Gazz

If you're tinkering around that $300 mark, I think a Shimano Curado 200K on a Medium Heavy/Fast Dobyns Fury is a serious setup for the money. You will likely never outgrow that setup. A little bit of a cheaper option could be a Shimano SLX XT. I'd stay away from the base SLX and step up to the XT as you are so new that you probably want the external brakes that the XT adds. The SLX rods are really nice for $100 as well. I would take a Fury over it but still a great rod. I have messed around with the Custom Black combo and it is a very nice combo but I think it is overpriced and you really get more out of your money by buying separately at that price point. Also, I would definitely learn to use it with either mono or fluoro to start. The more difficult it is at the beginning, the better you will get overall. Braid is easier but it will likely be harder to learn mono or fluoro after getting comfortable using braid. I learned with braid first and I wish I didn't I developed some bad habits that took a little while to break. I would stick with the Medium Heavy/Fast power and action for the rod as it is a very versatile all-around setup and you already have Medium covered for now. You'll be able to do most things with the MH/F.

I was considering a Penn Battle II combo in 3500-4000 either Medium or Medium Heavy. Any experience with the rod?

I head south to Virginia for one week each year and I spend most of that week fishing for flounder and whatever else will bite. I did pretty well this year. 2 nice keepers that we ate and a few lost on the dock flip and many more lost halfway in. Some of it was user error but a lot of it is due to crap gear. I’ve been riding out some cheap gear I’ve had for a bit as I only use it once a year. I don’t need a crazy setup to collect dust 11 months of the year. Granted, I’m sure that I can get a nice all around setup that can be used for bass as well so maybe I’ll consider that. Today was the last straw for the cheap gear. I was using a $70 Quantum medium combo that has been okay thus far when I got hit by what was absolutely the biggest flounder of my life. I truly believe it was a monster flounder as I could feel it fight while I was hooked up. However, I handed out what you would called an absolute hammer of a hookset. I was sick of letting them off halfway to the dock so I was determined to skewer this one. My combo on the other hand was not up to the task. The reel snapped clean off at the reel seat. I thought I had felt it flexing here and there when hooked up before but didn’t pay much attention to it. I can feel the biggest flounder of my life fighting away at the end of my line while I held my reel in one hand and the rod in the other. I tried to hand line it in but the delay and slack given allowed it to get off. I was honesty heartbroken as it had been a rough day fishing up to that point. I have always really disliked Quantum but in all fairness I have only really used their lower end gear. This put me over the edge though. Also, the rod had just started to spin freely from the seat reel about an hour before that. I guess I should have seen it coming. Even if it was a trophy flounder, a reel should NOT snap clean off a rod like that. I added the picture of the deceased combo and some of the success stories. They were fantastic eating. Any suggestions for a solid flounder/salt rig would be greatly appreciated. I’ve used medium setups up to this point but have felt like I could use a bit more backbone considering the size of the hooks and sinkers used for bumping bottom. Thanks!

The week before I caught this one I was fishing a patch of grass and dragging a big worm right down the middle of the it. I got smacked with a vicious strike. Tried to set the hook but it apparently didn’t have it anymore. I felt a real pressure on the hookset that felt like a fish was on the other end but then it quickly went away and the line was free. When I went to adjust the worm to cast again, the point of my hook had a decent cluster of scales skewered onto it. I realized I just have stabbed it’s side after missing the hookset. The following weekend I returned to the same spot. I fished the patch of grass with no sign of life. I was fishing maybe 30 yards away from that same patch and got crushed by this fish. I saw the battle scar on its side and immediately thought it had to be the same fish. Am I crazy? It felt good to finish the job.

Well I found a few more. Not quite the size I’m hoping for but at least I’m locating them. ?

The best airline to fly is the one who’s plane just went down. I think if they already messed up once it is much less likely to happen again.

Took mine for a little spin off my dock. They are ERRATIC.

That's definitely a bummer. I would just reach out to them and see what they say. I would think they would send a replacement rod out immediately. It's good you get a feel for the reel though.

I was just going to say look at the bottom of the banner. I got excited and headed straight to the rods and reels then saw the banner again. I guess only baits are discounted? Maybe pliers? ?

Good choice. I’m sure you would have been plenty happy whichever way you went. I just have more experience with the SLX stuff and feel like it’s a real step up from some other gear in its price range. Enjoy!

Good to know. I actually just got some dirty jig swinging footballs the other day. I believe 1/2 oz 4/0. Would the worms work well with them?

Thanks! I really thought so but wasn’t sure. It’s great news. Now I need to figure out how to track down some bigger ones.

