kayaking_kev

The Hook Up Tackle is showing 2 in stock. The Good thing about Dobyns, is that warranties extend to used rods. They don't ask for receipts, only the 6" logo section in most cases. Tackle Warehouse is having a 15% off Labor Day sale starting on the 4th and I'm sure some other places will having sales also.

I just paid $405 (before tax) for a Conquest 843c. If you're trying to stick to your budget, try getting a 7'3 MH Poison Adrena during a labor day sale. If you can't do that, then look into the Exprides, supposedly there is someone selling them for $200 New on Facebook. The brand new 2020 Shimano Zodias look really nice also. If you want something with a better warranty, take a look at Dobyns and St.Croix.

The Fuego will look good on that rod. I had two MB's that I got I think for $80 each on sale, a Fuego, and a SLX, but I sold them all. I regret selling the Fuego and MB's sometimes, but not the SLX, I still have the SLX XT, SLX DC, and SLX MGL 70.

I just got a Conquest 843c last week that's going to be my Jig/T-Rig rod, because it's more of a true MH than the Xtasy. A lot of people talk about how they like the flex in the MBR rods, but the tip on the Xtasy is a lot softer. I wouldn't say the Xtasy is parabolic, it just has a lot softer of a tip before hitting the backbone, and almost creates like a hinge action. Tackle Tour labs rated the Xtasy 754c as a MH, almost a M, so I imagine this 723c is like a Medium. It does have some decent power to it once it hits the backbone, just not quite as much at the Conquest 843c. Anyway, I'm thinking since it has such a soft tip and I'm not a fan of spinning gear, that I could re-purpose the Xtasy 723c as my Finesse rod. I've already fished 1/6 oz Ned Rigs, Neko Rigs, 1/4 Shakey Heads on it, but never thought about trying a Drop Shot. It's paired with a 2020 Tatula SV TW, which is good for light lures, so I think I could go lighter on the Ned Rigs and Shakey Heads, and I normally only throw 1/4 oz Drop Shots, but I could probably go lower on that also. I have seen one guy who uses it as a Drop Shot rod and lives it for that application. So, my question is, does this sound crazy or should I just buy a nice Finesse Spinning Rod for those techniques? If I did go spinning my options would be the Adrena 6'7 ML or Expride 7'0 M with a Vanford reel.

I like the LFS platform, they palm really well, the Fuego and SLX are built better though. The Fuego weighs a bit more than the SLX, but the SLX has internal brakes only. Out of those 3 for techniques where you will be cranking, I would choose the lighter, better built reel, the SLX. There are also a lot of people selling SLX XT reels that would probably trade you that $100 gift card for it.

I had a Fury 703c I used at the beginning of the season for jerkbaits, I liked it so much I bought the Fury 663c to have something shorter and I'm happy with it. I've tried them on my Conquest 843 and Xtasy 723 and other rods and I like the Fury 663c better for Jerkbaits. Another good option that is pretty cheap is the Lew's Hank Parker Speed Stick from Walmart for $40. I have the 6"10 version and it's pretty good with jerkbaits also, I just like shorter rods. That rod is also very sensitive for the price, more sensitive than a lot of my higher end rods. It's IM-8 and pretty light at 4.2 oz.

I have a SLX DC on my Champion XP 734c, I think the DC reels balance better with it because it is over a 5 oz rod, the Tatula SV might be a little light for it.

Thanks, yeah that is almost a full ounce less than the 734 and probably more powerful too. Someone did mention on another forum that their 7'2 H did feel mushy to them and that has me worried a bit, but you say it feels sensitive to you.

So far I'm liking the Conquest 843c after fishing with it 3 times so far. How is that 7'2 H Adrena? I have enough MH rods now, I need something with some power, currently using a Champion XP 734. Do you happen to know the weight of that Adrena model?

I went ahead and ordered the Conquest now because it was the only one I could get a good discount on at the moment. The Poison Adrena is sold out just about everywhere, but I would like to eventually try that and the Destroyer P5 though.

I try not to throw good stuff when I fish from the bank. I lost a Jack Hammer not long ago and I knew I shouldn't of even if tried, but every now and then it's hard to resist the urge. But, when I go wade fishing in the river, the $550 rod stays at home and I'll take a much cheaper rod.

