PBBrandon

Victorys are great rods, you’re gonna love it

The 703 Sierra seemed noodly for a MH rod because it’s actually more of a medium. 3 power Dobyns= typical M. 4 power = typical MH. Id go with a 704 or 734 Sierra, or a 714/744 Kaden

I don’t dropshot too much, but when I do I’m targeting structure in clear water. At texoma there is a lot of stumps, laydowns and big rocks in clear water to where sometimes you can even see the fish hanging out next to them. That’s typically when I dropshot a fluke/worm

Daiwa and Shimano make reels that are too good and too reasonably priced (buying JDM) to consider anything else IMO

I currently use a Dobyns DX743 for weightless senkos, finesse jigs and such. Good to have a medium fast for things that are just a tad too light for a MH rod. I used to have a 7’2” MF Okuma Psycho Stick that was also a great rod

I think the Victory rods are very good, however, I think the LTB rods are worth the price jump. They’ve become my favorite line of rods period. You get a better blank, better guides, and a much better looking rod. That blue looks great in the sunlight and the cork is fantastic on them.

I’ve had a pack of gillys for a while and finally used one the other day. I Texas rigged it with the hook in sideways so it comes in on its side. Jerking it makes it look like a dying bluegill. Didn’t catch anything on it but I liked the action. anyone use these with any success? And how do you rig them?

Picked up a pack of the 5 inch ones. Might try them on texoma next time I get out. Could be a great striper lure at least

I have 2 Dobyns rods that are kind of backups and aren’t seeing any time on the water. I’m thinking of going over to the Dobyns store this summer and upgrading them to something that will get used. I have a Fury 705cb, but I toss all my cranks on a 7’2” MHM St Croix Legend Tournament and all my jerkbaits on a Daiwa Tatula 7’0” MLR. I also have a Kaden 712s that doesn’t see a lot of time since all my spinning techniques get thrown on a 6’10” MLXF Legend Tournament and a 7’0” MF Expride B. here’s what I currently have: Dobyns Bull Shad 835sb (hard swimbaits/A rigs) Daiwa BLX 7’2” H+F (soft swimbaits) Daiwa Tatula Elite AGS 7’6” HF (flipping) Dobyns Xtasy 755c (1/2oz+ T-rigs and jigs) Daiwa Tatula Elite AGS 7’4” HF (frogs/buzzbaits) St. Croix LTB 7’3” HXF (3/8-1/2oz jigs and t-rigs, pitching stick) Shimano Poison Adrena 7’3” MHRF (spinnerbaits/chatterbaits/spooks) St. Croix LTB 7’2” MHM (crankbaits) Dobyns Champ HP 743c (weightless-1/4oz jigs and t-rigs/wacky/shakey) Daiwa Tatula 7’0” MLR (jerkbaits) Shimano Expride 7’0” MF spinning (spybaits, underspins, weightless t rigs) St. Croix LTB 6’10” MLXF spinning (dropshot/ned) St. Croix Premier 6’6” LF (panfish/crappie/trout) St. Croix Premier 6’0” ULF (panfish/crappie/trout) What rods would y’all trade these in for? Preferably both rods in the Champ XP line but I wouldn’t mind stepping up to the HP line on one of them either. Thank you!

Been tough finding fishing partners for me. One moved away a few years back, we go maybe once or twice a year. My girlfriend has been busy with school, might take her out this weekend if the weather is nice. And my current fishing partner works most weekends. Lot of days on the lake flying solo, I need to get a dog or something lol

I use a Daiwa Tatula 7’0” MLR and love it, but I have held the Dobyns Kaden 610-4 in the store and dang it is a sweet feeling rod too

I have the 6ft UL and 6’6” L St Croix Premier rods and they are great for panfish. I know there are nicer rods out there but they are very nice and made in the USA. St Croix makes some great panfish rods. Also the 6’6” I have is a 2 piece which really does come in handy when walking along a creek where you can break it down

The 7’3” HXF is a darn good stick for that. It’s got a heavy backbone but a soft tip. My go-to rod for pitching 3/8oz-1/2oz jigs.

Seems like different bodies of water the fish want different things. Jigs kill it in the pond I fish at, but can’t catch a darn thing on a lipless there. Then another body of water the opposite is true. I bet if you tried a different lake you’d have more success

I have the 705cb in the Fury line and have owned the 733c, 734c and 735c. They are all well balanced, and I really like them. But to be honest, you really start to feel the weight of the rod when you get to the 5 power Furys. The Furys get a lot of love, and they are good for the price. But there is a sizable jump in performance when you get up to the Kaden/Sierra lines. And you can usually find them used for the price of a Fury if you look on Dobyns website, the forum flea market, or American Legacy. If you are throwing 1/2oz+ jigs I’d recommend the 735c Sierra or the 715/745c Kaden rod. Less than 1/2oz you can drop to a 4 power. The Kaden rods are faster, better for driving the hook home. The Sierras are a bit slower and load up better when casting. Either one would be a good choice, just comes down to personal preference when picking between the 2.

