kayaking_kev

I tried a regular 1/2 oz. Lunkerhunt Frog on the Rivers and got a lot of strikes with no hooks ups. So I switched to a 1/4 oz. Lunkerhunt Pocket Frog and was hooking Smallies and even Rock Bass with it.

I'd like to try an Aldebaran MGL 50 or 30.

2020 Abu Garcia Veritas Casting/Spinning Rod at Scheels for 50% off $50. ($17 for shipping, $19 shipping for two rods)

You don't really want another 7 footer, and think a longer rod would be more useful, so it seems you want the 903c. I have the Conquest 843c and I love it and though I've never used the 903c, I know I would like the 843c better because I prefer 7 ft. rods. I'm not sure what the 903c weighs, but the 843c weighs 3.8 oz., but if you don't mind longer rods get the 903c.

I have some but they don't have the blade?

I built a custom X-Ray MB-733 Medium Light as a Spinning Rod and it's rated up to 3/8 oz., but I've been throwing Wacky Rigs, both weightless & Neko Rigged, which weigh 1/2 oz. or more. It has a light tip and it's pretty fast for a ML spinning rod. The butt section has a diameter that's just as big or even a little bigger than my MB-736 & SJ-736, which are MH and H powers. This thing is like 3 times thicker than the Dobyns Xtasy 755c Mag Heavy. As far as the performance in custom builds, there are also a lot of good blanks that aren't available as stock models. Though, I would love to see a custom blank that is similar to a Shimano's Spiral-X/Hi-Power technology. But, with custom you can also get a St.Croix or Phenix blank and build it with better components than their stock version, like I did with the Phenix X-10.

I have a Vanford 2500 spooled with 20 lb. Power Pro + 8# leader on a ML and I don't feel like I'm getting the distance I should. I think I need to bump down to 15# & 6# leader. How much backing are you guys using under the braid? I didn't use very much it all.

I already have from 2 X-Ray Blanks and haven't noticed any difference. Maybe because they were X-rays, or maybe because they were a Mag Heavy and a Heavy. I asked many different people and read many different sites and they mostly all said it wouldn't affect anything if I did it. I doubt I would go cutting anything from my Phenix blank though. Either way, I'm happy I cut them, the 7'10" wouldn't fit inside my truck if I didn't and I already had a MB-736, so I wanted to make the SJ-736 into a 7 footer, since they are very similar.

I had a Xtasy 755c Mag-Heavy, the butt diameter was about 3 times smaller in than my X-Ray Med-Light. I used to reach for my DX-702 ML and would often grab the 755c thinking it was it.

It's just personal preference like most things fishing related. Most people around here use Spinning rods, but the younger people all want a BC. I prefer a BC, because I find them more enjoyable to fish with, and I feel I'm more accurate and can fish more quickly compared to a spinning rod. The two advantages for me with Spinning rods is the ability to skip easily and drop a light bait vertically. You can drop baits vertically with a BC, but I think a Spinning rod does better with lighter baits because the tip is faced down and the line possibly comes off the spool faster. I have a St.Croix Panfish Series UL Spinning rod that I don't mind much, but other than that I have tried and tried to like using a Spinning rod and I always give up. My current attempt is my last, I built a X-Ray and paired it with a Vanford. If I can't enjoy that then I'm done with Spinning gear, there are enough Finesse BC options out there now.

Abu Garcia Black Max in 2018. I still have it, but thumb button broke off and it looks like it's been hit with a hammer a few hundred times, but it still works.

I'm late and haven't read every reply yet, but here's my understanding on the subject, and a lot more experience than I am have replied, but I want to take a shot and test my knowledge. I have cut two X-Ray blanks at the butt section, and I don't think I've lost any power. Cut from butt, if you don't want to affect anything, I cut 4" off a 7'10" rod and 3" off a 7'3" rod. I believe the Mudhole site says that you can cut up too 5" off and it won't have any affect. I seriously don't think any power down that far in the blank is being utilized in bass fishing and it's could be more for a length thing. Some companies will do that, use the same blank for a MH 6'6" rod as a MH 7'0" rod and just extend the butt section. I bet if I broke out the calipers and measured, the diameter would barely change in 4" of the bottom butt, especially on longer rods over 7 ft. I put a couple bands of masking tape around the blank and mark the tape where I want to cut all the way around. I use a Dremel with a Metal Saw attachment on high speed and begin sawing quickly, don't ease the saw into the cut, then spin the rod a bit if the blade won't cut all the way through in one cut. Then, I take the light sanding attachment for the Dremel or a piece of sanding paper and straightening my cut out, because it's never perfectly straight.

