LionHeart

All around do everything reel... 7 speed Trigs, jigs, frogs.... 8 speed

Tip: Best deals can usually be had on Ebay. Have become a big Ebay shopper based solely on all the cash I've saved on fishing rods and reels. I tend to be a $100 for the reel and $150 for the rod kind of guy. Lews Tournament MB is $100 on Ebay, although so is the LFS, and it looks like Lews has stepped up their game for the new LFS. Nearly the same reel as the MB these days so it is a coin toss. Rod? $150 will give you many, many options for a totally decent rod. Diawa Tatula is of course an outstanding choice. St. Coix Mojo Bass, ALX Ikos, or Dobyns Sierra would also be solid for sure.

In my experience people selling fishing gear tend to ask way, way too much for it and don't have a good grasp on depreciation. Like WRB and islandbass said, find out what it should cost new, and subtract 40% or more unless you run across gear that has obviously barely been used and looks nearly brand new. If you're looking for a reel, you should ideally be able to take some practice casts with it. Check the 'bale's operation, check the drag, listen for grinding or clicking or anything that doesn't sound right while turning the handle. Other than that, it's pretty straight forward.

Interesting. I have never fished the Promise 73, but have handled one many times and would love to own one. I currently use a custom ALX Zolo Dragger as a Jig, Frog, and Trig rod and love it. I also have a custom ALX Zolo Deputy for an all around 3/16-3/8 Trig rod, which I really enjoy. I have owned 3 Diawa Tatula rods, an original 7'2" MH fast Regular which I use for Trigs and an original 7'2" Heavy/ Fast for jigs. I also owned new Tatula 7'6" MH/Fast which I planned to use for Trigs. I'll share my thoughts on all of them. This may be kinda lengthy. The original Tatula 7'2" was such an excellent rod. Very light, balanced, and sensitive. Excellent guides, and even taught me not to mind EVA handles. I always felt that the handle was a tad short, and never could learn to like the reel seat. After a couple of hours, it could get a little uncomfortable to hold. I actually got a quote from a rod builder to see if he could change the reel seat, and move it forward an inch to give me a longer handle. In the end, getting a different rod made more sense. Such a good rod though. I miss it. The original 7'2" Heavy/Fast had the same handle and reel seat as above, so I had the same dislikes. This rod in my experience was not as sensitive as the MH. It made an excellent pitching and frog rod, but for dragging a bait, it just didn't have the feel I was looking for. Another thing is that it was a bit too stout for what I wanted. Great for frog fishing, but too stout for what I like in a 1/2 oz and below jig rod. I would still recommend both of these rods, as they are stellar, they just weren't right for me. If balance is a huge factor, they are both winners big time. The new Tatula 7'6" MH/Fast. I really like the slightly longer full cork handle, and this rod seemed to be every bit as sensitive as the original 7'2". Reel seat is improved, so we were off to a great start. The only 2 reasons I don't still own it are that the guides are a bit small for me. I use braid to leader, and while the guides do pass an FG knot just fine, there is a certain amount of knot 'tic' that I can't handle. This rod had it. It didn't affect casting or fishability but it bothered me. The second thing that I noticed was when ever I set the hook on a fish (or a log, or a rock) I would notice flexing in the point where the cork handle meets the reel seat. Maybe I am the only one to experience this, and no other rods are doing it, but it kinda bothered me a lot. The ALX rods: I've been using the Dragger and Deputy quite a bit now and honestly my only gripes would be that yes, they are noticeably more tip heavy than the Tatula rods, but only something I would notice if I literally do a side by side comparison. The other is that the jury is still out on sensitivity. There are times while dragging baits that I think "yep, I wish they were a bit more sensitive," and other times that I'm fishing a hard bottom and think "Okay, I'm crazy, this thing is very sensitive." On the tip heavy part, yes they are more tip heavy than some rods I still own, but less so than others. Perfect rod balance was something that never really kept me up at night. As long as a rod isn't tip heavy to the point of being laborious, it doesn't really bother me. I definitely wouldn't put them in the 'tip heavy' category. Hope this was helpful man.

Meh, maybe a little more tip heavy than the Tatula rods, but not enough that I would have second thoughts.

Looks awesome! Good work dude

When you say "flip" are you talking about pitching? Or actually flipping? If you mean pitching, the old school Diawa Tatula rod 7'2" Heavy makes an excellent rod for frogs and pitching. Very light and sensitive with plenty of muscle. $130 on Ebay and totally worth it. Handle is perfect length for working a frog, maybe a tad short for what I like in a pitching rod though.

Personally I use braid with leader for everything including spinning gear. If I know I'll be throwing a frog, I'll take the leader off. If this pond has a lot of vegetables, you'd likely get by fine without a leader.

