Brian11719

The 7'2 MH...although that 7'3 looks interesting...they say that one is for flipping but it's only rated up to 1oz which seems a bit low for a flipping stick. In my case I use this rod for bladed jigs and bigger crankbaits like the 6xd so something rated up to 1.25 or 1.5oz is more in line with what I'm looking for and why I ended up landing on the 736cb instead.

I usually end up throwing a drop shot when things get tough but yesterday even that wasn't getting bites. I had one of these on another rod and it ended up being the only lure that worked for the day: I realize most people are into strolling or shaking a minnow these days, but I usually try go with something a little different and this particular setup (willowvibe with a mooch minnow) is fun to throw and has done pretty well for me. Is anyone else throwing a willowvibe these days? Alternatively, have you found another lure that seems to do really well for you even though you don't see a lot of other people using it??

There's actually a newish channel called the Average Angler (pretty sure it's not the same guy from the posts in this thread) that I've been watching lately. He goes over a lot of baits and techniques and while a fair amount of it is stuff I already know about I still pick up some new ideas every once in a while.

I like St Croix and really like the Victory line. That said I tried the rip n chatter and didn't like it for bladed jigs. Too moderate for my taste. If anything maybe if you are gonna run braid but aside from that I found it to be very moderate and ended up landing on a Dobyns 736CB instead. On the other hand I own the 7'4 H F and 7'3 MH F Victory models and really like both of those. The rip n chatter did feel better with a lipless crankbait and might have been ok for me for treble lures, but for a bladed jig I like something with a little less bend since you are looking at putting a larger single hook through their mouth. Have not tried the 7'2 H MF but if I had to do it over again I'd personally opt for that one over the rip n chatter...but that said the 736CB w/ a tatula 100 is getting no complaints from me.

Do you happen to know a few of the swimbaits he is planning on using and what sort of budget he's looking at? As an example, the slow sink SPRO shad swimbait clocks in at 4" and weights 7/8oz. For something like that I would most likely want something with a moderate fast action that is rated up to 1.25 or 1.5oz but without knowing the lures he plans to throw or what sort of budget he's looking at it's hard to get much more specific than that. If it were me and I was throwing that one or something like it I'd probably just use my 736cb that I use for bladed jigs and bigger crankbaits, but again hard to say without knowing the specifics...on a side note there appears to be a 746cb on amazon right now for sale for 206.54 O.o.

One of my dad's favorite sayings is 'old age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill'. As I gotten older I've come to appreciate that one more...

I don't like buzzbaits or whopper ploppers. Also don't like treble hooks and swap them out on the select hard baits that I like enough to throw anyway w/out them...

The last gen Ultegra is steel blue the newer one is the dark grey.

I've got a Dobyns Sierra w/ an Ultegra reel that I use for flukes and as a spare rod. Price went up a bit but you can catch them on sale pretty often and might still be able to get a last gen ultegra somewhere if you need a reel. Great fluke combo but also 'good' for a ton of other stuff.

Conditions and water clarity are pretty much the answer here IMO. If it's crystal clear and you are throwing a drop shot you probably aren't going to get the same results as you would with a leader. On the other hand if its cloudy and the water is murky probably little to no difference if you are doing something like pitching a texas rig especially if it's into stuff that would create a shadow and lower visibility even further.

I'd honestly say if you have something you want to throw on braid at this point go for it. Regarding the backlashes maybe pick up a new reel...nothing too fancy necessarily needed and even a lews speed spool might improve things a bit along with some good quality line. Which brings me to my next point line quality is definitely a thing and I've found I get little to no backlashes on any of my casting setups with good quality fluoro (or braid but I use fluoro on most of them). Regarding the advantages of a higher priced reel there's definitely a difference but like rods there's an element of diminishing returns to it. Honestly for my purposes a tutula 100 would be idea for most things...maybe an sv if I'm trying to get away with a lighter lure or something but honestly I just use spinning setups for lures that are around .5oz or under. Best of luck.

I use 20lb fluoro for 1.5oz a-rigs and it has been working out well for me.

+1 for an un-weighted 4/0 twist lock. Brand preferences in my case would be a owner twistlock open gap, berkley fusion 19, bkk armor point, or a gamakatsu superline with a slight preference to owner for any elaztech baits but as the caffeine shad does not fall under that list any of these would work for me and some of them might have a slightly wider gap than the owner but that cps does come in handy for worms or elaztech lures. For actual flukes I like a 1/16oz weight but the caffeine shad or yamamoto version are heavy enough that I prefer a weightless hook.

Was the old one just a 7' MH F? If so then yes I'd say getting something a little heavier was probably a good call. I've got one similar to that in terms of length, power and action in my lineup. Aside from flipping and punching (which is what it's advertised for) I've found it also does well if I want to throw an a-rig or something like a 6" magdraft with a owner beast hook in it. Hope you catch some monsters with it anyway...

With the sale going on right now at Copperstate you can get some Dobyn's Kaden or Sierra rods for about $150 each and that's what I'd do if it were me and that was my budget since they are great rods and come with a lifetime warranty. I've also heard good things about the Cashion Element series but have not tried one myself.

