Boomstick

I've been trying to get a handle on what the power of these rods is like myself. I gather the 7'3" H/XF is designed for jigs and carolina rigs and things like that, where the 7'4" H/F is the one you would use for frogs or flipping or extreme punching. I haven't found a lot about the 7'3" MH/F. I have heard it's not quite as strong as the standard St Croix MH/F rods which are almost MH-H, although from it's lure ratings I would gather it's still close. I have also heard some of the Victory line heavier than the other SC lines as well, although that may not apply to this rod specifically.

Yeah, the 735C would be perfect as an all around heavy purpose rod. The only real reason I haven't bought one already is that that's been his brother's line of rods. I mean at some point his brother will probably own the same rod.

I basically try to make it look like a frog is walking across the pads. The best you can do is walk the frog through any openings, but good luck trying to walk it across pads themselves. Usually when throwing in the lily pads, I will try to cast it into an open section or onto the pads on the farther side of an open section if there are any and let it sit for a bit. Then I will slowly work the frog back and pause over any open sections. As for frogs, I like the LiveTargets the best. They're expensive, but they downright work. I carry 2 5/8" frogs but my goto size is usually the smaller 2 1/4" size which gets a lot of bites and they're smaller in size but still heavy enough to throw far on a heavy, broomstick like frog rod. To save a little money, keep a couple of Pad Crashers around as backups.

I can get 15% off a Victory rod at the moment, but unfortunately they only make a 7'4" instead of a 7'. Still tempting. Has anyone used the 7'4" Victory heavy? Is it more of a broomstick than the other St Croix lines? It does come in at only 4.2oz which is impressive if nothing else

The Major Craft is actually going to be fairly versatile. You can throw smaller spinnerbaits (3/8oz and under), jerkbaits, square bills, poppers, buzzbaits, spooks, anc small pre-rigged swimbaits pretty nicely. Where the Tatula Elite will be better for most single hook applications as long as you don't exceed the weight limit. It seems like it will handle it's full weight limit fine and from what I'm told it does (I haven't tried it yet) but not one to overload.

I would look at the seller. I've bought from enough sellers on ebay and a lot of them sell on Amazon too, so I stick to those names generally. As to the original question on hand, most decent fluorocarbons will last multiple seasons, not just Tatsu. I've had Berkley Trilene flurocoarbon on one reel going into season 3 now and it still performs well. I didn't even apply KVD until after the season's first outing! This year I have tried Daiwa J-Fluoro Samurai in 16# and 12# and so far I really like it. It's slightly more expensive than Invizx, but my initial impression is that it's worth it so far. Obviously it's fairly new so my end of season thoughts will be important, but it seems to cast better than 12# Shooter and 12# Invizx that was spooled at the same time, although all of those lines are solid.

That's what I got the Tatula Elite M-MH for. If that's all you are looking to do, I would definitely suggest that rod although either would work. Not only is it pretty sensitive and well balanced, but it actually has the most amount of power possible for a rod that can throw a weightless soft plastic well, if that makes sense. The only time I add a weight in shallow water is to combat strong winds when casting really, but at the same time this rod laughs at pulling up a few weeds too. I use 12lb Daiwa J-Fluoro most of the time personally. It seems to be a good pairing with this rod.

I will second what @Catt said. If it's not broken, why fix it? GLoomis rods will generally handle their full weight range and sometimes a little bit extra, so I imagine it's not getting overloaded at 3/4oz. I mean I've seen a lot of other forum users say that they throw 3/8oz and even 1/2oz jigs on the same rod with no complaints. I generally prefer fishing a T-Rig on a M/F rod that runs a little bit on the heavier side or a MH that runs on the lighter side whenever possible. This year I got the Tatula Elite M-MH rod and that's kind of the ideal general purpose T-Rig rod. If I'm throwing in heavy cover, I'll step up as needed of course. My point is that I don't see that rod as being a problem. That said, I'd be tempted to add a 844C to the mix as well, but not as a replacement.

