ChrisD46

Goofing around at my local WM rod rack when I picked up a Berkley Lightning Shock casting rod (6'6" M/Mod) - the blank was perfectly straight as were the line guides and no blemishes any where on the rod . There was no price on it so a scan of the bar code came back as $9.00 (on clearance) so off to the checkout line I went ... . I had a spare H2O Xpress Mettle 6:3:1 (Academy) at home filled with #10lb. Yo-Zuri Hybrid line and it balances well . How does it work ? Great - I'm not even using braid either ... 1.0's , 1.5's squarebills , 1/4 oz. ~ 3/8th oz. lipless cranks work just fine - reel set and moderate sweep hook set keeps them buttoned up well . Let's face it , I got lucky on the rod for $9.00 (again , not a blemish to be found) however if or until the rod breaks I'm good for smaller cranks now ... I'm still on the hunt for a 7' MH cranking rod for 1/2 oz - 3/4th oz. . lipless cranks and larger 2.5's square bills but expect I'll be paying a little more for that rod (lol !)

*I recently saw Big Game #8 lb. in Academy , I couldn't believe it as #10 lb. was as small as I thought Big Game came . *FC line is like an ex- girlfriend that you have a love / hate relationship with ! ... I appreciate how invisible it can be in clear water along with the sensitivity - but that is all . FC line doesn't rebound after stretching the way a good mono / co-poly does ; too many stretches and the FC line will break . FC Knots ? - Don't even get me started ...

*You must be using braid to use a M or ML for swim baits !

*How about water in the 50's F. ? ... What would be your lure choices from say 50° - 59° F. - would that change what you would select ?

*Thanks - I'll look into this ...

Check out the BPS XPS Lazer Eye "The Egg" in the larger 3/4th oz. size ... The fat rascal is like an oversized DT series crank for the surface .

*Sweet - I'll look it up !

Thanks for the reply - I notice a trend these days for the heavier 3X football jig hooks , with oversize 4/0 & 5/0 hooks which I don't need in an open water , rocky reservoir environment . Conversely , finesse jigs which max out around 5/16th oz. are too light and are arky type which get hung up a lot . *You would think there would be a market for a compact football jig with the following traits : 1/4th oz. , 3/8th oz. and 1/2 oz. football jig head with recessed line tie , shorter shank 2/0 & 3/0 standard wire hook (1X , 2X strength) , 55 strand silicone / living rubber mix skirt with the whole package suitable for a Baby Rage Craw , Smaller Paca Chunk , etc. trailer . *Think compact football jig category - heck , I'd even call it the "Rudy" series (think under sized Notre Dame player) football jig (lol !) ... Mike Siebert will probably have this concept out in the next 9 months (hint) .

Do you have a favorite football jig (1/4th oz. to 1/2 oz.) you prefer to use for smaller mouth spotted bass or smallies ? I'm a bit concerned the typical Strike King , Booyah , Dirty Jigs , Siebert , etc. are and have hooks that might be a little larger than ideal for the spotted bass / smallie applications ... *The only smaller form factor football jigs that get up to 3/8th , 1/2 oz. etc. weights are from "Bass Patrol" found on TW... Your thoughts ?

Similar to above - just a piece of masking tape and a sharpie : F12 , M15 , braid is just a number (i.e. 30).

You raise a good point with FC Knot issues - Mat Allen (TB) is a huge fan of Ultra Green copolymer so I will have to try some ... *Are you finding good strength in the 5lb. Ultra Green versus 6lb. or 8lb. for the drop shot ?

Most drop shot specialists have adopted Braid + FC leader set up for drop shot set up on spinning reels - how many continue to use straight FC main line for their drop shot set up on spinning reels ? If , so , what brand and size in that 6 lb. ~ 8lb. FC line are you having good *success with ? *Admittedly , I'm not much of a fan of using FC as a mainline on spinning reels (i.e. line twist , extreme slinky effect , line jumps off the reel in uncontrollable coils, etc. ) - however I am willing to try again with the "right" FC line on my 2500 series Abu Garcia spinning reel (i.e. 60 yrd. top shot over mono backing , fill to only 3/16th " from the spool lip edge versus my standard 1/8" from the spool lip edge , exercise great care when spooling to avoid line twist and lastly - bath the line in KVD line treatment with a rag while spooling) .

