PBBrandon

They better not, the current Zillions are perfect lol

Thanks everyone! Glad to know it ain’t too hard and I can do it myself. I’ll see if I can get a tip top from st croix

I have a St Croix LTB 6’10” MLXF that got caught in a door on my fishing trip last weekend, and it smooshed the top guide and caused the insert to fall out. I’ve already had another issue on it, got a replacement rod and fixed up the 6’10”. I was wondering if replacing the top guide is something I can do, and how to do it without sacrificing too much in the way of performance. Thanks!

I have the 7’2” ML Poison Adrena B and the 7’0” M Expride B. I’m not sure how the 7’0” PA is, but if it’s the same as the Expride then it is on the stouter side of medium. A good weightless T-rig/shakeyhead rod. The 7’2” ML PA is stouter for a ML. I use it for 1/10-1/6oz Neds and it does a great job throwing those

I forgot about JDM 2 piece rods for a minute. That looks like a perfect all-round travel rod. Thanks!

Going on a honeymoon to Jackson, WY the first week of June. Planning on doing a bit of fishing while I’m up there, and would be nice to have one for other trips. I have a 2 piece 6’6” LF spinning St Croix Premier and would like a casting rod to pair it with. Been looking at the Kaden travel rods but is there any other good options? It needs to be able to fit into a checked bag on an airplane so a multi piece is a must. Thanks!

I don’t have experience with that specific reel but I have used the SLX and Curado DC reels (both I-DC4). I have plenty of Daiwas and I prefer them for spool control over Shimano DC. The DCs are more tame than MGLs but not as tame as SV Daiwas imo.

Nah I went DRX755 and got a 7’3” MH Poison Adrena to replace the DC734. the DRX is more tailored to bottom contact baits. Still soft for a BC rod but faster than the Champ. The PA is pretty similar to the 734 but it’s lighter and more crisp. Can’t stand how much vibration the PA transmits with chatterbaits though lol. I preferred the 734 for those

It’s a slam dunk Champion XP 734c imo. If all-around is what you are looking for, it’s one of the best on the market. I traded mine in for an Xtasy but I miss the Champ XP

Magdrafts are great. Have a couple of Cullshad but have yet to try them. my typical large “small” swimbait setup is a 4.75 or 5.75 Rage Swimmer with a weighted underbelly hook

What do y’all use when you go out onto the water? And for us kayak and bank anglers, any favorite bag? I currently love the Plano Edge boxes and bags. Keeps my hooks from getting rusty. They are a bit pricey but worth it IMO. Had an H2O Xpress backpack that eventually fell apart after years of abuse, been using my Okeechobee Fats sling bag since but am looking to get another backpack. Saw some Evolution fishing ones at BPS last weekend and thought they looked pretty sweet. What do y’all like?

haven’t tried the X series, but I think I slightly preferred the 7’2” MF Psycho Stick I used to have compared to the DX743 I have now. I can only imagine the X series is better

Never tried the Steez rods, was going back and forth at one point between the Bottom Contact 2 Steez and the DRX755. Went with the Dobyns and am happy with my decision

The Tat Elite is a heck of a reel for $170. Id grab one of those i will say for $200 you could grab an Alphas SV if you don’t need a crazy amount of line capacity. The jump from Tatulas to Alphas/Zillion/Steez is a nice one

Looking back, I’d be happy running all carbonlite combos. I’ve had a few of the white 2.0s and liked them. Next time I’m at Cabela’s I’ll take a look at those

The 8 strand stealth smooth is pretty good and the regular 4 strand stealth is okay. Wouldn’t touch their EZ Braid with a 10 foot pole, that stuff is awful. I tend to stick with PowerPro and Sufix 832 when it comes to braid.

Depends on what you’re throwing. Big thing is that mono floats and FC sinks, so for bottom contact and moving baits, FC gets lures to depth better. Topwater you’d want mono so the line sits on top of the water

I’ve tried various cheap FC lines and they aren’t good for anything except being a leader. The best FC I buy as mainline is Invizx

Bantam all day, if you want a Curado, I agree with @Rockhopper. The 150MGL Curado is an amazing reel and the best value reel Shimano makes

Yeah I used to break off like that too. I still do on spinning reels. But I am 70% sure that’s how I bent a spool shaft on a Revo SX

T-rigged lizard. Only time I use it, and one of the only things I use targeting spawning bass

Unless they are AGS guides I cant really tell the difference in sensitivity. Weight and rod balance are affected though. Alconites are good but they are heavier than SiC or Torzite

It’s really kind of splitting hairs as I think around the $300 price point, you are getting a rod with close to top end sensitivity, but if I had to rank the ones I have experience with- 1. Shimano Expride B 2. St Croix LTB 3. Daiwa Tatula Elite AGS (last gen) 4. Dobyns Champ Extreme HP 1-3 is very close. I think the AGS rods feel more “loud” I guess than the Expride or LTB because of the guides, but as far as discerning what I’m feeling, those 2 have the edge and are very close. The Champ HP is a tiny bit behind those other 3 IMO.

Jigs, chatterbaits, cranks- Invizx FC Topwater- Big Game mono

Well I thought about it and ended up using my credits towards protecting my gear got 9 rod gloves and 5 reel covers for $18 all said and done. I’ve had too many rod breakages and eye issues due to them all getting tangled up in the truck. I even let them ride in the cab and I still have problems