fishnkamp

First lets look at this a bit differently. What techniques would you like the spinning rod to handle? Ideally will you fish Ned Rigs, Sencos,grubs, tubes, light texas rigs or what? I would expect the DX 742 to be the same whippy stick your DX762 is. So if you would feel more comfortable fishing something heavier than you probably want a DX743. I think I would call out to Dobyns and ask this question directly to Gary or his son Richard. The are happy to answer customer's questions.

For me that is easy. I have come to really like all of the Daiwa Tatulas. You can get a Daiwa Tatula CT for $100 shipped to your door. That reel is a workhorse. It is smooth, has a terrific braking braking system and a smooth drag. This is a reel you will keep using not upgrade from. With your budget that leaves you $150 for a rod. The $125 to $175 price range is a very competitive market. There are terrific rods for all techniques, available for that price. Look at rod manufacturers like Irod, Powell, Dobyns, Daiwa, Falcon, Lews, St Croix, Abu Garcia, Duckett and others. Yes you could spend $250 on a reel and then sometime in the future spend $300 or more on a rod. It will be a nice combo but for that much money I would own two very good combos and catch a lot of fish. I fish rods from each of those rod builders and in deed catch a lot of fish with them.

I agree with MDbassin. The nicest things about the Abu Garcia Ike delay series jerkbait rod is that from the reel seat forward the rod would probably resemble a 6'6 or 6'8" rod, but the rod has a shorter back end at the split grip area. This means it never hits you in the stomach or forearm. This makes setting up your cadence easier. I have noticed many of the shorter med mod rods still have the longer handles.

If you compare Power Pro Spectra braid to a quality mono like Stren Original Clear blue than here is how it compares. 10 pound test Stren mono measures .012. If you spooled 10 pound Power Pro Spectra braid it measures only .006. In order to have the braid act close to the same on the reel as your .012 mono then you should choose 30 pound test Power Pro which measures .011. It will not break as easily as you saw the 10 pound braid nor will it tend to want to dig in any more than the mono. The way I like to do things, with both my spinning and baitcasters, is to fill the spool up halfway up with quality Stren mono in 12 or 14 pound test. Then fill it the rest of the way with my braid or fluorocarbon. For my spinning reels I like to add a 4 foot leader of P Line Halo (fluoro) or CXX moss green in 8 pound test. In 6 years or more I have never had my double uni knots break. Doing this saves money on expensive braid or fluoro. A bulk spool of line will fill multiple reels, and when you go to change the line you only need to replace 1/2 of the line on the reel. If you are lucky enough to hook a big muskie, striper of catfish (something that can really pull a lot of line) then you do not have to worry about the quality of the baking. I have had some stripers and big blue cats really run some line off my reel.

I doubt there are any rods in that price range new. Most swimbait rods cost way more than that. For pitching, flipping and Punching you could go with the Abu Garcia Veritas in a Heavy which will go up to 1 1/2. They run $80. The cheapest swimbait rod I know of is a Dobyns Fury FR 806SB. That will run $119.

It is not weird to put any brand reel on a different brand rod. I fish rods from Abu Garcia ( 1 Veritas, & 1 Abu Ike Delay Series rod), several Irod Genesis II rods, a couple of Powell rods, a Falcon Bucoo Micro rod, some Dobyns rods, 2 Berkley lightning Shocks, a pair of G Loomis rods and a couple of Bass Pro rods. I prefer Daiwa reels for baitcasting and mostly Okuma and Pflueger for spinning. I will match any rod and any reel that fits and balances well. The combo must match and fit the correct gear ratio needed for what that rod is supposed to fish.

I use the original Reelsnot and yes it does help with line memory. It helps with mono, braid,and fluoro memory. It helps to make the line a bit slipperier so you can get a longer cast. I do like it a bit better than say KVD. I have not tried the coffee stuff yet. My recommendation is to use it when you first spool your line and then it helps to occasionally cast the rod and add some more as you reel in the line. let it set and then use the rod the next day.

The $70 to $100 rod price range is one of the most competitive price ranges out there. I would not say there is anything wrong with a Shakespeare rod, however their are other companies targeting that price range with much better rods. If you can spend around $100 for a rod then look seriously at a Dobyns Fury, Powell Inferno, Irod Fiber, Abu Garcia Veritas rods and also several models from Daiwa. There are other good choices but those are ones I know you work well. In the case of the Irod Fiber the owner of the company is using thew exact same blank as his Genesis II rods that cost $150 but uses a little less expensive guides and reel seat. The rod will be just as sensitive as the more expensive rod. The Dobyns Fury fishes much more like a $200 rod instead of a $110 rod. The Powell Infernos are terrific also. All of these sell rods for your budget and all have a good choice for topwaters.

