inferiorfisherman

Thanks. I thought about ordering the BFS spool for it, but I figured I would try it with standard spool first and see how I liked it. I still plan on getting an even lighter BFS rig in the future. With this rig the litest think I will throw is a 1/10oz Ned head with a TRD worm which weighed out about .3 oz in total. I think most of the time it will have a 3/16 shaky head tied on with various finesse worms.

I have a dobyns extreme 702C, and I just ordered a JDM Daiwa alphas SV for a dedicated finesse rig. I plan to use this rig for dropshot, shaky head, neds, and 1/4 oz lures. On all of my other rigs spinning and casting I run either straight braid or braid with FC leader. I much prefer braid as a mainline over FC or Mono, but I hear that running thin line on a baitcaster causing issues with digging in. Here are some options I already have on hand. Option 1: 16# sunline Xplasma braid, with a 7# sunline sniper leader Option 2: 7# sniper only Option 3: 10# sniper only Which should I choose or is there something else I should consider?

I have 3 of the regular panfish series, and my buddy has the legend elite panfish. I have not tried the premier. I do not think the legend elite is that much better than the regular panfish. The legend is a bit lighter, but not enough to justify the price difference. When fishing I could feel the bites just the same between the 2. Maybe if it was a bottom contact rod it would be worth the upgrade, but I don’t fish these rods on the bottom. I would go standard panfish. that being said I have recently been adding in the new dobyns trout/panfish rods. I prefer the dobyns most of the time over the panfish. They have a stiffer backbone with a light tip, and a more comfortable handle. They are faster action than the st croix for sure. I have the 6’2” UL, 7’ UL, and 7’4” light. I love them all for different techniques. I still use the 7’ st croix panfish as well, but I have basically retired the other 2 st croix panfish rods, and are used for boat guest or the neighborhood pond. I would choose the dobyns over the legend so I imagine I would feel the same about the premier.

I was able to get back out today and fish more wacky rigged senkos. This time I came armed with mustad O-rings. They worked fantastically. I didn't gut hook a single fish and caught 9. I used the same owner sniper hook as the last time out. The o-ring seems to make all of the difference for me. The rig was a bit more prone to catching grass, but it was well worth it for the great hookup % and the fact that I didn't injure any bass.

Tell me if I am starting to understand this or not. At least how it is discussed in the US BFS = finesse bass fishing gear. Maybe as low as 1/8th oz plus a bait of some sort, so probably 3/16 - 3/8oz total weight. Relatively light line, like 7# FC or 20# braid. something in that ballpark. This can be accomplished without a designated BFS reel as long as it is on the finesse end of the spectrum like a shimano MGL, or daiwa SV. Even better if you get an aftermarket spool for one of these reels. UL casting = panfish/trout fishing gear. as low as 1/32 oz plus bait of some sort, so probably 1/16 1/4 oz total weight. Very light line like 4# FC or 8# braid. This seems to be what they call BFS is japan where it began where when they say BFS they don't plan to be bass fishing. Shimano BFS is more intended for this use case, because of line capacity. Dobyns ultra finesse - it is trying to straddle the line between the 2 by having a super soft tip that can cast very light lures, but has a bass friendly backbone. I actually have one of their panfish rods. The sa 741sf. it sounds very similar. I can toss 1/16oz jigs with ease, but I also can handle a 12lb drum. The rod really only flexes at the tip while catching crappie and because of this doesn't keep them pinned as well as a more parabolic rod. This rod is good for general purpose light line fishing where you are just trying to catch whatever is biting, but not necessarily perfect for any one type. Does this line up with how you see it?

That is roughly the same range as the dobyns dx702c I have on order. I was planning to target 3/16- 5/15 with that, and assumed I didn’t need a dedicated BFS reel for that range. Thought I could do it on a metanium MGL or similar reel. I didn’t think I would need a BFS reel until I tried to get down to 1/16 - 1/8 range and that is what I was looking at the dobyns ultra finesse for. For me the BFS setup wasn’t really for targeting bass, more for panfish. I’ll wait until more people like get a chance to get it in their hands. i am currently a bit confused by where the line is drawn between BFS and reels that are good with light lures, but I can’t start testing it until I get a rod that can load at these weights.

What weights do you plan to toss?

let us know what you think about it once you use it. I just got an alert today that it was in stock and was thinking about picking one up with a dobyns SA 740.

