Cody28

Hello everyone. I’m on the hunt for another rod and looking for some help. My home lake it a Midwest grass bowl essentially (mostly hydrilla), but even so I’ve been having some good luck picking it apart with the drop shot lately. I’m currently using a St. Croix Victory 7’3” MXF with a 1/4 oz weight and a 1/0 light wire EWG. I want to upgrade for sensitivity purposes and to have a dedicated drop shot rod. I’m leaning towards an Expride B ML in either the 7’2” or 6’10 but worry it may be too light with all the grass and use of a EWG. Any suggestions on length, power, or model would be greatly appreciated.

Pretty much exactly what mine looks like. Does the job well. Local tourneys just wont allow it.

Thank you everyone for the advice. While looking, I just saw that there is an Oldtown 120 PDL on Amazon listed at $1750. Is this legitimate? Does anyone know if Amazon guarantees money back if it’s not on something like this?

I was thinking in the 3500 range when all said and done. Already have my electronics, yak attack rod holders, yak attack landing net, and most other needed accessories I use on the boat.

Jeez… shame doesn’t seem to be a thing anymore

Hi everyone. I currently own a 14 foot semi v aluminum boat that I’ve converted into a mini bass boat with front deck and trolling motor. Just has a 9 hp on the back. The boat places me in the grey area where I can’t compete in bass boat tournaments or kayak tournaments. Im considering selling to start kayak fishing instead, but would like some opinions, pros, cons etc of each because I do really enjoy my boat. My biggest concern is not being able to navigate while standing for thinks like skipping docks and punching. Can’t afford a bigger boat at the moment or afford to keep both the aluminum boat and kayak.

Oh wow that is exactly what I’m looking for thanks

Is the Silver Wolf actually BFS capable? Also to those who have had the reel now for a while is it worth the buy?

Have you ever used the Air? If it could handle my jerk baits that might be the best move for me, as it would be on my jerk bait rod.

I own a few Daiwa Zillion SV TW reels and they are my absolute favorite reels I’ve ever used. That being said, I want to dip my toes into finesse casting and I’m looking to pick up a reel I can throw on my medium rod (on the light side of medium) before deciding to make the plunge fully into true BFS. I am debating between the Alphas SV TW 800s or maybe even an actual BFS reel of some sort. Does the shallow Alphas out perform the Zillion at light weights? Or are they very similar and I should look to BFS for anything lighter than my Zillion can handle?

Gotcha. I'll give it a try I guess. That being said, a 13 foot steelhead rod is a feather compared to any bass rod. Plus its a totally different style of rod use all day. I whip those around all day in the rivers no problem.

I absolutely hate Abrazx and dont know how anyone uses it. Ive given it multiple chances, but it breaks off way too easy, doesn't cast as nice, and is overall inferior to every other fluro ive used. Invisx on the other hand is awesome for moving baits. I typically either go with that or FC Sniper on all my rods.

I know the standard for a flipping/punching rod is 7'6" to 7'11", but what is the benefit to this added length? I am debating between getting the St. Croix LTB 7'11" HMF (rated to 2.5 oz) and 7'4" HF (rated to 1.5 oz). I typically am punching 3/4 to 1 oz and maybe have used 1.5 oz once in my life. Not really casting the weight anyways, so this may not even matter. Any opinions on these two rods or rods for this technique in general would be helpful, as I am slightly worried the 7'11" will be too much rod to use all day.

Thanks for the input! Keep me updated!

I’m looking at picking up some of the new LTB rods and wanted some opinions on specific models to see if any of them really stand out. I already have the 711 HMF and am really enjoying it for both flipping and A rigs. I’m considering the 75 MHF for dragging stuff around, the 68 MXF for jerk-baits/flukes, the 72 HM for chatterbaits and spinnerbaits. Can’t find a whole lot out there on these models so any advice/experience would be greatly appreciated! Also is the jump from Victory really worth it in terms of sensitivity?

