5by3

Rattle trap, a-rig, jerkbait, chatterbait, Shad rap

Don’t quote me on this, but I think the hydra blanks on the ALX Zolo are made and assembled here in the U.S. ALX and hydra fishing are the same company. Great company, the owner (Alex) always goes out of his way to meet your needs and you can call and talk to him directly on the phone. Good warranty program too, similar to Loomis expeditor program.

Loomis, St. Croix, Kistler, ALX Zolo/Enox, Cashion are a few that I’ve used.

My best guess would be that it’s an “in between” power. Not a true medium, but not quite a medium heavy. That’s pretty similar to the ALX designations like frydog mentioned - toadface (MH+), trickster (light+), etc. I haven’t fished many shimano rods so I can’t say for certain what their medium or medium heavy feels like compared to say the alx dream/deputy models. I’m sure they feel quite different.

Alx toadface. It’s a medium heavy + so it has a medium heavy tip for accurate casts and working the frog, but heavy backbone for getting the fish out of cover. Very versatile rod. Dobyns 735 is another good choice that I fished for a long time.

Don’t have any spots around me, but the 3” megabass sparks had has been good to me for largemouth and smallmouth.

Many brands of flouro are not very spinning reel friendly in my opinion. A few suggestions: 1. check that the reel doesn’t have too much line on the spool 2. apply line conditioner (kvd like and lire works wonders) 3. Try a smaller lb test. Usually I’ll stick with 8lb if 1-3 don’t work, try a higher quality line like invisx or tatsu or go to a braid + fluorocarbon leader instead.

I own a couple of high end Loomis rods (GLX and nrx) that I use exclusively for bottom contact baits, but other than that, I find myself fishing the $150-200 rods much more often. The nrx/glx rods are a dream to fish with, but I feel that there are diminishing returns after about the $200 price range. Expensive rods don’t catch fish by themselves!

Yes, your jerkbait rod will also work for most of the baits you’ve listed. The only suggestions I’d make are stepping up to a medium heavy for the buzzbait and throwing copoly/mono for the top water. Like others have said, fluorocarbon sinks so it will reduce the action of your top waters and try to pull them under the water. A high quality mono or copolymer line will work for both jerkbaits and topwater, just make sure the line floats. Some copolymers sink or are neutrally buoyant. All mono floats. Check out the sunline defier armilo line. It’s a bit pricey, but would be a great choice for what you’re asking.

I use 6.3:1s for pretty much every technique and do not fee that I’m at a disadvantage. The 8 and 9 gear ratio reels are probably great too, but imo it’s an escalating game for marketing.

They would probably be pretty close in sensitivity. Better build quality would go to the Ikos

Of the rods you’ve listed, I’ve only fished the Dobyns fury and Loomis e6x. The fury is a solid rod for the price and balances well. Sensitivity is about what you’d expect for a $130 rod. Imo, the 734 is Dobyns most versatile rod and will handle pretty much any technique you throw at it. I’ll say that after owning a few e6xs, I would not pay full price for another one. They aren’t a bad rod, but I feel there are better rods in their price range. Also take a look at the ALX IKOS line - the promise 7’3 is a workhorse of a rod that can handle all of the techniques you’ve listed. Hammer rods and Cashion rods also get good reviews in the $150-175 price range. The ALX and the hammer will be more on the slower side of fast, but definitely not parabolic like a crankbait rod. All 3 of these are built in the U.S.

Molix kento jig

Dobyns 704cb for me. Have not fished the mb one ten special but it’s on my fishing rod bucket list.

As a coangler I’ve had both experiences. I’ve had boaters who parallel the bank to the point that I can touch the shoreline with my rod tip or put the nose of the boat towards the dock and the back end out towards the middle of the lake. Sure it’s frustrating, but it’s their boat so I don’t feel I have any justification to speak up. When this happens I usually just cast off the other side of the boat parallel to the bank. On the flip side, I’ve also had boaters who are absolutely great to fish with and always make sure to position the boat fairly so I can reach targets too. Sometimes they’ll even let me have first cast to a target or completely bypass it altogether and tell me to put a cast in there. That being said, I find team format tournaments that share a 5 fish limit to be much more enjoyable. There are no hostile feelings, nobody cares where the other person casts, and I don’t have to feel uncomfortable asking permission to cast to a particular spot or worry that I am ticking off my boater by casting towards the front half of the boat.

IMO, the stradic reminds me more of a chronarch, which is a little bit lighter and more refined than a curado. kind of comparing apples and oranges here though! Can’t go wrong with either reel.

Dobyns 734 for the bigger baits or 705 cb for the smaller/normal sized baits

I own a few of the ALX spinning rods - the Zolo maestro and trickster. The lakes are just about frozen here so I haven’t been able to use them much. I’ve used the trickster for some blade baits and a few jerkbaits so far and I really enjoy it. I can’t speak to its sensitivity since I haven’t thrown any bottom baits on it. They definitely aren’t as light as a few of my higher end Loomis rods, but they also don’t cost $400-500. The build quality seems good and they are comfortable to fish so far.

Dobyns 743 with 40 lb braid on a 6.3 reel. Also use this rod for larger walking baits and WP 110s

I use 50 lb braid but 40 will work fine if the vegetation isn’t crazy thick. Tie straight to the bait. No leader needed.

Looking to purchase a new spinning reel to put on an nrx. Will be using this reel for drop shot, shaky heads, and other small (1/4oz +\-) baits. Would like to stay with shimano or Daiwa. What’s your favorite reel in the $200 range?

I’ve found that the plopper for me has one of the highest hookup and landing ratios than any other top water baits I throw (except maybe a buzzbait). Maybe the fish weren’t aggressive enough that day. Some days they’ll just slap at the bait and you get lucky and hook a few. Other days they’ll choke it. Could also try swapping out your hooks. The stock hooks are okay, but I usually swap them out for owners and feel that my hookup percentage goes way up.

6.4:1. Don’t think the reel is as important as the rod for this technique.

Any type of line will work. I personally use fluoro for the abrasion resistance up around docks and wood, but braid will work fine too. Just depends what you have most confidence in.

In my opinion, if you’re going with a Loomis rod, just jump right up to the GLX or NRX. It’s more expensive up front, but a better deal for the long term.