Jaybert

Perfect thanks again ! I’m liking the look of the Alphas for sure. Might be the one to go with. Closest equivalent here in Canadian models is significantly more even with the exchange. Going on a loomis MBR782C should be a sweet setup with either this or the SLX. But I’m leaning Alphas. Time to try something new I think

More great info thanks again. The Alphas is not far away from SLX price wise even by the time I convert it to CDN. And I’d be tempted to mod the SLX a bit vs Alphas that is likely premium out of the box. So that weighs in too. Digitaka shows Alphas ‘20 & ‘22 not sure if much difference? appears same price and specs. Strange question but are the Alphas silver in color or a silver/blue? I know color doesn’t catch fish but I like the rod to match ! Silver would work well with the rod. there is also Alphas air, looks super nice and would match this rod perfect. but BFS might be too light for me I’m thinking. Line capacity is pretty low on them

Great information thanks! I was leaning that way, I get along ok with baitcasters and generally lean to simpler things vs new latest greatest. So non DC suits me fine. But wanted to make sure I wasn’t overlooking tech that could be an advantage. Alphas is a bit more $ but a solid deal no doubt and gets lots of recognition. Always been a shimano guy but bought my first Daiwa rod this year that has been very impressive. so maybe should explore tbe Alphas too. Thanks

Thinking of ordering a new SLX 70 from Digitaka. Seems like a good reel for the money. I’m building a reasonable cost medium power general purpose baitcast combo. Then I see the JDM SLX 70 DC model for not a whole lot more money. which one would you buy ? What intrigues me about the DC model is 2 more bearings. I’m not sure if I care about DC or not, never had it or really researched it. If it’s cool I’d give it a try, but not sure. anyhow, anyone have any experiences or opinions one way or the other ? Use is general purpose but on the lighter side, jerk baits top waters etc not heavy lures generally. Happy to spend less but the cost here is pretty darn close in the grand scheme of things so I don’t want to miss out on the DC or the extra bearings if it’s to some advantage. That said the straight Slx 70 seems to get lots of love on its own. Any opinions welcome !

2 additions, a Daiwa Kage 6’10” mlxf “the Ned” model. My first Daiwa that came on recommendation of a local small retailer when I said I wanted a primarily Ned rod. Paired it with my existing Stradic 1000FL. Have to say I am super impressed with this rod for the price point. Amazing fit and finish and fishes neds amazingly. I’ve been a Loomis guy but I’d buy more of these I think with no questions. Also found a Loomis GCX at same tackle shop, MBR782C at a wicked deal. I have mostly IMX rods and didn’t expect Gcx to be as good. But for the price I paid it’s a nice rod for sure. Round out my line up of MBR783C & a MBR784C I have now. Need a feel for this one now to finish up this expansion to the lineup.

Ok so I’m familiar with fast action rods and extra fast actions rods. But what is a medium-fast action rod ? Looking at a marketplace add for an older used shimano compre rod. I have some older compre rods I really like and thinking of picking this one up cheap as an extra to have around. It’s listed as a medium heavy power which makes sense. But a medium fast action… Is that like a version of a moderate action or something or is it a typo ? What would have been the intended uses of that action when these rods where new like 20 years ago ?

Great info thanks! I’m in Ontario as well. Was wondering if I was missing something, appears to be some great deals to be had on the JDM reels vs buying here in Canada, but if something seems to good to be true I’m always skeptical. But lots of success stories it seems on this

I know this is old but I’m trying to find some real world experience from a fellow Canadian. Have you had any issues with having to pay duties and taxes when importing these reels from these sites? Or just pay the price on the site and no more costs. Just curious some seem to say it’s a luck of the draw thing and I just want to have an idea before ordering a JDM reel

I’m picking up a new Gloomis MBR782C to round out my collection, I already have MBR783C and MBR784C and CR722 so adding a 782C will fit in nicely to my arsenal. Anyhow I’ll also need a reel for it and haven’t bought a new baitcaster in a while so what would be some decent pairings for this rod ? Shimano or Daiwa is my usual preference, so Tataula, Fuego, SLX, Curado etc. any experience out there on what balances and works well for general all round use these rods are known for ? This particular one is a GCX model, my other MBR are the higher loomis models with but this one is a more occasional use/fill in type rod I’m getting at a steal of a price. So im looking to go more mid-range rod & reel on this one. Anyhow any input is appreciated thanks!

I purchased a new IMX pro CR722 about a year ago now. 6’ medium classic action casting rod. It was a fairly new release at that time and I believe it still shows under Imx pro classic casting on the website. My local dealer didn’t stock it but he was able to order it in for me. If you can get one, it is a pretty awesome rod.

Looking for opinions or uses for an MBR784C Glx. This is an older rod and I have an opportunity to buy a real nice used. I bet its 15 years old anyhow. I don’t need it really but love my MBR783C that I have already. So this one has grabbed my interest and it is a cool old rod. I fish mostly smb so probably not too useful for that but thought it could cross over for northerns or light musky. Maybe frogs etc the odd time I do target LMB. Anyhow it’s not a model made anymore so not much info around on it. Anyone have any experience or preferred used for this rod?

Old reliable. Its a bait I too often forget about now with all the new baits out there. But a #3 bluefox vibrax in silver has been a go to for years for smallies. It is easy for my kids to use and almost always produces something. To go real old school you can tip it with a piece of night crawler for walleye. I’ve also caught salmon and trout on them and all kinds of pan fish. Very versatile lure. I run a AFW stainless leader now because the pike of all sizes will steal your entire supply if you don’t.

