cbmf... This rod is just plain "slower" in reaction and for easy way of putting it "bends down to the reel handle". Not everyone likes that, some "old school" guys REALLY love this rod and believe it cannot be replaced as far as not pulling out treble hooks. The only thing you run into is if you fish around heavy grass you may have problems ripping the bait free of grass with this rod. Are you looking into the 705cb glass or 705cb graphite? I have used both, I PERSONALLY use the 705cb graphite. I just prefer graphite rods for cranks and ripbaits. I really think the graphite crank rods from Dobyns are awesome actions. I feel like you have the right amount of give and feel with the rods. The 705cb (graphite) is my go to rod for squarebills (kvd 2.5, 1.5, lucky craft bds2, bds3, bds4), my lipless cranks and large ripbaits (vision 110magnum, pointer 128). There have been a lot of times where I wish I had two or more. I just got done catching a few 5 lbers last weekend on Clear Lake and the 705cb kept them hooked up with a lot of line out and a few jumps from each.

That is a good choice for an "all around" set up!

Do you mainly use pflueger reels now? I don't think anyone can deny that saltwater fishing puts WAY more stress on a reel than freshwater, both with the conditions and the way that those fish are fought.

Direct answers: Why such heavy braid? Because I've broken thinner braid on hooksets (not saying the line was not damaged in some way when I did that but after having it happen multiple times I did go up in size.) I use 70lb now and have not had any break offs. If I have a 7-9 lb bass eat a frog in a mat, and that mat has tules behind it, I just can't take the risk of letting that fish take me down into the mat or turn around towards the tules. I just can't do it. Around docks, you can lead them out successfully. I've watched my dad do it countless times, and I've watched him lose A TON of frog fish. For a high speed reel for jig fishing and many other techniques, I like to be able to keep up with a fish that is coming at me. I've lost pressure on fish before and had them come off. It's just my way of doing things, not a right or wrong in my opinion.

Not being smart, honest question, what is different on them? I haven't looked that hard into it. All I know is the Curado E is selling for a bit higher price used now... The Curado E is probably still my favorite all around reel. I have a few that have lost a little drag strength but overall, they are my preferred reel for throwing a jig, ripbaits and some other baits. As prices drop I may be trying to buy a few of the Chronach E as long as they are close enough to "the same" as I've not used one yet and I haven't used the Curado I for more than about 30 minutes. Just wanted to give the reason I'm asking the question so you know I'm not just being smart with you. Thanks in advance.

You painted all of those?! They look great, really!

$200 and under range is a GIANT market right now. There are not many manufacturers that make an entire lineup of great rods. A lot have one or two rods that are very good actions for some techniques, then make quite a few other rods in their series that just don't do as good a job as their top couple rods. Take a feel and if your buddies have a rod try it out and see if you can hook some fish on it and see how the rod really performs.

I have not used the pflueger reels myself, they have RAVE reviews though and I'm sure for good reason. I've used Shimano Symetres in multiple designs and have always loved them to the point I've not even considered a higher priced reel. I'm sure they feel a bit better, but the drag on my symetres have not failed me yet and I've had no nervousness at any point that they are going to.

What baits are you thinking of using this for?

One week sure does change a lot with the warm weather we had, especially in Spring! Goodness knows what our weather is going to do to these fish the next couple weeks!

12-15 lb mono/co-poly. My choice is Maxima. You could also do the same lb test in fluoro if you have more confidence in that!

If the 736 loads too much I would say your only option would be a 766. The Savvy is slightly slower than the Champion.

Bed fishing.

On a spinning rod I always have a swivel above a dropshot. I just get too much line twist without.

7' between the two.

7:1 or 8:1 for both.

I am a "seat of the pants" kinda guy. I don't fish a bait for too terribly long if I'm not getting bit. We all have our confidence baits though. Typically I will have a beaver style bait when I am flipping or if fish are primarily eating crawdads or bluegill. If I am fishing "finesse" I typically use a straight tail worm, the exception if I will throw a beaver style bait on a shakeyhead as well. Once again this is typically if I believe the fish are more keyed in on crawdads or bluegill. I hope this helps.

This is the one I use as well. Very consistent.

If the Tatula is comfortable in your hands it gets my vote for best reel around $100 right now. It does retail higher, but if you trust buying new from ebay stores (I do) you can get it brand new under $100. The only concern is making sure that it is comfortable for you before buying, other than that, it is an awesome reel. Especially once you factor in price.

7lb Sunline Sniper is the lowest I have felt I needed at this point. I used to use 6lb in other brands but Sniper is actually thinner than what I used to use so I just stick with it now! All about the confidence you have in it!

Have fun! I am sure the Sunline is going to be great! I trust them for all of my fluorocarbon needs. Just trust Maxima so I've not tried anything new yet. Let us know how it performs!