coak

In the grand scheme of things, you just have to go with what's comfortable and which arm/hand arrangement you have the most confidence in. I'm left handed and right retrieve is natural for me. As a righty though, you should be able to find some lefties pretty cheap if you decide to return your friends reel and look hard enough. There's also the flea market here and guys like Ron with Valley Sports that could help you out as well. It's all dependent on whether or not you want to continuously keep switching arms/hands, I imagine that can get a bit tiring after perhaps 6+ hours on the water any given day.

I palm the reel with my fore finger resting just above the line guide. It may not make any 'real' difference, but in my mind I feel I get better leverage on my hookset.

How do you decide which style of blade to use and how many for any given bait?

I do not have any prior knowledge of the rods mentioned by the OP as I use an *** for my spinner/chatter bait rod. I will say however, that in my opinion with a moving bait, less money is needed to be invested in a rod. Again, this is just my opinion because you're going to feel the strike more than likely, especially with a chatterbait, they'll slam it and it's not like you wont know when your being bitten. Just take the reel you intend to use with you to the store, mount said reel, and see which one truly 'feels' best in your hands. Rods are purely subjective in that certain rods will feel good to some while others will be put off by the rod. Anyways good luck on the search and tight lines!

I had a chuckle when on page 2 the OP stated that a rods weight was subjective to the angler instead of an objectively stated piece of info.....

Are they discontinuing this model for a newer version?

Thanks Ty, I stand corrected

I enjoy hybrid on all my rigs except my frogging rod. I stayed away from flouro when I had a bad experience with lots of memory mananageability issues before I learned of KVD L&L. I'd be willing to try again now with that applied. Hybrid also has relatively low diameter for any given test and is a bargain for the price.

Thanks guys, I'll definitely be looking into picking up some braid! One more ? What type action should an ideal rod be? Currently I'm using a M/MF........wondering if M-MH/F is the way to go?

I'm currently using hybrid to lob 3/4 oz swimbaits. From about 20 yds and in I have confidence in setting the hook. It's the farther out I worry. So do you guys that fish them regularly throw them on braid? What line do you all use?

x2.......I like copolymer because sometimes I'll throw a topwater with my rod if I don't have another since I'm a bank beater.

6'10" M/F *** Tour KVD 6.6:1 12 lb y-z hybrid 3/8oz White chatterbait

I too just run mine from my trunk through to the front of the car. However, I always have a rod sock on regardless of how many rods I'm carrying and would recommend using a sock to anyone unless they have a setup like stk

X2, especially the Swiss rolls

Never hurts to post a WTB post in the flea market here to see if any members have any rods they'd be willing to sell you used either.

Well J, if it were me, based on my experiences so far I would buy the combo that you truly want. If you're willing to go the cheaper route with the Abu setup, and you're anything like me or most other fisherman for that matter, you'll probably end up wanting to spend the extra money later on just to see what you're "missing out on". If you're single this may not be a prob, but if you're married it can become a headache trying to explain WHY YOU MUST purchase another setup !!!! Also something to consider, how do the manu's blanks fish. I don't know personally, but have heard that St. Croix's fish 'heavy', meaning a MH really feels like a H and a H feels like you're holding a broomstick. I know that for me I happen to use a Shimano Convergeance 7'2" MH/F for the above mentioned techniques and have been pleased. Just my $.02 though, do with it what you will.

I bought one from cabelas last week. Told'em about the $99 promo @BPS today and they price matched

Ummm question: I was out yesterday and saw the new Live Target "Bait Ball" cranks, @least I think that's what they're called. Would this lure be an innovation or a hyped crank? Just wondering because I could see two silhouettes and have trouble visualizing how it would appear to be more than a couple of bait fish?

I hate days like that.....usually use a buzz bait even in blue bird skies, as long as I can make Long casts. If you can see the fish, they too can see you---especially if the sun is over your shoulder casting a shadow on the water.

Good deal!!!!! Here in Ohio I fish primarily ML or M powered rods. I'll throw anything from tubes to wacky worms to 1/8 oz spinnerbaits/chatter baits. Honestly just stay within the weight and line parameters of the rod and you'll be fine. But I do find that mostly you have to find that 'sweet spot' for casting, and for me it's usually right around 1/4oz.

Minority here..........left dominant, right retrieve....same side for me either spinning or casting gear!

Well if you fish mostly 'clear' water I would go with a 6'6"-7' M/F, or if fishing where there is more vegetation I would probably opt for a MH/F rod.

Only suckers pay full price without checking sales first!!!!

If it were me I would have at least one rod in the 6'-6'6" length, especially if you're in a kayak and from shore. The reason I say this is because you may have to cut through some brush to get to where you want to go and also a shorter rod is generally better for accuracy instead of distance. I have a few rods over 6'8" but don't generally fish them as I wade and am more concerned with accuracy (not getting lures hung up on the banks) and ease of cutting through the woods. Rods and reels are completely subjective to the individual fisherman and that's one of the factors that makes this sport so fun. Anyways I hope this offers some help and you end up finding what you're looking for. Coak

Like the OP stated both are ok for the budget minded angler. I personally prefer the yz-hybrid because it is a co-poly. I can fish topwaters like a buzzbait without it sinking too fast. I can also fish spinnerbaits, swim jigs and cranks with the peace of mind that the flouro in the hybrid will work to keep the bait running down. I've felt that the Big Game is just too tough for me to work with, no matter how much KVD L&L I've applied to it.