Mikeltee

The most obvious change is the lifetime warranty is now gone. My store seems to offer more fishing gear now.

Heavy long rod for frogs and pitching in slop or a MH graphite cranking rod for shallow divers, traps, jerkbaits, etc(all treble hooks). Then all you will need is a super sensitive jig rod. I'd save some cash for that and spend $300 for the rod.

As a matter of fact I do need some new line. Not really but I suppose it wont hurt to take a peek. Saved $41 on a $90 order. Not too shabby.

You can throw the lightest of gear on this rod and it will throw it. The only reason I got a spinning setup was because everyone here told me that finesse is for spinning gear. I hate spinning reels and I can only cast maybe 20% further with it. I dont use hair jigs though. The lightest I go is a ned rig with a trd and a 1/16th shroom head. A weightless senko probably isn't too much more weight and I can cast that probably 75-100 feet on the tatula rig. I'll probably continue to use the spinning gear just because I spent so much money on it but I love that d**n tatula rig. I'd get another if there was ags on the techniques I need rods for. I'm not exactly sure why they put ags on a dang frog rod unless it's a pitching stick as well.

That same guy shows the main line breaking before the leader line when uniknotted together. For $6 for 25 yards I get what... 10 leaders? That's enough for a season for me. Who cares if its twice as much per foot. It's not like you are filling your whole spool with it.

For the money the tatula elite ags is the best rod I have. Its rated 1/8 to 1oz. It's my weightless senko rod and 1/8oz jig rod. Its amazing. My most sensitive rod by far, dobyns champions being the other good rods in my arsenal and I couldn't imagine something being more sensitive than it is. I haven't thrown anything near 1oz so I cant vouch for its upper rating limit but I got other rods for that. It has no trouble yanking 5#ers through the slop. I fish ponds and theres 5' of thick grass surrounding every one of them. I did break some 6# flouro the other day bringing one through it. Its >10# from here on out. I'd call it more of a medium light than a medium. The tatula sv reel complements the finesse capabilities perfectly and it looks great too. There are no reviews that I could find but I'm glad I got it anyways. I'd imagine their spinning ags are even better for finesse.

I "invested" my money this week on a Curado DC. The monkey has been fed. I dont need 12 jerkbaits, Nor do I have any room to store them. I already have enough but that's always the case. Next week it's a new rod for the new reel, kistler helium. The monkey will be fat by next friday.

I am pretty happy with my tatula elite finesse baitcasting rig with tatula sv. I get about 75% distance compared to my spinning setup which is an alpha angler wrench and a ci4+. I thoroughly enjoy the bc rig way over the spinning rig.

Got some pline tactile 6# because of the 5 star reviews. A 4# bass broke off when I was landing it. I'll never use less than 10# from here on out. As Tom says just about every day... bass aren't line shy. Use whatever you want just make sure your knots are good and its rated for the conditions you are fishing. Dont worry about not getting bites because the bass sees it. I think the smell of your fingers, smoke, plastics, etc has more to so with it than sight which is why scented baits get more hits. It is not because its tasty and smells like a meal. Its because it doesn't smell like humans.

The rapala stack works. Unfortunately the free shipping requires a $50 purchase and 4 jerkbaits costs $9 shipping. You guys are getting errors because you are copy/pasting. You can do this but you must edit it and take out the space at the end. This is why you get an error. All of the promo codes took for me.

I am going with the H3 Heavy 7'3". The specs are the same as my Dobyns Champion 736 so it will be a nice comparison. The most sensitive will be my jig rod and the other will be frog/topwater on which the dobyns is awesome for this task. They are both roughly the same price. The H3 is now 239 with free shipping. I plan to use this for >1/2oz and my tatula elite ags finesse for <1/2oz. I'll probably go.back for a MH as well as from what I read these are a steal at this price. I still want a Destroyer and I think the war hammer might be my next punching rod. As usual you guys were instrumental in this decision and I thank you.

Pass on the fury. I love dobyns but my furys collect dust. Spend more on the rod for sure.

Unfortunately that is a little over my budget and I have my heart set on a H3 which is a steal for $250 shipped. I just got to figure out which one would be best. I keep bouncing around between MH and H. I am not sure on the lengths either. I can only base it off the reviews. I am probably overthinking it. Its a freaking slab of graphite for goodness sakes.

How $45 sound? My first ned rig rod was an ugly stik elite ML and a 10yo president 1000 reel I used to use for panfish. I didn't even change the mono that was on it. It worked perfect. Great sensitivity and I had no trouble hauling in 5#ers the 2 days I used it. It was my first taste of bass fishing. I now have 7 setups valued at over $500 a piece. They catch 5#ers too. None of them have the glow in the dark tip that the ugly stik has though. Hey... I now see that I have been had by the bass business. That's what happens when you sign up here. At least I don't own any favorite gear.

Those Exprides must be nice. They are sold out everywhere.