The Daiwa Tatula Elite 7' M-MH/XF rod is a fairly unique rod and will have a bit more power than the medium Major Craft Don Iovino medium. It really is a M-MH rod. I don't own the Major Craft but I recall @WRB saying it was a true medium and I was going to buy one but TW was sold out at the time so I ended up with the Mojo Bass Topwater rod instead. I bought the M-MH Tatula Elite used which is new to me this year for primarily finesse jigs and soft plastics, from weightless to nearly the weight I would use on a Daiwa MH/F rod (which are on the heavier side). My youngest son uses a Mojo Bass 7'1" M/F plastics rod which is slightly more powerful than the Topwater rod that I have and it's great for the same weightless or lightly soft plastics weighted plastics and while heavier weights would overload the rod quickly, it could also be used for jerkbaits, squarebills or poppers but the Tatula Elite is a little too stiff. The Tatula Elite will also be able to handle a little more cover as it has a little more power to it. The Tatula Elite is a pretty sweet all-purpose soft plastic/finesse jig rod, but so is a M/F rod. It's really what else you want to throw that would be the deciding factor.

According to TW they are both 7'2" MH/F, 12-20lb line rating but one is rated for 3/16-5/8oz and the other is 3/8oz - 1oz. I'm guessing the latter is the rod labeled as the jig rod, and from the lure ratings I'd say it's made to handle larger lures like a 3/8oz or 1/2oz jig where the other one is not.

I am at the point in my life where I figure I spent a large enough portion of my life on my job as it is and it really gets in the way of going fishing. So if you have the chance to go fishing, go for it lol

I don't know, but I still want one! Nobody would go 25mph in a 55mph in front of me ever again!

These will lose less fish as they get a better hookset, definitely worth a try.

Oh no! Hope you can make the next one

@gimruis I didn't even know you could mount two. At one point I read that it could be done, but would void the warranty.

Weather has been really hit or miss up here in MA too. A few days were in the 70s, even low to mid 80s. Then it goes back to days in the 50s here too. Fortunately, the water is warming up a bit which makes it easier to go out on a colder day on the kayak

Info for tonight's call: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89718351940?pwd=Yk9wTTNPeTQ3cS82Q1FYR05adllzdz09 Meeting ID: 897 1835 1940 Passcode: 264674 One tap mobile +19292056099,,89718351940#,,,,*264674# US (New York) +13017158592,,89718351940#,,,,*264674# US (Washington DC)

I've often got nothing all day and right as it starts I will catch one or two.

Well a 30lb braid that runs on the thin side may be thinner than 8lb mono that runs fat, or the other way around which would have a huge effect. If the diameter is equal, the braid is more limp so in theory it could cast further, but it's possible that you would not be able to cast it further without getting an overrun especially with a light lure. There are so many factors in play. IMO if you need to ask the question, then it shouldn't be a deciding factor. This is one of those things you should just try for yourself and see what you think.

This is something my youngest son would say...

I used mine as a chatterbait trailer. The thing that I noticed is that the tail seems to match the blade to the point where it actually makes it so I feel the blade's vibrations more than I ever have. I do know that if you use the wrong trailer, the vibrations will offset some of the blade's vibrations.

I set mine up with an anchor wizard and an anchor trolley off the bat, it's definitely addition. I just run a single anchor, but I am able to keep myself pointed at my target plus or minus about 30 degrees to either side, and if there is a single directional decent current then even less. As for the original question, it's definitely worth it. At least if you have a spacious and stable fishing kayak. Fishing out of something that is tight for space and not stable is still fun, but much more challenging to say the least. The seat in my Bonafide SS127 has two positions, and I usually just use the low because I can't find a paddle long enough for the high - and the high position sits you pretty high. I've become very comfortable casting out of the seat. My oldest son has a Kaku Voodoo which is essentially a flat top kayak that comes with a full blown metal frame seat. You can sit on top of the seat when you anchor down. Awesome video.

Nice review. This boat was high on my shopping list a few years back before I went with kayaks although I was really looking for a RT188 for the extra room (with three people, the extra foot really goes a long way). This basically sums up my thoughts and impressions I had from it very nicely as well. How does the single power pole work out? One of the biggest complaints I've seen is that they won't let you mount two without at least voiding the warranty.

I just sent out the invites, and as usual I will post it here before the meeting starts.

That would actually partially disengage the centrifugal brakes I believe. Shimano adds a dial that backs off the centrifugal breaks in a similar manner to their reels. Basically, that one is best adjusted by tying on a bait and adjusting it by controlling the speed the bait hits the ground. I find that on some light baits, there is a maximum fall speed and when I hit that, I back off just a little bit more and that's where it works the best. Same deal with the Shimano reels.