FrnkNsteen

What types or lures do you plan to use it for. Struggling with your description of "Medium plus" and soft tip with firm, but not too much backbone. ? Are you saying you want something 7' with a little slower tip that has somewhere between a M and MH action? It's a hair more than your budget, but you might look at a Dobyns Sierra 703c (7') or a 733c (7'3"). They run about $159/ $169 and are labeled MH, but run a little light. And they are a little slower action than the Fury or Champion. I really like my Sierra 734 for swim jigs or a chatterbait in a pinch.

Haven't tried a Lowrider. I like the feel of their rods. But the only place near me that carries them is Academy, and they only seem to have the Buucco (spelling) which has EVA foam grips, which I don't like. I just looked up the Lowrider, and it looks like it has cork grips. I'll have to watch for them somewhere and take a look. Maybe Sportsmans Warehouse north of here has them.

I'm not a big fan of the St. Croix Mojo rods. I've just felt that they feel a little tip heavy and just dont feel right to me. In most cases, I would choose a Fury over the Mojo because I think they feel better balanced. That being said,... That 7' MH-MF Mojo is the exception. It has a pretty nice tip on it and it's pretty well balanced. I liked it enough that I bought a second one. Both have 6spd Revo3 S reels on them. I use one for Whopper Plopper 90s, and the other has a reel on it to throw small chatterbaits on braid.

I believe some of the Lews, Abu, and Bass Pro still have a need for that. Haven't bought anything new from them for a while so can't be sure if they still do though.

Yeah,... I'm just not very adept at skipping yet and the SV is a little more forgiving. Both make it a little easier than the typical reel though. I supposed it is due to the shallower, lighter spools not having as much momentum to them so easier for the brakes to help keep it in control. Still practicing and slowly getting a little better. Have to remember to lift the rod tip as the jig approaches the target. If I remember to do that it typically goes better.

Sure looks pretty on a DX rod though for what that matters! ??

Don't get me wrong,,. The shallow light spool definitely helps with skipping, and if you do backlash, it's easy to pick out. Kind of like when we used to tape the spool for the same benefit. Not a bad idea trying it with braid. I have 20lb flouro on mine right now and that's all I've used on it so far. By the way,... I mis-typed.... I have mine on a Dobyns DX745C,... Not a 746.

Matches perfectly and works great

Got one and it's ok, but in my experuence the "ACB" brakes are a little underpowered. For me it's a great pitching rod, but for skipping, I have had better luck with a '17 Tatula SV. 2020 Tatula SV isn't bad either. Saw a video bragging it up as a good BFS reel, even if that isn't what they intended. FWIW,... I put my Pro SP on my Dobyns dx746 and pitch jigs around cover with it.

I can't speak to the Duckett Wheeler rods specifically. Thought about buying them repeatedly because I really like Wheeler. Truth is though that I've had multiple Duckett rods because I always thought they were sharp and wanted to give them a chance. I had three different Micro Magic Pro in 7' M cranking rods (2) and a MH. Also had a 7' M Incite cranking, a 7'3" H Ghost. And a 7'4" Terex Dean Rojas series frogging rod. Traded all of the except the Rojas frogging rod in on other things last year. Just didn't care for them. Tried over and over to give them a chance but always thought they had too soft of tips. Got tired of setting them aside over and over and finally gave up on them.

While U dont agree with you on the Dobyns ? (we each have our preferences), I wholeheartedly agree with you on the SLX MGL reels. I have been very happy with the two I MGL 71s I have. I have one on my Topwater rod and one on my Jerkbait rod. Oops? Meant "I" don't agree! ?

Has it been taken apart for cleaning? I had an issue like that one time when I forgot to put the washer back in between the drag star and the handle. The drag star wasn't tightened down much and when I tightened the handle nut, the handle locked down on the drag star, locking it up.

I was thinking this same thing!! ??

I don't see any crankbait rods in your list. Do you throw treble hooked baits enough to justify a more moderate action rod?

I agree. I thought about buying one just to check them out, but not a huge fan of straight mechanical brakes and while they are reasonably priced,... Still $100 plus tax/shipping

Thanks! Guessing the roller bearing is the Anti-reverse bearing.

I'd go with the Daiwa AIRD suggested by Finessegenics, or maybe a Berkley Lightning Rod. Both are around $40 - $50 and I like that the LightningbRods have close the the same grip as Fenwick HMG rods. Then take your pick between Pflueger President at around $60 up to Pflueger XT or Daiwa Fuego at around $100. If you want a cheaper setup that matches well. Daiwa AIRD X and a Daiwa Revros. Should be able to get into that for about $100.

Having a hard time finding any real (pun not intended) specs ob the new Dobyns Maverick casting reels. For instance: What are the frame, body and gear materials? What style brakes does it have? Hate to assume, but if nothing seems to want to call them out, I tend to lean towards assuming they are graphite frame and body, magnetic brakes, and run of the mill gear sets. Love my Dobyns rods, but a little frustrated that the literature doesn't give us many specifics about these new reels. Anybody have one yet that could fill us in?

Budget? If you're looking for something around the SLX price range ($100 x $120) why not try out one of the new Dobyn's reels. I know they make one with blue accents on it to match the new Champ XP!

Ditto!

For me it's Mepps Fury with orange or yellow dots or Blue Fox Vibrax in chartreuse. Both great for smallmouth. I like the Musky Killers too if casting for northerns when up north Never really noticed a lot of line twist issues unless you try to burn them too fast

Hard question.... I REALLY like my new 21 Zillion SV on everything but the location of the brake knob, but I'm getting used to it. I keep bumping it and changing it when palm casting it. Really liking the new Alphas SV too, but it has the same issue. Right now,... My favorites probably include the SLX MGL's I recently bought (I want to try the Curado 71 MGL next), and my Gen 3 Revo S and STX's

True! True! Funny story,... We used to go on fly-in trips up in Ontario when I still lived up in Minnesota. We would all have a hand full of rods and as big of tackle bag as they would let us have on the plane. After a few trips to outpost cabins, we decided to do the "American Plan" where they fly you out to different lakes everyday. By this time we knew the lodge owner pretty well and he came with us as our guide. When he met us at the plane the first day he was standing there with one spinning rod. We asked if he was going to fish with us and where his tackle was. He pulled a small brown paper bag out of his pocket and showed us his handfull of 1/4oz jigheads and one white spinnerbait in case we wanted to fish northerns. Made us a feel a little foolish! ?

I guess I don't think about it much. I put the doubled over end through the eye of the hook, then create a loop and overhand knot over the main line. Then drop my doubled over hoop over the lure, wet it and cinch it all down. I do cinch it by pulling the tag end not the main line though so I don't get the main line curled up like a ribbon on a present. I can't say I've ever had issues with it breaking or slipping.

I use 5.4 Revo Winches for deep cranks and 6.2 to 6.4 reels for shallower cranks, chatterbaits and spinner baits but as Tom said,.. It really comes down to inches per turn. That being said,.. I use a 7.1 Revo3 STX or 7.1 Tatula SV for my square bills and swim jigs where I'm throwing in around more cover. I just feel like I can react quicker and pull them out, but in all honesty,... it probably doesn't make much difference! ?