David P

Heavy to one person can be 2oz, or 8oz, so let us know baits you're trying to throw. I wouldn't throw a small low pro reel on a big swimbait rod. They're not built to handle throwing heavy baits over 3oz (if you're intending to use it this way). Shimano Cardiff, Shimano Calcutta 400B, Daiwa Luna, all are great round reels for swimbaits. If you're gonna keep it under 4oz or so, Shimano Curado 300 or Revo Toro can work. For rod, I really like using a Dobyns 795 for swimbaits under 3 1/2 or so oz. I throw lunker punkers, wake baits, and some slow sinking swimbaits. For the heavier stuff, I use a Dobyns 806 Swimbait rod.

Sounds like you have a Generation 1 Dobyns maybe...?

We're not talking fly rods for trout fishing here !

I may just have to take you up on that next time I'm out on the West Coast. Those rods are really nice, I just have a hard time justifying spending that much on a single stick sometimes. It's tough, no doubt about it. If money is tight, the best thing to do (if you can) is just buy them for your bottom bouncing baits. The baits you need the most sensitivity for like jigs, t-rigs, etc.. Just shoot me a PM, always glad to show some rods off.

Savvy Series, but let us know what he's looking to use the rod for so we can help him pick the right model.

Randy McAbee designed the 8ft cranking rod, he's a deep cranking mad man. He designed it to have a slightly longer handle. Not sure if it's a full 3" difference, but I do know it's a bit longer. I just checked my 705 and 765 CB Rods and they have the same length handle. So it's just the 805 that's slightly longer. I use my 705CB for ripbaits, so the longer handle would probably do more harm then good for me.

Thanks Tom. I was beginning to wonder if Powell rods were really that bad.I have a 6'8" Spinning reel and mine doesn't feel tip heavy to me at all.It's my favorite rod right now to be honest. David P,you got me real curious about getting a Dobyn rod now though. Powells under 7ft don't balance all too bad. I like long rods, most of my rods are 7'3-8ft. This is where the better balanced rods really shine and the tip heavy ones fail. The difference in balance between the 766 Powell vs 766 Savvy or Champion is quite noticeable.

Great knot, I do it with any straight shank hook, and I very rarely ever use EWG hooks at all anymore. The knot pops the hook in the roof of the fishes mouth every time. I never thought a knot would make much of a difference, but every d**n hook I take out of the fish is in the roof of their mouth .

Some guys love XF rods, others hate them. A lot of it is personal preference. I like a little give and bend, especially because I use braid a good amount. Not to mention, I think they're a bit better for baits like spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and such, where you can easily rip the hook away from them too quickly. Both work, just depends on what you like. For anyone reading or that are ever in California on vacation, never hesitate to shoot me a PM. Glad to meet up with anyone interested and let you mess around with whatever rods you'd like. Carrot, I'm not sure where you live, but if you're in Northern Cali PM me, I'm glad to meet up with you with several rods that you may be interested in purchasing, and allow you to handle and fish them to see how you like them. Rods are a big expense, and by all means, it's tough to make decisions over night. Research is good, but handling them yourself is the biggest deal. If you go into a local store, MAKE SURE to mount the reel on both a Powell and Dobyns of equal length and power, that's the only way you'll feel the true difference in feel and balance. Always glad to show anyone on BR rods if they live or ever travel to Nor Cal, just shoot me a PM.

I've tried Powells back in the day, and have had many friends / tournament partners that used to use Powells. They have all switched to Dobyns once the G2 rods came out. The G2 Dobyns although more expensive, are FAR superior. More sensitive, better balanced, smaller guides, and if you really want to spend the money the extremes are just incredible. Balance is a BIG deal that many guys don't pay attention to, and ones that haven't held a Dobyns don't know what they're missing. Powells are tip heavy rods, 7'3 rods and longer especially feel much heavier then they really are in reality. Dobyns balance extremely well, causing them to feel even lighter then they are. Powells flipping sticks for me were a pain to fish all day, Dobyns I can fish them all day long with no effort. Gary now released a Savvy Series in the same price range as the Powells. Although there are only a limited models available, they are still very well balanced, and feel awesome. I'd lean towards the Champions if money isn't an issue, but if it is, you are definitely still upgrading with the Savvy's.