After much research , trying out rods and the desire to * "future proofing my purchase" - I decided on a Dobyns Sierra 7'3" H/F (734c.) For the available funds I believe this to be a good value that will not only serve me well for dragging football jigs on FC line but work for other applications (spinnerbaits , chatterbaits , Buzzbaits , T-Rig, etc. and increase flexibility by either using FC or mono as conditions dictate) .In the future - if I want to step up to a Dobyns Champion series I know the Sierra series will still have valid uses in my rod arsenal . *I mention "future proofing" my purchase as with Dobyns I can move up or down in series (i.e. Champion , Sierra , Fury) and I know what I am going to get in the way of quality feel , action , etc. no matter what the application or technique will be . Additionally, Gary / Richard @ Dobyns promptly answered my football jig rod questions rather uniquely : Instead of suggesting "this or that rod" or football jigs - they gave me 2 options in each series for a total of six choices and let me decide what would best fit my needs and wallet while explaining each option in detail ... Not many rod companies can do or make such an offer for what I am willing to spend . Lastly , Powell , St. Croix , Shimano , Daiwa , etc. make excellent rods as well but in the end Gary's rod building "system philosophy" plus selection and quality won me over .

For what it's worth - Bobby Lane uses a Abu Garcia Veritas 7' M/F with Big Game #15 lb. (or #15 lb. FC as conditions / line stretch needs dictate) ... The key take away here is pros cashing big checks don't always feel the need to buy a $$$ cranking rod . *Save your money for bottom contact / dragging applications where you want and need the increased sensitivity .

*That was a big help - thanks ! For the RLE I would plan to add my multi colored, ribbed knob cushions for sure which I have on similar type (less than ideal ) reel knobs .

Great Job A-Jay !

*Bluebasser86 : Please tell me about the braking systems on the : Assassin , Speed Demon Pro and the Royal Legend Elite reels (i.e. most smooth , ease of setup) ? Which ones have dual braking systems ? Thanks ... I could not find brake system detail on the cast king web site.

*Always a wealth of historic , useful information Tom !

*Let us know if BPS honors the Nov. 20th date ...

Thanks for the replies to date - have only read up on the : Stealth , Assassin & Speed Demon - however all could have a place ! My main need currently would be a 7:1 or faster reel for dragging jigs and being able to pick up slack / reel down on a fish in a hurry .

As the title states - what is your favorite KastKing baitcast reel ? If you have more than one KastKing baitcast reel that you like equally - then lest them both !

*I was close to pulling the trigger on a BPS Carbonlite 2.0 7'3" casting rod for football jigs as the sale price was $79 (down from $119) but the sale ended yesterday ... I subscribe to karma that I hesitated in buying that rod for a reason and am now hoping for a sale on other good football head jig casting rod candidates heading into Black Friday . *For what it's worth , here and on other forums I search for best value football jig casting rods - the Dobyns brand of football jig head casting rods is mentioned more than any other by about 2 to 1 ... Must be a reason for that and many posters are not located in Dobyns home base of California either . I also have learned that this is definitely an application where you want as sensitive rod as you can afford for feeling whats on the bottom better and for detecting strikes better (2X that for sensitivity required in cold water where strikes may be light and harder to detect) .

*How about a Dobyns Fury 734 (i.e. 7'3" MH / F ) ?

As A-Mart uses (when he is not drop shotting ): " On a baitcasting reel I first put on several wraps of mono followed by cheap or used braid which I fill up 50% then finish with what ever final top coat of line I plan on using for that reel" ... Apparently braid is lighter than mono thus gets the baitcasting reel spinning sooner than with all FC , Co-Poly or Mono line .

Like the title states - do you prefer braid or mono as backing line on your baitcasting reels ? ... Thanks in advance !