WRB-2.0

The rod plays a big role in casting for distance. The more parabolic and longer the rod the further a reel can cast. The lure type, weight and aerodynamic it is the further it will travel. Lots of factors to consider. Wind and temperature factor in casting distance. When you have 2 anglers casting the same type and weight lures to the same target and one reel cast significantly further by both anglers, that is a good comparison. My old 90's vintage TD-X 103HiA's, super tuned with up graded bearings, are still my benchmark casting reels. These reels require skill to cast long distance anyone who tries to cast my reels blows them up and must adjust the end cap to add spool tension for friends to use. The old Daiwa's are good reels, but not for everyone and that also should be a consideration...ease of casting. Tom

Casting jigs a long distance is relative to the presentation and where you fish. Very few bass anglers will cast a jig further than 30 yards or 90' and that is a long cast. Where and how I fish jigs 90' is my average casting distance during bright sunny days. Occasionally a target area is nearly twice that distance, 50 to 60 yards, my casting distance limit using jigs and casting with my jig rods. Casting over 150' under fishing conditions with a 7/16 oz jig, excluding the trailer, is a very long cast, requiring skill and highly tuned reels with 10 to 12 lb mono or FC line. The only reason to make such a long cast is circumstances that prevent a shorter cast, like a buoy line or something preventing you from getting closer. Sometimes the situation is spooky bass in gin clear water. The only way you know how far you are casting is marking the line with a sharpie pen at measured distance or casting on a measured distance like a football field. I fish alone most of the time, however fish with a partner on occasion. There is some pride in tackle ownership, I take pride in my casting distance because it comes into play with the presentation used. At night casting a long distance isn't required and 50' to 75' becomes a standard distance, the bass are less wary at night where I fish and you can use use heavier line 15 to 20 lb test. Tom

If price isn't a concern the Daiwa Steez may be the best production baitcasting reel on the market. Shimano Core fans may dispute that claim, both are excellent casting reels. In the mid price, again Daiwa may have the longest casting production reel with the Tatula R, the new reel hasn't been out long enough to be tinkered with. Out of the box this reel cast long distance with ease. The test of a good casting reel takes time on the water under real fishing conditions. When reel is clean and tuned they cast good, when they have several hours of use under various weather conditions, the reel starts to show it's real performance capabilities. Reels that require constant maintenance to perform well are not worth the effort to achieve 5 extra yards distance. Judging casting distance is subjective, unless each reel is tested on the same rod with the same line and lure on a measured field. We can't do that unless we own the various reels to test side by side.TT does tackle testing, you might want to research their evaluations. Tom

I suggested the NorthStar hair jig, they make a 3/16 oz round head, that should work good. If you want hair jigs, with real bucktail hair, they are hard to find unless you make your own. Hair jigs are like pork rind trailers, not popular anymore, the fact they catch bass doesn't seem to matter. Tom

Crayfish eat what is available. When the water cold crayfish burrow into soft clay or mud, so you may have a winter migration going on. Crayfish don't hibernate and periodically come out of burrows to feed. Tom

They want you to cut in shorter lengths to save money shipping it back. Shipping a rod 7' long tube is more expensive, than a 24" tube, this is standard practice with broken rod returns. You fold a piece of cardboard into a 3" shape triangle X 24" long, tape it, put in the short cut up pieces, letter with your return address, etc. and mail it for under $7 at your local post office. Tom

I don't want to hijack this thread, however Dobny's DX795 Flip is the gold standard out west up in the delta.