The rod you are looking at is a good upgrade for sure. Also a Berkley Lightning Shock rod in a 6'6" med mod is a good rod and believe it or not it can often be found on clearance at Walmart for as little as $20. It normally sells for $49. I am concerned more about the reel. More guys lose interest in using as a baitcaster because of learning on an inferior reel. This is a proven fact. I can not tell you if the reel you were given is one of those as I have never touched one. Normally I would have suggested starting off with a great reel like a Daiwa Exceler. These reels sold for $99 for years. they are being cleared out for around $70 Check here. This is a reel I use myself along with a bunch of Daiwa Tatula Type R and Tatula CT reels. This reel performs as well as my $200 Daiwas. Go here to look at it. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-NEW-Daiwa-EXCELER-Baitcast-Bass-Fishing-Reel-Select-Models-ON-SALE-/132060053160?var=&hash=item1ebf647ea8:m:mEjWI-gApLJrEghU8xiDRyw The best way to see if you will like using a baitcaster is to start with a decent combo seriously.

I fish 4 Tatula Type Rs and 2 Tatula Cts. Some have braid and some have P Line FloroClear ( copoly line coated in floro) I do not have a "favorite" brand or pound test. I like to use Suffix 832 in 10 pound test ( 6 pound mono equivalent in dia) to throw paddletail swimbaits on my 6 ft light action baitcaster. I use 20 and 30 pound test 832 for some of my crankbait rods, especially the ones I use on bass and stripers. I like 832 because it lays nice on the reel and it is a bit softer than other braids. However that exact thing is why I never use t in heavy vegetation. I use 30 pound Power Pro Spectra on my wife"s frog rod (a 7 foot heavy spinning rod) and I also use Power Pro Spectra in 65 pound test on my frog rod and heavy flipping stick. Both of those rods have Daiwa Tatula Type Rs on them. For me it is not about favorite brand line but matching the best line to the jib I need it to do.

I was glad to get it parked and then go to my friends house. My truck was on his floor lift. I got the repairs done on it and that was the last time I would tow with that short a vehicle again. My next vehicle is going to be a Tundra.

What is your budget? Could you spend up to $130 on a totally new combo? If so there are a few good options to look at. To begin with you could look at Dicks Sporting Goods online for a Lews Mach 1 combo. It includes a IM8 rod and a Lews reel. This combo was designed to give an angler a good quality combo for a reasonably low price.

I fill all of my spinning reels half full with good quality mono for backing. My preference is Stren mono in 14 pound test, Next I like Berkley Fireline in 14 pound test (6 pound mono diameter) and then install a 4 foot leader. I like that length regardless if I am fishing the dirty off color tidal Chesapeake Bay rivers or out in Dale Hollow fishing gin clear deep water for big smallies. The longest I would consider is about 6 foot. Like nascar said I never want a leader knot on my reel. No reason for it in my experience. If you are looking at a good line to use for the leader check out both P Line CXX moss green and P Line Halo. 10 pound CXX breaks at around 23 pounds so you need not go real heavy. Most times 8 pound test will work with either line. Learn to tie good uni to Uni knots. I never have them fail, but I take real care to get them right. They are also fast to tie even when you are being careful.

I can tell you the idea of trading for a more suitable vehicle might be a good idea. My friend Bryan runs a Toyota Tacoma with the towing package. He regularly pulls an old Ranger 482 around MD and VA. I run a Chevy S-10 ZR2 which has all of the towing and off road packages. I pull a 17 1/2 foot Lowe aluminum bassboat. I have even pulled it through the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. My truck pulled it and stopped it fine. I would never pull a boat like his over those mountains without a full sized truck and a bigger set of brakes. Maybe you could find a nice used Tracker, Lowe, Alumacraft or G3 etc. and a vehicle that suites towing better Something else no one mentioned is how shorter wheelbase vehicles are harder to tow with. I had to use my wife's Ford Escape one time to drop our boat off at a boat dealer. It was located less than a mile from the house. We have owned 11 boats in the last 45 years and I have pulled them for every mile they were towed. We have owned everything including several fiberglass bass boats. One was a 20 footer. This was my first time towing using such a short vehicle. It was horrible, and dangerous. Changing lanes and also backing a vehicle up is difficult when the boat trailer is longer than the vehicle. Just be aware of that.

