fishnkamp

I would definitely look at a Penn Battle II combo. Check West Marine's website.

What did you order?

Between my wife and I we fish some Champion XP DC series rods and some Sierra rods. You mentioned you like a softer (slower) action rod, so I would consider the Sierra series. If it were me I would order a Sierra SA703SF. Both of the Champion XP and Champion Extreme series rods are faster taper rods.

For your bottom contact baits, as well as spinnerbaits, small swimbaits and things like a buzzbait you will find the FR734C your most versatile rod. The 733 will be too light for general purpose bottom contact fishing (jigs worms etc.) That is better for say fishing less bulky baits in more open water situations. Dobyns runs a little lighter than they spec as far as medium, medium heavy. They are correct in their lure ratings. For crankbaits, rattle traps and topwaters look at a FR705C. That rod works great for those baits.

Go with a Diawa Tatula CT in a 6.3-1. They can be purchased off Amazon for around $118. Look around because sometimes you can get them for around $100. The Tatula SV is a great reel but better for skipping and real light baits.

I fish with lots of much more expensive rods (9 out of my 12 baitcasting rods cost over $150, with some over $250) but two of them are Berkley Lightning Shock rods and the other is a Quantum Escalade rod. The Quantum Escalade I own is a 7 foot MH power- fast action rod. It reminds me a lot of my Falcon Buccoo Trap Caster in feel. It handles lures weighing between 1/4 and 1 1/4 ounces. Mine sees use for throwing big crankbaits, larger heavier spinnerbaits and as a second texas rigged plastics rod. It will handle some carolina rig duty as well. For the money it fishes well and I like it. I have it matched with a Bass Pro Extreme left handed reel in the 6.4 ratio. I also fish with a Quantum Escalade 6'6 spinning rod. it is a good all around spinning rod capable of fishing any tube, shakey head, texas rigged plastics or even smaller floater diver minnow style bait you want to throw. Heck it will handle a Pop R or even a small crank like a crawfish imitation. Just a good all around rod. My wife and I both fish with Berkley Lightning Shock rods. Mine are 6'6" medium moderate models. In the fall, I need to fish with 4 rods rigged up with rattle trap style baits to chase large stripers. These are my backup combos for that duty. They handle small to mid sized crankbaits, jerkbaits and even some spinnerbait duty as well. I have them matched with a pair of right handed Bass Pro Extreme 6.4-1 ratio reels. Linda's is a spinning rod version. It is also a 6'6" medium moderate action rod with a nice Pflueger President reel on it. She uses it for all her small swimbaits, crankbaits, traps and spinnerbaits. These rods come in other sizes and powers so you need to decide what baits you want to fish with and choose the rod model accordingly. There is a big difference between the 6'6" medium rod I use and the 6'6" MH fast rod they offer. My rod has a lot of give further down the blank, which makes it a great rod to fish treble hook baits. The MH fast model is a faster action so less of the rod will bend. This action is better for fishing texas rigs, jigs, carolina rigs, even a hollow bodied frog occasionally. They offer a similar 7ft mh fast as well as a 7'6" heavy that handles baits from 3/4 to 2 1/2 ounce baits. I bet that would handle Alabama rigs or even punching duties. I hope this explains not only my opinion of these rods, but gives you a better understanding of what each model of these rods are best used for. Think about which techniques you want to start with upgrading first. I definitely think you will like the Escalade 6'6" spinning rod for an all around rod. As for a better bottom contact rod the sensitivity on the Escalade baitcaster is real good. My Shock rod holds its own when compared to much more expensive crankbait rods. I have had three veritas rods in the past. I only kept one. It is a 7 foot heavy I use for punching. Be aware Abu rods run stiffer than they say. Good rods but I like the other options better.

For pitching, flipping and casting a jig weighing more than a 1/4 ounce (plus a typical trailer) I would choose the Fury 735C. That rod is rated as a "mag heavy". It would be your more versatile rod. The 765 is a great rod, but it is not quite as versatile, it is however a great flipping stick. A friend of mine has both and I have had an opportunity to play with both. The 703 and 704s are way way to light duty to fish a jig or texas rig in the cover you would normally flip or pitch a lure into. The bonus to a 735C is you can frog with it too.

