fishnkamp

I would never throw that on any mh or heavy rod. You will damage the rod. You need a rod like they use for Musky or a swimbait rod to throw any lure that weighs 2 0z. Here is an example of what i would throw it on, http://dobynsrods.com/rod/fr-795sb/. My line of choice would be P LIne CXX in 15 to 20 pound test or Big Game in the same range.

I agree a 6'8" to 7'3" MH 1/4 to 3/4 is probably the most versatile rod for basic bass fishing. Take a look at a rod like a Powell Max3D 683 CEF or a Max3D 723 CEF. They will run $159, They also make the same rod in the Inferno series 683 CEF and a 703 CEF. They run $100.

Your budget is a tiny bit low but there are some decent ideas out there. I would consider two options. Option 1 would be a Pflueger President reel for $60. It would be a 6930 or 6935 model. That is a reasonably priced but very reliable rwwl I use for bass. I would match it to a Berkley Lightning Shock rod which sometimes can be found on clearance at Walmart. Look at a 6'6" medium action rod. It is a bit softer for treble baits but can work for lots of baits. Another good option is to go to Dicks Sporting goods. They sell a line of rods called Quantum Escalade. There is a nice 6'6 medium and a 7 foot medium. I own the 6'6" medium but I have lots of rods so if I only had one it would likely be the 7 footer. If frogs and heavier baits were on my agenda I would consider the baitcaster version of that rod. I would consider the 7 foot Medium Heavy if you can find one. Both of the Escalade rods are regularly sell for $100 but have been on sale for a long time at $49.99. Match that with an Abu Garcia Black Max reel. That should come to around $ 100 for the combo.

I also own a Falcon Bucoo rod that I love to fish with. If I really wanted to change it up, I would find a custom rod builder. They can do magic. I own a G Loomis IMX spinning rod that was purchased to replace a broken one ( partial warranty replacement plus an upgrade fee). The brand new one had a reel seat with a plastic hood and nut. It was constantly loosening up so I asked a friend that does amazing rod work if we could make some changes. He removed the entire cork handle and reel seat assembly. We chose a completely different reel seat and a split set of Winn Grips. It totally changed what was a really nice rod ( minus a crappy reel seat hood and nut assembly) I fished it a lot on our vacation the next week. In fact, I enjoyed that medium action rod so much that I had him upgrade the sister rod to it, a medium light model. Here are a few pics. Also go check out my friend Tom's website. http://www.tomscustomrods.com/custom-rods-galley He has examples of custom rods he has built and also an entire gallery of repairs, both before and after pics. He could probably do anything you wanted. if not you could find another guy closer to you.

Most places the CT Type R is $50 more.

My wife's frog rod is a Dobyns Sierra Sa 705SF ( so a 7 footer heavy power) with a Pflueger Supreme 45 reel and we loaded it up with 1/2 spool of Stren mono !4 pound test. Then filled the rest with Power Pro 30 pound test. It seems to work well, It casts like a dream even with a Strike King Popping Perch, which is a bit lighter than the typical frog. I would go with either 30 or 40 pound Power Pro Spectra. That works fine and I do not like 50 or 65 on a spinning reel. Good Lick let us know what you do and how it works out. My wife has been fishing with me for over 30 years and can handle any size spinning reel, both fresh and saltwater. She even handles a fly rod beautifully, but refuses to pick a birds nest out of a baitcaster!

NICE I like the handles.