Does anyone know what tip is used on the St. Croix Victory rods? I’m looking to replace the top guide due to the insert chipping. I went to my local tackle shop and they recommended that I didn’t buy the guides they offered because “they were only good enough quality for ugly sticks”. They then gave me the number of a local rod repair shop but this seems silly for such an easy fix. I’ve never done this so any advice would be appreciated.

They do, but I personally wouldn’t consider the super duty one of them and the others aren’t really what I’m looking for for this application. I’m not anti Lew’s. In fact, the Tournament Pro LFS is one of my all time favorite reels. They just don’t have what I’m looking for in this case.

I pulled the trigger and bought one off Digitaka! I’m in no rush but just curious, are they decent about shipping times? Or does it take forever being an import?

I’m more so concerned with line capacity for when I use it for A rigs, which even that I’m not too sure really matters as much as we think it does ??‍♂️ Does that one have brass or aluminum gears? Doesn’t normally concern me but with it being for heavy applications I’m a little worried. Also never ordered JDM in general but I’ll check it out.

Thanks to everyone for the input. Just some more insight, I have had the Curado 200k, Curado 70, SLX, and SLX mgl. None have felt right to me so maybe I should just stick to Diawa based on your suggestions. The bantam just seems like the reel for the job which is unfortunate. The zillion sv tw g is my favorite reel I own for both comfort and performance. The tatula elite and elite p/f are up there as well. These two and a lot of other recommended reels being about 100 sized, I just worry they’re not up to the task for a rigs or winching out of the thick stuff. If I throw line capacity to the wind, I would probably buy another zillion sv or P/F as it is up to the task of winching and has a nice power knob handle. Has anyone put their zillion through the harsh test of flipping heavy stuff? Maybe I am just overthinking the line capacity aspect? As for people recommending Lew’s options I did give the super duty some real consideration, but ultimately it’s a high end rod so I want to put a high dollar reel on it. Totally dumb I know, but thats just how my brain operates.

I wish I could. No where within 100 miles has one in stock. The curado bugs me more than the SLX. I don't necessarily think its a width issue, I believe they just sit higher or maybe they are just taller frames even though they may be more narrow. Thanks for the input.

I am looking for a new reel for a 7'11" Heavy that I both flip with and throw A rigs with once the grass dies back. Up until this point I have always gravitated towards Lew's for budget gear and Diawa when spending more because the Curados and SLXs I have had absolutely do not feel good in hand. This has led me to never gamble on their higher end gear. I know I am in the minority, but these reels are not comfortable to me. However, for the applications I want to throw it seems like the new Bantam would be perfect. I am just worried it will not be comfortable like my other Shimanos have felt and no store near me has them in stock. Does the Bantam palm anything like the Curado? I believe the biggest issue for me is how high off the rod the reel sits, leaving more of a gap than my other reels do. Or alternatively, is there any Diawa reel that you feel does a good job at meeting my needs? Any advice would be great, thanks.

I got a hold of someone at St. Croix finally. The guy assured me that the 7’11” HMF would be great for what I’m looking to do. He said the rod was originally designed to cast big deep divers up to 2 oz. like the 10xd, but they later rebranded it as a flipping rod due to people liking it more for that technique. He said their pro staff still use it for both flipping and deep divers, so he doesn’t see a problem with me tossing swim baits up to 2 oz. on it.

Yeah that is a concern of mine as well. The 710HF does it well, but was designed specifically for A rigs and small swim baits. In fact all of the 710s throughout St. Croixs lines are swimbait specific rods (HF, XHF, and XXHF). They just do a bad job at marketing them clearly. If you take a look at the charts they provide for which lures are meant for which rod it becomes more clear.

I’m looking at the St. Croix 7’11” HMF designed for heavy flipping. What are your thoughts on this rod on paper? Up to 2.5 oz which fits all of my swim baits. (My heaviest is 2 oz.) Mod-fast so should have some give for the trebles I would hope. Handle length is not much less than my current swimbait rod (it is the all cork one in the photo, compared to the one just to it’s right which is swimbait specific.) I’ve searched far and wide for someone with hands on experience with this rod but can’t find anyone.