Boomstick

@MN Fisher that is a nice spot for frogging!

I haven't done any yet, but hopefully next year I'll do a couple. It seems fun, As far as fees, they aren't bad! I would suggest checking out / joining KBF if you're interested. https://www.kayakbassfishing.com/

I have been using mostly Daiwa J-Braid x8 for years. Last year, I picked up some J-Braid x8 Grand and that's behaved pretty well. On my spinning reel for finesse, I've ran Sunline SX-1 12LB for a few years now and for thinner line it behaves very well.

@Fishes in trees and @new2bass you guys may be right... option A (a standard MH rod) might be sooner than later if at all possible. This thing is amazing. When I took the rod out of the included rod sock, I could feel the vibrations in the tip. So I went around to various soft items I could find, items I wouldn't even detect hitting it fairly hard on many rods and gently tapped the tip on all of them. I felt everything. The best was a blind slat the cats broke or maybe a sweatshirt that I threw on a pile of towels. I've done the same thing with the GLX, NRX and Expride before, but I didn't have anything like the arm of a sweatshirt folded on top of it and I'd need to do it back to back to tell, but this is among the best. The power and action feels about right for an all-around jig rod, and the tip bends where I'd like it to. I can't wait to get it out on the water now

I would go for the upgraded kayak to be honest. I bought and rigged out a Bonafide SS127 completely last year and I have it setup so I can store 5 rods in back, I think 5 3700 sized boxes fit in my blackpak, fish finder, etc. and it's small, easy to handle and quiet. I could have got two Jon boats for what I spent on my kayak and the trailer, but the kayak is just more fun. My original goal was to buy a bass boat, but life threw me a curveball but I had so much fun on the kayak, but I'm really liking the kayak. Maybe I'll do some kayak tournaments next summer if everything permits. The biggest advantage from the Jon boat is if you have a friend without a kayak or any kind of a boat, you could bring them with you.

You said ned rig, and I fish a drop shot on the same rod. You can get away with both on a medium spinning rod too, but a ML is more ideal Using a jig head with a wacky rig is something I learned from a video Glenn did. It provides weight for casting and the proper jig head will suspend the hook off the bottom just a touch and give the worm better action, so it's a win win

Well for ned rigs and drop shots, I use a 6'9" St Croix Avid X ML/XF. Seeing as your have a MH/XF which can throw your T-Rigs, wacky rigs (use a jig head) and others like spinnerbaits, jigs, chatterbaits, paddletail swimbaits etc. I would say you would want a third rod for squarebills, jerkbaits and topwaters. Something around 7' M/M or M/MF is the way to go for squarebills but MH also works. If you go the Zodias route, there is a 6'10" M/MF Zodias casting rod that should be a pretty solid rod. Alternatively, you could step up to an Avid X medium rod for drop shots, which could throw these treble hooked lures as well.

Well here's what you should know to get started. The 704C which is labeled as heavy is really your typical Med. Heavy rod, T-Rigs with ideally 1/4 or 3/8oz for best casting, 3/8oz or 1/2oz jigs, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits etc. The 703 is labeled Med. heavy, but is like a Medium + and the tip is a little less fast and closer to moderate fast. I wouldn't throw anything above 1/2oz total weight on a 703 but the upside is that it fishes treble hooked baits pretty decently as well as weightless or lightly weighted soft plastics. It makes a pretty versatile pairing with the 704. The 735 (labeled Mag. Heavy) would be your typical heavy rod for flipping, pitching frogging, the 705CB would be your cranking rod and the 702SF would be your finesse rod, making a fairly complete 5 rod setup. Also if there is any way you can swing it, I would also suggest stepping up to the Sierra, at least I think it's worth the extra cost.

You have most things covered. I would suggest a heavy rod (heavier than a Duckett heavy which is like many brands Med. Heavy) for frogs and flipping into real thick stuff assuming you have some somewhere.

I had a St. Croix rod break, I leant it to my son to fish a lightly weighted wacky rig, it snagged a fairly small and weak weed and broke. I called and told them what happened and that was covered, sent the broken one in and got a new one.

It casts them a mile too! Depending on the amount of weeds and wood you have, the 7'1" Tatula MH/XF might be a better option - I use mine for up to 1/2oz jigs whenever there aren't too many weeds.

Last summer on a camping trip on the last night, it was a cool day and a nice cool night after a heatwave. I had figured out they will hit spinnerbaits when the sun starts going down, and some time after the spinnerbait bite died down, the crankbait bite starts. So that last night, I got a few on the spinnerbait and then lost my spinnerbait in some rocks. It took a while for the crankbait bite to start, but once I got a fish it was insane. I caught a fish every cast. In between casts, I was unhooking them for my youngest son and this ten or eleven year old girl because they didn't have a hook remover, and they also were catching them every cast. The girl was fishing a senko on a hook and after her second bass, she lost her senko and was catching them on nothing but a red hook. Between the three of us, we caught 20-30 fish. I don't think anyone had a cast they didn't get a bass that was at least 2.83lbs Eventually, I lost my crankbait but it was late and we hadn't eaten anyway.

@sktrbtr honestly I was hoping I could find one cheaper, but I'm adding that to a wishlist, that looks serious. We'll see what finances look like come spring.

