kickerfish1

Awaiting the return of 9 reels. Mike has been great to work with through the process. Can't wait to see the end result!

Sorry, I removed my post in response to your suggestion after reading the part where he notes he will be purchasing the rod from BPS. If he opens it up to other avenues for purchasing a rod there are more options. It just appears he is looking to make a quick decision and also stay within a given budget. There are no sales going on now so unless he takes a chance on eBay or elsewhere both the champion and recon are over his budget. As far as why not spend $20-30 more, that would be his call.

Sorry, I just looked at your original post and quickly noted you were going to get this rod from BPS. I would say look at the Carbonlite rods and the crucial drop shot series. Both should be in stock. My local store did carry the fenwick elite tech rods at one point but I did not see them during my last visit there. If they have them at your store vibe them a look as Well. Since you will be at the store take along your reel and ask to mount it on a few rods you are looking at. This will help give you an idea of the balance. If you haven't decided on a reel you can throw a few different reels in the store on the rods to try to find the combination that feels best to you. If you decide to open up your search outside of what BPS carries the *** and Powell rods are really good choices. The *** *** and the elite tech will be the lightest weight rods. The crucial has the lifetime over the counter warranty, the elite tech has a lifetime warranty as does the Powell I believe. The *** has a five year warranty if not mistaken. Good luck!

X2.Another way to achieve more distance out of a casting reel would be to have the reel supertuned or upgrading the spool bearings. Probably would run you close to $50 for both of these with a reel cleaning from a professional reel tech. I am sure a pro-lite could be had for well under $80 and I have seen them go for as low as $50. It may just be best to buy a few more pro lites and sell your PQ reels if you still don't care for their performance. On a side note I assume you have adjusted BOTH breaking systems on the PQ? You have the spool tension knob and the magnetic dial on the exterior, but don't forget about the centrifugal break system inside the reel. In the event that you haven't adjusted it, try removing a break or two and see if this doesn't improve your casting distance. If you have played with this already disregard this portion.

Yes, and it is my preferred way of running a c-rig. Either braid or floro as a main line with a mono leader. Since mono floats, I believe it helps give better action to the plastic bait. The ultimate purpose of this rig is to present a soft plastic bait a few feet "off" the bottom, I think mono accomplishes this best. Also a light wire hook is another good idea to help keep the bait from sinking faster. The third part of the equation is to use baits that are known to float or at the very least slow sink. Mono + light wire hook + floating soft plastic bait = more action and bait that shouldn't be prone to dragging the bottom, instead it should be a few feet off the bottom, hopefully just above a deep weed line.

If I was looking for a spinning rod for under $150 I would take a strong look at the fenwick elite tech smallmouth series rods, the Powell max series, the shimano crucial dropshot series, or the *** *** rods. All four would be good choices and have multiple rod lengths and actions depending upon your own needs. Sale prices and eBay specials aside, these 4 would get the nod.

I havent heard of that manufacturer before. Could it perhaps be a custom builder? Any idea how old the rod is? It could be a company that is no longer in business. I am no custom builder but I guess you are trying to find the same exact blank as that rod has. With the length given as well as the lure rating, and general taper of the rod I would assume you could find a comparable blank to use? Good luck... hopefully someone has some more info on this rod.

As much as I hate to admit it Yozuri Hybrid in 12# should be a very solid and strong line for this technique plus very affordable. I know this line gets suggested quite frequently on here for many different techniques but this would be a good use for it. I am not fond of it for anything else like finesse fishing or bottom contact baits but on my dedicated spinnerbait rod I use a copolymer based line.

I have several BPS reels in my regular rotation. For what I paid for them I really don't have any complaints. Comparing them to reels thst cost 2x or 3x as much just isnt fair. While they aren't my first choice, I do find them to be solid choices. If we are talking about spinning reels I have little experience with the BPS brand so I will not comment on that type of reel.

Ditto on the 6'9 ML elite tech fast action rod. I have two of these rods and while I haven't thrown tubes I have fished 1/8 oz flick shakes and 3/16 oz drop shots. They work perfect for the 1/8 to 1/4 oz range. I would look at the medium if I was throwing 3/16 oz and up. The rod weighs a bit over 3.5 ounces and is fairly sensitive and balanced. I would NOT fish anything over 8# test with baits in that weight class.