I fish with a bunch of the Pflueger President in a 30 and 35 size. My wife has many of them too. She also has one Shimano Symetre- run from any deal on them, they are trouble! She has one Pflueger Supreme and they cost just a little above your budget but well worth every penny. The three I would suggest you choose from would be: 1- Pflueger President XT It is available on Amazon for $79.99 2-Okuma RTX 30 another awesome reel I fish with, It is available for $74.54 from Amazon 3- Daiwa Exceler LT They run around $80.

Can you exchange that one? I would do that if possible.

Do you know what type of lures he uses? Is he throwing big musky size baits( think magnum Rapala Husky Jerks).During the fall, here on the Chesapeake Bay, we chase stripers with 1/2, 3/4 and one ounce rattle traps, as well as regular bass size jerkbaits etc. We catch them up to 36 inches around here. I usually chase them with my normal Daiwa Tatula reels and a 7 foot MH bass rod. We also throw lighter flukes and Skinny Dippers on a 7 foot medium spinning rod. If you are going to be trolling or throwing big live bait them match the gear to the weight you will be tossing. Sorry it is hard to say without knowing how he fishes for them. Ask him how he fishes for them and with what. Match your gear to the weight of the baits.

Take a look at the Penn Battle combos or just the Penn rods.

I started when I was 16. Also when I could get a drivers license. 40 years later I am still doing it.

The trailer should be level and most run between 18 to 20 inches off the ground to the center of the ball. Try turning the draw bar over and reinstall the ball. Try that and see if it works better.

Gary Dobyns is more concerned with balance than how many ounces it weighs. As iabass8 said, they do not feel like they weigh anything at all in your hand. Anglers often mistake fatigue as being caused by the weight of the rod and a rod that weighs 1/2 ounce lighter is automatically better. Really fishing with a rod and reel that is tip heavy will wear you out really quick. I have played with my friend Kris's Fury FR 765 Flip and it is amazing, it feels like a much shorter rod. You can comfortably flip or pitch with it all day.

What area do you live in, I am over near Middle River. If you would be interested we could meet up and I could show you what I use. Two of mine are the Lightning Shock rods. There are some Ugly Stick striper series rods that Bass Pro carries. A lot of guys use the shorter rods they call "boat rods" for bottom bouncing and trolling. These are usually considerably more expensive. A lot of the correct answer depends on what you intend to fish with tackle wise. A good place to start might be a quick stop to Tochterman's on Eastern Blvd.(Baltimore City). They have been specializing in this type of fishing for decades.

They do not advertise it anywhere. I have a friend that fishes 5 or 6 Fury rods. i have had them in my hand and never felt they were heavy at all. If you really want to know call Dobyns and ask. They are fantastic in the customer service business.

P LIne CXX makes great leader material Their 10 pound copoly line breaks closer to around 18 pounds. It is very abrasion resistant as well. My normal spinning setups have Berkley Original Fireline in 14 pound test and a 5 foot leader made of 8 pound CXX. For many of my braid setups on my baitcaster I like the 10 pound est CXX.

Honestly I fish a bunch of the Daiwa Tatula line of reels. My personal frog reel is a Tatula 100 Type R 8-1. It has 65 pound Power Pro Spectra and it works great. Some prefer the smaller reel and if that is you, then go with a Tatula CT or CT Type R in a 8-1. There are plenty of more expensive reels to choose from, but the Tatula, Tatula Type Rs and the Tatula CTs work for me. By the way a tatula CT type R is 7.2 oz. and a regular CT is 7.4. If you were blind folded and I put each one in your hand I doubt you could tell me which one weighed .2 more. So forget about the weight being sub 7 oz it is really irrelevant. By the way most people suggest a fast reel ratio, for flipping and frogging, not for brute power but rather for fast retrieves. When a fish blows up on the bait you can quickly retrieve the lure and refire another cast back to the area in hopes of the fish reacting to it again.

