Travis O

Thank you guys for all of the recomendations. I know that every rod manufacturer out there probably has rods that would fit the bill. These were really the only brands that I am interested in because of past dealings with them. I will probably give the elitetech a try and see how it works out.

I am looking for a new dropshot rod to purchase. I have been using an abu garcia veritas for the last year or so and have been fairly happy with it. I have been dropshotting much more lately and would like to upgrade to something a little lighter and with more sensitivity. I also have felt that the veritas is a little clunky to fish with, the blank remians pretty thick all the way out to the rod tip and for some reason this bothers me. I recently bought a falcon bucoo open hook model because I loved how light it was and thought that it was plenty sensitive while playing with it in the store. I thought that I was going to fall in love with the rod, but when I took it fishing, I absolutely hated it. I could not feel anything, the only way I could tell if I had a bite was to see the rod tip move. I also felt the action was all wrong for a dropshot rod. That being said, I pretty much have my decision narrowed to a few different rods. First is the abu garcia Villian rod. I have not been able to handle one of these yet and cannot even find a review for a villian dropshot rod. Has anybody used this rod as a dropshot rod? If not, how do other rods in that lineup compare to the veritas? Second is a Lews Team Lews rod. I have some other team lews rods and love them for how light and sensitive they are. They do not have a dropshot specific rod, but have a 7' ML F that might do the job. Has anyone fished a dropshot with one of these? The last option is something from Fenwick. The one rod manufacturer that keeps coming up in my research for a dropshot rod is fenwick. I know the old elitetech was the cat's meow for dropshot fishing but they no longer carry that rod. Is the newer smallmouth series comparable? To be fair, this is the most innexpensive rod of the bunch so how about the fenwick aetos? Would this be a better option? I noticed that the only ML rod they offer is 7'6". Does anybody dropshot with this long of a rod? I can see where it would be an advantage for making long casts in ultra clear water, but will I be overworking the bait? Thank you for any thoughts on these rods.

Most people like them because they look cool. I personally like them more than regular grips because of the ergonomics. Big on top and skinny on bottom is what feels good in my hand but YMMV.

I thought it wasnt being released until ICAST. I think Ike gets to fish with them before that but you wont be able to buy one until this fall.

I use them to make trolling rigs for salmon fishing and such because beads and clevises will damage a knot unless a snelled hook is used. They also work well if you need a bait loop for roe or shrimp. I dont see any reason to use snelled hooks for bass fishing though. :-?

You should be able to pick up a bps extreme combo for $100 during the classic sale. Great rods and reels, and a steel for $100.

I got a couple of these the last time I was at cabelas and they are great baits for $7.

Cherrywood rods are not a terrible rod for the price but I think you can do better. What would you like to spend on a combo? House brand combos are usually a good value and they have price points to fit any budget. I have no experience with gander mountain so i cant help you there but somebody should know about it.

Are you being serious?

Buy 6 from cabelas and you get one free.

Yep, they still sell them up here in Washington.

You want to charge your batteries with 10% of the amp/hour rating. 4 amps is not enough for most deep cycle batteries and will decrease the life of your batteries.

what do you mean by loud? and is it still loud after a oil and lube job? Yes. Its not like a freight train but it is definitely louder than all of my other reels. Not a huge deal, just my observation.

I have one and they are a good reel for the money. Mine is really loud and the bearings are not that great but it does its job. I just got my first BPS extreme and like it a lot better than the exceler for the price. Much smoother and quieter in my opinion.

Yeah there are a bunch of sites that are owned by the same parent company that are really bad. They are known for credit card fraud and very poor customer service. If you do order from them, talk to your bank and see if you can get a 1 time credit card number to make the transaction, that way your cc info wont get into their hands.