I still use my 1000 with wood handle. Have the receipt and box from purchase in 1997, first good reel I bought as a teen. It’s been a rock solid piece of my arsenal over 20 years. Last year I sent it to shimano for a full clean and service, put in new carbon drag washers polished the exterior all up and put it back to work. It landed my biggest smallie last year and my wife caught our biggest so far this year on that reel. these are an example of old school shimano made in Japan quality. I Have a 2500 FH pearl white 15 seasons or so old and going strong too. I have new stradic ci4s that are great reels. But I never hesitate to pick these old ones up of the deck either. Buy em if you like em I say.

I can get a good deal on an used IMX sjr 721 g Loomis 6’ light action 1/16-5/16 fast action. Was considering it for a ned rig rod but the trend seems to be closer to 7’ these days. Anyone use a 6’ ned rod still ? I’m in Smaller northern Ontario inland lakes, not huge Great Lakes smallies or anything like that.

I will say that I am very late to the Curado 70 party and just picked one up for the first time this year on clearance. It has really impressed me and has very quickly become a favourite. Almost no backlash issues, casts a mile and the size fits me just perfectly. I was missing out by not having one sooner. Now that I think about it I was casting a 4” wacky senko on this combo no problems and that can’t weight much more than 1/4 ounce

Wise words all around thanks everyone

Ok cool thanks again. I’ll give it a shot and see. I think it should likely be ok but I’m interested to see if the CR722 is too stiff to “pop” the pop x. Will be some trial and error but in the end hoping the pop x lives up to the hype no matter what rod I throw it with

I’ll give it a shot with a Zara puppy or something with similar weight. Thanks for the input was pretty sure it would be ok, rainy day here stuck inside and was just curious what others thought or used to throw pop x or similar

Ok this had likely been covered somewhere but I’m going to bite the bullet and try a megabass pop x finally. Weight posted online is 1/4 oz. I’d like to use it with my curado 70 with gloomis cr722 Imx combo. Could easily use a spinning rod too. But I love this casting combo for topwater.. just have never gone quite that light lure on it. I will of course try it for myself but just curious if any opinions or experiences with Pop x or similar on casting gear/curado 70 before I do.

Thanks guys I’ll check em out.

I was hoping to try out some of the war eagle finesse spinnerbaits. I see a couple places online you can order them still. But I can’t find an actual war eagle website anymore. I see they where acquired by Pradco a few years back and I don’t see them on the Pradco site either. I could be missing it somewhere but is this brand a thing of the past ? I can still get some it appears if I want them. But was just curious once I looked into them a bit. Any other suggestions for small frame smallie spinnerbait with decent weight? I’m late to the party on Spinnerbaits, it’s never been a top tactic of mine. But looking to give it a fair chance and seems to be love out there for war eagle, at least in past years.

Thanks again for the great replies I’ll check the 663C out a bit closer for sure. All I have read so far says they run light as far as rated power which is ok with me. Anyone know how the 663c would compare in that regard to the loomis MBR783c that I’m familiar with? MBR783 runs a bit light for a MH but is plenty heavy for me. If fury ran lighter yet it wouldn’t be bad for some of my uses as an all purpose rod

Great info thanks! Yah no opportunities to test one out around here that’s for sure. The DC reels are cool but the balance can be an issue. The DC seems ok balance on my MBR783 loomis but I already have a reel for that rod. A 7’ fury maybe a better balance? I’m not against the longer rod just used to 6 6” and even have a 6’ loomis CR With a curado 70. I’m with you and have had a couple Fenwick in the past I liked but the hmg I handled recently didn’t impress me for the price. Also last shimano I tried was a couple years ago now but same issue. Was a Clarus and I found it disappointing even at the lower price point. So was trying to check out a different unfamiliar brand with what appears to be a strong following

I picked up a curado dc to try the DC tech. I could use an extra rod to pair with it. I have a few loomis imx pro and E6x as my go to rods now. Nothing against them they are great. But since this is really an extra combo & experiment with DC I’m not sure I need another expensive rod for it just yet. I know little of the Dobyns rods other than reading lots of good about them. I can get a pretty good deal on a fury on amazon even in Canada right now. So is a fury worth a try? Like as someone fishing E6x and imx pro now will I be disappointed or pleasantly surprised with this rod for the price? Im not expecting it to match the Loomis in performance. But I’m picky and don’t want to got to be underwhelmed too much. As an extra combo to try with the Curado DC is it a decent rod and value? Thinking 663C as I like a 6’6” rod generally. I’ve looked at mid range offerings from Fenwick, shimano, daiwa etc. Some decent stuff but nothing that jumps out at me as a sleeper. Dobyns is the one that appears it may be a lot of rod for the money. But I could be wrong perhaps?

Shimano compre 5.5’ ultralight with a TX500F shimano reel. It’s ultralight but a bit beefier than some so I find it more versatile than most ultralights. Bought both over 20 years ago with part time job $ as a teen. Has been a deadly light combo for smallies and walleye for years. (And now ned rigs). When the combo was still fairly new, my wife and I were dating and we where fishing at the family cottage. The rod got pulled overboard while I was taking a fish off her line. I was bummed out big time but really liked her and didnt want to make her feel bad by showing how much it actually hurt to see it go to the bottom. My dad went out the next day and by total accident while fishing the same area hooked the line on the compre and brought it back in. Crazy but true and While I have newer fancier stuff (and the girl still) now, that combo has been my all time favourite and made many trips since.