The light rod you have now, does it cast lighter baits like your tubes, smaller crankbaits and lipless cranks well enough? If so I would keep that combo together and use it for those baits as well as the paddletail swimbaits like a Fluke or Skinny Dipper. Those baits will do a lot in the area you are moving to. Now what you are looking for is not going to have the soft moderate bend the G Loomis rod had, not if what you want is to fish in tulles, Lily Pads, Hydrilla grass etc. You need a rod that can power fish. A Dobyns Fury series FR 734C or FR 735C is going to allow you to fish bigger more demanding baits. Again here comes a decision. The FR 734C is going to fish spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, topwaters, things like spooks and Pop Rs, Sammys and buzzbaits. It is a great rod to throw 1/4 to 5/8 ounce jigs plus a trailer. The FR 735C rod is the next heavier action rod in the lineup. It is going to have a soft tip and transition into a much more powerful mid and bottom section. This is essential to cast a hollow bodied frog. It needs the soft tip to load the rod with the bait then cast it a distance. It also needs that soft tip to properly work the bait. After that, you need to quickly transfer into a beefy powerful blank in order to haul that fish out of the slop you threw that frog into to begin with. This rod will also throw larger jigs and carolina rigs if you need to do that . The Dobyns Fury line is Gary's entry level rods and run $110. They fish like other brands rods costing twice that. Those same rod models are available in the Sierra and Champion XP series. These are rods built using much better blanks and components and thus will be more sensitive and a bit lighter. Your wallet needs to make that choice. In my opinion the Loomis you held is not as nice a rod as a Fury and can not hold a candle to a Sierra or a Champion. A Sierra costs around $180. A Champion XP runs around $260 My wife fishes frogs, topwater and some larger jigs on a Sierra 7 foot 5 power rod. I use a Champion XP 7 foot 5 power rod and they both do the same job very well. In Florida I believe you will end up needing one of each of those rods to fish efficiently. I hope you read the article I sent you. Please let me know what you thought of it.

I usually run Berkley FireLine in 14 pound test which is the same diameter as 6 pound mono. That combo works very well. I like to save some money so ai fill the reel up half way with 12 to 14 Stren original Clear Blue mono and then fill it the rest of the way up with braid. I often run a 4 or 5 foot leader as well.

Take a look at a Dobyns Fury FR 734C as a good all around rod for $110. Match it up with a Daiwa Tatula CT in a 6.3 or 7.3 to 1 ratio. The rod fishes very well, it is pretty darn versatile and the combo should run around $220. My suggestion for your second rod would be a 7 foot Medium spinning rod like a Dobyns Fury FR703 SF. The heavier or bulkier baits will fish well on the baitcaster and the lighter finesse baits will fish well on the spinning rod. Match the spinning rod with a reel like a Pflueger President 6935 and some 15 pound braid. That rod should work well for many fish species. If you want to do more inshore fishing then the spinning rod may need to be upgraded to a Sierra series Sa 704 or a SA 705 SF.

Personally I would go directly to a Daiwa Tatula CT. The Arachnid is a Diawa made reel for Cabelas. I do not want a wanna be reel, go for the real thing.

I have become a huge Dobyns fan. Naturally I would lean you that way for how they fish. They balance so well and will feel great with that reel. Between my wife and I we sold off our St Croix's and replaced 3 with Dobyns rods. I also have a friend, and fellow member here Kris, he fishes 4 Dobyns Fury rods, one is a FR 703 SF and loves it. Spool it and go catch fish.

Take a look at the rod you are using, Is the weightless Fluke in the range of weight listed for that rod? If the total weight of the bait and hook is less than what the rod rates for you can have this problem. Lets say the rod is a 7 foot medium for example, maybe you need a 7 foot medium light. Perhaps instead of fishing the Fluke try A Reaction Innovation or a Keitech if one is heavier. I would look at a Skinny Dipper but the Keitechs are nice as well

I have to say go with the Dobyns Fury 735C. My wife's frog rod is a Dobyns Sierra SA705Sf a 7 foot heavy spinning rod and it plays almost exactly as my Dobyns Champion XP rod. That rod is a DC705C and it plays great for frogging and big jigs. The Fury series cost $110 but fishes like a much more expensive rod in other brands. Gary suggests using the FR735C for frogs, flipping, pitching, small swimbaits, big jigs and carolina rigs.. That qualifies as versatile. The only other rod I would suggest is from Irod. They make a Genesis II Fred's Magic stick. It is a model IRG 754C. I know some anglers using it, it fishes very well but it is 7'5". It might be more than what you want in your boat.

