Heartland

Falcon Cara T7 "Jason Christie Frog Rod" 6'11" Heavy Casting Rod - CC-7-1611S

Cross their F'in eyes on the hook set, large single hook at a distance requires a strong hook set if you want to drive that point through the roof of the mouth or gill plate. Make sure your hooks are sharp, seen many hooks that have a rolled point right out of the package.

I just keep it simple with a Kalin's single tail grub

Make a senko last a little longer.

Gamakatsu Skip Gap Worm Hooks

The heavier it gets the stiffer it gets.

Sorry dude, it sucks, but if they are within the legal limits it's not your fight to pick.

No need to change all your line, just continue to fish.

Have you had the spool off the reel recently?

It is certainly possible that it will damage the guides on older rods they were not all of a hardness that prevented damage, most modern day rods use very hard guides that prevent damage from the tiny pieces of sediment and debris that get trapped in the line and then saw back and forth on them from casting and retrieving line. Pay attention as you use the line and check for any signs of grooving. 2) do you recommend mono backing or none at all? I recommend a mono backing for two reasons, the first is it braided line can slip around the spool when retrieving under tension, it will feel much like you have no drag pressure. With a few layers of mono which does not slip this can be prevented. The second reason I suggest using a cheap mono backing is that you then do not need to spool as much braided line onto the spool 75 yards or so is plenty just use the mono to make up the difference so you have a full spool. You can then use the other 75 yards on another setup if you like it, or once the braid get old just remove it and tie the remaining line to the backing.

A 734 Dobyn's isn't exactly a great rod for crankbaits, it is however a great rod for plastics, anything 3/8oz and up. If it were me I would add a 703C, you will be able to cover a lot of techniques you mention very well with those two rods. Don't get me wrong I still don't think a 703C is a great crankbait rod but it will do a better job than the 734. Many people go technique specific with crankbaits, something in a Moderate or Moderate Fast action would be my recommendation. For a majority of techniques you listed a 7 gear ratio reel would be good and cover many of the techniques you listed, again for crankbait fishing I would chose something slower something in the 5 or 6 gear ratio, you want to keep the bait in the strike zone as long as possible. My .02

Just pay attention to the ratings on the rod, they will give you a good idea of what amount of weight it is going to take to load the rod for proper casting. These ratings are not usually exact but they will give you a great starting point.

Kind of a good problem to have.....

Small hook, a piece of split shot and a small piece of a night crawler.

One thing that I almost never hear mentioned here is that actions only describe where the rod will begin to bend or where on the rod the backbone begins. It does not describe what the tip of the rod will be like. You can have XF action rods with a very fast tip or an XF rod with a nice soft tip they are not all the same. I like XF rods with fast tips for things like jig fishing, frog fishing, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and sometimes swimjigs depending on how the fish it taking the bait. Just something to think about.

Sometimes during the spawn the big bulls turn a very dark color purple/black.

I rarely use B&B myself, I have it but find the waters I fish that I do much better with watermelon or green pumpkin with just a strand or two of chartreuse. In the fall I change to browns and blacks with a few strands of orange.

skinny

Daiwa Pixy, Sol, Fuego, Alpha, and TDZ, ABU Revo 2nd Gen Premier these reels make up a good portion of what I fish today. They can be costly to update, but when done correct I have not found many modern day reels that interest me more than these. The Daiwa T3 series are also very fun reels to fish, they cast amazingly and have one of the best braking systems that I have used.

Thanks for the replies, I was not specific enough in my original question. I too like the old models but I am interested in the new model Techna with the 3M resin that pure fishing once had the exclusive rights to. Just wondering if the newer models using this resin are worth a look at.

Dean Rojas told me in person that a walking frog much more closely imitates an injured and dying bluegill on the surface than a frog.... for what it's worth.

Lots of flex in the upper end of those uglystick rods. My preference would be a rod that is a little faster than the uglystick, your moving a large bait with resistance too much flex could be a hindrance.

Tell us about the setup and line you were using.

Anyone know anything about these rods? I know in years past the Techna AV was a very nice rod, long time since I have seen one.

Check and see if the tape is rubbing on the underside of the reel frame as the spool rotates.......