One reason some rod makers may offer Neoprene is Hypalon is no longer available from DuPont. The problem Neoprene could have is poor UV performance, exposure to sunlight. High quality cork is getting rare, so rod makers are trying alternative handle materials. Tom

OK lets say you are fishing a tiurnament, blind draw, lake and location unknown. What 5 rods would you take? I will stay with my choices, would you? Tom

Don't know what happened to my original post, so will repeat it. Call Gary Dobyn's and ask the rod maker if the rod in question is appropriate. Tom

If the line doesn't move, you will not feel it. You feel line movement, line isn't a living nerve! No rod ever made will be as sensitive to line movement than your finger/ thumb tips, they have living nerves to transmit the movement to your brain. Believing that your rod can transmit line movement better than a finger tip touching kine is naive. Being aware of what the line is doing requires that you feel and watch the line. Watching line for movement takes practice and becomes as natural as feeling line move. Strike indicators can be obvious or subtle, the obvious take care of themselves, detecting subtle strikes requires practice. The best spot to watch line move is where it enters the water. The other area of the line to watch is the controlled slack, if you are not moving the lure and the line tightens slight more, something has added resistance to the lures movement, usually that slight change in slack line is a strike. Don't for a moment believe that only bass anglers should be line watchers, this applies all types of fish. I have watched live bait tuna anglers on a drift miss the fact a that a tuna had their bait and swam back toward the boat, sometimes under the boat and out the other side without them detecting line movement of feeling the fish until their rods starting to bend. Tom

Use caution when purchasing close out products. Tom

Why do you think soft plastics fishing lures like worms and creature baits dry out? Most soft plastic lasts for decades. Some brands may get a little stiffer then they were new, putting oil on them doesn't soften them, only reheating in boiling water will soften stiffened soft plastics. Oil will make them slippery or sticky, depending on the oil used. Glycerin oil with a few drops of pure anise oil works as a good attractant without damaging the molded soft plastic lures. A few drops of "oil" in a zip lock bag is all that is needed. Tom

To me a good crankbait rod should cast extremely well, this is important. The rod tip should vibrate with the line movement of the deep diving lures, this is your indicator how the lure is working and if the lure stops vibrating to indicate a strike. The rod needs to be strong enough to get a solid hook set with treble hook lures at a long distance. The rod needs to be flexible enough to avoid tearing out treble hooks near the boat, yet strong enough to control the bass. High modulus graphite rods do not have all these characteristics, glass blends with graphite or E glass have these features. The modern crankbait rods are designed to optimize all the features you need. Can you use a general use med/hvy fast action high modulus rod to fish crankbaits with? Yes, just not as affective as rod designed for crankbaits. Tom

A good comparison is golf and fishing, both enjoyed by weekend participants, both have amateur and professional levels of competition and both are considered sports, recreational sports, by nearly everyone.The debate about the participants being athletes depends on the individual. If an Ironman athlete is playing a round of golf, he is still an athlete, same is true if he is fishing. This doesn't mean all golfers or fishermen are athletes. My point is some pro bass anglers are athletes that bass fish, they may or may not be world class athletes. For example I consider myself to be an athlete as a all around gymnast competing at the NCAA level 50 years ago. At some point in time my athletic skills diminished, however I still bass fish. Just because I bass fish doesn't erase the fact I was an athlete and if younger and competing in tournaments, I would still be considered an athlete. Tom

A shaky head jig.......is a jig Bobby! Tom

There are different types of athletes and all skill levels. Training should be aimed at perfecting a particular skill set. A top bass pro trains, some have a physical routine including exercise like running, cycling, etc to improve leg strength and stamina to endure standing on one leg while balancing and controlling to the boat in high winds, big waves for several hours for several days, back to back, to back. Both Aaron Martins and KVD train daily, similar to Tiger a woods routine. Being an athlete in a different sport doesn't change the fact that an athlete can become a bass angler and remain an athlete. Athletic skills can be an advantage to a touring bass pro or weekend angler, increases dedication and physical endurance. Don't forget that not all athletes are champions in their sport, only a few reach the top in every sport, including the sport of fishing. Tom