Well there are lots of good rods and reels out there. I usually suggest starting with a 6'6 to 7 foot medium spinning rod as the best all around bass rig. It can handle most of the typical finesse baits line Sencos, grubs, tubes, lightweight texas rigged plastics etc. I would match that with a good spinning reel like a Pflueger President, President XT, or Supreme in a size 30 or 35. But that combo will not do what you are asking to do. I fish with a dozen baitcasters and 3 spinning rods. My wife uses only spinning or fly fishing gear. Finding the spinning rods that have virtually the same action as some of my rods has been a struggle. I now have 6 rods in her arsenal and each one does exactly what I was looking for. Her frog rod would be a perfect choice for your needs. I purchased her a Dobyns Sierra SA 705SF. That is a 7 foot spinning rod listed as a Heavy power rod. It has a soft but fast tip, exactly like the action on my Dobyns Champion DC 705C rod I fish frogs on. I can throw a Strike King Popping Perch, or a typical hollow bodied frog, a very very far distance, yet it has the right tip to work it correctly and a ton of power to pull any bass out of a junk yard. The rod is lightweight and very well balanced. It costs $170.00, so that fits in your budget also. Gary Dobyns' list of suggested lures for this rod includes Carolina rigs/Frogs/Jigs and as secondary suggested techniques Buzzbaits/Spinnerbaits/and Walking Top Water Baits. Now for a reel there are a bunch of manufacturers to choose from. I prefer to choose my reels for longevity, quality and smoothness. Most of my spinning reels are Pfluegers. We matched her rod up with a Pflueger Supreme 35. This reel was chosen for several reasons, it is made very well, its smooth, and it also has a high speed retrieve. It retrieves the same amount of line ( inches per turn of the handle) as my 8-1 Daiwa Tatula baitcaster. For frogs that higher ratio means you can retrieve a lot of line fast. If a blow up and miss occurs you are ready for your next cast quickly. This reel will run you $100. This reel is spooled like all of my reels. I has half of a spool of Strem 14 pound Clear Blue mono backing and then it is filled up with 30 pound Power Pro Spectra braid. It is 30 pound test but equal in diameter to 8 pound mono. It cuts through Lily pads and other vegetation easily. Since this is her exact combo I know it balances well, and is a joy to fish with, I am sure you will be happy using it. When you are ready for your next setup take a serious look at my first suggestion of the Medium action rod. Instead,if you decide you want the perfect rod for throwing jigs and texas rigs, then look at the Irod Genesis II IRG 713S rod. That is her jigs rod and again I would match it with a either a President or Supreme reel in say a 30 or 35 series.

I use lots of braids for different purposes. On my spinning gear I like Berkley FireLine in 14 pound test, it is the same size as 6 pound mono. I always spool the reel 1/2 way up with Stren original Clear Blue mono. Then fill the spool with my braid. I end with a 4 to 5 foot leader made of either P Line CXX 8 pound or 8 pound Stren mono.

That is a good quality reel. I would match it with a Dobyns Fury series FR 703SF. That is a very nice rod to fish with. My friend Kris ( a fellow member fishes with 4 Fury rods including a 703SF) That is a 7 foot Medium power rod with a fast tip. It handles baits weighing 3/16 to 5/8. I would have no problem fishing Senco worms, any small to mid size plastics, small jigs like a Bitsy Bug or regular 1/4 to 3/8 ounce jig with a trailer like a grub or craw pappy. You need a MH power rod to throw heavier ones, That rod would throw small topwaters, even minnow baits like the 4 inch Rapala floating diving minnows. You should not have any problem tossing small spinnerbaits also. The Dobyns rod cost $110 but fishes more like other companies rods costing far more. I would spool the reel part way with Stren mono in 12 pound test, then fill it up with some nice braid like Berkley FireLine in 14 pound test ( equal to 6 pound diameter). I usually use 8 pound P Line CXX or even 8 pound Stren mono for a 4 to 5 foot leader. That makes a really nice combo.

I am glad you like that reel. It has become one of my favorites.

It would have been better if you mentioned a budget. Here are some very good options: Irod Genesis II IRG754F “Fred’s Magic Stick” which will run around $150 This is a 7'5" rod designed just for frogging. The same blank is used in their Fiber series and is built using slightly less expensive components and sells for $110. Dobyns offers several great options. First is their Fury FR 735C. It is a 7'3 mag heavy rod designed for frogs, flipping and small swimbaits. It runs $110 A rod matching that design is available in almost all of the Dobyns lineups. If your budget can stretch a little more I would suggest a rod from the Sierra or Champion lines. I personally frog with a Champion XP model DC705C. It handles my needs really well. However, if my rod locker could fit a longer rod, I would have spent the same money and purchased a DC735. The 3 inch longer rod has a bit better taper and I am told is the perfect frog rod. The Sierra SA 735C runs $180 and both the DC 705C and 735C run $260 Powell makes a nice frog rod in their Max 3D series. Check out their Max 3D 736CEF Frog Mag Heavy rod for $160. Lastly check out a Falcon rod. CC-7-1611S Jason Christie Frog Rod FLW Pro, Jason Christie, asked for a 6’11” rod with the action of the Amistad to fish soft plastic frogs in dense vegetation. This rod runs $200 These are high quality rods specifically designed to throw, properly work and get good hook sets. A frog rod needs to have a good tip but transition to the power fast enough top get a fish out quickly.