I also like me some lew's reels. I have the custom lite as well. I don't use it on my frog rod as I get better distance out of my hypermags and tournament pros. the hypermag in 8.3:1 is my first choice, tournament pro second choice, custom lite 3rd. Lew's reels just fit my small hands better than any other manufacturer which is a big deal to me when I want to spend 2 hours walking frogs. Also a 2020 JDM metanium can be had for under $300 which makes and super awesome frogging reel. I have only had a chance to use it once since I got it, but I was extremely impressed. longest casting reel I have for sure. Frogging is the only time I care that much about being able to cast a mile. Every rod and reel I have is under $300 final price. That is where I draw the line on everything. There are tons of great options in the 200-300 range.

on casting rods I use. I highly recommend Snline asegai Xplasma, or power pro super slick V2. Those are my 2 favorites so far. I am also using FC leaders on about 60% of the rigs. straight braid on everything else. 30# - all around usage 50# - frog, pitching around cover 60-65# - Flipping

Thanks everyone for the tips! This place is pretty great. I have some of the VMC neko hooks, but I didn't try them this time. I didn't consider that the longer shank might help prevent gut hooks. I'll give them a try. I have both the ones with the keeper and without. I ordered the ones without on accident as I bought them for texas rigging senkos. One this is for sure, they are very large for the listed size. They are about 2 sizes bigger than other hooks of the same listed size. I have been waiting on a certain tackle retailer to finally send me the O-rings I ordered 2 weeks ago. I was thinking that they might help as well. having more hook exposed and not having so much hook buried in the senko. What everyone is saying about line watching makes sense to me. I am historically a crappie guy and have been using hi-viz lines for crappie fishing for 2 decades now for that reason, but when i started bass fishing last year I chose braids that are dark green. I will continue to do that for most, but next time I buy braid for a finesse setup I'll go hi viz since I recently started tying leaders on most of my rigs. I never needed a leader fishing for crappie, They bite anything as long as you put it in the right spot at the right time. One thing is for sure, I am a braid man. I have used it for so long that any attempt to use anything else as a mainline leaves me very frustrated.

I keep reading that wacky rigging senkos is the cat's meow in various threads. I picked up some yamamota senkos (motor oil red flake), and tied a 10lb FC leader onto my 12lb braid on a M power fast action Expride rod. I used an Owner sniper finesse hook in size 1/0. I went to one of the ponds in my subdivision to try it out before I take the boat out this coming weekend. It made me feel like a bass fishing super hero. First cast I caught a LMB, 3rd cast another. I caught about 8 in 2 hrs including my PB. It was like magic. The only reason that I didn't stay out all day catching them is I kept gut hooking them. I struggled to feel them biting until they had already swallowed it completely, or maybe they just immediately swallowed it. If I kept my line taught I didn't seem to get the bites, but I could feel the bluegill pecking at the bait. If I kept the line slack I couldn't feel anything, but the bass seemed much more interested. I spent my evening feeling bad that I probably murdered a 3.5lb bass. I watched at lot of videos on how to remove hooks afterwards, but I would like ideas on how I might be able to perfect my technique. I keep hearing semi-slack line. I have no clue what that means to be honest. I tried many other lures, but nothing could get the bites I wacky rigged senko could. Any pointers for me?

after spooling up the tatula sv with some 50lb braid I was able to do some backyard pitching with it. it is by far the easiest reel to pitch I have. It took way less thumb control than the others. Even much better than the tatula elite pitch and flip model. It isn't a long caster like my metanium mgl or lew's tournament pro, but for pitching it blows them away in ease. I am very impressed and will most likely order at least one more, or just order the new Zillion SV from japan.

ebay. Ebay always seems to be the place to find gear when major retailers are out of stock. You can find smaller tackle shops selling on ebay who don't have their own e-commerce site to sell on, so their inventory doesn't get depleted as fast.

This is quite a coincidence. I just received my tatula elite 6'9" and tutula sv yesterday and was going to post this morning asking the experts if I should use 30lb braid or 50lb braid. I haven't tested the reel out yes, because it doesn't have line yet. However, I did test the rod out last night pitching in my backyard. I really like it so far. It has a pretty soft tip and nice backbone. This seems to be something I like in all of my rods. Fit and finish is good, but not excellent. I do wish it had a cork handle instead of EVA, but I can get over that. I like the rod's action so much that not only will it be my skipping setup, but it will also be my pitching/frog kayak rod. at 6'9" I can pitch it much easier on flat ground than I can a 7'5". This should come in handy while standing on a kayak. The guides are smaller than any of the other rods I have, so I hope I don't have issues with the leader knot getting caught. All that being said, I think it it well worth the $150 I paid for it. Now I just need to learn how to skip.

I won't try and convince you to blow your budget, although that is what I always end up doing. For sub $100 spinning reels I like pflueger. I think the supreme is the best under $100. for a $100 rod I like the dobyns fury or Fenwick HMG. that being said you can buy a fplueger supreme fenwick hmg combo at BPS right now for $179. I would buy that in 7' med-light if I was looking to try out finesse fishing. It has a 1/4-3/4 oz range. I have this combo on my boat as a backup (guest) combo. even though it is rated med-light, it is more on the medium side.

Also, i forgot to mention i really want to try the victory series. I have seen a gentlemen named Tom who is very active here recommending them a couple of times on here, and he seems to know what he is talking about. I might have to pick one up. My next rod is either going to be a BFS rod or a skipping rod under 7'.