I haven't heard of any plans to do so. That's not to say he won't, but I'd say most likely not. Never know down the road though.

Nothing can top this line, hands down the winner.

The problem you may get with the Cylone Slip N Jig is the fact that the weight is so much larger due to being made with lead. If you're only in the 1/2oz size you might be fine, but if you ever bump up, the tungsten weights ar smaller and go through a bit easier. "Punching" over here more or less implies forcing your bait into heavy heavy cover, something that simply cannot be done with a 1/2oz weight. As for baits, anything works. I like a RI Beaver or a Dichoso Baits Krazy Koura . Both have produced very well for me.

I've used the Spro Frogs, River 2 Sea, and a few others like the Scum frogs and the Swamp Donkey. After getting my hands on a few Snag Proof Bobby's Perfect frogs, I sold all my other frogs and haven't touched another one since. Hands down the best frog. Takes on very little water, casts extremely well, easy as hell to walk, and great colors. They hold up to big fish too, I have a few 7lbers and one over 8 on them and have yet to lose a big fish. Hook up ratio has greatly improved as well since switching to the Snag Proof lineup.

Well worth the extra $50. Hands down.

I've had horrible experiences with them. I have had 3 hook points bend upwards due to the hook being so sharp. These things are incredibly sharp, and the idea is awesome, BUT the 3 points have bent on a total of 5 fish, and they are useless after that.

Line is the single most important factor when fishing. Nice rods and reels help, but line is a necessity. If your rod or reel breaks while fighting a fish, you still have a chance to hand reel the fish in. If the line breaks, you're done. Don't see why it's worth even taking a chance to save $10-$20 and potentially losing the fish of a life time. There's a reason there's so many "The one that got away" stories.

Considering it costs close to $30 to ship a rod to you, they're really only asking for an additional $30. If it was a defect in the rod and not your own wrong doing, send it in, they will check it, and replace it. Most of the time when a rod breaks, it's the owners fault. And $60 may be close to half of the Powell rods cost, but many dobyns are $220 - $320 , so $60 is quite a small charge in the event that you break a rod on your own fault. The fact that companies will replace rods if you step on it and break it, the rod locker breaks it, a door slams on it, is quite nice IMO. They're certainly not making money off of you by replacing it for $60. If they didn't charge, people would break a rod after 6 months because the cork is dirty and they just want a new one.

Customer Service is what they are known for. Gary and his son both work very hard at making sure every customer is 100% satisfied. When you call during normal hours, you will reach a live person, or get a call back very quickly. No worries if there's no dealer near you, the no hassle warranty still applies. Call them up, tell them what happened, and they will walk you through how to get your new rod. All done very easily.

Incredible rods for the money, and have yet to hear a single dislike about them. Definitely comparable to most $200 rods. Best budget rods (if your budget is in the mid hundreds) money can buy.

If it's ok to praise the hell out of products, posting several threads about how great a product is, I can't see how posting a negative thread about a product is any different. He just gave his honest opinions. I have purchased 2 packages of RT, caught 0 fish, and haven't tried them again. I'm sure they work, for many people, but whether they work any better then other products in similar categories would be tough to prove. They give anglers confidence, and that truly does help, so to all the people that love RT baits, keep on catching great fish! Negative threads like this aren't bad, in fact, I love to see them. So many guys think there's only ONE answer to certain situations and bait companies, the fact is, there's hundreds of baits out there. In many cases, 10 different baits will all catch the same fish. It's your choice.

I have been deep cranking with them and they work great for deep cranking as well. Sure it may take a tad more work, but I can cover water quick, and I don't have a reel that's only good for one thing! 7:1 reels truly are great for everything. Your kids are incredible at picking out gifts! WHY you just have to turn the handle slower? 7.x reels are great for just about everything except swimbaits and deep cranks.

Prob not gonna manage for $100 total. $100 for Rod and $100 for a reel then you're in much better shape.

7:1 High Speed Reels are perfect for anything and everything. By far the most versatile. After using it, you're going to want to switch out all of your slow reels. Frogs and jigs are where it really shines, along with soft plastics and such.

Dobyns Savvy series. Roughly the same price as the Powells and certainly a nice step up. Better balanced and very nice all around feel. Absolutely amazing rods for the price. They have the feel of 200 rods easy.