Once you have the reel and fish it a bunch then you could consider upgrading it. I have a friend on another forum group that can not fish any reel in its' original state. He loves the Daiwa reels. His advice is to install a set of better bearings and to replace any bushing in the knobs or supporting the line guide is the answer to making a good reel act like a top line reel. For a CT he suggest doing the following upgrades : Replace the bushings supporting the worm drive with the following kit: http://tackletrap.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=898_660_731&products_id=9864 And add two bearings to the handles knobs, they come with one bearing and one bushing each from the factory, http://tackletrap.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=898_660_731&products_id=9864 Although the Type R has a tiny bit better spool and the 2 extra cr bearings are located on the spool they do not make much difference to the performance. The cost to upgrade a standard CT using these two kits is only about $29.00. The Type R will cost about $50 extra over the standard and it still will not have the worm gear upgrade.

i fish most of my spinning gear with braid and a leader. I also use the same on some of my baitcasters. I never use a leader longer than 5 feet even while fishing on Dale Hollow Lake ( a very very gin clear lake). For me it defeats the purpose of the braid, less coiling and line issues,, better castability and better sensitivity.

Lonnie most tackle shops have guys that repair rods. The last member I helped find a shop paid around $10 to have a new guide put on. No big expense. If you like the rod I have it done properly. Just my 2 cents.

Please send me an email at fishnkamp@comcast.net. I will be happy to give you my contact info. I am also available during the week.

Buffdaddy54. You are located in Jessup. If you do not mind running up to someplace like Columbia, or on over to Middle River, I would be happy to let you cast a few of my rods. I have some rigged up with braid and a leader, P Line Halo straight fluoro and even a few other lines. I use several different brands of braid and several use leaders as well. You could learn a lot just casting them either on a local pond or even in my neighborhood where we have a large grass area. I would be happy to teach you a few very usable knots to help you as well. All of my reel are filled with 8 pound Stren mono for backing, then filled with whatever the mainline is going to be. As said already this cots cost a lot. The Stren is high quality mono but only costs about 3 cents a yard. An 330 yard spool of braid will cost much more than that, but will now fill several reels.

I fish 4 original Tatula Type Rs and several standard Tatula CTs. Other than a difference in the body size between the original Tatula body and a Tat CT body, there is little difference. In my opinion there is almost no difference in how a Type R and a standard Tatula works. If you are like me, and fish salty tidal water then the Type R theoretically could be an advantage. In reality I doubt it makes a hill of beans difference in reality. I chose the Type Rs because there were some different gear ratios available in the Type R that were not available in left hand retrieve in an original Tatula 100. I also was lucky to purchase them several times when the Type Rs were on sale so the price for a Type R was only a few dollars more than the standard Tat not on sale. Since I have been using these reels for almost 4 now here is my honest opinion. Most of the reels I enjoyed fishing with, before I started using Daiwa Tatulas and Exceler reels, had larger sized bodies. This means I enjoy using the standard original Tatula reels. However most people prefer the CT body style ( the compact size reel). So I would choose one of the CT or CT Type Rs. The Tatula CT offers most of the gear ratios and in both left and right handed retrieves, however a low speed 5.5 is only available in right hand retrieve in that original CT body. Left handed 8-1 is only available in a CT Type R also. These are important only if you are looking for a really slow speed reel for fishing big deep diving cranks or if you want a left handed 8-1 reel for throwing frogs like I did. I hope that helps a little. Also I really would not buy any of these reels and start making big upgrades. Fish the reel as is first. Get a feel for it. I fish all of mine stock and have been very happy with them that way. I replaced several perfectly working Shimano Curado ( the green ones) and several SHimano Chronarchs( the 200E7s) There was nothing wrong with the reels I sold off, and in fact the new owners were amazed by their excellent condition. I just cast farther with the Tatulas and I rarely backlash with the Daiwas either. I am not a centrifugal brakes fan.