ChrisD46

Many indicate the 7'3" MH casting rod is their all - everything (almost) rod for many applications ... What is your favorite OR best value 7'3" MH casting rod under $250 and please explain why ?

Boy I sure would hate to lose a $99 lure ... If it goes in a tree then I'm taking a chainsaw to the tree !! If I break off on a big Bass or due to a professional over run - then I'm taking the chainsaw to myself !!

These guys are getting hammered by the elements in all of the recent Bassmaster Classics !! Fans don't want to see these guys fish with broken electronics , frozen line guides , sleet all over their deck , etc. plus it's hard to root for your favorite guy when he is dressed as an Eskimo .... I say move the Classic back at least a week to the end of Feb. in hopes of having a higher percentage of warmer weather for these guys to put on a real show !!

^^This^^ ... InvizX 6lb. to 8lb. on your spinning reel - remember to use 50% to 60% mono backing on your reels to save $$

Check out FitzGerald rods from Florida - The flippping captial of the world !

^^This^^ ... You can even go shorter for Top Water Popper /Walking Baits . My baitcast rod is a 6' M action (which I also use for hard Jerk Baits) .

The Slammer I looked up was $78.99 ea. which resulted in my response ...I thought , wow - that's getting up there !

Might want to classify wake baits suggested here under two catigories : 1 . Those wake baits less $$ than your monthly car payment 2 . Those wake baits more $$ than your monthly car payment C'mon now - any artificial costing more than about $13 then you might as well just throw out a live shiner !!

I'll be a devil's advocate here : I would not get too excited yet - why would Dobyns want to hurt sales of the Savvy series with a rod that had performance well above it's price point ? That said , many believe the Savvy series to be merely "ok" and better to save for the Champion series which is the sweet spot of the Dobyns rod line up . Another concern would be economics - mainly economies to scale in production ... Can Dobyns contend against the likes of Abu Garcia ,Shimano , Okuma , *** , St. Croix , etc. at their own quality vs. quantity vs. price point game ? Don't get me wrong - I hope Dobyns knocks the $100 rod category out of the park ! I'm just suggesting there is some stiff competition in this $100 segment already and those OEM's I listed sure aren't going away any time soon !

BPS graphite series have been fine - I have had the new design and older design and neither of my boys have broken one yet ! ... However at a $30 price point I don't doubt that problems are certainly possible .

I appreciate the replies - it appears #50lb. braid would give me a bit more protection should I encounter more "slop" fishing conditions than I anticipated ... Having one reel with #30lb. braid and one with #50lb. braid sounds like a better spread .

Bluebasser86 : Thanks for the reply , just curious that in the event you want to make longer casts with lures lighter than a C-Rig (in that 3/8th oz. to 1/2 oz. range) that #50lb. braid will still allow you to make a decent length cast ?

^^This^^ ... You can add a fluoro or mono leader to braid and be set for quite a while ! If you are going to stay with mono - put cheap 4lb. ~ 6lb. backing on first (do this with braid as well !!) then run about 50 yards of a good quality mono (i.e. Sufix Elite, Sunline Super Natural , etc.) in 6lb. as a top coat with a double uni or knot of your choice . Then when time to add fresh mono you don't have to respool the whole reel . With braid you should be good to go for at least two seasons !

I have one 6:4:1 bait cast reel with #30lb. braid for top water poppers & twitch baits , a second 7:1:1 bait cast with #15lb AbrazX on it for football jigs and just received an additional 7:1:1 bait cast reel I plan to pair with a 7' MH rod to use for C-Rig , moderate vegetation flipping of creature baits , craws and jigs . I'm thinking either #40lb. or #50lb. braid would be the ideal choice - based on above which size would you choose ? Thanks in advance ...

Please explain what you use these three (3) braid line choices for ?

A sleeper wake bait - large size only as the OP noted ...As for replacement hooks - look for Gamakatsu short shank treble hooks and play with the hook sizes (i.e. #2 in the front / #4 in the back ; #4 in the front / #6 in the back) . Work with the rod tip up at about 10 o'clock on #12lb. to #15lb. mono and reel slow & steady until you feel the right "thump" retrieve on the surface - easy bait to work with very good results once the water warms up above 55+ degrees F.

Just curious if anyone has handled any of the new "Ike" series rods yet from Garcia ? ... Definitely appears to satisfy all of the technique specific applications you could ask for !

I believe the issue of break offs has more to do with the #lb. test line rating of Super Natural ... Bump it up and go by the diameter as compaired to monos such as Stren , Sufix and Big Game ...Your results will be improved !

I'll be eager to hear what others think of the new 2.0 power ratings - softer tips ?

Understanding the proper cut tail worm rigging helps : 1 .Smaller cut tails on a drop shot with the "rudder" turned sideways / horizontal (left or right - doesn't matter as long as it's sideways / horizontal). 2 . For a C-Rig and T - Rig have the "rudder" turned straight down in a vertical fashion facing the bottom (helps to provide lift on the retrieve) . You could also try to have the "rudder" pointing straight up / vertical on the retrieve although I believe having the "rudder" pointing down is better. Feel free to experiment AS LONG AS you have the "rudder" pointing sideways / horizontal OR straight up and down / vertical !! Pay attention to how you rig it (using above tips) and givie it a try !! Lastly , buy a pack of cut tail baits already made (such as Yamamoto) ... All the R&D , plastic formulation , etc. is taken care of for you already .

Different horses for different courses ... Sufix Elite , Sunline Super Natural are two newer monos that are just fine ; Big Game and C-XX Copoly are just fine with KVD Line Conditioner . Seaguar and Sunline FC (KVD Line Conditioner here too) along with Power Pro and Sufix Braids make fishing a lot easier for certain tactics ...The key is understanding each , knowing exactly how to spool it on your reel and work with it .

Straight Big Game 15lb. , Stren 14lb. , Sufix Elite 14lb. , Sun Line Super Natural 16lb. all get the job done for top water ! ... Now going to experiment with Power Pro Hi - Viz Yellow 30lb. on a bait cast set up - will use a 2 ft. section of mono leader to keep hooks from fouling ... Lastly this set up requires less rod movement to work a top water lure properly - set drag to give slightly during the hook set .

Yes , I believe they are now called : Elite Tech Bass... Sounds about right smalljaw67 with XF rating having a bit more backbone closer to the tip for added versatility versus the previous F rated version . * Abu Garcia has a new Ike series coming out with a drop shot specific rod designed by Ike . I saw the video of Ike explaining the design and it looks interesting (TW will sell for $129) ... I will continue to hunt a drop shot specific spinning rod for a max. of $149... The search continues !

reelnmn : I know the qualities of the older version - I was too slow to buy before they were replaced with the new version which is the reason for my question (my mistake !)