Maybe 5-8% when I really chuck it but that brake setting is 1 click from a birdnest so with any kind of wind, I would add more brake. I would recommend the Shimano for sure for its reputation and build quality! The lews was only $99 when I bought and I wanted to try all the high end reels (for my budget). Id like to check out a 13 fishing reel one of these days as well. For launching finesse tackle I would choose the Tatula. I should have included in my OP that all 3 fit my size XXL paws perfectly but if you have smaller hands, I think the Tatula would be the most comfortable. Lews is the only one that isn't dead silent. This is not an issue for me, but it sure is for most people. I am looking forware to the whine of the DC. As far as smoothness goes, if I were blindfolded and deaf, I wouldn't be able to tell which reel was which. Get the one that is the cheapest. If the K is less than $15 more get the K.

I have the Lew's Tournament Pro, Curado K, and the Tatula SV. The Tatula excels at finesse baits but I am a little worried that the twing system will have a short lifespan. It is also very sexy riding the Tatula Elite Finesse rod its paired with. The Curado is the best built and feels solid. The Lews casts the furthest, but feels the cheapest. All 3 are excellent reels and you cant go wrong with any of them. They all setup easily and keep their contols where you set them. Lews also has a pretty cool hook keeper built in which I really like. i have a Curado DC coming this weekend. Hopefully it doesn't blow e away because I cant afford to switch everything out to the DC.

Man those tatula elite ags are some sweet setups. I have the casting finesse and it's amazing. I can only imagine their spinning ags in ML or L would be even better for the money. I think I paid $250 but you could get a good spinning reel for $100. There are a lot of options in this price range and as long as you spend most of your budget on a rod, you cant go wrong. I just got an Alpha Angler wrench for dropshot, shaky, ned, neko, etc after doing a ton of research. It was rather inexpensive compared to other rods in its sensitivity class. I got out the door for $180 during the 4th sale. Its paired with a ci4+.

Lots of love for the Kistlers. After reading several reviews, I think I need a heavy. I have a 7'0", 7'3", 7'4", and 7'6" to choose from. While stuck on a bank for now I think the 7'6" would help with longer casts. I am 6'2" so long rods don't bother me and I already have a frog rod. Once I get a boat, it will be great for deep water. I emailed Kistler and asked their advice and also asked for the new buyer discount. From what I read, their sensitivity is just as good or better than the Dobyns DX series for well over $100 less and its made in the US. No one beats a Dobyns warranty, but I treat all my tools with respect and the kids have their own rods so hopefully this is a moot point. I still want a Megabass, but from what I read, there is no specific rod built for the jigs I want to throw but there is no doubt that just about any of their rods would fit the bill. I will keep them in mind when its time for a punching rod. The jerkbait rod is coming from Alpha.

My interest is now piqued with the Helium 3 especially considering it's on sale for $250. Hmm... the 7'4" MH might be the one.

Have you fished the dx744? How does that extra length come into play? Does it do ok with 3/4oz jigs?

I have the Dobyns Champ 736 to cover the heavy jigs. I have a tatula elite finesse for the finesse jigs. I now am after a 3/8 to 1/2oz jig rod. I want to spend $300 so GLoomis is out of the question. I am thinking Dobyns Exteme dx744c or the MegaBass FMJ. Extreme sensitivity is the goal obviously. Anything else is just a bonus. I have read the DX744 vs Dx745 debates and I feel that I always buy the higher powered rod when in question hence owning the DC736 for a frog rod. I want to get a 4 power because I don't have any in that range and I have read the DX744 is more like a 4.5 power which will excel at 1/2oz jigs and be ok with 3/4oz. I think that the dx745 would also be very similar to my dc736. The 2 mentioned rods can be had for less than $300. I know I can get the MB right now for that. The Dobyns would have to wait until it pops up in the refurnished store or else get a used one. I could also be talked into the DX784 stick if anyone would care to comment on that. You guys hit the nail on the head when steering me in the right direction for a crankbait rod and dropshot rod and your advice is much appreciated. Again... The main priority is sensitivity... not best value for my buck. I wish I could afford to try a GLoomis because I always read that their rods are what other manufacturers try to achieve as far as sensitivity is concerned. I would get one if it could be had for $300.

As others have said many times... Kastking is a marketing company not a fishing company... which leads me to believe that yes they do sell a ton of rods. They just don't sell a lot of rods to people here maybe because we tried their reels and they are junk. These rods are new and people still have a bad taste in their mouth. Thanks for letting us know the rods are indeed good. You are the first I have seen with one and I too would like to check one out. The technique designation is another marketing tool that you see with most bass rod makers. It allows someone new to the industry a guide for what they want to do and also make them think they need 8 setups to catch bass... which most of us do

Id spend more on the rod than i would the reel. If you are getting into bass fishing i wouldnt spend much at all on spinning gear. Id put that money into baitcasting gear. If you want to just see if you like it get a medium heavy ugly stick elite and a president reel for under $100. If you like it then spend your money on a $200 rod and a $150 baitcasting reel. I made the mistake of dropping $500 on a high end do it all spinning setup to check out bass fishing. I used it twice before I got BC gear and now it just sits there.

If you can wait, save your money and spend 200$. You probably won't notice much if a difference between your existing rod and an 80 rod unless you scoree a deal on here for a used one. A very popular JB stick is Aloha Angler Slasher. That will be my next purchase. Its $200.