Mikeltee

Congrats. You cant do much better than that. Now hopefully you can ditch the spinning gear. Definitely keep us posted.

Medium Ugly Stik elite. It was my first ned rig rod. Anything < MH power is going to be super sensitive. He can do plastics and shallow cranks on this rod. I wouldnt take it much over 1/4oz trigs/jigs. For medium cover + he will need a MH.

Exprides seem to be the only rod that cant seem to stay in stock anywhere in the US. I hope some day to experience this phenomenon ridden rod and kudos to Shimano for not jacking the price up to steady supply. As for its fragilability, I wouldnt understand why it would be any more fragile than any other high end rod that weights next to nothing. Is there some kind of material in its composite that gives it this trait?

That makes sense. I didnt even think about that. I appreciate the comment. I can definitely see a tip heavy rod being a huge disadvantage in this case. On the other hand, I think a tip heavy rod might be preferred for jerkbaits. I wonder if any manufacturers consider this a feature in their jerkbait specific offerings.

At what point besides holding a rod with no lure on the end does balance come into play? This isnt a smart ars question. I really want to know as we are talking grams here. Out of my budget but if I ever get a spinning outfit this will be the one. I'm trying to avoid spinning like the plague.

Just find a rod marked swimbait and get the one for the proper weight range. Dobyns has a couple $100 ones in the fury line and a half dozen in the $220 champion line. They are designate dc79xSB where the sb stands for swimbait. They are at the end of the lists. I would assume the action is a little more moderate for the treble hooks. I dont fish SBs so wouldnt know what works best. If you dont like what they have to offer then find a similar length, power, and action from a brand that you roll with. As far as your comment about beaten to death... it's not. Not many people here fish swimbaits and those that do are all masters of their game so they really dont discuss it. Granted I am talking real swimbait fishing. Not paddletail on a 1/4oz jig head "swim baits" which technically they are. If that's the case just buy the appropriate texas rig rod for your weight range.

I have the champion 736 for frogs and it would make a good flippin stick. With the sales still up you can probably get it for 200. Arguably the best frog rod in the game. Spend more for a contact rod > medium power.

If you have 2 then I dont need to tell you it's a broomstick. You can catch bass with line tied to a stop sign.

That's an offer I couldn't refuse had I had the money. The plan is 895 first then a MH zbone for 3/8 to 1/2oz so I can make my own comparison. I see zbones pop up for $250 - $300 upon occasion. As soon as I see an 895 for sale I see nothing but 10 guys calling dibs sent 15 minutes after the guy posts it. NRX resale ain't no joke. Heck that's enough of a reason to be brand loyal. Fish it for 10 years and then make money off it. Color me impressed.

I have waited long enough for a god tier rod. I have done my due diligence reading about the 894 vs 895 vs zbone and GLX vs NRX threads. The one remark that always pops up is that you should at least consider custom. I want a 1/2-3/4 bottom contact rod. If I went custom I wouldnt know exactly what I wanted to so I need to be coached by the builder. I guess I could say I want something at least as good as the 895 and go from there. Should I enter this arena of custom or just get the well proven off the shelf 895? I don't find many custom rod makers specializing in bass rods. Who are some guys that could handle this and keep my budget under $400 as that's what I will pay for the NRX? I feel that the customs are more for guys that have fished 20 years twice a week, have tried a million different rods, and can pick one up and say... man if there was only 2 inches added to this handle, 2 more guides added, and a different reel seat I would love this rod. Although I have a dozen $200+ rods, I am definately not that guy!

You must be single lmao

The Lews combos will catch fish and they look cool too. I almost got the mach crush as my first bass rig because I liked the orange color. Then I came here and the rest is history (including my bank account).

I agree that they are all excellent reels, but I will explain why I think the TWS is the weakest link. It must actuate when you lock and unlock the spool and no other reels goes through this procedure. I know that all line guides are plastic but all the others just travel down the plastic worm gear. I stumbled down a cliff once and landed in the sand. A little sand got in my reel. After a thorough cleaning, it failed to actuate half the time. Granted the directions do not claim to be sand and trauma proof, but when I landed, I made sure my body took the blow and not my gear. The reel looked new still and it was only the second time I fished with it. Long story short... I liked it so much for light lures that I bought another one the next day, but I am very cautious with it to say the least.

The curado 200s and Ks, and DCs haven't been around long enough to judge the longevity, but I like the curado better than my Tatula SV and Lee's Pro LFS which are all similarly priced competitors. Not only do I feel that they function better, they also feel more solid to me. I would be happy with anyone of them though to be honest. All 3 brands are excellent. I am going with Shimano here on out though unless an offer that I cant refuse comes up. I just dont trust the TWS system. I feel that it's the weakest link in the Diawa chain. Too much cheap plastic to rely on. Im sure one of the reel buffs that hangout here can negate my opinion though. The Lee feels a little more bulky and gimmicky/flashy imo.

