woolleyfooley

I use FC and the main thing I use my finger to feel for is when the bait gets bitten. For me it’s not about feeling the bottom composition.

Good question. I absolutely love my champion extreme. It’s the most sensitive rod I’ve ever fished. I can feel what’s going on down there very well. The only “issue” I have is from time to time I’ll be working a Texas rig and I’ll feel something that makes me think “was that a bite? Or was that my bait falling over some grass?” With all that said, I can’t help but wonder how much more I would feel with one of the ultra sensitive rods, like the steez ags or nrx+. Would I be able to tell “yes, that was a bite” or “no, that was just the bait coming over grass”. I’m sure a lot of it is a “the grass is always greener” mentality. Realistically, I’m just curious if more sensitivity would help me detect more bites.

The way I hold a reel, I agree. I don’t really move my hand at all to set the hook. I have all 4 fingers in front of the rod trigger and my index finger stays on the front of the reel below the levelwind, even when I set the hook. I hold the reel like this. My index finger over the rod and under the line, the rest of my fingers under the rod in front of the trigger. photo found on google: another good example, except all of my fingers are in front of the trigger.

Yeah that’s exactly how I do it. Do you think it really helps feel fish better? Does it negatively impact your hooksets at all?

I’ve become very curious about this lately. When I’m fishing bottom contact baits I like to keep the line running over my index finger to help detect strikes. I can imagine this being difficult for some people because of different reel sizes/shapes and of course hand sizes. So, do you use your index finger to feel the line? Why or why not? Do you think it makes a noticeable difference in bite detection?

Thats why I like Dobyn’s. They have a no hassle lifetime “warranty” but you have to send a 6 inch section of your rod to them and pay a replacement fee. $80 plus tax and return shipping for the champion extreme as an example. It is realistically an insurance policy, as you said. The replacement fee is the deductible. I like this since the cost isn’t baked into the price of the rod. You only pay it if you need to replace it.

That head reminds me of the heads booyah baits use. Not sure if that’s correct, just throwing it out there.

Reviving this thread. If that’s not allowed I apologize! So a cold front is on the way right now. First real one of the year. Is it still widely believed that south Florida bass don’t bite after a cold front? I remember reading some more recent threads where it seems that opinion might have changed lately. It seems pond bass are less affected by cold fronts, imo anyways. Any reason that could be?

Pretty important. I’m debating between sticking with Dobyn’s or trying a new Daiwa steez AGS. Dobyn’s rods come with a lifetime warranty, though you have to pay a replacement fee. The Steez AGS only has a 5 year warranty. I plan on using my rods for way more than 5 years. Yes, the steez ags will be more sensitive than the Dobyn’s champion extreme HP. But is it worth $200 more and giving up a lifetime warranty for a 5 year warranty? I’m not so sure.

Ah, that’s what I thought! 😁

Wait, what’s wrong with digitaka? Is it sarcasm at the fact it takes all your money or is there a serious problem I’m unaware of?

That makes a lot of sense! Thank you!

Seems like prices keep coming down due to the dollar getting stronger. Good excuse to buy now.

Thank you. I’d really like to try a steez or nrx to see the sensitivity difference for myself. I feel like the champion extreme is very sensitive, so it’s hard to imagine how much better the steez/nrx would feel. When you say the sensitivity is quite a bit off, would you say it would make a noticeable difference in detecting bites? For example, sometimes when I’m fishing a Texas rig I’ll think to myself “was that a bite? Or was it my bait falling off a piece of grass?” Would the steez/nrx make a noticeable difference here? I use Fluorcarbon line for the slack line sensitivity by the way. Thanks!

Interesting. Thank you. So would an sv boost and a mag z boost spool both have two different spring rates? If so is the main difference between sv boost and mag z boost the braking profile as you said?

I’ve had days where throwing a bullet weight in front of a senko has worked very well. I generally still throw them weightless however.

Anyone know when that would be?

I’m trying to wrap my head around Daiwa’s braking system. Most of their reels use SV boost for braking, but some such as the steez a2 use mag z boost. I understand that SV boost uses an inductor on the spool that moves outwards into the magnets in the side plate in 2 stages during a cast. Mag z boost also does this if I’m not mistaken. Is mag z boost just a variant of SV boost? What makes it different? Do they each have their own strengths and weaknesses? If so what are they? Thanks in advance.

I hope not! Then my current Daiwa reels would be useless and I’d have to buy the latest and greatest! 😁

Has anyone who’s used a steez ags or an NRX give an opinion on how they compare to a Dobyns champion extreme as far as sensitivity is concerned?

Apologies in advance to the OP, but if anyone has experience with the steez ags, NRX+ etc I’d love to know how it compares sensitivity wise to a Dobyns champion extreme!

I like those. Good tip, thanks!

Because it makes me happy.

Hate to butt in like this, but have any of you who’ve used the steez ags also used Dobyn’s champion extreme line? How does the sensitivity compare between the two?

Yeah that’s a good suggestion. I’d still love to hear more opinions on this and I’d especially love to hear from people who have used dobyns champion extreme rods and other higher end rods like the NRX or steez ags.