I have a few savy series rods. To me they are solid choices and look and fish well. There balance is as good as I have seen in rod in that $175 range. There are many good used rods that will be in your range but for a new versatile rod with good sensitivity, looks, and lighter in weight the phenix recon 714 is a great multipurpose rod that would look nice with a Lew reel on it. All things considered it is one of the better all around rods out there from my own findings.

You should be able to find a contour map of most bodies of water. This will give you an idea of where drop offs are, spawning flats, creek channels, ledges, etc. From your accessible shoreline spots you can determine if you can fish this structure from the shore. Also you may try a more sensitive rod and line with a bottom contact rig if you are unsure if weeds, rock, or flat bottom is what you are fishing.

Put me down for another vote for mono for jerkbaits fishing. Floro would be a secondary choice. Fishing alot of LC pointer 78 and 100 series baits, vision 110s, rogues, and a few other brands and have been working them on 10 Trilene XL mono. Casting distance and bait movement/action was stellar. Any good 100% mono line would suffice, I just happened to get a good deal on a few of the Trilene XL spools (previous red box packaging), so that is what I am using at the moment. Plus this is a line that has been around for a while and has a pretty good track record.

Good post Bob! I am far from a reel expert, but do agree that lower ratio reels (at least in some brands/reels) are smoother than their faster counterparts. The Johnny Morris carbonlite is a great example.

Very nice light lining casting set ups! I have the curado 50e and core 50. I also own variations of the cumand cumulus. Very good performance with these products. When you get warmer conditions mess around with those 50 size reels with one brake and the spool tension knob set just tight enough to eliminate spool wobble. Under this setting with a trained thumb you can get some serious distance. Enjoy the new acquisitions!

Great looking outfit! Should be a stellar jerkbaiting rig.

I am trying to piece this together to offer you the best advice I can. Let me start by saying a good friend of mine owns the savy 703. I have a 705 CB glass fast action champion cranking rod. With that said it sounds like you want a rod to cover both jerkbaits and cranks. You mentioned the 704 CB glass however from all the Dobyns "experts" I have talked to note the 704 CB graphite is a better choice for fishing those baits up to 1/2 oz. I have fished my friends 703 savy rod a handful of times but not with either technique you noted. It would be an ok choice for what you want to use it for though I would think it would be a plan B option. It just doesn't appear this rod was made for those techniques. I know there is a price difference between the two, but I would wait for a 20% off sale, maybe around Easter and pull the trigger on the 704cb graphite. I have heard this rod is a killer topwater rod as well. It will have a softer tip for loading and casting jerks, cranks, and topwaters if necessary, but with a more forgiving action to keep the fish pinned. Another option would be to call Dobyns directly. Your call will likely take you to one of the family members and they can give you the best advice on a rod that will serve you well for what you want the rod to do.

By naturally, I apologize as I should have been more clear, but I am talking about presenting a bait in away that makes it appear to be life like or as it would be found in nature. Dropshotting is probably the best way to do this and there are many products that do this wonderfully. Two of my favorite brands are Jackall and Roboworm. The Jackall I-shad and Cross tail shad are very good choices. I also like the Roboworm 6 inch straight tail worms and FX sculpins. These examples give the fish a very natural presentation of common forage types. Another example would be a topwater bait fished as if it were a wounded baitfish in natures food chain. Give fregquent pauses followed by a few stronger pops or walk the dog zigzags. These are just a few examples but as far as color natural baitfish, green pumkin, and bluegill are typically good for most clear waters. For Roboworm I find the Aaron's Magic color to be the safest pick for many situations. Basically spinnerbaits, crankbaits, buzzbaits, etc or lures is bright bold colors would be what I would avoid at first especially for finicky and heavily pressured fish in ultra clear water. On a side note: A fluke or caffeine shad fished weightless or a shakeyhead or tube would also be solid options. I am usually downsizing and ultimately doing a form of finesse fishing most of the time. Hope this helps!

