CybrSlydr

As few fish as I catch, drags rarely come into play. Lmao

My rod experience is very limited so if you think a 734 would be better, I'll listen. As for Daiwa, I hadn't looked much, which one would you suggest? I'm a fan of Uni/Uni for my leaders.

I find I tend to prefer throwing weedless senkos Texas rigged nine times out of ten. I've got a bunch of EWG hooks with screws, weighted EWGs with screws and some 1/8 bullet weights that I use with Texas rigs. Should I consider just the 1/4-1oz instead?

I've decided to finally try out a baitcaster. Since I broke my Dobyn's spinning rod, I'm going to use this opportunity to upgrade to their Champion XP rod for a good price ($60 to replace my old rod plus the difference in retail price to upgrade to the Champion XP and $20 shipping). I'm thinking of going with their 735C F/H rod as it sounds like an excellent all-rounder rod with a lure range of 1/4 - 1 1/2oz. That'll cover Senkos, Texas rigs, cranks, jerks, tops, frogs, etc. http://dobynsrods.com/rod/735c-fh/ The other question I'm mulling is do I want to go with the Shimano Curado 200k or the Curado 70? There's such a small difference in price, I think I could justify the Curado 70 if there's sufficient reason. Thoughts? They just seem so similar aside from spool size. From what I've read, it seems that heavier, thicker braid is a better choice for baitcasting, correct? So should I be looking at something like... 20lb Suffix 832, maybe some 15lb Berkley Fireline Super8? Maybe something else?

Just got word back from Dobyns. To upgrade to the Champion XP casting rod, it would be $170 total (includes S&H). If I went this route, what would be a good reel to plop down on it? Let's say... $200 is the top of the budget (unless there's something close that is worth a few extra bucks). Casting distance is a big concern of mine since I'm currently a bank angler. The rod I'd get has a lure rating of 1/4oz-1oz. The *** Concept Zed interests me, there are also more than a few Shimano reels at that price range as well as Diawa.

I'm using this in 8lb on my spinning setup and it can cast a mile. Good knot strength, hasn't frayed or anything. No wind knots either. Very good line!

lol I was just on that webpage. I might even enquire about upgrading to the Champion XP casting rod - nominal fee rather than paying full price out of pocket. EDIT: Something like the DC 704SF.

Do you think they'd let me switch from a spinning to a casting rod? They're practically the same price. Figure a 1/4oz-3/4oz rod would be a good range?

I wonder if I could do a swap with Dobyns? Send in my broken and ask for a baitcaster Sierra instead of a spinning? Only thing is I'd still need to get a reel. Other issue is that all of our tackle is designed for lightweight rods. Weightless Senkos, Ned rigs, small Rapalas... Probably wouldn't work with a casting rod.

I broke my rod yesterday - forgot to put it in the car and ran over it. Ugh. It's a Dobyns Sierra 6'9" spinning rod. Really nice rod. So I have a couple options - I could pay for a replacement but have to drive a couple hours to a store that is an authorized retailer for them. I could go buy another spinning rod or I could use this opportunity to also get a baitcasting reel and try some baitcasting instead of just spinning. Thoughts?

Caught my first-ever Freshwater Drum while wading in the Maumee river yesterday.

After reading that article, I think something other than an aluminum boat is out of our price range. The other thing is finding a place to put it - we just don't have the space for a boat on a trailer when I really think about it. Thank you for the article - it was an incredibly informative read! Maybe we'll just go the kayak route to hold us over until a boat is more affordable. Kayaks would be easier to store too, could put them in the basement when not in use.

Just spitballing here - but if we could save up about $5k, would something like this be a good idea? https://www.boattrader.com/listing/1987-hydra---sports-dv175-103355373/?refSource=standard+listing (granted, right now we're looking at maybe $2k as a top, but always good to hear what you folks have to say about other stuff)

Thanks for the HU on that, I'll run it past my brother. A wide boat would definitely be a plus - the less rocking while standing the better. lol I'm 6'1" and about 280lbs. My brother is 5'8" and around 250. So yeah, we're big guys - that's my main concern. Are there other places I should be looking for used boats other than Craigslist?

There's always the Ultraskiff. https://www.ultraskiff.com

I was mostly using the 1432 as a model as I wasn't sure exactly what we should be looking at. Certainly sounds like getting something used from someone would be a better bet and significantly cheaper than buying new and outfitting it.

Well, the Tohatsu outboard is only a year old - the age of the boat is debatable.

Seems like a boat is still a bit out of our price range. Been looking on Craigslist in the area and nothing in the $1500 - $2000 range looks seaworthy... lol https://parkersburg.craigslist.org/boa/d/1972-glastron/6686844798.html https://parkersburg.craigslist.org/boa/d/98-tohatsu-outboard-14ft-jon/6645470988.html

I don't have a truck - I have a Jeep. For guys of our size, I was looking at 14 and 16ft boats. What HP would you go for something like that? 20hp?

Mainly I'm asking to see what kind of price difference we'd have between getting kayaks vs getting a boat. I just don't want to get kayaks and then go, "d**n - shoulda just gotten a boat instead" if the prices aren't too dissimilar.

My brother and I are contemplating the cost differential between us getting our own kayaks or getting a Jon boat. Kayaks are going to be around $1k each. Then you have to buy the paddle, PFD, assorted accessories like a box for all the tackle, etc. Looking at appropriately sized Jon boat, what would we be looking at total cost for a boat that could hold both of us (appx 265lb each of us), affix a modest motor, trawling motor, batteries for assorted electronics and a trailer?

Brother and I are looking at Jon boats. Looking at places like Tracker and Lowe, etc. I'm noticing on their weight ratings that there's a big difference between the max person weight vs the max person, motor and gear weight. For instance, the Grizzly 1648 Jon says max person weight is 555lbs while the max p/m/g weight is 1055lbs. Is that saying you don't want more than 555lbs of people in the boat (both my brother and I are pretty close to if not over that amount combined) or is there some wiggle room up to that max p/m/g weight of 1055lbs? I don't think we could possibly have almost 500lbs in motor/gear so could we "make up" that weight in ourselves?

Heading up to columbus today to pick up a suit. Might swing by cabelas and see if they have any of the whuppin sticks in the appropriate range.

Tied on with some Trilene 40lb catfish line in bright green. Working well thus far but you don't get much line on a 2500 size Okuma reel! I think I'm going to downsize to some 30lb braid as mentioned above so I can get more line on the reel and cast it out further.

Some 30lb TrileneXL then? Sufficiently abrasion resistant?