Yudo1

Dobyns rods are revered for their balance. The 744 will balance beautifully.

I'd take a tatula ct over all of those reels.

I use Alberto for leaders, Palomar for braid and improved clinch for everything else. These are the easiest knots for me and I can tie them quickly in my yak. The most important thing is practice doing any knot well because they are all pretty good.

Great idea, they'll get you set up.

The xxx chimaera looks like the ticket.

I'd try to keep the core and add an sv105. Those cores are getting harder to find and are still some of the best reels. I do love my sv105 and thinks it's well worth owning.

I've always wanted nrx rods because sensitivity is so important to me so I now own several because life is too short. I'm at the phase where I'm pretty satisfied with my arsenal although I may pick up a new megabass destroyer.

I think we need to get over the misnomer of "left-handed and right-handed reels," and simply refer them to left-retrieve and right-retrieve. This way, you choose what's comfortable instead of feeling compelled to choose a correct handed reel.

If you are going use deep cranks, a 6'6" medium rod maybe too light. A longer mh, moderate would be a better choice that will cover both shallow and deeper better. As far as reel, a 6.4 will do both applications. A 5.1 would be slow for shallow cranks IMO.

Yes, and also jerkbaits, 4" Senko, wacky rigs, Ned rigs, etc. Incredibly versatile rods.

I would use 40lb braid which has roughly the diameter of 10lb mono. I use leaders.

I run braid with leaders on most of my reels except for my weightless soft plastic reels where I use sniper. The slackline sensitivity of fluoro makes it worth the trouble IMO but KVD line and lure makes a huge difference. I have one reel that I absolutely couldn't use fluoro on because of serious backlash issues, steez 103. The braking profile was just too fast so I just put a 1016 spool in it.

Sounds good. Abu may just send you a new rod.

What ghoti said. It's worth a shot. I'd try to put it to use as a reaction bait rod like a spinner bait.

I don't think it would be covered because abu has a 3 year warranty and also the warranty covers manufacturing defects which is probably not the case. You can always try to call Abu and see if they'll make an exception.

If you like full grip then go for the new 2016 glx for a little more $. If you're going to spend that much on a rod, buy something you're going to love. Buy once, cry once.

While your learning more using your present gear, save up a little. If you could save $200 you could get a really nice casting combo like a tatula ct and a $100 rod. Today there are so many good rods in the $100 range especially if you look for sales. A medium/heavy, fast rod is THE multi-purpose rod.

That's a good price for new. You can find used NRX for about $325-350. New NRX can be found for about $400.

I also never used line conditioner on braid. Does it make it cast further?

Budget is really important. I use megabass xx perfect pitch, but it's a $300 rod new and may be overkill for frogs, but it fits my style and I use it for multiple applications. I like a heavy power rod with some tip and strong backbone. I don't like stiff tipped cue sticks for frogs.

I use my nrx852c and alphas sv for wacky rigged 4"and 5" senkos.

Unfortunately not. I put a ray's studio diy spool in mine.

How does it compare power and sensitivity wise?

Rod and line choice is dependent on lure weight and cover. You can pitch with any combo.

There isn't any demo or sample label on the rods. They are new rods and come with a warranty. Mine came with plastic on the cork, tag on guide and with the sleeve. The best way to order them is to call them directly or send them an email.