bunz559

They're a hot item at the moment. Seem to be sold out everywhere. But Since I sold my Dobyns 685cb, I've been keeping and eye out on the new Levante Jerkbait Special. That'll be my next order.

I usually do a 4-6 foot leader for dropshotting. Gives plenty of line for visibility and also gives me extra line if I need to retie.

I use straight braid, in and around cover and in open water. I don't have enough reels to switch them out between braid and mono. If there's a visibility issue, I haven't run into it.

I've been sticking to my Dobyns line up for the last 2 years. They've served me well. They're a bit out of the $200 price range for the XP and Extreme series. But I do have a Fury and Sierra series that do good as well. I'm looking at expanding my line up but going to try the Megabass and Shimano rods now. Will probably pickup an Levante and Expride sometime this year. Would really like a jerkbait/top water rod (Levante) and a new deep working rod (Expride).

Thanks guys, will definitely look into these 2 rods. I've been really considering the Levante. The Orochi would be really nice, but slightly too expensive for a reaction rod that I feel I don't need the more expensive sensitivity in my types of waters. Unfortunately, the new 2019 Levantes are pretty hard to get at the moment.

They are slightly louder, but I do have them in several of my Chronarch 51e. But it wouldn't hurt to try. Process of elimination could save guessing and some money ordering parts that aren't affected. Thanks! I could agree. I have quite a few reels with Boca ceramic bearings and while they're slightly noisier, they're not terribly bad. Thanks much for your input, I'll definitely check the brake pins. I know I gave this thing a nice clean and hit all the regular spots with some oil and lube. If it were the brake pins, what is your suggestion? Can I order just that part? Doesn't look like the spool assembly can be purchased separately except the brake collars. I swear, the more I invest into fixing this darn reel, I could've purchased something new. LOL! Someone really screwed me with this one.

Yes. Boca orange seal bearings.

Thanks alot Jay! Thanks for posting that brand. Never heard of them, but will take a look and possibly try them out.

I have a Dobyns 734 XP, 744 Extreme, 735 Fury, and 745 Extreme. If you're looking to pitch and throw jigs of most weights, I'd suggest the 745 or the 735 in the XP. It's a stout rod, perfect for light and heavy cover. I've used my 745 Extreme and Fury to pitch anything from 3/16 - 1/2oz Texas rigs and also as a jig rod throwing jigs 3/8 - 3/4oz. It's a fairly versatile rod when it comes to Texas rigs, pitching/flipping and throwing jigs. As for the 4 power rods, they've got a lot more flex in the tip. There's definitely plenty of backbone, but the tip wouldn't be my choice for pitching. 4 powers may be ok for open water jigging like in California reservoirs that I fish in. Even then, I still prefer my 5 power Dobyns. I typically line up my 4 powers with spinner baits, chatterbaits, super spooks, and buzz baits because the tip is perfect for those applications.

Almost forgot to consider the SLX rods. I've heard good things about them.

In the past, before I started purchasing dedicated setups, I used to throw my jerkbaits on a Dobyns 733 Champion. I still do sometimes. Last year, I purchased a Dobyns 685cb hoping for a dedicated jerkbait rod that was short for boat fishing. Unfortunately this rod just didn't work out. I couldn't cast the usual jerkbaits more than 20 yards with terrible accuracy while similarly with the 733, I could make 35-40 yard casts. I sold the 685cb and am now looking into another jerkbait rod, but would like some advice. The waters I fish are mostly large, deep, California reservoirs. Long casts are necessary. While shorter rods yield shorter distances, I can't imagine it being half the distance. The 685cb really struggled to cast jerkbaits (Vision 110, Pointers, etc.) probably because of it's action. The soft tip action made it feel like I was casting a 3/4oz jig on a Walmart Ugly Stick. Rod would load up but then there was no tip flinging the bait. I'm considering the Megabass Levante or Orochii Jerkbait Specials, Irod Genisis Lone Star, Shimano Curado 6'10 MH. The Orochii being the more expensive, but I assume I don't really need too expensive of a reaction rod. Any other suggestions for something that is not going to hinder my jerkbait casts sooooo much? Thanks in advance!

Will take a look at that. Thanks! Didn't even think to check that.

I have a Curado 51e that I purchased used awhile back and have been piecing parts to restore it. I've replaced the drive gear, pinion gear, the most common bearings along with the shaft bearing. I've cleaned and lubed everything. The reel retrieves fine and everything seems to work as it should when a fish is hooked on. There is one problem, when I cast, the reel makes a terrible noise that has a slight vibration. Casting distance doesn't seem affected, but this noise definitely doesn't sound right. It's not a clicking sound like some folks have with the thumb bar when casting. It sounds like the brakes, or spool, are rubbing against something making a rough noise when casting. It starts loud during the initial cast and dissipates as the spool slows down/stops. Anyone have any suggestions on what I should take a look at or replace? I'd greatly appreciate it.