It's all just guess until someone does a legit power test. Maybe it could handle that much with it's glass top and we're just too used to graphite that some of us are scared we might over load it. But IMO, it seemed to have casted the size 60 WP (1/4 oz.) better than the size 90 WP (1/2 oz.). I do have a old Eagle Claw Composite that I use for catfishing sometimes and I'm always putting way over the max lure rating on it. The little casting I do feels funky, but it handles it. The big problem on a 1 1/4 oz. lure would be the size of the treble hooks and being able to penetrate them with that rod. But, I'm not surprised TT liked the X-10 so much because they also loved the Dobyns 704cb Glass.

I built a X-10 over the Winter and love it. I don't think you could a throw Whopper Plopper 90 or 75 with a X-9, but I've thrown the 90 & 60 with the X-10. It absolutely bombed the size 60 WP and handled my favorite size of 90 pretty good, but I wouldn't go over 1/2 oz. with it. It should be great with small square bills, seeing how it did with that WP size 60. I was using a Dobyns Glass 704cb and a Tatula 7' M/R for cranking, but the X-10 was so much lighter that I'm getting rid of the other two. The other two were both 4.5 oz. and the X-10 was 3.9 oz. and I could've made it weigh less, but I put Winn Grips on it. I will probably build a X-13 at some point for the WP 110 & heavier cranks.

I'm not sure, it's been hard to find one of them in stock and I've never been in a kayak in shallow water that weighed almost 100 lbs. + a person. But, I do kayak in a 50 lb. kayak all the time and I mostly use it for shallow rivers and I'd say 6 inches is enough to keep me off the bottom pretty easily. You also have to take into account the rudder sticking down on that one though. You could also get some keel for the bottom, but it's a little expensive. But, I hit spots that are and inch or so, and it does hit bottom and I also drag my kayak long distances over rocks and pavement for over 4 years now and it may have a lot of scrapes on the bottom, but those old town are durable as heck. But, I understand you wouldn't want to treat a $2500 kayak like I treat that one.

I like to start out lefty and then finish righty with my dominant hand. Jerking all day really takes it out of you, especially when you have as long as a rod as I do. But, in the end there's nothing like releasing that big bag at the end of the night.

Conquest 843c is one sweet rod, I don't think I'll ever get rid of that rod.

For sure the SLX MGL 70, out of my Metanium MGL 150, SLX 150 & XT & DC, Tatula 100, Tatula SV TW103 which are are all pretty good also. The Lew's LFS platform reels like the Tournament MB are comfortable too, but not as good of quality.

They're legit. Took about 7-10 days. Everything was great quality.

It comes with a butt cap and trim for it. I just had to get two winding checks, one for bottom of rear grip and one for top of butt grip. The top of my rear grip slid under my real seat so that was covered. The sucky part about it is having to get the grips and put them into your desired position, then take measurements and then place another order and wait for it.

I have both and prefer the Tatula over the SLX DC due to the weight, but both are good. I personally feel like Shimano reels feel more refined and smoother than Daiwa and that's no different here, but 1.2 oz. is a big weight difference. The Tatula SV is my favorite Daiwa reel though.

No where on the rod or in the description did it say it was a Composite rod though. I have a Dobyns Glass 704cb and a Phenix X-10 which are also both Medium Power and are Composites. The Tatula is also a crankbait rod, but it has a lot less flex in the tip than the other two, and it's less parabolic. It doesn't seem to be Composite. The OG Tatula's were a lot lighter than the Fury's. My new version in the old Tatula's would weigh 3.9 oz. Also, the Dobyns Champion 704cb Glass weighs less than the Champion 704cb Graphite, but I know that isn't normally the case.

I caught my 1st Pike there 2 seasons ago, the only time I visited. I been wanting to go back, but you kind of have to go early in the season or that place turns into a underwater jungle.

I have the Rod Mule by Cal Coast, holds 10 rods, and has a arm sling for easy transport from truck to boat. Just use rod sleeves and reel covers. It takes up little space for holding 10 combos.

My Tatula has been replaced by a custom Phenix X-10 that I built and weighs 3.9 oz. The Fury has been replaced by a Conquest 843c which weighs 3.8 oz. I also have an Xtasy 723c which doesn't match the Conquest on the scales, but feels almost just as light in the hand. And, I just built 4 custom X-Rays. So, I'm a little spoiled myself.