jimanchower

What happens if you mistakenly point the rod at 11 PM??

Yeah, that's what I'm going for with the Sierra MHF and HF rods. The MHF will see action with 3/8 - 1/2oz lures and the HF 1/2 - 3/4oz. I try to keep it to 3-4 rods in the kayak, and that includes a spinning setup. I might even limit the Sierras to throwing moving baits and put the SLX on jig duty (the St. Croix MF can handle finesse jigs). I think you're right, and that's probably how I'll use it. I may even swap reels between the SLX and the mag heavy Dobyns Champ depending on the conditions.

My current baitcast rod lineup, in the order I have acquired them: 7' Shimano SLX MHF 7'2" St Croix MF 7' Dobyns Fury MHMF (705CB) 6'8" Dobyns Sierra MHF (683C) 6'8" Dobyns Sierra HF (684C) 7' Dobyns Champ H+F (705C) I'm primarily a kayak angler working small rivers and creeks for spotted bass and lakes/ponds for LMB. I like throwing chatterbaits, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and buzzbaits/whopper ploppers when the time is right. I also spool all of my baitcasters with braid - no leader. Maybe that will evolve as I gain experience and see where a leader is a must, but for now I like the straightforward nature of braid and the characteristics that it has. The Sierra rods, with their more moderate action, were added with braid in mind. The SLX was my first baitcast rod and overall I quite like it, but the Dobyns rods have taken over. Crankbaits, chatterbaits, and whopper ploppers (75, 90, 110) on the 705CB. Jigs, plastics, and spinnerbaits on the Sierras. The mag heavy Champion is brand new but it's got heavier jigs and frogs covered. Where does that leave my SLX? I feel like its power is similar to that of the 684C but the tip is a bit faster. Is it redundant, or does it still have a role to fill?

The bolded part is what I was thinking about as I was reading this old thread. I'm usually in a kayak and will do what it takes to get my lure back unless it's potentially dangerous in terms of dumping myself or flipping the boat. If I see someone else's broken off lure and line I try to get it. I don't want to leave any kind of trash behind if I can help it, and that includes tag ends of lines or bits of used plastics from my boat.

Ordered mid-day Monday last week, got the e-card three hours later. I did not get a call to verify my payment info - probably because I sent it to myself, an established customer. On that note, TW seems to have gotten caught up in the past couple of days. I received a shipping notice today on an item that was backordered but back in stock, and an order I placed this morning is shipping out same-day.

Newbie here, been fishing for all of four months, trying to learn a little bit. One of my usual places is at a ~15 acre pond at my in-laws here in north-central Mississippi. Beginning in early December this year this submerged grass made an appearance and really shut down my casual finesse dock fishing. This picture is of a ned rig, which is obviously far from weedless, but I was hoping for some help in understanding what type of grass this is, and how to fish it when I encounter it. It begins about 10' off of the shore (maybe 1' of depth) and extends to maybe 50' off the shore (4-6' depth, I think). edit: my turfgrass buddy says that this is called filamentous algae I actually caught a nice little 19" LMB on a chatterbait a couple of weeks ago when I was in the kayak, ripping the bait through some of this grass in frustration. Ripped it, reeled in the slack, noticed something different in the feel, and set the hook. But it's still a pain to have to pull this long, stringy, fine grass off the bait after each cast.

Not that rod, but I ordered a Shimano reel that was backordered and has been showing as in-stock since at least the beginning of this week. I emailed them a couple of days ago to check on it but haven't heard back. I was hesitant to email knowing that they're covered up, but from what I've read their process for fulfilling backorders isn't as streamlined as the rest of their operations. edit: on your rod, keep in mind that those backorder in-stock dates are estimates, and given the shipping backlog with all providers right now I wouldn't be surprised to see those dates slip

Maybe it depends on the brand? They let me backorder a Shimano reel; discount showed up on my invoice.

Not saying it won't happen, but my question to them was about manufacturers that would be discounted but that they can't advertise as such. Megabass is one that they specifically said "choose[es] to not participate in our sales."

I wouldn't count on it. I reached out to them earlier this week to ask about exclusions from the upcoming sale and Megabass was one of the three brands they mentioned.

I have the Gill Waterproof Gloves (sku 7500GS) and they're good for fishing but obviously not for tying knots and that sort of thing. Might be worth a shot.

The Fury is a 705CB compared to the med heavy / fast SLX so it's not really apples to apples. I know that I'm fishing with quality gear so I don't worry so much about which is better, I just figure out what lures I want to throw and pick a rod based on that.

