kayaking_kev

They're all great rods, can't really go wrong with any high end rod or whatever rod that fits your needs for that matter. It's really all about personal preference and whatever makes you happy, whether it's a $50 rod or a $700 rod. Sometimes the only rod I will take with me will be my Ugly Stik GX2 and I've caught more fish by far with it than any other rod I've owned. Sweet, where did you find one at, if you don't mind sharing?

Oh wow, I didn't know he added different models from the test run.

Just has the Kaden 735cb. I don't think it would be good for jerkbaits.

Gary Dobyns used the Champion 704cb Graphite version. I've tried a few different ones, Champion XP 705 cb glass, Champion 634cb, Extreme HP 702c, and ended liking my Fury 703c the best, so I bought a Fury 663c to have a shorter rod and I think it's a great jerkbait rod and can do plenty of other stuff.

The NRX may have a great blank and have the reputation and hype as being the standard for sensitivity that all others are compared to, but the rest of it is very outdated. It's over 10 years old now, doesn't balance very good, and I've never heard of them being said to have good quality control. There is no guarantee that the new NRX will be good or even when it's going to be released. The Conquest is just as light, more powerful, better looking, balances great, has Titanium Torzite Guides, and good quality control on the builds. As far as sensitivity goes, if there is a difference, we're talking about splitting hairs and it's not going to make much of a difference. The Conquest can do so much more, but the tip is fast enough and it is definitely powerful enough to fish a jig with. Holding a Conquest feels great, and casting one feels even better, they cast so smooth and quietly. I have an Xtasy with Torzite guides and my Conquest cast a lot better due to the Spiral and High Power X wrapping that reduces blank twist. I'm by far no rod expert, but I can definitely tell the difference. I would also choose a St.Croix Legend Xtreme, Megabass Destroyer P5, and maybe even a Poision Adrena over an NRX. I think people put too much stock in splitting hairs over sensitivity and there are other important factors that make a good rod. A lot of it is subjective and depends on the places you fish and I could say if you want a rod that is sensitive as hell, but made out of crap components, then buy the $40 Lew's Hank Parker Speed Stick from Walmart.

Sweet! It's also nice to take an anchor with you just to have. I don't like using it that much, like others I prefer to drift and cover more water, but there are definitely times they are useful as some have mentioned. I always find when I don't take one is when I wish I had one. Mine is homemade, something I found at a garage sale for 50 cents that was heavy enough and had a hole for me to tie a rope and I prefer it over the one that came with my wife's kayak. It was the grapple style and didn't do a good job of holding unless it was able to grab on to some rocks. Nets are good to have on a sit on top kayak as well, since your up off the water a little higher. I spend most my time in a sit inside kayak on the river and don't even take a net because I can easily reach down and grab them, but sadly 99% of the time they are small enough to fling up. Leashes are a must for your paddle and rods and anything else you don't want to lose, unless you put some floats on them. I don't know how many times I would of lost my paddle without a leash on it. I always have bug spray and a small first aid kit with me also and of course my PFD. I've actually had to use the first aid kit twice this season, so it's came in handy. Chances are greater of catching a hook when working in tighter quarters. Unless you can stand up in that kayak, you might want to bring a cup to pee in, so you don't have to paddle from your spot or out of the middle of the lake to go take a leak.

I bought 14 Dobyns in the last year from every series they make, but I would choose an Shimano Expride over the XP, or even better the Poison Adrena. My favorite Dobyns rods are the Fury 663c for jerkbaits, but it also a very versatile rod, and the Champion XP Glass 704cb for light crankbaits.

I wouldn't worry about rod length, unless you are fishing narrow rivers. I personally care more about handle length, a shorter handle allows for more room to swing to set the hook when sitting down without the handle hitting something like your pfd. I also learned the hard way to never grab the line, I tried once when I hooked a big catfish after fighting it for 45 minutes. A lot of people who buy that kayak also upgrade the seat. Here is a cheap one - https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-Stadium-Seat-Black/204273238

Forgot to mention that Dobyns is coming with a Sierra 7'4 Finesse Rod, I can't remember if they are casting rods are not though.

How many other people fish the pond? It doesn't take long to kill a small pond when there are just a few people who keep every decent size bass they catch. Some people just don't care about anyone but themselves. It's happening to my favorite pond this year.

Interesting, I would of thought the other two would of done better.

I think all 3 are nice reels and the quality matches the difference in price points.

Xtasy 723c is great at Finesse Jigs.

I'm far from an expert, but does that reel have the SV spool, or it that the one with the deep spool? I'm sure you know to try lighter line, but I've heard not filling the spool up as much might help. I was just testing out a 1/10 oz Ned Rig with a TRD Craw on my Xtasy 7'2 MHF with a 2020 Tatula SV and I was getting reasonable distance and was using 20# Braid. I'm sure I could get better distance if I went to lighter line and didn't fill the spool, but that SV spool was great at casting light lures, even with a MH-ish rod. I would love to cast it on a Phenix Feather ML with a SV spool.

I never fished a Tatula Elite, or Champion XP 744c, but I do have a regular Tatula and Champion XP 734c and did have a Kaden 744c, and I would think about looking at an Expride for the same price instead. The Expride will weigh about .8 oz less, be more sensitive and have more power than the Dobyns. Unless warranty is a big factor, then you can't beat Dobyn's warranty. There's a big jump in sensitivity from the Champion XP to the Extreme HP/Xtasy rods, at least in my opinion.