I have it already. It might be my favorite rod. It is my frog rod, with 65 lb braid spooled on. It is on my boat in storage right now. I was not able to let it compete is my backyard pitching experiment last night. I have only caught 1 fish on it, but walking frogs is my favorite technique so far as far as fun goes. The perfect pitch seems to have a pretty similar action, but I have not been able to touch them side by side yet. I love the soft top and the huge backbone. I can walk frogs all day without even thinking about it. originally I considered getting a 2nd one to use for pitching, but got intrigued by others recommending the orochi and exprides and wanted to try something non-dobyns, because I had several of them already. i even recently converted to dobyns panfish rods which easily replaced my st croix panfish series rods as my favorites. They have this incredibly thin, soft, solid graphite tips that lets me toss 1/32 jigs but I can still nice small mouth and nice 12lb drum on them. Not many rods i can catch my limit of crappie throwing mini-mites and still horse a 12lb drum with that i have tried. good point. I'm a total nerd and bought myself a digital scale to keep on the boat so I can weigh the baits to help match the right rod. i was recently shocked by how much a yamamota senko weighed. weighed more than most of the creature baits i have. not that i am trying to throw weightless senkos on any of these rods, just opened my eyes a bit about total weight.

I really like these orochi rods. They have special "character" to them like dobyns do. aimed clearly at certain techniques. The expride rods (I have 3 now) are great and super sensitive, but they are a bit "sterile" for lack of a better term. They are very predictable in action and power, just don't have the same targeted purpose built feel to them that dobyns or MB has IMO. I like how MB isn't afraid to combine a soft tip with a stout backbone.

Thanks, I spent my evening in the backyard with some casting weights and each rod. practicing my pitching and trying to find the right weights for each rod. i also performed a little unscientific sensitivity test by dragging tungsten weights across my stamped concrete patio with my eyes closed. I struggled with the expride in the pitching test. it seems as though 1/2oz is just not enough for that rod. I got a lot of overrun and i just couldn't pitch very far or accurately with it. The braillist and 734 both pitched the 1/2oz very well and i was finally able to start focusing on landing the bait softly. the 703 could pitch down to 1/4, but 3/8 seemed to work best for me. The sensitivity test was interesting. with a 15lb seagaur gold leader I could not tell a huge difference in any of the rods. However, when I used straight braid i could tell more of a difference in the rods. The expride seemed to be the most sensitive, but due to power and action I will probably end up using it far less than the others. I think the braillist and 703 will be my most used bottom contact rods, with the 734 being my main moving bait rod/general purpose rod. How do you like the tour versatile? i looked at it as well. One thing that caught me off guard was that MB claims the diablo spec R was the most versatile despite the tour versatile having the word versatile in the name. It sounded like it was probably very similar to the 734 as far as uses go.

yes, I have a problem! I am already into mountain biking. That hobby got expensive quickly too. I'm all set on bikes for myself, but now my son is getting old enough to ride with me a little, so I am sure I'll have to run him through the same progression from aluminum to carbon fiber and fox factory suspensions. Too much down time away from my actual hobbies leads me to spending money on these hobbies. This is why i spend way less money in the summer. part of the reason i joined here is because it seems like a lot of you are afflicted with the same thing as I am! ?

I have only been bass fishing for a year now. So far I have mostly fished moving baits and some finesse rigs. Cranking, frogging, topwaters, swim jigs, neds, dropshot, spinners. I have rods that I am pretty happy with for these techniques. I have been spending time each evening pitching in my back yard, buying jigs and rods to match. How should I use my rods to match the technique and what weights would you recommend for each? where I fish has almost zero vegetation due to being pretty muddy, but has a ton of fallen timber and wood piles on the bottom and shoreline. Here are the techniques I would like to start fishing: jig pitching T-rig pitching football jigs dragging T-rigs Rods I have purchased for these techniques: Dobyns Champion 734C Dobyns extreme 703C Shimano Expride 7'3" extra heavy MB orochi XX Braillist MB orochi XX perfect pitch

I agree without a doubt. I was using SSV2 on every real I had until I recently started using Sunline asegai. it is even smoother and more tightly wound. The biggest benefit is it doesn't pick up nearly as much water as SSv2 does in the higher test ratings once it is broken in. It is also a bit cheaper in real world pricing and comes in 600 yard spools.

I have never used backing and use braid exclusively. I have never had an issue with slipping on either braid ready or standard spools. Scotch tape works extremely well for me. That being said without backing it is relatively easy to spend $35 on braid to fill up a 3000 spool. I do eventually flip the braid around by swapping the line onto another reel so I feel like I get value out of both ends.

Good points on the handle and weight of extra line. I have not seen any line lay differences in the 2. I think Shimano's slow oscillation design helps with that. Both of them lay line smoother than any spinning reel I have ever used.