Robert Riley

Yeah, I tend to have a lot of trouble with the G series reel and light line. I use 50lb braid and I've had no problem.

St Croix legend glass or the Dobyn's. I've got a Dobyn's glass rod, it's not a cranking rod, but I really like it.

These!

I've got an e6x 803c jwr, thats 6'8" MH/XF. It's a great rod for lighter plastics and jigs. You can probably find one on sale, they were recently closed out (Mine was like $110 before discounts/coupons). I would also mention that the backbone of a spinning rod will be much different than the backbone from the casting rod. So you could definitely find your answer in a medium or medium light.

You can probably do all of that with a 7 foot 3 inch Heavy Dobyns (FR734 or FR735). I wouldn't be throwing cranks on it though, but you can have a rod for 4/5 of the techniques.

LOL. Flipping and Pitching is intense, but the rod does make a difference. Flipping and pitching is a technique where the secondary characteristics of the set up make a big difference, ie the lightness and how well it balances with the reel, and even the size of the reel. One reason I swear by Dobyn's rods is that they are light, comfortable and well balanced. I flip wood with a DX745, and I can do it all day, sometimes it's a pain to stop and use another rod haha. The shock rods, are good rods, but they are heavy and unwieldy. I'd see if you can get your hands on a fury and see how you feel with it. That 765flip is the rod you'll want for 1oz-ish weights.

My 735cb glass is much heavier and thicker than my other Dobyn's. The 704cb is a great rod for topwater, jerkbaits, and smaller cranks, like shad raps or little johns.

Well, first off, graphite is more sensitive and lighter than fiberglass, hence the popularity. I've got a few Dobyn's graphite rods and a 735cb glass rod. I would think you would like the graphite 704cb as topwater/jerkbait rod, lighter in your hand and it will have a bit more tip than the glass rod. The one thing that I won't be able to explain, but you'll notice right away when you use a glass rod, is that it loads up on the cast a little differently.

Yep, until Sunday I believe.

Wowza. Not sure if it's all DSG/F&Ss but we just launched a great sale. Buy a Revo SX (Which has just been marked down to a nice $100 for this sale) and get a Vendetta rod for free. That's the new gen4 SX and whatever Vendetta rod you want, for $100 (a $240 value). What a steal.

I would check out the TP1 from Lew's. They've got a 6'8" Medium Fast (it's an extra fast in my book). It's light, has the cool new microwave guides, Lew's fantastic customer service and it's even got a shorter handle for working the rod. I've got the MH crankbait rod and I love it.

Best insight you'll be able to get, outside of actually using them, is giving Dobyn's a call. I've talked to them a lot and even talked to Gary Dobyn's a few times. Having used the DC735 and a DX745, they both have plenty of tip (I threw 1/10oz ned rigs on my 745 in a tournament situation once), so they won't feel like a broomstick. They're also Dobyn's, so they'll be light and well balanced which helps a lot.

DC744 is extra fast. So i'd get it. When I ordered my first DX jig rod, I asked for the best rod for football jigs and it was the DX745. (So I guess that's my true answer). I think it's a little overpowered for what I do, so the 744 should be adequate.

The Fury735 is what you want, and more! It's great for Frogs and jigs too! Light, balanced and makes you feel like you can fish it all day, that goes a long way. If you aren't fishing anything heavy, you *might* be able to pass with the Colt 734, but the Fury is a great rod.

Just got a MH 6'8" Loomis E6X for small swimbaits and shakeyheads, love it. Might be able to find them for pretty cheap around this time.

I've sold it a fair amount to people who don't want to break the bank for FC, but want a bit more performance than Trilene. In my experience, it's got the best of both worlds and the worst of both. It's still got better memory than FC, but less stretch and worse knot strength. So I'd pretty much just buy it if you don;t want to buy Seagaur Red Label haha.

The Dobyn's are definitely over-powered. I've got a Savvy 703 and I've used a 704, The 704 is definitely more of a MH than the 703. If you want to throw some lighter lure, the 7' M avid is probably the way to go, it's more of a stiffer tip, but it's definitely lighter. So it's a bit of a toss-up depending on what you want. But I'd prefer the Avid over my Savvy for sure, and the Champion is pretty similar to the Avid. I would say the Doybn's balances better and the avid has the better cork. Take it for what it is worth, but that is my experience with similar rods.

I came down for a vacation and booked a trip with a guide on Toho, cold front put us out of fish, unfortunately, but then again, the lakes I fish in my area of central IL are pretty similar, anything will crush your chances to catch fish ahaha.

Thanks for telling me of Apopka! I probs would have taken me awhile to figure that out. I don't have a boat, but I'm looking to make friends and join a club as soon as I can. Sounds like I'll be happy with my jigs, frogs, and plastics.

Howdy, I'm moving down to the Florida area in August and I don't want to take all my stuff right, now (gives me an excuse to buy some new stuff too). I plan on fishing Apopka and Toho, as well as a bunch of smaller waters. What would the recommendations for gear/techniques? I'm looking to take about 3 or four rods and reels at this point; I've got a pretty well stocked arsenal right now, so I'm probably more than ready to tackle some Florida bass!

I like to use 10lb Invizx, or 10lb Yo-zuri, small diameter and a little bit of stretch. I also use braid on my chatterbaits with a glass rod, and 14lb Abrazx on my squarebill setup (for what that is worth).

I've always had luck with white and I have no idea why. I like to use tubes, jigs and lizards, in white.

The SC mojo is a great start, but it's always important, as people have said, that you find a rod you are comfortable with. Especially since there doesn't exist an industry standard on power/action. As far as something in your price range, the mojo is a good, solid quality rod, as is the Lew's TP1. I'd also recommend the Dobyn's Furys, they're not technique specific per say, but they do list the recommended applications of those rods. And between the three of those, you should have no problem finding a rod you like for a preferred application.

I got the fury806sb. A dobyns sb rod is the way to go, especially over the 7'6, which is a flippin stick, it's meant for jigs and plastics and will be much faster than the sb rods. The 795sb is the rod you want.

The madness is eternal. But from my experience with Champions and limited experience with IMXs, I'd say that you are pretty much right.