I would have to evaluate the quality and condition of the current combo. If the reel is in good working condition and was casting a decent distance, then I agree the rod is much more important. if I felt the rod was working fine and the reel was the weak link then I go upgrade the reel.

Let's look at this a bit differently, because I think you have some of the wrong lures linked up to which rod. You already have a m/l spinning rod. That should allow you to fish drop shots, Sencos, tubes, grubs and light texas rigs (1/16 to hopefully 3/8). Now the next rod I would suggest would be a 6'9" to 7'3" mh fast action rod. This rod would have a 1/4 to 3/4 or 1/4 to 1 1/4 lure rating. You would be able to fish jigs, 1/4 to 3/4 ounce texas rigs as well as some spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and chatterbaits. I really like the Dobyns 703, 704, 733 and 734 rods in a Fury, Sierra or Champion series depending on your budget. Powell Rods offers a rod that I love, it is a 683 MH CEF. I own it in the old Max series but they offer it in a Max3D and Inferno series now. Read the old Tackletour review of that rod. http://www.tackletour.com/reviewpowell683cxfast.html I throw 1/4 to 5/8 swim jigs, texas rigs chatterbaits, and I have even thrown a few spinnerbaits on mine. I usually have at least 12 rods in my rod boxes, so I use my tackle differently than you. You would find either the 683 or their 703 to be very versatile. Here is where I differ in what your medium moderate rod is used for. To me, all plastics would be fished on the MH fast rod. The faster tip is required for a proper hook set with those baits. Medium mod rods are designed to aid the angler in gettin better delayed hooksets and protect the treble hooked baits from being torn out of fishes mouth. I would get a medium moderate rod as the second rod, but I would look for a rod that will throw rattle traps, small to mid sized cranks, 1/4 to 1/2 ounce spinnerbaits, and even jerkbaits. My suggestions would be a Dobyns Fury 705CB, or a rod like the Powell 6104 in either Inferno or Max 3Ds. Another good one is the Irod Genesis II 703CC. It is called the Gabe's Rip Rap Special. I fish one of those too.

If I were you and my budget for a rod is around $100, then I would be fishing a Dobyns Fury or Powell Inferno series rods. I know you will get a very good rod from either of those two options. I would look at a Dobyns Fury FR704C or a 734C. These run $110. They fish like much more expensive rods. In a Powell I would look at an Inferno 683 MH CEF and the 703MH CEF. Ignore the description of the 683 as being only good for shorter casts. What they really mean is it is great for accurate casts, but i use my 683 Max series for everything, including fishing long casts on big open grass flats. That is a super versatile rod. The price on these rods is the same. Match them up with a Tatula CT and for $220 you are fishing a perfectly matched setup. Just add some line, a lure and go for it.

First let's talk reels. Daiwa makes great reels and I fish 7 of them. I own one Exceler ( a discontinued model) 4 of the Tatula Type Rs you are looking at and two of the newer Tatula CTs. If it were me I would choose the Tatula CT, especially if you prefer a smaller more compact reel. They are just as tough and smooth as the original Tatula reels and hold the same amount of line. The CTs can be purchased for $100 shipped to your door. Performance is the same in my opinion. A Tatula Type R comes with a bit lighter spool, 2 corrosion resistant bearings instead of one and a few other details, none of which matter in actual fishing conditions in my experience. I will say I like the Type Rs looks the best. Get which ever reel you like best. All of the Tatulas cast smoothly, have the same braking system and have good drags as well. Let's talk rods. Here you need to decide what your budget is. Quality rods are available from $75 to $120, $125 to $200, and $200 to $300. Then above that, you can go as big as your wallet is fat. I know the modern rod manufacturers offer some terrific rods in those first 3 categories. Here are some brands to research as they all offer some good quality rods for reasonable prices. If your budget runs under $120, then look at a Dobyns Fury rod, an Irod Fiber rod or a Powell Inferno rod. There are plenty of others, but these rods give great value for their price. If your budget falls above that, but below $200, then look at a Dobyns Sierra rod, a Powell Max3D rod, an Irod Genesis II rod, a Falcon Bucoo micro rod, Abu Garcia Ike series rod, or Daiwa Tatula rods. Any of these offer good choices, but there are a bunch of others too. If your budget can stretch up towards the $300 range then by all means look at the Dobyns Champion line, some of the St Croix lines, like the Avid and Avid X lines. Falcon has some higher end lines, G Loomis falls in this category with some great rods like the GL3 and IMX series of rods. Deciding between the Tatula versions is easy and they are priced fairly close, mostly between $100 an $190. Now you need to decide on your rod budget. Once you determine that we can get more specific on rods.

