Well I’m finally ready to jump off the deep end and into top of the line rod territory. Outside of my Daiwa BLX, all of my rod are in the 150-300 dollar range. (Not that I paid full price for any of them, can always find discounts lol). But I need help picking an all round bottom contact rod.

I mainly fish from a kayak, and currently carry 3 rods on it when I fish. I plan on adding a couple of rod holders to make it 5, and likely will have this starting lineup

 

7’2” HF Daiwa BLX (jigs/frogs)

Rod X (jig/T-rig)

Dobyns Champ XP 734 (moving baits)

7’2” MHM St. Croix LTB (crankin)

7’0” MF Shimano Expride B (spinning)

 

One of the biggest factors imo is warranty. If I’m spending this much on a rod, I want to make sure it’s covered if anything happens. So I’ve narrowed it down to

 

Dobyns Xtasy 754c

Daiwa Steez AGS BC2

GLoomis NRX+ 893c

 

I love all of my Dobyns and Daiwa rods, never have experienced a Loomis. I’m open to all suggestions but these are the top 3. Thank you

My favorite bottom contact rod that I have owned is nrx 873crr but I’ve heard the 893 is very good as well. 

873

Xtasy

 

The Dobyns and the Loomis have a no-fault replacement policy that the Daiwa does not have.  That is the biggest drawback of those rods IMO but I still have two of them and absolutely love them.  lol- Be careful what you're doing.  When you get a high-end rod it will make you want to replace the rest of your rods.  

Either the NRX+ or consider Gary’s current offering Edge. The new epitome line is exceptional. 

If you're really worried about warranty, probably best getting a nrx+ second hand and leveraging the expeditor program if anything goes awry. Most actual warranty cases in any brand is a major pain in the butt. Either months to replace the rods or some kind of dispute. Have heard good things about dobyns service but personally have never liked their rods at their price points. I was in a similar position and just got an nrx so I'd stop wondering what I was missing by not getting 'the best'.

My buddy has all the top end stuff from Japan and the US, Destroyer, NRX, Yamaga and so on.  He thinks Steez is at the top.  

Don't rule out the IMX Pro rods either. they are awesome

my friend had that Steez.  it is such a great rod.   he flipped his kayak and lost that rod combo along with a few others.  

 

that was a brutal day.  

As a general purpose bottom contact rod, the NRX+  873CCR is hard to beat. 

NRX - great rod and warranty. 

Steez is also awesome!  

 

Have both and regret neither. 

Steez

Bc2 is a really great stick. The 893 is also a great stick but not comparable in power or tip to the bc2. Id think your in more of the 873 territory. 
 

it’s worth noting that Ben from the hook up considers the 873c & steez power pitch as the same rod for applications. While I haven’t had the 873 (have had 893) the power pitch is certainly a LOT more power than the 893. I frogged with my power pitch in the thick stuff. It’s got a ton of power but can also throw pretty light stuff. 
 

893

BC2

873

Steez power pitch 

 

all great rods with diffident levels in power.

 

Daiwa has been good to me with warranty as has G loomis 

21 hours ago, santafish said:

If you're really worried about warranty, probably best getting a nrx+ second hand and leveraging the expeditor program if anything goes awry. Most actual warranty cases in any brand is a major pain in the butt. Either months to replace the rods or some kind of dispute. Have heard good things about dobyns service but personally have never liked their rods at their price points. I was in a similar position and just got an nrx so I'd stop wondering what I was missing by not getting 'the best'.

I’ve never had any trouble replacing a rod under warranty with Daiwa or Loomis 

Thanks for the help! Starting to lean more NRX or Steez now. How long is the warranty on the Steez rods?

The 873 is the one you want.  893 is a nice rod, but lacks power for an all around jig/creature rod.

 

On 8/24/2023 at 5:53 AM, webertime said:

873

I’ll ditto the others, the 873 is a great choice. I favor it over my 893 for 3/8 and 1/2 oz jigs pitching around cover. It’s really crisp and casting those weights accurately comes easy with it. I also really like using it for throwing a 5” Miyagi swimbait on a 1/4oz owner beast hook. 

Steez BCII

1 hour ago, TheBaitMonkey said:

I’ll ditto the others, the 873 is a great choice. I favor it over my 893 for 3/8 and 1/2 oz jigs pitching around cover. It’s really crisp and casting those weights accurately comes easy with it. I also really like using it for throwing a 5” Miyagi swimbait on a 1/4oz owner beast hook. 

Quick hijack for 873c users, Ben @ the hook says it’s the identical to the power pitch. The power pitch is a meat stick the has frogging power. Can you frog or throw a 1/2  - 3/4 texas rig on it ? While my bc2 is awesome I think it’s too light in power to throw a frog or 3/4 oz Texas rigs 

23 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

Quick hijack for 873c users, Ben @ the hook says it’s the identical to the power pitch. The power pitch is a meat stick the has frogging power. Can you frog or throw a 1/2  - 3/4 texas rig on it ? While my bc2 is awesome I think it’s too light in power to throw a frog or 3/4 oz Texas rigs 

I’ve used it for frogs before in a pinch and it worked pretty well. I can’t say I’ve used a 3/4oz Texas rig on it but I have used a 3/4oz weight in a Carolina rig with it and it was good for that. 
 

IMO it’s more like the FMJ than the Perfect Pitch

Well I think I decided on the Steez AGS. Gonna probably put a Zillion SV or get a Steez A2 for it. Prices from Japan on those reels are the lowest I’ve seen in a while. Bait monkey can’t resist lol

On 8/25/2023 at 10:33 PM, Bandersnatch said:

Quick hijack for 873c users, Ben @ the hook says it’s the identical to the power pitch. The power pitch is a meat stick the has frogging power. Can you frog or throw a 1/2  - 3/4 texas rig on it ? While my bc2 is awesome I think it’s too light in power to throw a frog or 3/4 oz Texas rigs 

I tried some 1/2oz frogs and it did ok but not my preferred rod for this technique. My favorite thing to throw on the 873C is spinnerbaits, which I have two used both 5/8oz and 3/4oz without issue. As far as a texas rigged plastic goes, I have thrown a 3/8oz bullet weight with a Zoom O'Monster but nothing heavier. Also, when it comes to jigs 1/2oz with a trailer is as big I would go. 

 

 

On 8/24/2023 at 4:26 AM, Dwight Hottle said:

Either the NRX+ or consider Gary’s current offering Edge. The new epitome line is exceptional. 

Epitome is on sale. 295.00

On 8/26/2023 at 10:23 PM, PBBrandon said:

Well I think I decided on the Steez AGS. Gonna probably put a Zillion SV or get a Steez A2 for it. Prices from Japan on those reels are the lowest I’ve seen in a while. Bait monkey can’t resist lol

 

I love my power pitch, favorite jig rod.  For me, it felt much more balanced with a heavier reel, bantam and Zillion HD are the 2 that have cycled on and off it.  Just my preference that might be useful info to you.  

 

scott