Does anyone have any experience with any decent inflatable kayak/boat options? I was thinking of getting my fiancé one for Xmas or maybe her birthday (which is in May). She doesn't come out with us all the time, but this way she could join us on the water and it wouldn't be a challenge to fit it in my truck, so it would be a decent option when I'm out with the kids.

Yup, if the tag slips then your knot is done for. The only reason I leave a touch extra tag end (if I'm not fishing in weeds) than I otherwise could is so I can see that it didn't slip for my own self-assurance.

I do agree a 1/2oz chatterbait with a trailer could be pushing a Dobyns 3 power a little bit. It's like a medium plus but the tip is also more moderate. I would even prefer a 3/8oz chatterbait or jig plus trailer on the 4. The 3 power is great for T-rigs because you don't need much or any weight on a 5" senko and also for finesse jigs. The 4 power casts a t-rig with a 5" senko well with 1/4oz weight as a point of reference but 1/8oz won't go very far.

My take on this is that if the rods bend is relatively scaled with the rod length it will add casting distance, but you have to add close to a foot to the total length to the rod to really be able to get a really noticeable result and be just as comfortable casting the longer rod - and sometimes I'm not thus I wouldn't throw it as far as I could. The one scenario I notice it in terms of distance is flipping or pitching. It may not even increase my total distance all that much but on a longer rod I find it easier to get it to a longer distance thus helping with accuracy.

I hope you had a nice thanksgiving as well and thanks for posting this. There is a lake that I've fished a couple of times that has the clearest water that I've ever seen and virtually no weeds at all and the only cover is the docks. My general approach to fishing this lake is to skip under socks and fish right around them. It's a blast. While it hasn't landed me the giant I've hoped for - which do exist in that lake, it has produced. The docks are much smaller than what you have, but it's a lot of fun regardless.

It seems like you have the right idea. The warmer temperatures that are more comfortable to you will also be more comfortable to the bass in the pond as well. I would try slow rolling a colorado bladed spinnerbait or a chatterbait, a finesse football head jig or a ned rig. Out of those, I would imagine something would produce. The ned rig would be great because you might land some panfish if the bass aren't biting.

I would be surprised if you didn't like it. Very easy to use and once you get the settings right, you rarely have to touch it which is one of Garmin's perks.

From my experience, St Croix rods generally have a fair amount of tip. While this rod is not available in the Legend Tournament line unfortunately, something like the Mojo Bass 7'1" M/F "plastics" rod would serve you well - the tip isn't too overpowering. The Legend X line which is a bit more expensive has a 7' model. The closest thing in the Legend Tournament is the 6'8" M/F "Jerkbait" rod. I would prefer a few extra inches, but I think that is going to be the best bet. If you prefer a slightly more moderate tip, you might want to look towards a Dobyns 3 power, although I have no doubt a St Croix medium rated for 8-17 line would work very well for finesse jigs. I plan to get my youngest son the Plastics Mojo Bass for his birthday in fact, it would be a nice addition to his arsenal.

As others said, I wouldn't throw a 1/2oz jig on a Dobyns 3 power, and unless it's a finesse 3/8oz jig I would still prefer the 4 power. For a point of reference, you can fish a 5" senko with a 1/8oz weight on both rods, but the 4 power works best with 1/4oz and on the 3 power you can fish it weightless almost as comfortably. Both rods compliment each other very nicely. The tip on the 4 power at least in the Sierra and Fury line is a little stiffer and on the 3 power is a little slower so you can fish treble hooks as well as weightless soft plastics on that.

The only difference to consider imo is that I usually fish a spinnerbait without a trailer and sometimes I will use a trailer hook instead of a trailer when I can get away with it. However I will always use a trailer with a chatterbait, which makes it heavier, but outside of the weight differences from this scenario I largely agree. Also true for your standard hook swim jigs.

Rod length is strongly a personal preference thing. If you fish from a kayak, you may prefer shorter rods, especially for skipping or walking baits and flipping from a seated position. Same largely applies to shore unless you're on a raised peer or a steep bank, and low hanging tree branches are also easier to avoid on a shorter rod. Longer rods do cast further, but in my opinion it's the most significant when flipping and pitching, of course a long rod can be beneficial in other scenarios, like deep diving crankbaits which will allow you to get your crankbait down into the zone for longer than a short rod. I find anything from 6'10" to 7'2" is generally all around a fairly practical all around length for casting in most scenarios, kind of an all purpose length if you will. I use a 6'8" rod for jerkbaits, spooks and poppers because they're easier to manage on a shorter rod. Also it's important to note that a slight movement in a longer rod will move your bait more so in some presentations, a shorter rod can be beneficial outside of casting. I use a 6'9" for finesse for this very reason.

Nice review - the rod seems to handle more or less as I would expect that it would based on it's rating and also PunchFishing's review of this rod which you linked. In the long term, I might be looking at a similar rod, this would be an option or maybe the Tatula Elite Ehrler Finesse that is labeled as a M-MH and should be similar but slightly cheaper. One of the things I would use this for would be finesse jigs, so I'd be curious to see how you think the Daemos works for finesse jigs.