My first Dobyns rod a few years ago was a Champion 733c. Back then, I was a bank fisherman and only carried 1 or 2 rods with me. Usually one baitcaster and one spinning setup. I would highly suggest the 733c Champion model if it's in your price range. It's not too light but then it's not too heavy. You can throw spinners, chatter baits, jerk baits, and spooks very comfortably. At the same time, it's a wonderful rod to throw lighter Texas rigs, C rigs, flukes, and finesse jigs. The extra length on the rod was also awesome for casting distance. Of course there are better rods for each application and the 733c isn't the ideal rod power and tip for everything, but not everyone has the budget or storage for technique specific setups. If I had to start, the 733c would be my choice.

When I first started dragging jigs, I used a Dobyns 734c XP. It worked wonders for me at the time. Later on, I picked up a Dobyns 745HP. It had a much stiffer backbone and faster tip which I preferred over the 734. A few months ago, I picked up a Dobyns 784c jig rod and I'd have to say, this thing is a beast! The longer rod is amazing to cast and hook set on deep waters. The tip also is slightly softer that the 745HP really allowing you to detect deflection on the subtle bites in deep waters. I have it paired with a Metanium and love the combo. It's my go to jig rod and now my 745 sits as a backup jig rod or depending on body of water, serves as my medium pitching rod.

Have you used the 6.8 with the 10/0 hook? Trying to see if it would be over kill.

For texas rigged baits on the lighter range I'd go with a Dobyns 743 HP paired with a 8:1 Shimano Metanium. For heavier texas rigged baits I'd go with a Dobyns 745 HP paired with a 8:1 Metanium as well. That should set you at about a grand after taxes and shipping. Maybe a little less so you can also throw in some Power Pro 30lb braid and some SF Sniper 14lb line.

I have a few and they're main use is for slow moving and dragging baits. Also great for flipping and punching. But if you're looking for an all purpose reel, I'd stick to something in the 7:1 ratios. They're plenty fast and you can always slow it down if you need. It's really hard to slow down when you're in the 8s. LOL!

I use a Dobyns 685cb or 705cb at the moment. They're both great rods for this. If you're looking to get just 1 rod for both purposes I'd go with the 705cb. Both rods are also great top water rods as well for lighter lures like poppers and smaller walking baits.

I've had a bad taste of light weightless lures on baitcasters. I ordered an Aldebaran and Expride medium light with the worst experience ever. This fairly expensive setup did not do me well at all. Started out with light braid, as advised, do not do this as it digs itself in. I switched to 10lb line and still didn't have much luck. Casting distance was terrible. I have better luck throwing weightless Senkos on a medium heavy setup. I even changed the bearings on the Aldebaran to see if it helped. Anything short of 1/4oz I just turn to a spinning rod now.

Ah... Got ya. Maybe not new, just didn't think of the acronym.

That's something new to me. What does IPT stand for?

Agreed. A lot of companies seem to be doing this. I fish lefty reels so it's even harder as some manufacturers do not offer every gear ratio in lefty. Shimano currently seems to only offer the 5 gear ratio in the Bantam, as far as low profile reels go. And that reel is only offered in Japan. ?

So I just picked up a Revo Winch Gen 4. As mentioned, I previously had a Gen 3 and didn't like it much. I happened to be out of a town that had a Bass Pro shop and stopped by to hold the Gen 4. To my surprise, the Gen 4 was much nicer than the Gen 3. Reel felt slightly more solid and ergonomics was much nicer. Felt more like a smaller low profile reel rather than a 300 series Curado. Looks like Abu made the profile smaller but gave it a much deeper spool to make up the difference. Although I could have purchased it cheaper on Ebay, I figured I'd spend my money there. I have yet to spool it and use it but I'm looking forward to casting some cranks. I will be pairing this Winch with a Irods Fred's Crank Launcher for deep divers, mainly 6XD and similar. Initial thoughts are that for a $200 price point reel, it surely does not match the build quality of a Shimano. Comparably to the Curado K. There's the slightest play with the handle which isn't unusual, but just doesn't feel like a $200 rig. What is nice, that I a not used to are clicks! Clicks when adjusting spool tension knob and external braking. Hopefully it proves me wrong once I start throwing some cranks. I'm sure the 5:1 gear ratio will feel a lot nicer than the 6:1 reels I've been throwing.

Thanks Dwight. I'd really like to get my hands on the 5.5 Bantams. I have one in the 8.1 and that reel just feels right! Solid, super smooth, and palms perfectly.