browne762

I have two Expirde spinning rods and neither are what I would think to be as fragile. I haven't caught anything over 4 pounds, but have landed many fish with my Medium Light. If they were more readily available I would have more of them in casting as well, but what I want isn't in stock until the day I don't have the funds available to purchase and then they sell out quick. I wish they had a build in hook keeper, but that is about the only thing I don't like about them. I use Rod Gloves on most of my stuff when moving them around from the garage to the truck or boat which helps protect them and it worth the $5 in my opinion.

They are on the high end of the price scale, but the St Croix Bass X line are decent rods for $100. They have a handful of choices for length, power and actions.

I was just about to place an order with Tackle Warehouse, but then I was thinking it is Labor Day weekend soon. Does anybody know if they have a sale for Labor Day?

I have a handful of Shimano Sahara reels and for the MSRP of $80 they are great. On sale and they are even better!

I actually exchanged it for the medium. I have two 6'10" medium Zodius rods and I love them. I don't use them for 1/8oz jigs, but other stuff. I would have gotten the Exprides, but they were not in stock either time I was in the market to buy. It very well could have been the reel and not the rod. The rod was easy to return/exchange and I like the reel so I went that way. I just kept with what was working already for me, finesse stuff on spinning gear.

I had the 6'10" Zodius medium light with a Bantam MGL on it. Was casting 1/8oz jig with a 2.8 Keitech. Never could get it to cast very far. After about an hour of playing around, I gave up and returned the rod. I have a Expride spinning rod in medium light and have used it to catch quite a few fish, but nothing over 2.5 pounds. I feel like it would handle some larger fish without a problem though.

This is the one I got about two months ago. I like it and it has been accurate every time I check it with known weights. I like the pincher type way more then the hook type. It has held tight on a few wild fish. Been splashed a handful of times and hasn't been any issues. I cant really comment on longevity as I have not had it very long.

I also use mostly 1000 sized reels. They have held plenty of line for everything I have fished over the last few years. I know the max drag is less then the larger sizes, but I have yet to max out drag on any reel.

I have 65lb Power Pro with mono backing on a SLX. I can bomb some heavier swim jigs out pretty far and have never seen the backing let alone see the spool.

I purchased two Expride spinning rods this year and put Ci4+ reels on them. One is the 7' light+ and the other is the 6'10" medium light. Both have caught quite a few fish this year. I haven't used anything heavier then a 3/16 jig on the ML. I would recommend that rod and reel combo.

I like the NRX 852S with a Stradic Ci4+

I think I would go with a used aluminum Jon Boat as well. You can find them (in my area at least) on craigslist for $500 or less pretty often. Depending on your truck model and the boat length, they fit in the bed pretty well and could be loaded/unloaded solo.

I started to use more trailers on my spinnerbaits this year. Been having good luck with the Hog Farmer Spunk Shad.

I have caught probably half of my fish this season, including the largest fish of the season, with 30lb braid on spinnerbaits and some chatterbaits. Never had any problems or felt like changing to another line would produce better results. I check the knot and the last foot or so of line after each fish to makes sure the line is good or I cut and retie.

I use a 7'6" ML extra fast spinning rod with Z-Man Shroomz, braid to fluoro. I have only caught a few dozen this season with a Ned rig. Of those, just one has come off when it jumped. I set the hook kinda hard so maybe that is a benefit for me using a ML over yanking the bait out of their mouth with a Medium, IDK.

What is your budget?

I like their 7'1" Medium for that. If you want something a bit stiffer they have the same length rod in a Medium Heavy. The St Croix Medium seems a bit heavier then some other brands, I prefer their Medium. If you are using heavier jigs then you might want the HM.

I have a couple budget friendly setups with a St Croix Mojo Bass and SLX reels. I like them quite a bit for the money and they seem pretty sensitive in that price range. Should be at about $240 for the rod and reel. I have other Shimano rods, but no experience with the SLX rod line. Was planning to get a SLX 6'10" Medium over the next few weeks though to give them a try. Also no experience with Dobyns products, not sold around my area.

I use mostly St Croix. They are widely available and easy to get in my area. Almost every shop has more St Croix on the shelf then any other branded rods. St Croix are not included on sales at my local stores so I am starting to expand out and buy other brands because when you can get a 20% discount on everything but St Croix that can be quite the savings. This year been using a few of the Shimano Expride and Zodias rods and I like them quite a bit, but I wish they had hook keepers on them. Also just purchased a G Loomis NRX that I have yet to really use. At this point my top three favorite rods are all St Croix, but I really like Exprides and have been starting to use them more and more.

I normally would throw them with a small curly tail and have gotten many fish. More crappy then bass, but still some bass here and there but nothing over maybe 14-inches. My go to for new people moving away from live bait and bobbers. Easy to learn.

I cast a hollow body frog pretty far with a SLX on a heavy power St Croix Mojo Bass so I would figure you'd be able to with the same reel and a MH Bass X.