I have the Dobyns Champion XP 704cb Glass and it's great for tossing light cranks and have even thrown the size 90 & 75 Whopper Plopper on it a lot this year, although I now prefer my Tatula 7'0 M/R for the Whopper Plopper. The 704cb Glass is also lighter than the Champion 704cb Graphite version. I have that paired with a SLX MGL 70 and I like it a lot. I had the Dobyns Champion XP 705cb Glass Fast Action and it's great for lipless and medium diving crankbaits, I found it a little heavy for my liking though at 5.4 oz. I also had the Dobyns Champion XP 736cb Glass and it's great for Chatterbaits and decent for deeper diving crankbaits, but again I found it too heavy for my liking at 6.0 oz. Shimano SLX now have Glass rods available too at a lot cheaper price. I use a St.Croix Panfish Series Spinning 6'9 UL rod for panfish and it's has a nice blank, but if you want a Dobyns they are getting ready to release two new Ultra Finesse rods in the Sierra series for panfish, a 7 ft, and 7'4 ft rod. The Dobyns Kaden Panfish rod will also be available in November. As far as reels go, I love the MGL and SV spools by Shimano and Daiwa. I have the SLX MGL 70, 2020 Metanium MGL, and 2020 Tatula SV. I have one DC reel, which is the SLX DC and I like the DC technology, but I don't like the weight. The only DC reel I would really love to have is a Metanium DC because they are light. But, if you are planning on keeping that Dobyns 734, then a SLX or Curado DC would pair nicely with that rod, but the combo would be on the heavy side. My SLX DC is on my Champion XP 734c and it's my heaviest combo, probably going to sell it. Out of you two narrowed down reel choices, I would personally go with the Metanium, but I would take a long look at the SLX MGL 70 and the new Curado MGL 70, and if you aren't totally against getting a Daiwa, the Tatula SV. As far as a finesse Dobyns rod, I like the 2 power in Spinning models, except in the Sierra series, I like the 3 power, but I would personally rather have a Expride + Vanford. Some other rods to check out that people are raving about right now are the Poison Adrena & Megabass Destroyer P5.

I got a new rod about two weeks ago and a reel about a week ago. The rod is a Conquest 843c and the reel is a Metanium B. I bought the Metanium for the Conquest, but decided it looked better on the Xtasy, while the Tatula SV looked better on the Conquest. When I did have the Metanium on the Conquest, it weighed 9.9 oz.

Good luck and be careful with that Gulp Minnow, just about anything will eat them. I had a few 10 lb catfish hook up on them on my UL rod that I fought around 45 minutes each with. I've caught Channel Catfish, Bullhead Catfish, Drum, White Bass, Laregmouth, Saugeye, Crappie, and Bluegill doing it this year.

The hook comes out of the back. I use the Chartreuse 1" Gulp Minnow with a Chartreuse Big Bite Bait Jig Head, especially at night, but if it's sunny and the water is clear I will use the Shiner color. I'll catch a snag or some grass once in awhile, but most of the time I can get it unstuck. I keep it off the bottom, so it doesn't happen very much. It's not something I do a whole lot, but I probably should. It makes sense to have a 2nd line in the water if possible.

Setting up most any reel right, will eliminate most backlashes. I have an Abu Black Max up to a 2020 Metanium MGL and don't use my thumb on any until the lure hits the water. I also have a Tatula SV and a Shimano DC reel and those are even better in the wind, but I found the DC to be a little better when casting directly into the wind. The biggest problem with Shimano DC reels is that they are heavy unless you get a Metanium DC. I prefer the Daiwa Tatula SV until you get to the Metanium DC. The only time I really get backlashes is when I make bad cast, like trying to whip the rod too hard. I just had the worst backlash I ever had earlier today on my new Metanium MGL due to a bad casting motion, I had to cut it out for the first time. My opinion... If you want a good reel that's hard to backlash and is light and doesn't break the bank get the Tatula SV. If you want to cast directly into wind a lot and spend some money, get a Metanium DC.

You would have to have enough weight on the line to keep in down in the water while you paddle. If you're going to be paddling I would consider using a small crappie crankbait. Yes, a curly tail grub should do well just sitting out there while not paddling, the current, wind, movement from the kayak will give it action. I usually drop a 1" Gulp Minnow + 1/16 jighead out without a bobber on my UL rod right beside my kayak about a foot from the bottom while I fish for Bass, and have hooked some nice fish that way this year, many different species.

Jerkbait - ( For late winter/early spring ) Lipless - ( Spring ) Whopper Plopper 90 or 75 ( Shallow River Kayaking ) 5" Plastic Worm ( Summer - Either Neko Rigged or T-Rigged ) Squarebill ( Reaction Summer - but could of choose Spinnerbait, Chatterbait, or DT6 here also, depends on condition ) Ned Rig ( Late Fall - Z-Man TRD Finesse 1/4 oz - 1/15 oz + Z-Man TRD Craw is my favorite )

703 would be your best option

Anyone tried the 15% off Megabass yet?

I use a lot of different rods over the course of a season, but if I had to pick a favorite it would be... Dobyns Xtasy 723c Dawai Tatula SV TW 8.1.1 20# Power Pro or 12# InvizX Neko Rig - 5" Plastic Worm Wacky Rigged with a Nail Weight and O-Ring with a 1/0 Owner Sniper Finesse Neko Hook But, I just got this new combo, so that will probably change. G.Loomis/Shimano Conquest 843c Shimano Metanium B 30# Power Pro Braid T-Rigged Worm or Craw