I caught my PB Smallmouth last night on a local reservoir with a 5" Senko Neko rigged on a barbless hook. It weighed 3.32 lbs. and measured 18.25". My previous PB was from a river and weighed 3.1 lbs but was 19". Still room for for improvement though, which is a good thing. I would rather keep breaking my PB and have something obtainable to shoot for, than catch a huge one right away and never be able to top it.

One of the prettiest smallies I ever caught, measured 18.5", caught on a DT6.

I got a new kayak about 5-6 weeks ago, a 2020 Native Slayer 10 Propel in the Grey Goose color. I was checking sites daily to see if any would come back in stock, and I thought I got lucky when one single one just happened to come in stock at a certain store, so I quickly ordered it. I got received it pretty quickly, but as you can see from the pictures it was damaged pretty bad and unfortunately had to be returned. So, now I'm back at square one and will most likely have to wait to next season to get one. But, I have decided that with my handicapped foot, a pedal drive is out of the question, even a hobie drive, so it's either going to be a Old Town Sportsman 106 with a Minn Kota or I will just get another paddle kayak.

I'm thinking about replacing my Dobyns Xtasy with something different and I can't decide between something I've been interested in for awhile now which is the Conquest 843c MBR or something that has recently caught my eye, the new Megabass Destroyer P5, either the Super Destroyer or the X-Bites. I would like something as sensitive as the NRX, but I don't want a 10+ year old rod. I love the carbon fiber grips on the Super Destroyer and the length, because I kayak fish a lot, but do worry a little about losing casting distance. I've heard great things about the X-Bites and wonder if the the Super Destroyer will be as crisp. I'm throw a lot of Neko rigged worms and T-Rigs, but would like as versatile of a rod that I could get away with. I'm concerned about warranties, if I'm not mistaken, the Conquest warranty is better than the Megabass? Which rod would you get?

Watching a grown man catch a decent bass from a small public park pond and throw it on it up on the bank while he kept fishing. I thought he was going to take it home and eat it, (which bothers me enough being out of a small park pond) after about 30 min. in the hot Summer sun, he picks it up and walks over to his 3 friends and shows it off and puts it back on the ground for another 15 minutes+. After that, he all of sudden picks up after it's been out of the water and in the sun for at least 45 minutes and is surely dead, takes it over to the water and puts it back in. The best public pond to fish in the County is well on it way to being ruined in just one season. Not a lot of people even knew about it before this virus crap. Now everyone who finds it, tells everyone they know and they all tell everyone they know and now I've seen a few people fish it who keep the bass and this guy above who just kills them. I used to be able to catch double digits just about every time there, and the last time I was there I spent about 5 hours and didn't catch a single fish.

http://tackletour.com/reviewdobynsxtasy.html?fbclid=IwAR1XL1u1EI5NK-DYWQA6MMKDe13TRb8qKYQcwrbUTe5pXA9HONvy-cyfnpA I've had the 755c & 723c and pretty much agree with the review. I sold the 755, but still have the 723, but am considering selling it to try a Megabass Detroyer P5. I like the Xtasy's, but they shine more in deeper water, and I mostly fish shallow. I love the way the Xtasy feels, looks, and the lifetime warranty brings some peace of mind, but I'm wanting something sub 4 ounces and has more of that crisp feeling like a NRX, but I don't want a 10+ year old rod. Anyway, I wanted to share this review because it does a good job of explaining where a lot of the sensitivity from the rod comes from and the difference between it and the NRX.

I've never used live bait for bass. Granted, I've only fished since 2018. I fish small rivers/creeks & reservoirs mainly and although I like to switch up lures, give me a 5" Plastic Worm & and Whopper Plopper and I'm set.

Dunhams had both these rods on sale for $15, the other day. They had a UL for the Cherrywood, but not the Daiwa Shock, but I wasn't interested in a UL anyway. I went to my local store and held both rods and the Cherrywood felt lighter and had a thinner diameter blank and a lot of the Daiwa Shock rods had crooked guide alignments, so I went with the Cherrywood HD. I probably won't use it much, but for $15, I thought it was a good deal, I'm just not a spinning gear guy though. Oh, the Daiwa Shock rod also came with the spinning reel too, but I still went with the Cherrywood.

