ipeeinmywetsuit

Im going to be traveling up the coast in March and I want to hit clear lake for a couple days with a guide. Last year the guide I went with really only fished live bait and said it was popular that time of year. Needless to say I caught more fish from docks and shore then I did on his boat. I refused to fish with live bait, but still. I am hoping someone here could recommend a guide for Clear Lake? Excited to get back on this lake! Thanks.

I'm trying to put together a 1 week trip out to Florida south of Jacksonville I believe. I'll know the exact area soon and will update you. I will be visiting family there in March and figured I'm going to need to do some fishing. If any of you have made trips like this to Florida or live there I want to hear from you. I want to know if it's easy to rent a decent bass boat or cheaper to hire a guide, what lakes I should be looking at, general baits I should be throwing, etc. Any information you have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

The dx 745C looks like a great rod. However it doesnt have as wide of a lure range as the two that I am most interested in now. I am worried I wont be able to throw some of the 1 1/2oz baits without overloading the rod since its right at the high end of its limits.

Long story short; after one year as a temporary lab tech I had to apply for my job through HR and I recently found out I will now be a permanent Instructional Assistant in the Ceramics department at the college I've been working at. I want to reward myself this memorial day with a new fishing rod. I already have a 7.0:1 Shimano Chronarch that I bought from a previous sale. I currently have these: 7' M Duckett micromagic (small cranks, jerkbaits, flukes, light worming, small spinnerbaits) 7'2" MH Powell Endurance (spinnerbaits, wakebaits, 3/8oz texas rig, 1/4oz swimjigs, pretty much anything I feel the Duckett is underpowered for) 8' H Dobyns Swimbait Rod (hudds, etc) I have some small - midsize swimbaits & wakebaits (1/2oz - 1 1/2oz) & jigs (3/8oz-3/4oz) that I was thinking a pitching rod might cover. Its getting into the summer months here in Southern California. I fish in a club at various reservoirs which include: El Capitan, Sutherland, Hodges, Lower Otay, etc. Theres grass, tules, and rocks at these reservoirs. I am interested in what you guys think the next best rod for me to get might be despite what I think I should get. I was looking at the zombie 7'3" XH pitching rod mainly because of tackeltours review stating that although it is a stout rod capable of pitching heavy jigs it could also be used for some smaller swimbaits and umbrella rigging. I was also looking at the Megabass Orochi X4 f6-72x4 Destruction; again because tackletours review stated this rod is so versatile you can pretty much throw anything comfortably from the 1/2 - 1 1/2oz range. Both of these seem like sweet fishing rods and they are from what I understand extremely versatile yet capable of handling heavier lures. I was looking at the new xx orochi's and some of the dobyns rods but theres too many options so perhaps you guys have some opinions? The zombie rod seems nice but what threw me was its weight and its "lack of sensitivity" according to TT. The Orochi x4 destruction seems too perfect. The only thing I am worried about is that it has only 9 guides + tip which seems outdated or like it will not transmit alot of whats going on with the bait. Anyways, I am hoping someone here has experience with these rods or something comparable and can help me decide on the next step. I am going to say my price limit here is at the Orochi x4 which is a $450 rod. This should leave the door open for a lot of suggestions. Thanks! Hope you guys have some good plans for this coming weekend.

Nice.. it's good to hear from someone who owns one of these. It seems like most people have the 766 dobyns. Do you think it's underpowered for those 2 oz baits or does it load up nice when you toss a hudd or bigger wake out there? Also it states you could punch with this rod on TW, do you agree? I assume it balanced nicely with the 201e7? I have heard some mixed reviews on Pheonix and their durability... has yours held up well? I've held the gen 2 recon and it felt like such a stellar fishing rod, not a pool stick by any means. Sorry to bombard you with questions... Thanks man. which 766 do you own? the dobyns or the pheonix?

So a friend from my club and I went to check out a lake in Southern California to see how depleted the lake has become of water. It is about 75ft below capacity. It was amazing to see all the structure, rock, and tree lines out of the water. I learned a lot for when the water level goes back up. I spent the whole day wormin'. I had two dinks early in the morning and a 2lb keeper a little later and it wasnt until around 11am when we ran into a nice school. Together we caught seven in the 3lb+ range. My best five fish that totaled just over 19lbs. It was a suprisingly awesome day of shore fishing. It's to bad we wont be able to launch here for out next scheduled club tournament because it seems like it would make for an interesting one on this lake, or whats left of it. Here's some pictures of 4 good ones:

Bmlum what rod do you own? The dobyns?

The 735 is out. I'm really between the 766 and the phenix 766h.. I don't think I can go wrong with either one. Plus I like the improvements on the Phenix gen 2's.

@BrettD have you ever thrown swimbaits with the 766? My worry is that the rod might just rip a wake bait right out of the fishes mouth. But if it has a pretty moderately fast tip it might keep em pinned.

I am trying to decide between a few companies that offer rods that can handle these kinds of applications. I basically want a heavy powered fast action rod in the 7' - 7' 6" range. There are a few that stick out to me and some actually advertise that you can throw frogs, flip & pitch, and throw small swimbaits with them. I basically will flip and pitch heavier baits and throw wake baits in the 3/4oz-1 1/2oz range, maybe throw hudd 68's. The rods I have in mind are the Dobyns 735c, Dobyns 766 Flip (Might be too overpowered for swimbaits?), Phenix 766H, and the zombie 7'3" Heavy pitching stick. From what I've read the Phenix 766H and the Dobyns 735c seem to be those most versatile of the four. What I want to know is if any of you own one of these rods and use it for my any of the applications I want to use it for and can offer some insight into that. Also, if you want to throw another rod into the mix feel free. Thoughts, comments, suggestions? Thanks! EDIT: I will be pairing this rod with a shimano chronarch 201e7

e5 for cranking for sure. you want low speeds for more torque; the bait will also get deeper and stay there longer. the reason i would be getting an e7 is for flipping, pitching, and punching you want high speeds to pull the bass out of cover as quickly as possible.

oh i just ordered it from TW haha.. can't pass that deal up.

THis is a repost because the last one was in the wrong forum. I have an Abu Garcia and Lews reel but I have been wanting to try a shimano chronarch. However I need the reel for either a dobyns 735c mag heavy or the 766 flip. I havent decided on the rod but I want something for flipping and pitching grass, maybe throwing a frog and throwing my smaller swimbaits & wakebaits. Do you guys think a chronarch would handle these applications well? I know they don't have a lot of drag for heavy apllocations but they are 25% off right now and I'm thinking now is the best time to get one if I am going to. Also 6:4.1 or 7:0.1 gear ratio?

You don't think Ill have problems with the drag slipping on the 200e? Sorry I realized I posted this in the wrong section as I was on my mobile phone earlier. If a mod could move this thread to the right place that would be great.

I have an Abu Garcia and Lews reel but I have been wanting to try a shimano chronarch. However I need the reel for either a dobyns 735c mag heavy or the 766 flip. I havent decided on the rod but I want something for flipping and pitching grass, maybe throwing a frog and throwing my smaller swimbaits & wakebaits. Do you guys think a chronarch would handle these applications well? I know they don't have a lot of drag for heavy apllocations but they are 25% off right now and I'm thinking now is the best time to get one if I am going to. Also 6:4.1 or 7:0.1?