TimTheGearNerd

What size are you all fishing ? Curious whether different sizes swim better. I have the larger size. Can’t recall if it’s the 9 or 11. Seems to swim ok. I even added a little Weight to the belly to try and improve the sink and darting action. Didn’t notice bad rolling. It’s not great but cheap enough where I don’t feel bad throwing it into risky stuff.

I really hope folks can share what they think is happening with these fish I’m Fishing a downtown river system Lake in Texas it’s got a dam on both ends and has so much fishing pressure We fish from 7 to 4 And there didn’t seem to be a pattern at all In the morning, the Fish was schooling under a bridge, but they were hard to catch Then they eat the urchin near the mouth of a creek and they were biting minnow style baits under a bridge around noon Towards the end of the day, one fish and one bite on glide, Texas rig and Neko worms through the grass on Big pilings But nothing was super consistent just one or two fish here there why is this happening? They didn’t hide in the thick grass mats and they wouldn’t bite punch What else would you all have tried in terms of a pattern? Between three people, we probably caught 10-15 fish in total. They didn’t bite chatter either. Conditions were cloudy in the morning a light breeze. Towards end if day there was full sun and hot, high 90s. Thick 10ft grass everywhere I about 15-20 fow The day before there were some short heavy showers but not thunderstorm.

I have a tat 200. I also tried working on Tranx 200 and scorpion/Tranx 300md. Tat 200 is like a 250 size Shimano. They do that on purpose to be like “our 200 has more line “ I think the tat is better for glides. The mag breaks are easier to use but you won’t get as much distance as from a shimano or a DC. For distance you can always dump line from your boat. The Tranx is over built for salt. I’ve worked on them, they’re built with seals and rubber gaskets, not really necessary for fresh water. If you can find a Curado 200, you’d likely be better off cheaper and likely smoother. Easier to maintain. You don’t really need 200 size tat for 5 oz unless you have a 8’6 rod or you have a big line like you’re using 25# izor or Pline. I use my tat 200 for 6 oz deps 250 and 8ft rod. Plenty of line left over with 20# shooter fc line. 150 should be good and palms better. Yes the Daiwa 150 is smaller profile frame. 200 is a little longer from thumb bar to level wind. I actually recommend a new scorpion DC MD 200 from digitaka they just stocked and that’s likely a nice stress free glide reel.

If you’re interested in Dobyns, the secondary market is the way to go. I’ve sold about 6 rods of all models, hp champ extreme , xtasy, and xp champ. The used prices are super low due to the sales on Amazon and other deep retailer discount and a general erosion of brand. But you still get the replacement plan on a used rod. People still willing to get these on the used market for the right price. I don’t think the rods are any different under gsm. Still good for moving baits, but it’s not the most sensitive or light. Just well balanced rods. What I have noticed is how staff at GSM handle the rods. Shipping in poor container and new rods breaking into 3 pieces. Likely due to poor handling at warehouse. At some point you ask yourself what you’re looking for in a rod purchase. If you want a good price decent demand for secondary market and average / lightly above average performance. Dobyns is still good. Dobyns has the classic USDM full cork style If you want best in lightness or sensitivity. Cool new rod features or best price, you could likely get it elsewhere. Before I would choose Dobyns over tatula or zodias or alx but now there isn’t a huge advantage to me. Most of my rods are NRX, Shimano, steez, megabass, and kistler. Still have one xtasy 724c.

Been trying out j braid. Long time user of power pro and super slick v8. Never tried 832. My experience. for 10# I love j braid grand. It’s super soft, cast very well Down side is the softness causes wind knots that must be cut out. 50# samurai braid feels very soft as well. 10# super slick v8, it loses color and frays over time. It’s ok overall pick is Daiwa j braid grand or samurai for 10# 50# I like Daiwa samurai. If cost is a concern power pro is fine. Only issue I cannot tolerate is when the line digs into itself and ruins the cast. I get that way more with power pro.

I think it’s great for heavy swimbaits. Anything between 2-6 oz. I got the 150 size. I was hoping it could swap with other Daiwa but it’s bigger than the usual 34 mm.

Had a heart breaking fish loss and I thought about this post. I wish I read all this good advice earlier. I had braid and sadly about 8 ft of grass. I kept my rod tip down so the fish wouldn’t jump but as a result, the fish was able to get leverage by diving into the grass cover and I lost it. I wish I held the rod tip up high for leverage :(

Right now I use 10# fc sniper flouro for jerkbait because I like the depth. When I do top water I switch to a braid on a different reel to tiny 24in leader I believe I have 30# braid to 10# mono. It just cast a bit better. For ease of use I might just use mono for top water though on the whole spool

Live bait to get the skunk out ? I always try a drop shot and need colors that stand out in the muddy water. Maybe even black lures Try to put some scent on there as well. Like JJ magic

If you’re only losing frog fish you may not have any non-standard problems. If you’re just looking for idea then here’s a few. if the fish throw the lure. Maybe keep the tip in the water to prevent jumps. Spot lock can make a pretty big difference on your autopilot. Seems kinda odd your kayak moves that much if you’re locked to a spot. Consider a longer rod to pick up slack faster by keeping rod tip up? In soft Swimbait fishing some folks bend the hook up to get better hook catch on the fish at hook set. GL Also, I fish my popper frog on braid and XH rod. Makes sure when I set the hook it hook connects to bass and I can pull the fish right out of there.

I can speak to 3/8 bladed jig bladed jig. I’ve been throwing that exclusively. I think it works well, it can likely handle 1/2 as well the rod is pretty strong. I traded off a bit of bend and fish landing ability, I’ve lost a few fish but I have successfully landed an 8#er and the rod handles no problem. It’s the most sensitive of all the blades jig rods I’ve used, the blade feedback is very strong and of course the p5 rods are very light. I would caution on the lock nut and the trigger is tiny. Both can be deal breakers for some people. It is fine for me.

I feel like I have to highlight some good answers already given. If I could choose again I’d try the most popular 1/2 oz bladed jig rod which is expride mh glass or the Dobyns champion xp 736 cb glass. This is for where folks feel like keeping the fish pinned and landed is most important. Most of the time you’re not going to miss that bite anyway. This is if you want a specialized set up. If you want versatile. Really any 7’2 to 7’6 MH rod will do great.

line first. I kept breaking off jackhammers so I had to up from 14# fc flouro to 18 # shooter. Reel is always a 7:1 since I’m pull through thick grass. Here is where I’ll add a decision model and you can choose your own adventure. If you want better feel of the blade vibrate Dobyns dc xp 734c High end model: megabass p5 Daemos. Not the destroyer USA only p5 Better Landing ratio but less feel of the blade. Dobyns champ 735 cb glass. I use 3/8 oz with spunk shad usually. In a pinch I use my Megabass destroyer p5 tequila Baccarac as well. Not the best but it works.

I don’t think you need a fancy rod, I say that so I can join the bandwagon. I actively went out looking for a broom stick that’s as light as possible. That rod so far has ended up being the expride b 7’3 XH. I had the champion dc736. It’s a bit heavier so when you’re switching the rod you feel the weight more. Not something the famous Dobyns balance fixed in my opinion.

What don’t you like line j braid grand ? I have grand on my spinning at 10#. Cast really nice. I wanted to try samurai as well but I’m sure it’s slightly better.