I broke the tip off my week-old SLX rod earlier this year when loading up after a trip. I said a few bad words and the next day bought a replacement. Then a week later I had to run back to Academy to buy some bait and decided to take my receipt and the rod up there just to ask if they could do anything for me. I was truthful that it was an accident on my part, but they didn't care - they gave me store credit for the rod. I used it to pick up a Dobyns Fury, in fact. I recently added two Sierras and I have a Champ XP on the way but I still like my SLX a lot.

I had to double check that the OP's post wasn't actually me from a couple of months ago, because I feel like he's following the exact same path I started with a cheap spinning reel and a week later got a cheap kayak. A few weeks later I had three mid-level baitcasters (MH-F, M-F, and MH-MF, with Shimano SLX DC reels). Then picked up a second spinning reel with a M-F rod. Learning a lot. I started with the MH-F and then picked up the M-F. In hindsight I wish I had gone with a Heavy Fast as my second rod. The Dobyns Fury 705CB was a nice pick-up; I think that's also a good second or third rod. Definitely don't neglect your spinning rod - it'll be your best friend some days. I still don't know if going with the DC reels right off the bat is good or bad. I will say that yesterday when I was fishing a jig right up on the bank/cover (from the kayak) it was nice to be able to put the brake on 4 and slam that thing up against the bank time and time again with no backlash. In open water I'll put it on 2 or 1 and thumb the spool. I will say that the setup instructions I read here seem to be better than Shimano's. That is, use the tension knob to tune the reel for your lure weight so that it falls ever so slowly.

I think you see what I'm getting at, and your advice is really sound - thanks. A friend who knows a thing or two (to say the least) throws a WP 130 on some of my local waters with good success so I sort of keyed in on that. I like my Fury 705CB and thought having a scaled-up version might be even better, but you're right that the 75/90/110 should be plenty big for what I'm fishing. I do prefer the shorter rods, but I'll check out the 5 power rods in those lines. Thanks for your input. (FWIW I have a 6' Ugly Stick that I could throw my little WP 60 on! I like having a drop shot on it though)

Hmm that does look like it would do the trick. Longer than I'd like but I guess that's just a compromise. I have a St. Croix Bass-X Med/Fast that I like but don't love. I wouldn't be afraid to try another of their rods though. Thanks.

I'm pretty green when it comes to bass fishing but I'm a bit of a gear head, and the current and upcoming sales have me scheming. I also fish primarily out of a kayak, so rods in the 7' or just under range are in my wheelhouse. I primarily fish lakes, ponds, creeks, and rivers in Mississippi but I hail from Chattanooga so those well-known reservoirs are within range. My two stoutest rods are a Shimano SLX 7' Med Heavy/Fast and a Dobyns Fury 705CB. I use the SLX primarily for single hook applications (jigs, chatterbaits, Texas rigs, buzzbaits), and the Fury for crankbaits and Whopper Ploppers (75, 90, 110). I'd like to add heavier jigs, frogs, deeper crankbaits, and the WP 130 to my tackle box. A Heavy/Fast rod certainly seems to be in the cards. Something like the SLX 7' (rated up to 1.5 oz) or the Fury 664C (rated up to 1oz) seems to fit the bill. The Champ XP 706CB (1.5oz max) has really caught my eye as well. It seems like a great rod for the 'Plopper 130 and of course for deeper cranking. That said, I think I've narrowed it down to two paths: Compromise with one rod: The SLX 7' Heavy/Fast fits into my lineup quite well, and can certainly handle the stuff I want to throw, but isn't as well-suited to the treble hook stuff. I could go Dobyns or St. Croix here as well, but would probably need to go with a 7' rod for casting distance if I'm throwing topwater with it. Versatility with two rods: The Fury 664C can do the heavier jigs, frogs, etc. and the 706CB can do heavier topwaters and deeper cranking. Lots of versatility, but quite a bit more expensive, obviously. I'm looking for any input, particularly given how power and action can tend to vary between manufacturers and even between different models. I have heard that the SLX may be a bit heavier power relative to the norm, and Dobyns' rods the opposite. Any input appreciated.

Thanks for following up. I just tried with one in my cart and the code does work. The only thing I can figure is that maybe I had thrown a $10 hat into my cart and the site wasn't clever enough to apply the discount to the rod but not to the hat? Either way, I appreciate it!

I picked one up a couple of weeks ago and fished it for the first time yesterday, just piddling around. I wasn't impressed - the body kept wanting to roll over on me. Maybe it was user error - I'm a novice, relatively speaking - but I have not had that issue on the 75, 90, or 110. I run a split ring and swivel on all of them.

Did this ever work, or has it expired? Not working for me.