Brian11719

This thread feels like the prequel to the latest tackle purchase thread...

This one has actually been available on their sensei worm for a while now. Has done great for me on a drop shot when the visibility is lower. Also happy to see they added a redbug senko...

I like Loomis, St Croix, Shimano and Dobyns but for crankbait rods Dobyns is my favorite. Under $180 puts you into Kaden territory at the moment. One thing I'd mention is you seem to be focusing solely on depth when you might want to consider lure weight and how much pull you are getting back and just because you want a rod that does 'everything' doesn't mean one actually exists. As an example I own a Dobyns Champion 736CB glass and a 705CB. There are lure ratings on them but if you went strictly off that you might think you would be fine throwing something like a Strike King 6XD on that 705. Meanwhile the 736 is great for that lure but not something I'd personally throw most squarebills on. A good all around option for you might be the Kaden 735CB. In my experience that one can go up to medium (eg. 10-15 foot plugs) and still do lighter stuff like a squarebill, jerkbait or walking bait. Copperstate Tackle has a sale right now and the main link you get when you look on Amazon is usually GSM which is the company that owns Dobyns and has also had some good deals recently. If you want to look at Lew's that TP2 rod doesn't look bad and would be less than a Kaden. Relatively similar action but with a Wynn grip and no lifetime warranty but still pretty good quality from a company I'd say is reputable. Good Luck.

Not exactly a sale but I just ordered a previous gen Lew's Custom from Dance's Sporting Goods. First time using them but they give you a 10% discount that stacks (other than you have to pay $5 for shipping which is actually fine w/ me) so the total was $95. They have one more so I figured I'd mention it in case anyone else wants one as that seems like it's going to be a decent jerkbait reel for under $100. They also have a previous gen Tatula 150 for $109 which I almost grabbed even though I don't actually need one whatsoever. Both reels are LH and they shipped right away as well.

8.1 gear ratio for the frogs. SV TW for skipping docks...unless you've managed to figure out how to avoid backlashing when you do that. I actually prefer a spinning rod for docks so I don't have to think about it. That leaves the Curado MGL which seems like it would be a fine match for that Kaden anyway.

I use the same stupid tube jig head and actually use that as a backup on my 6'10" mlxf when I'm too lazy to tie on another drop shot. Almost all of my casting rods are fluoro and not sure I'd enjoy throwing one on that type of a setup and braid to fluoro on a spinning rod seems like a better option to me since you don't really need to worry about line twist as much. Plus the entire weight for that lure was .41oz last time I checked so a casting setup might be overkill anyway.

I own a couple that are about the same length, power and action. Aside from jerkbaits I've found topwater walking baits, poppers and smaller bladed jigs like a mini max or an evo elite mini max seem to do well for me.

Yes I have a few that are 7'4" or over and haven't noticed any issues. The longest one I've got is 7'6" and even that one has been fine but that's also about as long as I'm willing to go. The main issue I've noticed is actually dragging my kayak to certain spots where I have to go under trees or something like that. Fortunately there are plenty of options out there in the 7' to 7'6" range and I've got enough to throw everything I want to throw at this point. I'm betting you won't notice it as much as you are worried about once you are on the water. The only thing I can think of is if your rod storage is limited in height somehow or if you go under a lot of trees or bridges or something like that when you are on the water. If you are on mostly open water there's really not much of a difference and the extra length can help with casting distance for moving baits or for instances when you are fishing really deep on bottom and want a little extra leverage.

