kayaking_kev

Frog

Tatula Medium/Regular 7ft. Fury 703c Both weighed 4.5. I got the weights of 30 of my rods recorded and the they are always right on or a hair off of what others get when they weigh theirs. The Fury 663c & 702c both weighed 4.4.

Like @jimmyjoe said, a lot of rods advertised as glass rods are actually composite, like Dobyns for instance, the bottom 60% is graphite and the top 40% is glass and most of the composites I've had use that same formula. I believe it's NFC that has a Composite blank that actually blends the graphite and glass together throughout the whole rod though. Pure Glass rods are a lot heavier and lack sensitivity, that why it's easier to find composites anymore, even though they are labeled as glass. I prefer glass or composite for Smallmouth fishing in the rivers. I've had 3 Dobyns Glass and a few others, but I like my custom built Phenix X-10 the best, it weighs 3.9 oz.

That's where I got mine when they first came out in Japan, it was still $120. I buy and sell reels all the time, but that's one I'm keeping.

I only usually have problems when bank fishing and I only use max 12 lb. Mono or 30 lb. Braid. But, I've bent a few hooks with the braid.

I started out trying to pull the line with my hands, but of course you know how that went. And, then I did the holding of the spool with my thumb and just backing up. Then, I went to using a rock, but it would usually cut the line where I used the rock. So, now I use a stick, but I been wanting to starting carry a piece of a rod dowel with me. I bought a lure retriever last year, but I've never used it, maybe I should, lol.

Last season I was yanking on a stuck 1/2 oz. football jig that seemed pretty stuck, then all of a sudden it came flying back at my head and hit my GoPro 5 that was attached to the bill of my hat and knocked it to the bottom of the lake. It wasn't too funny at the time, but it's funny now and gave me an excuse to get a GoPro 8 and this time I got the Floaty for it. And, a few times last year I had a whopper plopper come flying back at me barely missing my head after a smallmouth jumped and threw it.

I did my last my last build using this method and it for sure keeps the line straighter, but besides that, I can't tell a difference between it compared to my simple spiral wraps for bass fishing. I don't think I need either for bass fishing, but it was fun to try, and I think it would be a legit method for big fish guys.

My choices! ?

Some that I haven't seen mentioned. Under $50 Lew's Hank Parker Speed Stick Ugly Stik Gx2 Right about @ $150 Phenix Feather

It's hard to compare my Tatula, which is for Shallow Crankbaits & Topwaters with a Regular Action without fishing with some other models. I've fished with plenty of Sierra's & Fury's. I had really hoped to try an OG Tatula. I'm selling this one for $90 + shipping & fees. It's in excellent condition, I just sealed the cork again. I'm selling it because I built a custom Phenix X-10.

Yes, but it's subjective, there's not a night and day difference.

The Last 2 Years. SAVED $100 OR MORE G.Loomis Conquest 843c MH - ($405) $695 Daiwa Catalina LH - ($120) $350 NFC X-Ray MB-733 ML Blank - ($75) $250 NFC X-Ray MB-736 MH Blank - ($75) $250 NFC X-Ray SJ-736 H Blank - ($15 Shipping) $250 NFC X-Ray MB-7109 Mag-H Blank - ($75) $250 Dobyns Xtasy 723c MH - ($385) $550 Dobyns Xtasy 755c Mag-H - ($385) $550 13 Concept Z - ($70) $200 Dobyns Champion 634cb M - ($115) $230 Dobyns Champion 734c H - ($156) $260 Dobyns Extreme 702c ML - ($240) $340 Dobyns Champion 704sf MH - ($150) $250 SAVED $50 OR MORE Dobyns Champion 736cb H - ($145) $240 Daiwa Tatula CT Type-R #1- ($80) $160 Daiwa Tatula 100 LH #1 - ($80) $160 Dobyns Sierra 735c - ($108) $180 Daiwa Tatula CT Type-R #2 - ($100) $170 Daiwa Tatula 100 RH #2 - ($90) $160 Dobyns Champion 705cb MH - ($165) $230 Dobyns Champion 704cb M - ($165) $230 13 Fate Black #1 MH- ($40) $100 13 Fate Black #2 MH - ($40) $100 Dobyns Kaden 744c H - ($120) $180 Lews Tournament MB #1 - ($80) $140 Lews Tournament MB #2 - ($85) $140 Fenwick HMX 7'6c H - ($35) $ 90 Shimano Vanford - ($180) $230 13 Origin FB Reel - ($50) $100

I was pretty close.

