kayaking_kev

Lew's Hank Parker Speed Stick = $40 On Sale Dobyns Fury Dobyns Colt Daiwa Aird-X Lew's TP-1 I have a Daiwa Tatula 7 ft. Medium/Regular for $110 Shipped.

6'6" for Jerkbaits and 7'0" for most everything else. That's my preference, but I have a 6'0, 7'3, and 7'6 rods also & they have their place.

I tried it once, but I'd rather tie a knot than have to clean my spool afterwards with alcohol to get the sticky stuff off left over from the tape.

That's funny because I was thinking about building a X-11 sometime in the future for XD 6, 3/4 oz lipless, bigger whopper ploppers and other heavier deeper divers. It's weird because it's even lighter than the X-10, which came out to 3.9 oz. after I built it even with Winn Grips on it. Do you have the factory X-11 or a custom? The X-10 is in between the Dobyns 704 glass and the Tatula 7ft M/R. It's not quite as whippy with a little more power than the Dobyns, but more parabolic and not quite as powerful as the Tatula. All 3 are great cranking rods, I just like the lightness of the X-10.

I have heard the Recon blanks are slightly better than the M1, but I don't know as far as the factory rod and what components they have on them. I built a Phenix X-10 Composite and love it, I'm now selling my Dobyns Champion XP 704cb Glass and Tatula crankbait rod, because I like it so much.

1. The X-Ray 7109 is powerful and stout, but I have only been able to use it once so far flipping a jig, and I also cut mine down to 7'6". I'm pretty sure I saw that it will handle small swimbaits, but I have little experience with swimbaits so I can't speak on it. Every X-Ray blank that I have can throw up to their max lure rating or beyond, they are powerful rods, IMO. You might want to ask Michander about this blank as I traded him one for a SJ-736 and he may have fished it more and may be able to tell you more about it. 2. I've had pretty good customer service from them. I've always received my orders in just over a week, and even received a replacement for a damaged blank in under two weeks from the time I put in a request. 3. The NFC and G2 grips have smaller arbor sections that don't run all the length of the grip, their about 3" or so, the CFX grips arbor runs all the way through. My preference on the texture in the NFC grips, they feel smooth but yet have some grip to them. I didn't think I would like them more than the G2 grips, but I have came around and they are now my favorite grips. I didn't weigh all of them, I think just the G2 and the NFC grips. The NFC full grips weighed 26 grams, and if I remember correctly, the G2 split grips weighed the same or even a little more and I didn't weight the G2 full grips. I posted the weights in one Michander's recent post, but he may have them written down.

Agree with the other about the Sierra, the Kaden would be much better for those applications. I would throw in Phenix Bass Recon Elite Heavy Power 7'1 or 7'6 in the mix, they are some light rods, and Phenix doesn't get enough credit.

I used circle hooks on my neko rigged works for awhile and even caught my PB using one, but ultimately, I got sick of the hook up ratio and tried a bunch of other hooks until I found the Owner Sniper Finesse Neko Hook. Those things are all I will ever use now when I don't use barbless.

Looks like that Tatula 7 ft. M/R would fit in nicely with your lineup.

I bought a couple 3 packs last Black Friday and I think they are pretty good, I caught one of my first fish this year on one matching a craw. I got them for a great price then, but this is even better. What is the shipping price on them though?

Long story short, I kayaked long before I fished, decided to throw a line behind me as a I paddled after seeing so many fish all the time. I started catching a bunch of fish and had no clue how to tell a LM from a SM. Now, I'm hooked and I rarely troll and have taken 10 hours to fish a 3 mile stretch of river before. Lots of people around here troll for Crappie. I sometimes like to keep a Crappie line in my rod holder as I fish a spot or drift for Bass in the kayak. I also bank fish and I don't know about others, but I don't throw many crankbaits for fear of losing them and I rarely throw spinnerbaits. Depending on the season, Jerkbaits, Ned, Craws or anything that imitates them in early Spring, and a lot of Neko Rigged Worms and T-Rigs in the Summer, with some Lipless, Chatters, Spinners, and other baits mixed in there here and there throughout the season. My point is I think it takes a lot more skill to catch fish from the bank than it does trolling, but I have no problem trolling, but I can see how it can be annoying for other boaters as they seem to take up a lot of area.

Some more Red Eyed Shads and a few other things from the BPS Spring Sale.

I have one zebco 202 reel where you have to reel the lure almost all the way up to the tip of the rod for it to cast properly, but then it does great. I think someone else just recently mentioned something about trying to press the button a second time after you cast.

Dobyns Glass rods are Composite, or a mix of Glass & Graphite, but I think the Exprides might be also.

Thanks everyone! One of the biggest problems I ran into, if not the biggest was applying finish over a longer area, as I didn't have the same problem with guides. You can see in the pic below on the 2nd rod from the bottom, which was the first rod I built and is the most noticeable in the picture. You can see the unevenness or wavy finish after the decal section where the carbon fiber rod skin starts. This was the worst because I had the carbon fiber skin start to unwrap as I was applying finish to it and it became a pain. I later found out that by using a instant UV light resin on decals and rod skins before applying finish I could eliminate this problem. But, I still have a little problem applying finish over a couple of the decal sections. It didn't come out as even as I would have liked on a couple rods. You can't even notice it unless you run your hands down the section. I'm not exactly sure what I did wrong though, but have some ideas. Could it be the unsanded X-Ray blanks, even though I put down a layer of finish underneath the decals first to create a smooth surface? I didn't have any problem on my Phenix blank. Could my room have been to hot? It gets pretty warm, but I don't think over 80 F. Could I have spread the finish to thin or to thick? Could I have waited to long to apply the finish after mixing? Could it be a mixing ratio problem, even though I use syringes for precise parts? What else could cause my finish to get wavy like that?