Do any of you fish these big worms with success? I’ve wanted to give the big 12” worms for awhile but friends always told me a waste of time and they don’t catch anything with them. Maybe they aren’t fishing them right or just aren’t patient enough? I ordered a few things to try them out. Got some of the worms and some 7/0 ewg monster worm hook. Pegged a light weight with it and went to work. Second cast ever with the 12” in green pumpkin I got crushed while crawling on the bottom. I caught what I believe was a male up on a bed With a senko and figured there was a female nearby so I backed off and just crawled the monster worm back to my boat very slowly and bang! I didn’t use it too much after that as I was making a real effort to switch up baits throughout the day. I caught 15 bass in about 4 hours so they were biting everything. I went back to the monster worm at the end of the day and a bass a little smaller than the worm tried to eat. Unfortunately for the bass, I set the hook like there was a 10 lber on the other end and sent the 7/0 through it’s face. The fish was okay but it could have been bad. Just curious if anyone else has success with this bait? Also, even if it seems a bit ridiculous I would recommend giving it a try.

I caught this little one in my lake yesterday. I’m not sure if it is just a strange looking largemouth or maybe a smallmouth? I have never seen a smallie come out of this lake or even heard of one being caught so I’m confused as to what it could be. The colors are way different from any other bass I’ve caught here and the little black speckles are odd. Cool looking fish though. Any thoughts?

Luckily this setup replaced my own cheap setup that was left in my lineup. I’m sure I’ll find a justification to add even better gear at some point.

I got my recent Ci4+ full price and then of course I find out it’s going on sale. I may just get another one. I love it for the $230 I paid and $150 makes it impossible to pass on for me. I run mine with 15 lb braid to leader as well and it has been really nice so far. Only a few days use but I’m obsessed with it already. With that being said, I have heard amazing things about Shimano’s cheaper options. The Nasci is supposed to be a really nice reel right around $100 and my buddy has a Sahara that is a great reel as well. I would personally go with Ci4+ again but that’s just me.

I had the exact same thing back ordered through both tackle warehouse and bass pro and they both emailed me saying that there is no promise restock anymore and that the orders have been cancelled. That was after waiting 5 weeks lol. But this was a couple months ago now.

Thanks! The Lew’s has done well for me. It is actually a real smooth tank of a real as it’s all metal but it is quite a bit heavier and bulkier. This rig feels like I’m almost holding nothing in my hands.

Now I want 5 more.

With a little help from another member, I finally completed my finesse rod upgrade after weeks of annoying everyone with questions. I just had to share as I am blown away by how truly mint this thing is. I have some nice high end baitcasters but I’ve been riding my Lew’s Mach II spinning combo til the wheels fall off. It has done its job but it was time for an upgrade. I know the step up was more of a leap up in quality so I should have expected a big difference but this thing just feels unbelievable and looks d**n pretty on top of that. Stradic Ci4+ 2500 + Megabass Destroyer Addermine. ?

I run pretty much only fluoro or braid. The braid is only really on my frog rod and my spinning gear is switching to braid with leader soon. I don’t usually any issues with fluoro. The line conditioner did nothing for me but I really only tried it out of curiosity anyways. I use Seaguar InvizX and Sunline Assassin. The assassin might be the best casting fluoro I’ve ever felt. It really is very nice and it has a tiny bit of stretch so I love it for cranking. If I had to choose a mono, it would be Maxima Ultragreen.

Thanks everybody! The best part might be that I had a real stinky skunk ? in the boat up until this one bit. Still riding the high.

Got my new personal best just about 2 months ago and it was almost double my previous PB. Today I went out and beat that PB!! It wasn’t by much but it was a great fish. It’s also nice because this fish had a nice big head and a much longer body. My old PB was all gut. Thunderstorms came rolling in and I had time for about 2 more casts. Skipped a senko right up under a downed tree and just got crushed. I thought I was hung up on a branch until I felt the head shakes. Ironically it was on my Lew’s spinning combo and it is probably that last time I’ll have it in the boat as I just upgraded big time to a Ci4+ on a Destroyer. It was one hell of a way for this setup to limp into retirement. 6.23 lbs.

My buddy has a Champ XP and I have an Expride. I love Dobyns and the Champ is a great rod. I’ve been considering getting one myself. With that being said, my buddy and I have swapped rods back and forth to try out and compare and we both came to the same conclusion. The Expride just wins. As another member already said, there are a lot of people that strongly feel that the Expride plays in a league with $400 rods and fully agree. I don’t have a ton of St. Croix experience but I know they have some great rods too. I just love the Expride. If you can afford it comfortably, I would definitely go that route.

Where did you see that it will be $150 next week? Of course I just paid full price for one lol But maybe there’s room for another. ?