LOZSteve

Thinking of you, your mom, and family today, prayers lifted.

ALX Zolo Skipper is the best I have tried. The 7 foot rods around dock cables aren’t very forgiving when you are in tight spaces.

GO CHIEFS

I would get the Orochi XX jerkbait special rod, it’s a great jerkbait, small top water and or small crankbait rod. Finish is as good if not better than the Dobyns rod and I am not saying Dobyns are bad rods as I have the Champion 705, 733, 734, 805, and a extreme 703sf. The rod is sensitive and loads well don’t think I’ve lost a fish once hooked up on it.

If you have it professionally fixed at least the white is the least expensive and easiest repair.

894 is what you’re looking for. I have owned 853, 854, 893, 873, and 894. I currently own and fish an 893 and 2 894’s. The 893 is a great light Texas Rig and senko rod. I find myself using the 894’s the most for jigs, Texas Rigs, and Carolina Rigs.

NRX 893, 894, and 873 are going to be the most popular in that line depending on what weight and type of bait you are throwing. My favorites of those three is the 894 if if are at a 1/2 ounce jig and trailer. If you are throwing lighter Texas rigs than the 893 is your go to. The 894 in my opinion does everything the 873 can do just as well.

Tough call and depends on what techniques you feel you will be concentrating on or enjoy more. I have fished 702, 703, and 704 in the extreme series. The 703 is perfect for all of the techniques listed, not bad for ned rig, and probably too heavy to be great for drop shot like the 702. I don’t drop shot so I bought the extreme 703 and have been very happy with the results.

I assume since you are using a baitcasters you are skipping jigs. With that being said I like a heavier floro or mono line. I currently have 20lb Shooter floro on an ALX Dock Skipping rod with a Diawa Tatula SV TWS 8.1 and that works well. I have used 17lb and that works just as good for me. I stepped up to 20lb because I am usually skipping behind docks and under / over cables. Mono feels a little stronger and is cheap to replace. I only use a half spool and change often when fishing tournaments because the line can get kinked.

Agree with Tom on the Tatula SV TWS, on eBay the lowest price was 151.00 and Tackle Warehouse has 20% off 199.00. If you are patient you can find them discounted under that but it might take some time. I bought one this week for 129.00 when ebay ran there 15% off for using their App but that discount has expired. The Zillion in the same platform is a little more refined and I like the adjustable clicking tension knob but carries a higher price tag at retail 299.99, but again sale prices apply and you can find them less expensive on eBay as well.

clayton86

Tackle store. 256 281-6160 https://tackletrap.com/

Dobyns makes some nice rods for moving baits, if you want an opinion give them a call and they will talk to you about rod selection for baits and how you fish. If you want opinions on other rods you can call The Tackle Trap and they will visit with you as well. I fish a Megabass jerkbait special and like it a lot but that’s a little over the price range.

Not sure about $1000 but I am really happy with my NRX 894c and Diawa Zillion SW TWS combo. If you are patient you can grab this for a little over $600. I guess that’s why I have two of them because they are so light and fun to fish with.

Just grabbed 12 jigs, 6 Grid Iron Arky and 6 Sniper jigs. Some great colors and the Arky’s look great for skipping and the Sniper jigs look great for a finesse bite.

Good info from Blue, you could also check out Utube for Pete Wenners and Eric Prey as they do weekly fishing reports... this might give a place to start.

Many good options for ultimate, the one I fish now is NRX 894c with Diawa Zillion TWS SV 7.3.1 with 20lb shooter.

Been there, hell to get old, but beats the alternative.

I would lean towards the 894c. For reference I have owned the all of the rods mentioned and enjoyed fishing them. I have sold the 853c and 854c. I still have the 873c, 893c, and the 894c. I am considering selling the 873 and 893 and picking up a second 894c. I find it does everything well from plastics, jigs, and Carolina rigs. It will depend on what weights you are throwing but I have been the happiest with the 894. With that said the 873and 893 are fantastic rods as well.

Nights can be fun depending on the lake speed limits are important. Make sure when driving the boat you are on careful lookout for boats, trees in the water etc. hat lights work well and a quick beam spotlight can be handy. If you are fishing around docks or have good moon light I haven’t seen the need for black lights. Try and organize your boat/lockers so you can find stuff quickly. Take some bug spray.

Giant and beautiful fish. Jerkbaits are a fun way to catch big fish. Love seeing / feeling the jerkbait rod load up. Nice work without a net, sometimes that is scary reaching for all those hooks.

If my ole lady got excited every time I spent $20 dollars on a bait/tackle etc. I wouldn’t have an ole lady. Point being if you want to play you gotta pay. I told my lady don’t worry about these Gloomis NRX’s they are just for bass fishing. No different than her designer purses or jeans in my opinion.

Gotta go rods here, but certainly depends on the technique. Bottom contact definitely rod. Moving baits I guess rod wins as well. Seriously do you need a better reel than a Shimano Chronarch e7 or a Diawa Zillion tws or Tatula tws. Even spinning reels for $100-150 you can get a smooth long lasting reel - Diawa or Shimano. Reels and rods can be priced shopped on the internet and you should not pay retail for either.

I enjoy fishing my Dobyns Champion 705cb and its pretty versatile or comfortable in several depth ranges and sizes of crankbaits. You can work your way up the line by going to the 764cb and 804/5cb if you want to fish depth ranges from 2 feet to 20+ feet.

Great fish - congratulations!