I picked up a dobyns xtasy 7'5 3 power casting rod a while back and was looking for a good lightweight casting reel to go with it. I noticed a Zenon X on sale and while I usually prefer Daiwa for casting reels I figured I'd give it a shot since my first casting reel was an Abu and it treated me well. I'm actually really impressed with this model. It balances perfectly with that rod and casts really well. The drag is actually fun to use although this is a jig and worm setup so I don't really use it all that much. 6.8 gear ratio which happens to be my favorite and another thing that drove me to it. All and all I'm impressed with it. I will say that I seem to get a bit more distance out of my Tatulas but this thing is in the ballpark and this isn't one of my setups where I'm looking for max distance anyway. Feels very strong for as light as it is and already landed a big fish with it and can confirm it held up fine. I also like the brakes and it was easy to dial in and once I got it dialed in I was able to cast lighter lures like an ultravibe or a mag 2 with a 3/16oz weight on it a long way. Can't speak to the other two you mentioned but I imagine you might see the Zenon X on sale over the next month or so with black friday coming up. Assuming you do I'd completely recommend this reel especially for a lighter jig and worm setup like the one I'm using it for or for something like a lighter crankbait or jerkbait setup. If you happen to pair it up with a Xtasy 753c I can tell you the thing balances out better than any other rod / reel combo I've ever seen and has become on of my favorite combos.

Both are DSG rods but for me the Lew's Carbon Fire and Dobyn's Frenzy seemed like they were very good quality for the price. A little more than $50 at list price but if you wait for something like black friday you can usually find a good deal on one.

Pretty similar bag to what @Motoboss has pictured here. Usually 4 of those style boxes in it and 4 rods and that's more than enough to keep me busy for a full day. I can also fit my scale and pliers in that same bag as well as an extra spool of leader material. I generally keep a box like that for each setup that I own and have 3-6 different types of lures in it so if I want to try something else it's easy to do so. So for example for my jig and worm setup I have jigs, 4/0 1/16oz gamakatsu screwlocks for flukes and swimbaits, texas rig weights and hooks, and small underspin hooks and then can throw any of those with that one rod / reel (usually with 2 or 3 colors available) depending on what the conditions are actually like once I get out there. Multiply that by four for the other boxes and it ends up being plenty for me and I usually only end up trying out a fraction of the lures available on any given day.

Chartreuse and pearl is one of my two favorite colors for a spinnerbait and prefer that one when the water is dirty and the visibility is lower. Also like that color with the bass puzzle grass piece. The other color I usually go with is white with some sort of albino or shad type pattern.

Friendly reminder...PLEASE remember to check the battery in your scale every once in a while and might not hurt to keep a spare in your tackle box / bag as well. Bit of a bummer to get what might be your PB and never know for sure because the battery was dead. On the other hand still landed these two and they both swam off safely so all in all a pretty d**n good week over here: ...and then a couple of days later this girl showed up:

For standard size flukes I really like the 4/0 Gamakatsu Weighted Superline Spring Lock Hook with a 1/16oz weight. Just enough weight for me to keep it down a bit without impacting the action too much. Can also swap over to a 4.8" Swim Impact Fat if I want to cover more water. I also like the new 6" flukes and go up to the 5/0 size for those. For magnum flukes I go up to the 6/0. I also really like the Owner Weighted Twistlock for smaller flukes.

Nice fish you've got there @Boondocks Hunter congrats!

Congrats that's not always an easy thing to give up stick with it. On another note figured I'd leave this here...grabbed it last week and while it might be a bit overkill it has turned out to be a pretty decent jig / worm setup:

I spent a fair amount of time (and money) looking into this. With bladed jigs and a fast rod I definitely noticed and recorded data that showed I was losing more fish during the fight. There are several explanations for this out there and I honestly don't really know / care why but I personally suspect it's due to the design of a bladed jig and the fact that it swivels a lot more than a traditional jig which seems like it can make it easier for them to shake off. In my case I tried several rods and sold almost all of them on facebook after trying them out for a bit. Eventually I landed on the 736CB glass from Dobyns. It says it's a fast rod but it's also a composite and I agree with that assessment in that it still sets the hook well but also bends down further than a traditional rod. I personally feel it's the best match for me with this technique. I also suspect others will say a different action is better and this is one of those instances where I feel like we could both be right since there's a lot of other factors (eg. how hard you set the hook or what type of line you are using) that go into it. For jigs the answer for me is easy and I like a traditional fast action rod. The only thing that varies for me w/ those would be the power and that's based on the weight of the lure and where I'm throwing it.

