Mista bass

Okay let me start off by saying I am not a representative of Dobyns. I have no affiliation with them whatsoever. I ordered 3 new rods last week to see how they were and I'll be ordering 3 more this week. I went with the Dobyns champion series and man these are some nice rods! I can't believe the craftsmanship. I have never been so happy with a purchase before. You must feel one to understand what I'm talking about. If anyone is looking to buy new rods, dobyns is definitely worth a look. I think the word I'm looking for to describe these rods is "perfect".

I found my hat signed by Ray scott that I won at the Brian kerschal fishing camp one year. I just thought it was pretty cool and figured I'd share. If anyone doesn't know, Ray scott is the founder of B.A.S.S.

Ha! I tried pulling the "your shoes cost as much as my reel" but it didn't go over well. I think I just need to get her into some fish.

So this year I've been spending much more then normal on fishing gear and the girlfriend finally saw the bill and wasn't too happy. I tried to tell her I'm going to win it all back in the tournaments but we all know that's not likely haha. So how do you explain your fishing purchases to your girlfriends and wives? Is there a special technique I can use for next time? Tight lines! -matt

Welcome Brandon, Im in CT as well. I live in danbury.

Well if you need some company let me know!

I do not. I'm fishing the tourneys as a co angler but if someone would take me along in exchange for gas I'd love the opportunity. I can also bring beers haha.

My names matt. I'm 21 years old and Im fishing the FLW northern rayovacs this year as a co angler. I was hoping I could prefish with someone the few days before the tournys. I'd be willing to help with gas as well as backing the boat/cleaning up afterward. I'm a laid back person with an eagerness to learn. My number is 203-885-4611

With $1000 your possibilities are endless. I can answer but I need to know a few things. What size jigs are you throwing and what size cranks? Rod power is going to differ a lot between manufacturers. If you're using light jigs and weightless/weighted worms I'd go with a medium or even a medium light. I like the sensitivity on those bottom contact baits and I'm sure you will too. I'd use a reel with a 7.1.1 gear ratio so you can pick up that slack fast when you need to. Now as for the cranking rod I'd go with something like a med or med/hvy at no less then 7' 3". If it's specifically going to be used for cranking I'd also go with a glass rod over graphite. As for the reel, I'd go with a 5.1:1 or a 6.4:1. It'll be easier cranking all day with the lower gear ratio. That's what I personally use for the situation I think you're talking about. To give you a better reccomendation I'd need you to be more specific with what you'll be using them for. Are you set on Abu Garcia for both rods and reels? -matt

Thanks guys! It's great to know I'm not crazy and there is others like me out there. I've learned a ton from this site and I keep learning every day. If any of you are in the northeast lets catch some fish!

I need to get line for all my combos and I'm not really sure what line to go with. I've used power pro braid and seaguar flouro. I tried out trilene flouro the other day and won't do it again. What's your favorite brand line and why?

The Lews reels are sweet, I just got my new tournament pro in the mail the other day and it's silky smooth. I put it on a Dobyns champion 703c

What's your address? I'll start packing them now!

Thanks guys I appreciate it. I was taught at an early age to buy quality stuff and you can enjoy it for years to come. Maybe I made this thread after I felt a little down about what they said and wanted to justify my purchases. I'm really excited to start the season and I love my gear. Tight lines everyone!

I was at my local tackle shop talking with a couple guys and they brought up the reels and rods I bought recently. They were telling me I could get stuff just as good for under $100 and I'm an idiot for spending that much. I've been fishing since I was little and I am now 21 years old. I'm done with college and I got a great job making great money. I'm able to splurge on stuff I like. This is my first year fishing Tournaments so I bought some nice gear. I went with Dobyns rods, Lews and diawa reels. Was I stupid for spending so much on quality gear? I kinda feel like the joke of the shop now....

Let me know how you like it. I was thinking about picking this up.

It wasn't that old. I used it for ice fishing maybe 2 months ago and it was kept inside. When I say I got it respooled I had my local tackle shop do it on the machine.

What size jigs?

I got it re spooled and I'm still getting the same problem. I was trying to use up some old trilene laying around but I think I might just have to suck it up and buy some quality line. I'm going to need to re spool the rest of my reels anyway.

This isn't from my own experience but I'm putting together a new frog combo for fishing similar cover to what your describing. I called Lews and asked for their input because I was debating between the lite and superduty and they told me to go with the superduty. They said the metal side plate will give me the extra torque for pulling fish out of cover.

Yeah that did cross my mind. I usually have my local tackle shop spool it on their machine but I did this one myself just off the line spool with a pencil through it.

A friend of mine introduced me to keitechs the other day and I fell in love. I can't wait to use the 3 inch shiner for smallies. Anyone else fish keitechs and what bait do you use? I only messed with the shiners so I'm curious if they make any other cool baits. Pics appreciated!

Project Zman in breaking bream or green pumpkin with a reins rockvibe or bubbring shad in green pumpkin. Sweet combo.

Okay so I stopped by the lake on my way home to make a few casts. This is my first time out this year and I just respooled yesterday with 8 lb flouro. It's an old shimano saros 2500 on some Walmart combo rod that I leave in the back of my car. The rod is crap, the tip of the rod is even broken off, but I've never had problems with it before. Every cast I was getting crazy loops and knots in my line. I know it's not over spooled. Is it my rod? I feel stupid asking what's happening but I've never had this happen unless I was over spooled. I'm lost so can someone try to explain what the problem is?

Good to know. Its great how good the customer service is with some of these companies.