This is what I do also, or I will put safety caps on all the trebles and let it hang down to the bottom of the rod sleeve and that holds it in place.

Those were my first two choices that I had to decide from also when I bought my first good rod. I chose the Dobyns, and then 13 other Dobyns followed. I never used a Bass X, but they seem pretty even quality wise. I just wonder if the action is different from the Dobyns. What color do you like best, Green or Blue?

FR 703c was my 1st Dobyns, it's very versatile. I liked it for jerkbaits so much that I bought the 663c. You'll enjoy the 703c, congrats!

I went to go buy one last season at a local store for $10 last year and they had about 30 of them and every one had the most crooked guides I ever seen and the reel looked useless, so I bought Cherrywood HD on sale instead for $15.

You would probably be better off with the Kaden 744c for 1/2 oz. I had the 744c back in February of 2020 and it would do good with those weights. The 743c would handle 3/8 oz. fine, but if you're wanting to throw a lot of 1/2 oz. go with the 744c. The Sierra has a softer tip than the Kaden, better for moving baits.

Dobyns Champion 704cb Glass is awesome for shallow cranks and small trebles, it throws the DT4 great. It has some power issues with a DT6 sometimes. It's the most parabolic rod out of the bunch. I just sold mine is near perfect condition for $150. I also have a Tatula 7 ft. Medium / Regular and that is decent at shallow cranks, not quite as good as the Dobyns, but it's has more power and better at throwing Medium divers. I liked to throw the Whopper Plopper 90 with it. I'm also selling this rod though. The Dobyns Fury 703c was the 1st of 14 Dobyns I owned, I liked it so much I bought the 663c also, but it's a lot like the Tatula rod above. I learned from fishing a lot of shallow rivers that when fish can't dive deep, they like to jump out of the water a lot more with fierce head shakes, and I like to have a nice limber rod because of this. Especially, when they are river smallies. The rod could throw squarebills decently, but I preferred it as a Jerkbait, Lipless, Single Hook Moving Bait rod. Their both already sold and replaced with custom rods. I built a custom rod on a Phenix X-10 Blank and it fits between both of them nicely. They are available in a production models as well for $200 on TW, but maybe you could find a used one for $150. It weighs a lot less than the other rods.

That's crazy, my cheapest X-Ray Build was $200, but that had a CFX Grip & G2 Reel Seat. I added in the $10 Excise fee they charge for every blank and split the $35 shipping between the 3 blanks, so I counted each blank as $95. I even spent $150 on the X-Ray blank that I got from you that I built on and that was basically a free blank.

There's some really nice "big brand" blanks out there that are not available for custom build, but there there are some nice custom blanks out there also, and a huge variety of in between. I wish I could get a Conquest 843c blank and build it with carbon grips and the real seat that I want. If I were to try to have someone build something close, but with a different blank, it would cost around $600. But, I haven't seen any custom blanks that look like the Conquest or Shimano Spiral X designed blanks. I was able to get some X-Ray blanks made by Gary Loomis and built one with Torzite Guides and G2 Carbon Grips for $300, but it's still not near as light as my Conquest 843c, and they are quite bulky. The ML X-Ray I built is at least twice as thick in the bottom section as my Dobyns Xtasy Mag Heavy was. The sensitivity does more than hold it own though. The better value = Build Your Own

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/search-tackle.html?sort=no&start=0&count=30&searchtext=the+closer I'm not sure the exact size, but I would bet the 1/4 oz. is at least 1/O or 2/O. I have some 1/4 & 1/8 oz. and I thinking even the 1/8 might even be 1/O. Gary Dobyns even left a review on them.

Sierra 735c is the best I have used + lifetime warranty + there is always a 20% off sale somewhere. IROD's Fred's Magic Stick, I hear is really good and I wouldn't hesitate to get one. The new Tatula's aren't near as light as the Original Tatula's. My 7'0 Tatula M/R weighed the same as my 7'0 Dobyns Fury MH/F.

Cork over EVA, but Carbon over both. I love the NFC Carbontex Soft Touch Grips and the American Tackle G2 Grips are pretty nice also.