Call the Tackle Trap if you want to get into hot rodding reels they have all the goodies and can steer you in the right direction.

My wife and I fish quite a few Pfluegers both Presidents and Supreme. We both fish a pair of G Loomis GL3 and IMX rods for finesse baits. All four rods are 6 foot long. She prefers a 30 series reel on the SJR 721, a 1/16 to 5/16 and all the rest are 35 series. We definitely went to the 35 Supreme for hew frogging rod, its retrieve line per turn of the handle almost matched my Daiwa Tatula 8-1 baitcaster. Either one will work but it depends on your preference really. Also something to compare is the drag, in the Patriarch the 35 has 14 pounds of drag compared to only 10 on the 30 sized reel.

Crankbaits are lures you usually toss a good distance, so I would lean towards the 7 footer. If you were trying to setup a rig to fish small cranks and wakebaits around docks and tight to cover than I would go for the shorter rod for more accurate casting. It sounds like you are better off with the longer rod. It will cast farther and you will have better line control and easier hooksets on a long cast. Another really nice rod to look at, in the $160 price range, is an Irod Genesis II rods. Take a look at the IRG703CC Gabe's Rip Rap Special. That has become my go to rod for small to med cranks, traps and square bills. It is light, well balanced and has a very comfortable feel in my hand. I did just sell two ST Croix Premier rods, they are okay but I liked the feel of the Irod better. Just my 2 cents.

Sorry I did not even notice that one. That is a nice looking machine as well.

i just looked on the Lund website and it lists a max hp for the Rebel 1650 SS as 50 hp and the tiller model as having a max hp rating of 40 hp. Either the factory has changed the boat for this year or he is mixed up on the boat model. Here is the link; http://www.lundboats.com/boat-models/1600-rebel/ As I see it you have to move up to a 1675 Impact before they offer a boat with a 90 hp outboard. An Impact is a lot more boat then any Rebel, Fury, or Fury XL. They are all nice boats but by the time you get to an Impact there is a bunch of boat surrounding you. In fact, it looks like a very nice fishing machine to me. If this is the boat he was actually looking at, then his price sounds a bit more in line.

We have been pming back and forth. I went through a list of lure categories and we matched up his gear to some of the different categories. My advice has been to add one lighter spinning rod and then we went over all the different finesse baits those two rods can handle like grubs, tubes, light finesse tx rigs, Sencos, shakey heads, Ned Rigs, paddle tail swimbaits etc. Instead of buying a grand worth of rods and reels, I suggested that he pick one bait at a time. For example Kalin Grubs. I would get the 5 inch Kalin's Lunker grubs in bluegill, watermelon/red flake,and smoke/S&P. I like the Bass Pro Shops Perfect finesse worm jigheads (a one piece hook and worm weight, like a slider head). I would pick up two packs of the 3 colors and two packs of the jigheads in 1/8 and 1/4 ounce. Now he has colors that work in off color and clear water and has a complete system to fish with. Next I would add drop shot hooks and a couple of baits for that technique. And so on. I would spend some time concentrating on catching fish on those new baits along with the other baits I had for my other rods. Once you have a good feel for all of that, I would look at the baitcasters I had and determine what they can throw well. I would then add some new baits and get good with those. He has a 7 foot mh rod. I would concentrate on fishing both texas rigged plastics and jigs. A regular Arkie style jig, as well as swimjigs are powerful tools in a lot of bodies of water. I would experiment with his 7 foot Medium mod rod. Learn to catch fish with rattle traps ( try SK Red Eye Shads, Bill Lewis Rattle Traps and some Booyas, especially the one knockers) squarebills, shallow divers and mid depth divers. And so on. Find out what your rods do well and which ones you have trouble catching fish on. Add a few baits to your tackle bag as you go along. This method will increase your tackle options but also educate you on how they work and when. After all of that you will identify what your current rods do well, and what baits you are good at fishing. Lastly, you will know if you need a rod to do one specific technique or not. If after a season you never had any fish hiding in milfoil or lily pads, then a dedicated frog rod or punching rod is useless. Maybe instead, you really need to upgrade one of your current rods. Perhaps you do have a body of water that the fish suspend deep and you can not live without a deep diving crankbait rod. The experience you do not have yet, will tell you the best way to go.

I do not believe it was a second, just a defective one. My wife and I fish a bunch of these and they are usually battle tanks. We fish some that are over ten years old and some that are a year old.