Heartland

Don't spend a lot getting it fixed....

Just tie around the spool and lay down enough backing to cover your knot good so the main line lays nice and even. That is all that is needed if you are just backing to prevent slippage.

I fish a little old school but when I hear something like, "I fish 1/4oz jigs on 30-40lb braid with the drag locked down" it makes my head spin a little and ask why?

I have never personally seen a counterfeit reel, anyone else ever had or seen one?

I have fished the spook baits for years and I hear this comment made once in a while. It makes me wonder what two people fishing the same bait can do differently and end up with vastly different results. One of my favorite top water baits.

I think I seen that Houston or Dance video as well, it was flat out embarrassing on a couple of notes. You would think you would want your rep of the equipment being familiar enough with the reel that they could identify the major components and their basic operation. Also I would fire the editor for posting something so poorly made, but that's just it they think we are idiot's and wont notice. I use to love KVD, he was one hell of a competitor and angler, now like many others in their declining years he is starting to sound like a shill huckster. I am impressed with Lew's luring one of the sports more respected fisherman to rep their product but they will need to do a better job than this and let's face it KVD is not what he used to be. At least the Dawon/Doyo reels he is hucking now are a lot more relevant than the Quantum line IMO.

When you sit back and take it all in - it don't take long before you start seeing the actors and their roles in the company marketing plan.

Being in touch with how the fish want the bait presented is a big part of being good with any technique specific bait.

I agree, it's all about the slack line management and adjusting your cadence to the length of the bait.

I love all the commentary on how 25IPT is the perfect speed for crankbait fishing. They seriously think they are speaking to a bunch of idiots. Also seemed weird the guy that was all geeked out about the spool never mentioned 1 time what it weighed, or did I miss it.

I pour my own head with a screw lock, keeps them in place. It can be a little challenging at first rigging them on the screw lock because of their length but after a couple it is no problem.

My advice would be to try upgrading to one of the newer lower stretch mono lines. Keep in mind that it is not just the stretch characteristic that you are changing when you move from one line type to the other. Things like knot strength, abrasion resistance, and line suppleness will also be affected. There really are some very good monofilament lines that have been designed to reduce stretch, one that I enjoy fishing a lot is Sunline Shooter Defier Armilo.

Maybe I took this the wrong way but I feel that personal height has a large part in making certain rod selections. For instance I am about 6ft tall, and I rarely use any rod that will be used in a tip down application that is over 7ft. I prefer 6'10 but they are not always available. I do this to keep the rod tip from slapping the bow or the water while working the bait. Is this a matter of personal preference, yes, but heavily based on technique and application.

They will both cover the weights the 733 maybe even better, but with these two rods I make my decision based on if more single stout hook applications will be fished or will there be treble baits used. I prefer the 733 for the treble and the 734 for single hook.

733 starts feeling overloaded once you get to 3/8oz + trailer.

Just read an interesting article on Paul Elias, claims he uses 12lb FC in open water and braid in heavy cover and grass. The article is on the site here, it is about his record setting tournament.

Deps Buzzjet is a good one

734 is always the answer to this question

Both are great for bottom contact baits. I would guess that MH is used more than H. Let the weight of the bait and trailer that you are going to use be a good starting point.

Ah the pleasures of FC line. Once I have a beak off in the spool, that line has proven defective and it comes off with no possibility of ever being main line again. Two choices, use the existing line as backing and save yourself 50-60 yards of good usable line. Or spool the whole reel with fresh line, wasting many yards that will never see the water.

Maybe it has already been said and I missed it, why not just grab a 200e5 and fish.

The Head Turner is also a 6'10" rod that is a lot of fun to fish plastics and lighter Jigs on.

A 703C and a 734C would fill your needs pretty dang well

Keep in mind that action only defines where the rod stops bending and reaches the backbone of the rod. The part of the rod that bends can have very different characteristics. Some take very little force to bend and would be considered a soft tip others can require more pressure and would be considered a faster tip. Power and Action are the two big things to understand in rods, tip characteristics tend to be a little more subtle and used to really dial in a technique specif rod to a particular users preference. My .02

Keep in mind that you will still need to be able to get a good hook set and land the fish. A moderate action rod is not typically used for jig fishing, as you mentioned they have a lot of flex. This flex does not lend itself to great hook sets with jigs. I would pick a rod that is a little faster with a soft tip.