David P

I have the Beast, and a winch is too slow of a gear ratio. I ended up snagging a Coastal and AL-F to play around with to see which fits the bill better. I love the AL-F so far.

Looking for any first hand info on the Revo AL-F... is it built strong, and well? Holding up to some abuse be it flipping/punching/frogging? Is it true the handle is 85mm? Wondering why the other Revos got a 90mm and this got an 85mm. Anyone that has one, id love to hear your thoughts. Thank you.

I believe 1500 hours give or take? Comes with transducer. No mounting hardware as it was flush mounted in my boat when I got it.

Not sure if this is the right place to post this. I’m contemplating selling my 1158c Humminbird. Sonar and GPS both work, but Ethernet connector is bad, so I would be selling it as a stand alone unit, not linkable to other units. Any input on a fair selling price for the unit would be? No GPS puck included. Thank you in advance

That’s cool and all, but that still doesn’t mean there’s not better strength to diameter ratio lines out there... YZH is a decent line, but far from the holy grail that some tout it as.

Appreciate the info bud!

Curious to know if anyone out there has tried the new Gen 4 Abu Revo Reels. How is the new X? How about the STX and Premier? Loved my Gen 1 and 2, wasn’t a huge fan of he 3s, curious to know how the 4 compares.

The 744 Champion is a great jig Rod. Of course you lose a bit of the sensitivity by not going the Extreme route, however it isn’t PLENTY sensitive IMO for tossing 3/8-3/4oz Jigs. Dragging them, pitching them, etc. the only downside to that rod is it is a JIG rod specifically. Carolina rig works well too. The 734C is a better utility rod that can throw spooks, buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, and more. If Jigs are your main or only use, the 744 will be great!

Green pumpkin for spring and summer (bluegill and Craw imitation). Shad oriented color for fall. On rare occasions and dirtied water I’ll throw a black and blue one pre or post spawn if we’ve had a lot of rain.

The Miyagi swimmer with the flashy swimmer owner hook has quickly become my favorite. I was catching between 10-15 fish per bait, and the action is killer for such a durable bait. Tough to beat the Owner Beast hooks and their flashy swimmer swimbait hooks. Haven't bent one out yet.

Those Miyagi Swimmers have an extra deep hook pocket. I used to use the Little Creeper Trash fish and had to cut the pocket myself as well.

If I'm just going for fun, a chatterbait around grass, a square bill around rock and wood. If i I have an upcoming tournament, I will do some of the same, but also use a big glide bait like a a Deps 250 to see if I can draw some bigger fish out of hiding.

Rage craws and pit bosses are tough to beat for craw presentations! Swimbait type trailed I love the Miyagi swimmer. Adds a nice bulk, and great action. Occasionally I use the keitech 3.8 when I want to downsize in certain situations.

I fished the Rising Son for many years, great bait and large profile. Something slightly smaller and cheaper, I just started playing with the Miyagi Swimmer last month and it's become my new go to under 6" soft swimbait. 3 Pack for $7 and great colors.

Hard baits: MS Slammer Wake Bait Deps 175 or 250 Glide Baits Bullshad for multijointed hard bait Soft Swimbait - Miyagi Swimmer

Definitely would suggest the 734! I have not fished the Sierra rods yet as I prefer full grip handles, but have heard they're really solid, nice rods given their price point!

736 is great too, not a huge difference, both incredibly versatile.

Just when I thought they couldn't put out a better, more versatile rod, BAM! if you don't have one, I personally think it's a must! Started out as a chatterbait specific rod, but it's an incredible squarebill, spinner bait, buzzbait, and even trap rod. They really hit a home run with the 735 and 736 chatterbait rods.

I use a Dobyns 735CB for squarebills and medium depth stuff, I have ways used the absolute fastest reels available. Right now I have 8:1 on that rod. I personally prefer to just reel slower if needed, and have the great slack line pick up ability when a fish hits hard and swims right at the boat.

Dobyns just came out with a 735 and 736 glass chatterbait rods. Designed specifically for chatterbaits. I've lost too many big fish when using a faster action rod and they hit the bait hard.

Not even with a 705 should you be throwing a hudd... The swimbait rod is your best friend when it comes to huddlestons and big swimbaits..

Have you tried mounting a reel on it yet and fishing it or messing around with it in the backyard? Longer rods feel more tip heavy without a reel, but a properly sized reel will definitely help with it feeling heavier.

I owned a few Legends and a few Loomis GLX rods before I made the switch over to all Dobyns. I switched to Dobyns in the end because of the wide range of rod lengths and actions available, they felt a little more "refined" (I liked the reel seat better and the threads above the lock down hood better), they were based in California where I lived, and their customer service was the best I had experienced from any fishing company. I loved calling and speaking to Gary or his son directly!

As stated above, the XP is the new Champion and was not offered years ago. Having said that, there is no comparison between 7ft and 7'4 spinning rods. They are built entirely differently, and for very different things. The 702 for example is an absolute finnesse rod, for drop shotting, split shot, darter head, etc. the 742 is much more stout, the blank is thicker and it's an entirely different beast. It's much more suited for senkos and shakey head where you need more back bone and a slightly more stout rod. I have always owned both 702dx and 742dx (both extremes). As they are both suited for entirely different techniques. If you were looking for a slightly longer version of the 702 yet identical in every other way, I'm sorry you are disappointed. The 741 is more comparable to the 702 although still not quite a fair comparison. Disclosure: I still own my Extreme spinning rods and have not played with the new HP versions of the spinning rods. Everything above is from experience with the extreme rods before they made the minor tweaks to the HP.