IMO they are completely different lures (even though I throw them on the same setup). Toads are good when there's vegetation around but it's mostly under the surface and they are good for covering water. I use a 4/0 1/16oz gamakatsu spring lock with a zoom horny toad and a 7'3" heavy fast rod and I land most of the bites I get. A frog is good for heavier cover. It's also a slower retrieve so for me the idea is after you already have an idea of where they are going to be at and if it's a jungle on the surface throw a frog or if there's some vegetation around but also some open water maybe a popping frog instead. On the other hand if you are trying to find them first maybe go with a moving bait like a toad. Another thing that's pointed out in that video Glenn linked (at least I think that's the one) is you can actually fish a toad over sparse cover and then let it drop into a pocket. That actually does work and pretty sure that's going to be a no go with a frog. To be fair I don't throw them as much as other lures but there are some ponds that I fish that get so much grass in them that there's times when a topwater is pretty much the only option and there's a period of time on those ponds where a toad shines. I also fish frogs on those ponds but would argue there's a time and a place for each and not sure I'd suggest lumping both into the same category.

I've got a tatula 100 on my 5 power dobyns crankbait rod...a few others I might consider would be the new tatula x, lews tournament pro lfs, shimano slx xta or maybe the abu revo sx lp. That said I'm pretty happy with the tatula 100. Would suggest something in the 6.1-7.1 range for the gear ratio.

Guessing what Glenn actually meant is this was announced like a year ago so why are we all of a sudden talking about it again...on another note I just bought a new xtasy 753c sh on amazon for $317. Thought about putting that in the latest sale thread but saw this and figure I'd mention it here and add I still like these rods...don't really care about the P.E. buyout all that much and Gary still seems to be there for now. Love the streams he does w/ hellabass on youtube almost every year except for the fact that I seem to end up buying a new rod after watching one almost every time.

I use the 736cb glass for 1/2oz bladed jigs and larger crankbaits like a 6xd. For smaller bladed jigs like a mini max I use a champ 705cb (which I also use for jerkbaits). For standard size crankbaits and lipless crankbaits I use a 735cb. I really like all three of these and have the 735 and the 736 paired with a Tatula 100 and the casting distance and balance on both are good.

I actually tried the rip n chatter St Croix Victory and found it to be too moderate. Their rods are a bit soft in general and while that one was a nice rod and worked well for me with a lipless crankbait I didn't like throwing a bladed jig on it so I can see why you might have had a similar experience with their MF model. Incidentally I really like their MH F and H F models for spinnerbaits and use those all the time. Like a lot of things I think which rod is best for a bladed jig comes down to personal preference. There are probably a lot of other factors that go into why people like a certain action regardless of whether or not they are aware of those. The size and weight of the lure, type of line they are using, where they are usually throwing it, and how hard they set the hook are a few off the top of my head. On the other hand I also tried a fast rod with a bladed jig and noticed I seemed to be losing more on the way back in. Based on that experience I suspect there is something to the notion that the nature of the design gives them more leverage to shake it off which is why a lot of arguments are made for the moderate rods. In my case I just kept trying different models out until I found one that felt right. For me that's a Champ XP 736 glass but just because that's what seems to work best for me doesn't mean everyone else is going to feel the same way. I should probably point out that I also feel like Dobyns makes the best crankbait rods in general and at this point every crankbait / bladed jig rod I own is a Dobyns so my opinion is most likely biased.

I like the Yamamoto D Shad or an OSP DoLive Stick but still throw a Fluke as well. For Flukes I prefer a 4/0 Gamakatsu screwlock with a 1/16oz weight.

I fish a drop shot in similar conditions and prefer 12lb Sunline FC leader. I was trying other lines and lower lb test and having similar issues. After switching to this stuff that stopped happening. I do think you tend to get what you pay for when it comes to this stuff to some extent. In this case one thing you will notice is even though that CXX is rated 8lb the 12lb FC leader is actually a bit smaller in diameter (.012" vs. .0112"). Realize it's not nearly as cheap but I've also found it lasts a lot longer for me and between that and not worrying about break offs it's been enough for me to stick with it for that type of a setup. On a side note I kept the copoly and still use it (10-12lb CXX or Yo-Zuri specifically) but I only use that as a leader with 30lb braid when I'm throwing a spook or a sammy.