I have the 704 champ in spinning. Its decent. I think you can do a lot better for the money. The champion line shines for the crankbait and swimbait techniques. For senko work, I would get the best you can afford to feel those subtle bites, and for $250, I feel you can do a lot better than the champs. If you are stuck on champions, dicks has the 734 for $170 and it is well known to be the most versatile rod in the Dobyns lineup period. It would handle what you want all the way up to 1oz total weight jigs/trigs.

Yep that's a steal. I would assume this sale will be over tomorrow. They havent been that low in a long time. I'd go this route for sure. I plan on getting a MH H3 one of these days. If I had the cash I'd add to cart.

Champion extremes from the refurb section(I'd go this route), something $400 retail used, or the Alpha Angler Wrench(I went this route and love it). The only reason I didnt get a refurb extreme is because all I owned was Dobyns and I wanted to try other brands.

Yea I was talking about the wife. I order all my stuff via ups so I can route it to the ups store. I dont have to hear it anymore. I think she's starting to notice the rod rack growing though. I am happy with my $500 rigs but I think we owe it to ourselves to at least see what the next level is like. If it's not a significant upgrade, then we will be happy with what we have and save money in the long run. I personally think its overkill for anything less than a MH powered rod. Everything is sensitive at that point and the upper tiered rods are more prone to snapping because they are so light. For the boys, get the zebco 33 underspin. It will make the transition to spinning reels much easier. I started my 6yo daughter on a regular zebco spincast and this year she transitioned to the underspin. Reeling with the other hand really took some getting used to. I wish I would have started her out on the underspin. It really helps learning the timing of the release. It's not as forgiving as the spincasts which is what we want for them imo. It associates the index finger with line release rather than thumbing a button and its location isnt too far off from where the line will be held on a spinning rig. After a couple months with spinning gear next year I hope to have her start using the Curado DC.

Let us know how that turns out for ya... lol

I buy endgame gear. I'd rather have one awesome rig that I love to use and have confidence in than 4 average technique specific rigs. I think that the next rig you buy you should get the best you can afford to afford. I'm not saying go get it tomorrow. I am saying that if you can afford to own a $1000 rig, buy it! If it takes a year to save up, so be it. You have plenty of gear to get you by until then. You will be much happier in the end and not always coming back here asking which rig you should sell to sidestep Into another "doable" rig.

Will you get the same longevity out of a $100 reel? I doubt it, but for the price just get another one in a few years. The latest Bantam is next on my list. At 45 years young if theres anything I've learned is that at retail prices, you get what you pay for. I buy nothing but endgame gear nowadays. Buy it cheap buy it twice.

Dobyns champion line has some great swimbait rods for a decent price. I have the fury 795 but dont use it much. I dont think you are going to find an appropriate swimbait rod that short. Many custom swimbait makers also make custom rods, but those will set you back about $500.

Tom forgot more about bass fishing than I will ever know. He is very wise in this sport and posts interesting comments. Hes a true hero to this forum in my eyes. A medium will do you fine. You can also do all the lightweight stuff with it too. Heck you can catch a bass on ultralight gear if you need to. It just might not be the best gear to choose. That's cool you like BCs for moving baits and spinning for bottom contact. You are in the minority there but I respect your decision. I let peer pressure talk me into getting spinning gear for finesse and I regret it. Waste of $600. Lol By asking about spinning gear I assumed you were new to bass fishing. When I was new to bass fishing, I immediately bought a $260 spinning rod. I took it out once and was hooked and spent about $2k the next day on casting gear. That rig has collected dust every since. I was trying to save you from the same mistake.

Definately faulty equipment. I would urge everyone to get a second mortgage and buy 3 NRXs and 3 Steez AGSs for every specific technique and have 3 colors of the lure ready to go. You will then be guaranteed to catch more fish and losing fish will no longer be part of your vocabulary.

20 years ago there were no technique specific rods and people caught just as many fish as today. The lightest you want is a M-MH and it will shine for weightless however if you are going to add weights you want a MH which will also be fine for weightless. I'd suggest a bait casting rig for any senko presentation. I assure you if you enjoy bass fishing you will upgrade to a baitcaster by next season and the purchase you make now will collect dust. Dicks had a champion 734 which is a great rod for $160 and it retails at $250. You can do just about any presentation with that rod. It's by far the best bang for the buck. Learn to throw a baitcaster and you will enjoy your time on the water much more. Adding on... For non-moving baits you want the most sensitive rod you can afford. Stay clear of the Fury series and the like. You can afford the Champion line and you will have a much better chance to feel fish flirting with your bait. Anything less pretty much guarantees a broomstick in the MH power range. With medium you can go cheap because they are all super sensitive, even an Ugly Stick. That would be for finesse/light wire presentations and you would want more power to drive those EWG and whacky hooks home. Dropshot, neko, mushrooms heads are usually light wire.