There are 7’M and 7’2”MH Tatula glass rods, but they also make 7’M and 7’2”M graphite casting rods. Daiwa’s “regular” action is what I’d call “mod-fast”. Good action for square bills, medium divers and lipless cranks. Also to answer your question on braid to leader on cranks. That’s one of those presentations I would run straight fluoro on. Fluoro sinks and gets the bait down to depth better. Straight mono is also fine as well. Straight fluoro/mono will allow you to bomb cast it, which is good for cranks because you can cover more water, and stay at your preferred depth for longer. Also with treble hooks, they don’t require a beefy hookset like a jig hook. The important thing is just keeping them pinned. A soft rod with a line that has some stretch like mono or fluoro will keep them pinned good. Running braid to leader takes that stretch away. And if your line goes slack, that gives the fish the opportunity to get off. hope this helps!

I caught my PB (8lbs) on a DC734 with a Zillion SV throwing a Booyah spinnerbait at Lake Ray Robert’s. Have caught quite a few 5-8lb fish in one particular pond with a 6’6” medium Ugly Stik with a 35 size Pflueger President throwing bluegill cutbait for catfish. Idk why but that particular pond doesn’t usually spit out numbers, but it spits out size.

Braid to fluoro is very versatile on a MH rod. Perfect for bottom contact presentations, if you are fishing topwaters, replace with a mono leader. light frogging or heavier cover? Snip the leader off and run straight braid. Only thing I see a disadvantage with braid to leader is if you have smaller guides or a big knot, your casting distance can get affected if you are trying to bomb cast a lipless/spinnerbait/chatterbait etc. 15lb is a pretty good all round fluoro. More cover and you can bump to 17lb

I’d either get a rod for crankbaits if you fish mostly open water, or a heavy rod if you fish a lot of cover. For cranking rods I’d recommend: Dobyns Fury 705cb Daiwa Tatula 7’ or 7’2” medium regular The old St Croix Mojo bass rods can be found on their site for $125. I’d get the 7’1” MHM cranker. if you get a heavy rod for big jigs/t-rigs and fishing slop: Daiwa Tatula 7’4” HF St. Croix Mojo Bass 7’4” HF not a fan of the heavier Fury rods, they get a little heavy in hand when you get to the 5 powers as for chatterbaits, I’d throw those on the MH you got. Everyone has their preferences but I personally don’t see why I’d use a glass rod for chatterbaits. It’s a jig with a blade on it, and has a jig hook. Plus I’m not a fan of heavier glass rods. I will say, I’ve held a couple of the St Croix LTB glass rods and didn’t even know they were glass rods until I looked at the label. Very impressed with those. Good luck with your decision!

The Elite is a nice reel, great for long casts. But a Zillion for the same price is a better reel imo. The Zillion has the SV Boost spool which I think has an extra spring in it to keep the inductor cup further away from the magnets compared to the regular SV spool. (May not be 100% right on the science there but basically it casts further). Both reels can be used for pretty much any bass technique besides big swimbaits. Whatever technique/s you want the reel for just consider gear ratio. But I’d definitely go with the Zillion

I had the 7’3” MXF Victory at one point. I personally had mixed thoughts on it. I loved the action of it, but the handle to me was a bit long. I usually only have 0 or 1 finger behind the reel stem and fish from a kayak so I’m sure those factors didn’t help either. Got the 6’10” MLXF LTB and much prefer it for neds. Haven’t fished a damiki though

The 7’3” HXF St. Croix is a special rod. It’s grown on me as an amazing pitching stick. I have the Legend Tournament model and it’s served me well pitching 1/4oz to 1/2oz to brush and trees. Has the tip to pitch accurately, and the backbone to horse big girls out and free snagged lures. The “H” is in the backbone, but it has a soft “MH” tip. Sounds like exactly what you are looking for. They make it in the Mojo line, victory, LTB, and Physix lines. The LTB (and I assume Physix) lines are very sensitive rods Id pair it with a Alphas/Zillion SV

Eh I wouldn’t say they’re dead, a bit of an afterthought these days sure, for a few reasons 1. in need of a reboot, it’s a 7 year old reel. Pretty old in reel years with all of the new, nice, sometimes gimmicky, tech that is always coming out 2. Abundance of great options these days. Lew’s has stepped up their game big time in the past couple of years, and reels are getting better at every price point. Going back to age, a few reels in the 200 dollar range have gotten as good if not better than the 300 dollar chronarch 3. the JDM market has pretty much made the current chronarch seem overpriced. You can get a Steez for 300, Zillion for 200, Met for 250, etc. Truly high end reels for mid tier prices I’ve owned a couple chronarch MGLs, and they are great reels, just needs a reboot and a good one to get back in the game

1. Daiwa Zillion SV (newest model) 2. Daiwa Alphas SV (newest model) 3. Shimano Curado 150 MGL Haven't ever used a Steez or a Met but it’s hard to think of a way to make a reel better than these 3 are. All around 150-200 bucks

Anyone have both generations to compare? I know the new ones have the air sensor reel seat. I have a couple of the older models but was wondering how much better the new ones are.