OP are you looking for a spinning rod or baitcaster. I see where you mentioned a "drop shot rod" so I am assuming that you want a versatile highly sensitive spinning setup. If I am correct let's start with the reel. There are some very good reels to choose from like the Pflueger President XT or a Diawa Exceler LT and below them in price are the Daiwa RG-AB and the new version of the Pflueger President. So at Cabelas those reels run between $50 and $80. I would consider a reel around the 30 size in a Pflueger or a 2500 top 3000 in the Daiwa models. I looked on the St Croix website and do not see any ST Croix Mojo spinning rod available in 2 pieces, however the St Croix Premier series offers the same basic rod in a 6'6" version called a PS66MF2. It is a medium power- fast taper 2 piece rod and this rod would make a nice combo with almost any of those reels. I used to fish with a casting version of that rod. It had nice sensitivity and fished well. I really like to set my spinning rods up like this. i will fill my spool half way with Stren mono in 14 pound test. Then IO fill the rest with Berkley FireLine in 14 pound test ( 6 pound test diameter). Finally I add a 5 foot leader made of 8 pound mono or copoly like P Line Cxx.

I have been fishing out of a mod V hull (actually 2 over the last 15 years) and I have fished in places like Dale Hollow, Center Hill, Raystown Lake (PA), Lake Anna (VA). Lake Gaston (NC), Lake Marburg (PA) and many more including the Upper Chesapeake Bay, Susquehanna River and the Potomac River. Occasionally, I fight wind and current, but most of that time that is on the tidal water. I have never seen it bother me much while fishing even the larger lakes in TN & KY. I do run a 24 volt trolling motor and my Lowe Stinger sits pretty level. That Triton VT series boat is very similar to my Lowe Stinger. It should run pretty close to the same. As for chop no I cannot scream across the Bay while it is blowing 20 mph. I have successfully fished out around Hart/Miller Island while it blew 25 mph. I ran cautiously out to the protected side of the island and caught numerous stripeers and cats and then carefully picked my way back to the launch. Knowing how to handle 2 foot waves and knowing my boat helps a lot. I also picked my launch site accordingly.

Personally I would chock the wheels, and use the trailer jack to go as high as it will go. Then I would use a bottle Jack and a couple of automotive jack stands to raise it up as needed. Once you get it in the air lower it down on the jack stands. You may want to make some blocks to go under the jackstands. I would cut some 2x6 lumber and nail some 3/4 ounce plywood to it so the jackstands won't dig in the driveway.

The only thing I found in PA, Ohio,MI and KY was this. https://dayton.craigslist.org/boa/d/like-new-2006-g3-bass-boat/6505313897.html Looks like the owner listed it as a 17 footer but the model is a 165 so I would look into it. They are asking $6700

First how far a run is it between the boat and your shed? You might consider either running a long extension cord down to the boat or having an electrician run an A/C outlet somewhere down towards the boat. It is much easier to have to just hook a charger to the battery, and plug it in, then carting the batteries. If you go the electrician route, have him put a pole in down there, along with a light you would have an outlet there. Something like this from Home Depot. That style light Home Depot sells for $40 plus a pole. Just an idea. As for the seats, those came from Cabelas. My rear bench had a mount built in by the factory. However there are clamp on swivel mounts that you can get. Our seats were installed on the factory stuff, but here is an example of a seat and clamp on swivel bracket combo. The high back seats are more comfortable to me.They come in different colors.

MY suggestion is to add two batteries probably group 27 or 30. The best choice is an AGM type battery. These will cost about $250 each, but these are your gas tank. Depending on how big your lake is, this setup will work well. I would look at a transom mount trolling motor around 30 # thrust but 55 # is better. There is a Prowler line at Bass pro and there is the Minn Kota line. The Minn Kota Endura is a good unit. I assembled an electric only rig for fishing bir reservoirs. In the picture you will see I have two of the 55 Enduras. These can often be found for sale used cheaper. For a charger just go to Walmart and get this charger, they work well and they charge lead acid and AGM batteries. One of the nicest thing about the AGM batteries is they are sealed and require no fluid level maintenance. Hech they can be mounter upside down or on their side, but I would not suggest it. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ship-N-Shore-SSC1000A-Automatic-Speed-Battery-Charger/21659513 Here is the boat I had been running.

Are you looking for a manual or hydraulic. Check out T&H Marine for both the CMC and Atlas jack plates. Bob's is another supplier and Vance is a third one.