If it were me I might consider one or more of the following: 7'4 H F for frogs / flipping 6'10 M MF for hard jerkbaits 7-7'2 ML F spinning rod for lighter lures (realize you said you are going to avoid this one for now but can be helpful to have more than 1 spinning rod)

So looking into this more it seems they offer both cookie based wishlists and a wishlist based on login. If you don't login and make a wishlist it's going to be stored in your browser cookies and so if you clear your cache or use a different browser or computer it's not going to be there. I would expect a login based wishlist to persist, but could be they are having issues w/ that. In my case I just made a 'baits to try' folder in my browser and then favorite any that I might want to include in my next order and save them as a favorite there. Aside from that might be worth making a new TW account or at the very least changing your password on your existing one and making sure it's a strong password and not the same one that you use for other accounts.

ftfy honestly I'd say if that's an issue maybe just put your shopping list somewhere else like google keep or a local joplin file...I have had 0 issues w/ TW personally...compared to another shop (don't feel like pointing fingers right now) that charged me upfront for something that went on backorder and then not refunding me to the point where I had to dispute the charge w/ m y cc company when I eventually cancelled because they still didn't refund me weeks later and stopped responding to my emails (btw I won that dispute) TW has been awesome as far as I'm concerned since they only charge when an item ships and they always seem to do a great job shipping rods...not sure they are obligated to keep every user's wishlist forever either and just as an aside cloud storage isn't free.

Do you care about where the grip is located? Most spinning rods have a foregrip but the Sierra series (like all Dobyns rods) has the grip behind the reel (which I prefer). In my case since I prefer that style of a grip (and for many other reasons) I really like the Poison Adrena. On the other hand if you are ok with or would prefer a foregrip there's a ton of options out there. What about a warranty? The Dobyns rods have a lifetime warranty that's pretty much no questions asked but some of the other ones out there offer a 'lifetime' warranty that would involve you sending them the rod and paying for the shipping and then having them inspect it and decide if they feel like they should replace it...I like St Croix and Dobyns for that reason but one good thing about the Shimano rods (aside from the quality itself which is also very good) is they did improve their warranty program recently... I have thrown that rod and it reminded me a bit of a St Croix rod...although I do think the Victory line and anything above it is a little better than the Sierra in terms of sensitivity (although I did feel like the balance on the Sierra was a bit better if that matters at all). Their warranty is also good and lasts for 15 years so while it's not 'lifetime' I would probably want a new rod after that amount of time anyway. Cashion also has a good warranty program similar to Dobyns and might be worth looking into. But for me if you want a grip style like the one on the Sierra but something a little more sensitive I'd say look at the Adrenas....they are actually a LOT more sensitive and have pretty much sold me on carbon fiber handles vs cork for bottom contact applications.

I like to go back and forth between an ultravibe and a mag2...or a mag ultravibe and an ol' monster. 4/0 ewg for the regular size worms and 5/0 for the mag worms. I get the complaint about hookup ratio w/ smaller EWG hooks and tend to like a gamakatsu hybrid more for smaller applications like a 2/0 but have not noticed any significant difference in hookup ratio w/ the larger ewg sizes (eg. 4/0 and above). In terms of which one to throw if it's a little more clear I like the mag2 or old monster...on the other hand if the water is stained or if it's cloudy or windy then the ultravibe seems to do a little better. Both amazing products and my 2 favorite colors are redbug or junebug red...I suppose sometimes I'll throw a green something or other but it's usually one of these 2 colors 90% of the time.

I like sufix 832 30lb braid to a very short 10lb yo-zuri hybrid leader for most topwater and just replace the entire leader when I switch lures. The yo-zuri is a good leader for this type of thing and not expensive IMHO. For frogs I just go with 50lb sufix w/ no leader.

Same answer for me...the closest I've gotten is I use a 6104cb...in the colder months it has a casting reel with fluoro on it...then when it gets warmer I switch the reel over to one that has 30lb braid in it w/ a copoly leader and use that for a popper...suppose you could also use something like a spook with the same setup but turns out I like a longer rod for the spook so I do the same thing w/ the 735cb I've got...but that one goes between a lipless and a spook. TLDR 2 reels w/ the same rod is the closest I've gotten to doing anything like this...would not throw a jerkbait on anything but fluorocarbon (since it sinks better and the fish can't see it as easily) and not going to use that same fluorocarbon for topwater lures like a popper or a spook. Also straight 50lb braid with a frog for me...

No BUT I do have the previous gen PAD267MLA which is also a medium light rated from 1/8-7/16oz and use it for similar techniques. I'd completely recommend this line and IMO the carbon fiber handle is in a completely different league than the eva on the zodias rods when it comes to sensitivity...especially for bottom contact lures. If I was buying one of the current gen models I'd go with the 7'2" medium light fast for this type of lure. The only other rod I own that I'd even compare these to is the St. Croix Legend Xtreme but at almost half the price this series is one of the best out there in terms of bang for the buck. The medium action one is also nice and I'd probably get one of those too if I was looking to throw heavier lures in the 1/2oz range. Bit bummed they didn't make another medium heavy spinning rod as that's the other one I have from the last gen and I really like that one too but the medium model also looks very nice and would probably make a good senko / fluke / small swimbait rod, but for bottom contact going through plastic the faster action will help a bit and the longer length won't hurt either.

Jig / bladed jig for me. Also landed one on a fluke but that may have just been...a fluke. (I'll show myself out now).

Might just need some casting reel grease. If it were me I'd pick some up and hit it with that since you will probably need some at some point anyway if you don't already have some. I believe Shimano actually makes their own but the Lew's casting reel grease is usually available locally (for me at least). You can also find some videos on applying it to a Shimano casting reel on youtube. Fair chance that fixes it, probably easier / cheaper than any other option, and worst case is you buy some casting reel grease for $8 that you will most likely use in the future anyway. If that didn't work I'd call Shimano and show them the receipt. Honestly 6 months later is a bit much to be calling back any retailer but I believe it should still be under warranty...but that said I doubt the gears on a Curado would go bad after only 6 months so I'd definitely try the grease first.