I have the same reel and throw 30 lb braid with no clicking, rattling, grinding, no nothing. I suspect you have a mechanical issue Sir.

40-50lb yellow Power Pro and 15 lb Big Game mono 8-10 foot leader. FG knot always

Fuego CT is a great option. No one will accuse it of feeling like the most expensive reel in the world, but it is smooth, casts very well, and has excellent braking system. I have a 6 speed on one of my cranking rods and love it.

^This

Just curious, has anyone actually snapped a rod by exceeding the lure 'rating?' In my estimation, a lure rating on a rod is a suggestion of weight it will take to properly load the rod for casting (and is in many cases less than accurate). Too light and the rod won't properly load, too heavy and it will be over loaded. Kinda doubt that exceeding the lure rating (within some form of reason) is going to snap a rod.

Was thinking same thing. That is a very versatile rod for just about everything up to 1/2 oz.

Both make decent gear. I've used customer service from both numerous times and Lews I have found to be much better. Not to say that Diawa was bad, but I have called with multiple technical questions and the person who answers the phone at Diawa (I swear I get the same lady every single time) clearly has no clue how to answer product related questions, but is always courteous and friendly. Every time I have called Lews with questions, I hang up with answers. None of this would sway my decision on which company to buy a reel, or rod from. They both make great stuff, and have gotten a ton of my $.

A longer rod lets you move more line when setting the hook. Basically giving a smidge more authority to the hook set. World changing? Nope. The difference in casting distance is a bit over rated as well if you ask me. I use 7 ft. to 7'4" rods only out of slight personal preference. That's it. Others may have different take on it.

Solid choice

That's weird man. I wonder if they have a micro guide version I am unaware of. I was just in Bass Pro looking at them 2 days ago. I'm seriously thinking about ordering the 'Jig/Baits' model for my dad. I have been looking at them for quite a long time now and definitely would not consider them to have micro guides. Regardless of what you call them, I don't think you'd have trouble passing a leader knot through them. Any guides will catch on a leader knot somewhat. Disclaimer: All my setups use an FG as the joining knot and it passes through guides much smaller than those on the Mojo. Have never tried any other knot because I truly believe the FG to be far superior. YMMV with larger knots but even then I think the Mojo guides should be no problem.

The Mojo Bass doesn't have micro guides. It should be able to pass a leader knot as well as any other rod. If that's the only thing holding you back, time to pull the trigger.

A lot to discuss here so I will just share what I have learned about rod action. The chart MN Fisher posted says it all. Why does action matter? You will want the tip section of a rod to behave differently depending on the lure you are using, and to a extent, the area you are fishing. Just for example, compare jigs and crankbaits. You would typically want a more moderate rod tip for crankbaits because they have smaller hooks. Because of this, the rod tip need not be as stout because setting a small hook takes less force. Another consideration is that small treble hooks are typically easier for a bass to shake free if the tip of the rod isn't constantly bent and applying pressure. This is easier to achieve with a rod tip that has quite a bit of bend like a moderate action. The opposite of that would be a jig rod. People typically prefer a jig rod to have anywhere from a moderate fast, to even an extra fast tip. The idea is that since a jig hook is much larger than a treble hook, having a rod with a faster action let's you reach the muscle of the rod sooner when you have the task of setting a big jig hook through a bass's mouth. Hook setting and fish fighting aside, many techniques are easier to perform when the rod you are using can assist in imparting the proper action to a lure. Much of that will come down to preference. For instance, I prefer a pretty moderate rod action for working a top water popper while others will prefer a bit faster tip. Again, just preference. Hope some of that was helpful man.

I have 40 yards measured out in my driveway. I tie one end of mono to one end of where I have measured out then walk the spool to the other end and tie it to the spool on my rod. I then reel in as I walk. I now have roughly 80 yards of line capacity remaining on the spool of my reel. Now I just tie a joining knot between the braid and mono and start reeling. This usually gives me about 70 yards or so of castable braid. I can fill two reels and have roughly 10 yards of braid go to waste. No big deal. I use 12 lb mono and 50 lb braid for this so distance will be different for different size line of course.

There is a life lesson there

PSA to guys suggesting the LFS, the Tournament MB is $99 on Ebay, and a decent step better.

Was gonna make the same recommendation but couldn't find it on their website. Changing my answer to what CroakHunter said. I've owned 3 Tatula rods and they are well beyond the price tag.

Falcon Bucoo SR. If you throw 3/8 and below, get a medium heavy. If you throw 1/4-1/2 oz, get the heavy. Superb rods but over budget by 10$. If it were me, I'd find a way to cough up the extra $10. Totally worth it. I don't like to be the guy to say 'up your budget, ' but once you break that $100, you really do get a lot more rod for your $.