Typically a good starting place would be natural colors and baits that are presented naturally... not fast moving reaction baits. Depending upon time of year and conditions a topwater hardbait, a natural colored jig/swimjig in bluegill or green pumpkin, a drop shot rig, and realistic jerkbait. If bigger fish are present a nice swimbait would be a good choice to help eliminate smaller fish. This would be how I would approach it with say 5 rigs.

It depends on the legnth of outing. Typically I am out for 3 hours minimum and as long as 12 hours. For the shorter trips a non carbonated beverage and a non messy snack or fruit. For longer outings a cooler is packed with multiple beverages, fruit, pretzels, sandwiches, etc...

I have mine on a 7'2 cumara "previous generation" rod and feel the balance is good. Cumara rods weigh less than crucial rods so if you can justify the price I would look at a medium action rod possibly in a shorter legnth like 6'8.

I NEVER use anything heavier than 1/4 oz. 90% of the time I am using a 3/16 for depths up to 20 feet. I never finds myself needing to fish deeper than 30 feet in the lakes I frequent so I can't comment on the potential need to go heavier. Guessing one would have to step to a slightly more powerful dropshot stick if fishing 1/4 - 1/2 oz baits regularly than "traditional" drop shot rods.

Both are good reels with small difference here or there. If you are on the fence make a list of the features that are most important to you in a reel for the techniques you want to employ with this outfit. Look at each reel and compare what it offers to your criteria. The reel with the most pluses will be the better option on paper. Next step would be mount the reels on the intended rod. If this isn't possible maybe just a similar rod in your local tackle strore if that is an option. Check for the comfort factor here. As others have noted dialing in breaks and casting distance is subjective. I own reels from both and cast my shiamno reels very far distances in their stock form with 1 centrifugal break applied. When supertuned it is scary far with 3/8 oz plus jigs. Good luck with your decision as either way you will find both to be good buys. Small side note: I have 5 dobyns rods with both brands of reels in question mounted on them. Although I don't own the 765 stick, I would ventures to guess the chronarch 200 e being slightly heavier by a bit over an ounce, it will likely balance out a rod of that length and power slightly better.

I do appreciate BTD offering prices during sales that are typically better than other manufacturer. I have mixed experiences with both their staff and management when contacting them via phone. To this day I have only ordered one rod from them... a dobyns dx 742. The rod took a little over two weeks to get here. The packaging was satisfactory though not what I would call "safe guarding" against potential handling problems. A good friend of mine needed to pick up a few odds and ends before the season gets under way. He asked me to help him select some products for his order. His order amounted to roughly $75 after the sales discount and included products we CAN'T buy locally. Well it took them 5 days to get him a tracking number for the order. To top it off, two days after the package shipped they email him stating that two items are no longer in stock and they are refunding him for both. One of which was an item he can't get locally and the other was not that big of deal. Moral of the story they are ALWAYS sold out of many items as noted on their website and even products that they show as in stock. Someone needs to implement a better inventory control system with better "real time" updates. In my experience their inventory of fishing reels seem to be the worst. I am right there with you Skeletor. I have made countless transactions with TW, THUT, and the Tackletrap without any major issues. Over the last 3 years I have probably dropped in the neighborhood of $3000 at TW. The only minor issue I had is that they couldn't provide me a few packages of back ordered baits before a trip. They never charged me and I was able to find them elsewhere. That is pretty good given i have had close to two dozen orders from them over three yearas ranging from $60 - $400. I have just heard so many negatives about BTD and even alot of positives. It appears as though there are two different crews and depending upon which one you get for your order will ultimately influence your experience with them. For my needs I have shopped elsewhere since last summer.

Key words here are a "cheaper" and "spinnerbaits and crankbaits". I would venture to guess you are wanting to stay under $20 for the spool of line so that eliminates many options right off the bat. I have used ALOT of floro lines as they are my preferred line for about 80% off the techniques I utilize. With that said I would probably opt for 12# abrisix for the abrasion resistence factor. For slightly better casting distance I would look at invisix. Both of these lines can be had for less than $20 during sales and eBay. If cheaper is less than $15 red label is a decent choice but I would shell out a few extra bucks for invisix or abrisix. I am intrigued by sunline reaction floro at $22 a spool. May be worth a look if you want a line specifically designed or marketed for reaction baits and will to step a just a small amount in price.