Basically you tare rout fishing with a slip sinker lake rig. You don't need a high end graphite bass rod for this application, unless you plan to use it for bass fishing. The Dobyn's champ 702 series drop shot rod is still a strong rod for small trout, but will cast the lake/finesse C-rig very well depending on leader length. 732 would be good for both trout and bass. 3/16 oz may be a good weight choice. Tom

I don't own any Shimano rods other than the Loomis brand, prior to the ownership change. The Shimano brand rods historically have over rated power marking, meaning under rated actual power when compared to the Loomis brand, for example. Medium-heavy = a 4 power in the Loomis brand, fast action = the upper 1/3rd of the flexes 3 to 1 vs the mid 1/3 under light pressure. The shimano is closer to a 3+ power and moderate fast action, about 1/2 of the upper rod bends 3 to 1, a slightly slower action. What all this boils down to is your rod is a all around bass rod that works well for a lot of presentations. It's not ideally suited to be a jig rod for heavier jigs. It's also a little too fast action for crankbaits, however should work OK. Hollow body swimbaits up to 6" should be good. T-rigged soft plastics, worms and creatures, up to 3/4 oz, should be OK. Tom

The 5 basic bass rods to me are; Baitcasting; 3, 4 and 5 power fast action, 6'10" to 7'3" Swimbait baitcasting; 6 power moderate action, 7'10 to 8' Spinning; 3 power, moderate/fast action, 6'8 to 7' Where 3 power =bc medium+,sp medium-, 4 power = medium/ heavy, 5 power = heavy, 6 power = heavy+, 3 oz to 5 oz lures. Mfr's; ALX Custom, Loomis and Lamiglas. I don't own and would consider Dobyn's or St Croix If you are not into swimbaits than add a crankbait rod, 4 power, moderate action, 7'3" to 7' 8" I fish all 6 year around and have doubles or more of each. Tom

Catt would be a good resource with the lake types you are fishing. Tom

There should be no debate that fishing is a recreational sport and tops the list at 42.1 million people enjoy fishing. How many of those 42.1 million anglers are athletes is unknown. Lets say 10% are or were athletic; 4.2 million anglers in the USA are athletes. Tom

Do you consider golf a sport? Golf is similar to fishing, top level tournament touring golfers and bass fisherman perform the sport under all conditions, storms may halt some events, and must practice constantly. A pro golfer must walk the course, about 6 miles each round and most are in good physical condition to remain at the top of the game. Bass pros, and I am using that term to top level bass tournament anglers, are not in as good of physical condition as most of the top level golf pros. However some bass pros are in good condition and work out to keep in good physical condition. Both could drink a beer during their competition if the rules allowed. On the other hand you can bass fish relaxed sitting on a swivel chair if you choose, fish tournamnets and be in poor physical condition and call yourself a bass pro. You can't call those anglers athletes and that is the general population perception of a red neck bass angler. My hobby is bass fishing, not tournament fishing and I hate the difination of red neck bass angler, can't change what people think or how they perceive bass fishing. Tom

There isn't any standards that apply to fresh water bass rods. Each rod maker differs in how they mark rods or market their rods. Today rod makers have gone to application specific rod marketing and get creative trying to come up with names, actions and lure/ line weights. What does medium mean, medium heavy, heavy mean? Moderate, fast, extra fast combined with the power rating that doesn't have an objective difination is a combination of 2 unknowns. Unfortunately the best way to know is pick up a rod, put a reel on it with line, a casting weight and cast it. Rods are a personal touchy feely product and each angler has a different idea how the rod should feel. A rod should perform under the conditions you use it. If you can cast the lures you like to fish with, hook and land fish, the rod is right for you. Yes, you can break a rod using too heavy line and damage it casting too heavy of lures. Reels have drags, use it set @ 1/3 rd the line ( mono # test) on your reel, don't cast lures exceeding the recommended lure weight and you should be OK. Tom

Bass fishing is a type sportfishing. Are bass anglers athetes, some are, some are not. The top tournament anglers keep in good physical condition and would be considered athletes. Tom