What does the reel weigh?

I have the 6'9 UL St.Croix Panfish rod and it weighs 2.7 oz and is a noodle. It's good for panfish, but I wouldn't want to hook a 2 lb bass with it. I would at least go with a Light if you are wanting to catch some bass with it. The biggest negative I have with the rod is that it gets dinged up rather easy. I had it fall over a few times within the first few months I got it and now have scrapes and marks all over it. I use a spinning rod sleeve for it, but for some reason it comes up short on this rod and leaves the logo area uncovered and that part scuffs easily. The rod sleeve fits my other spinning rods I had of the same length, but not this one for whatever reason. The guides do feel rather weak on them as well.

I actually find my Tatula more comparable to my Fury then Sierra, other than better guides than the Fury, I like just about every thing else on the Fury better, just my personal preference though. The Sierra would be a slower, comparing the fact actions between the three. Dobyns Rods has a Lifetime Warranty and the Tatula Rods have a 5 Year Warranty. IF you get a Sierra, check and make sure it's the spinning model with the full cork handle. Their website has an error on it and shows, I believe the 6'6 or 6'8 spinning as split grip, but actually only comes in full cork.

The Neko Rig is my go to bait, especially in the Summer. I'm too impatient for a regular Wacky Rig, so I just stick a nail weight in the end and short hop it off the bottom to make it look like it's feeding. I use a 5" Yum Dinger most of the time, but I will use any 5" Stick Bait, and I use an O-Ring with the hook facing the opposite direction of the nail weight and it usually hooks then in the the top lip. I buy the Eagle Claw nail weights from Wally World for .88 cents a pack and stock up on them. I've caught 34 Bass on one trip with one worm before using an O-Ring. The hooks are a different story, I've tried all sorts of hooks and haven't really found thee one yet. I caught my P.B. last year with a Neko Rig using a 1/O Circle Hook and have used Circle Hooks quite a bit, but recently went away from them after missing too many hookups. I've tried a few different weedless hooks of different sizes and styles and didn't really like any of them. It's not really a problem when fishing from a kayak, because you can just pull yourself over and get unstuck, but I use it while bank fishing a lot also and still fish exposed hooks. The lightness of the Eagle Claw nail weights that I use helps a lot from getting snagged, they are only like 3/32 oz & 1/16 oz. Right now, I've been using the Gamukatsu 1/O Octopus hooks, they seem to have a strong barb on them that keep the fish hooked. I was using some wide gap wacky rig hooks and seemed to be losing a high ratio of fish with them, especially the bigger ones. I throw it on both a Medium and Medium Heavy Power Fast Action Baitcaster, but have also thrown it on a Daiwa Tatula Regular action rod and it did a decent job. The 5" worm and nail weight along with my SV or MGL reels enables me to get good distance on the cast.

Probably just the conditions. Almost two months ago I was in the same situation, murky and high river and the WP wasn't attracting many bites. I switched to a Bitsy Bug Jig and caught fish. A week or two later when the river settled a little bit, they went back to destroying the WP and have been ever since, except now the river is super low. I don't think the river fish get sick of the WP from season to season, at least at where I fish. I kayak the same 3 mile stretch anywhere from 2-4 times a week usually from May through October and throw the WP 75% of the time and catch a lot of smalllies and rock bass, I'm sure some of the same ones multiple times over. To be fair, they will eat anything I throw, but the WP is just easier to cover water fast and get retrieve across currents, and the river is 1-2 ft deep most of the time, so I throw it most of the season on the river and all day long, it doesn't matter what time of day or how sunny it is. The worse part is in the fall when you have to constantly pick fallen leaves off your hooks. And, also when you hook yourself with one of them hooks, I learned the hard way on the July 4th.

Yea, that was pure stupidity on my part. I had a few get loose in my kayak before with a WP in their mouth and was well aware of how dangerous it was, but then I go ahead and just lay the fish down myself to avoid a few spiders. Lesson learned! I see pictures all the time of people getting hooked by WP hooks in the FB Group Whopper Plopper Nation, but yet I had a brain fart or something and had to learn for myself. I got off easy compared to some guys I see who get stuck in the face, ouch!