I would see if the Rodhouse website has both of those rods in their rod deflection comparison chart so you can see how they measure up. I use the MB-733 for finesse stuff like Ned Rigs, but it's not the best at casting the lighter stuff, I wish it had a little more flex in the tip. Finesse Jigs like the Bitsy Bug would probably be really good on it.

Nothing special besides being my first fish of 2021. Jerkbait fish.

Starting from bottom to top. (Click on the picture and it will make it bigger) NFC X-Ray SJ-736 - H/F, cut down to 7'0" / NFC Carbontex Grips / G2 Razor Carbon Reel Seat / G2 Carbon Insert / G2 Carbon Foregrip Sleeve / Fuji SiC Guides / Cagey Hook Spiral Wrapped Guides / Decal from Decal Connection / Shimano Metanium MGL NFC X-Ray MB-736 - MH/F / G2 Carbon Grips / G2 Blade Carbon Reel Seat / G2 Carbon Foregrip Sleeve / Fuji Titanium Torzite Guides / Simple Spiral Wrapped Guides / Carbon Fiber Rod Skin / Decal from Mudhole / Daiwa Tatula SV ( First rod that I built ) NFC X-Ray MB 7109 - Mag Heavy/MF, cut down to 7'6" / CFX Carbon Composite Grips / G2 Vibe Reel Seat / G2 Carbon Insert / G2 Carbon Foregrip Sleeve / Fuji Black Alconite Guides / Simple Spiral Wrapped Guides / Diamond Wrap / Decal from Decal Connection / Daiwa Tatula CT Type-R Phenix X-10 Composite - M/MF / Winn Grips / G2 Razor Carbon Reel Seat / G2 Carbon Insert / G2 Carbon Foregrip Sleeve / Fuji SiC Guides / Marbling / Decal from Decal Connection / Shimano SLX MGL 70 NFC X-Ray MB-733 - ML/F / G2 Carbon Split Grips / American Tackle AERO Carbon Spinning Reel Seat / Fuji Sic Guides / Marbling / Decal from Decal Connection / Shimano Vanford 2500 ----------------------------------------------------- I will upload more pictures when I'm able to and also talk about some things regarding the building process, such as where I had the most difficulty. I have been able to catch fish on 4 of the 5 rods in only the few times I have been able to fish this Spring, but I haven't fished with the other one yet.

I have a MB-733 that I built for finesse with a Vanford reel. I'm right down I-75 from you, do you have any really good fishing holes that might tempt me to come there and let you handle my MB-733, haha.

I've had a 6'3", 6'6", (6) x 7'0", 7'2", (3) x 7'3", 7'4", & 7'5" Dobyns, and my favorite length is the 7'0". Outside of the Xtasys my favorites are the DX 702c, FR 703c, DC 704cb Glass. The DC 734c wasn't really for me. My least favorite Dobyns though was probably the DC 736cb Glass, it was heavy and didn't have the balance to make up for it.

I don't think I cast very far. Being a former QB and knowing how far I could throw a football and seeing how far I can cast, it doesn't seem like I cast but maybe 40 yards on a good day and that's with a good casting lure like a lipless or dark sleeper. But, I'm also used to fishing for accuracy on skinny rivers more so than bomb casting on open waters, and only have 3 seasons of using a bait caster under my belt. I also don't loosen the spool tension a lot or have mastered the thumbing needed to do that yet. My settings are usually set to where I cast every BC with only needing to use my thumb to stop the lure when it hits the water. I'm also a side caster and also seem to get better distance when casting backhanded for some reason, probably something to do with my mechanics. Hopefully with time and practice I will get better.

I went to a small pond the other day, one that two years ago nobody knew about. There were 6 other people there on a 50 degree day with 20+ mph winds, and I was there less than 2 hours. It got bad last year, and this year looks like it's going to be even worse. I thought with 20+ mph+ winds that there wouldn't be anyone out there, but I was clearly wrong. What's worse is some of them keep any bass they catch and in one year have pretty much destroyed it. I used to catch double digits every time, sometimes 20, now it's tough going. There was only a handful of 3 and 4 lbers in there, but people have took most of them. I also hate when I see an angler catch a big bass out of there, and some noob comes up to them and ask them if they can have it and the angler just gives it to the noob. And, never let them hold it when they ask, because they won't want to give it back. I conceal carry for a reason around here. I'm no great angler, but these people flat out suck and can't catch fish on their own and most of the time they are low character people. But, then you have someone who comes along who at least knows how to fish a little and what baits to throw get their attention and gladly tell them all what to do. Then all of a sudden they go from bobber & worm fishing to bass fishing and you start seeing them at other fishing holes, then they tell all their friends and suddenly every is fishing for bass and a lot of them keep them. I hope to spend a lot of time kayaking the rivers in solitude this season.

I always keep a couple of them around to throw while bank fishing when it's too risky to throw more expensive spinner baits. They have always caught me fish, but the skirts do like to come loose and always need readjusting.

I was in your position in 2018 and now have owned 20+ baitcasters, but I still have my Black Max & Pro Max. Listen to those that are saying not to try to cast to hard. I'm not sure if your coming from fishing with spinning gear, but around here most people still use it and they whip their cast so hard and fast that you can hear the sound across a nice sized pond. Trying to cast a baitcaster like that will get you a birds nest and if your knot isn't good, lose you a lure. Even my DC reel will birds nest trying to cast like that. Practice, like others have mentioned, use some cheap line. Three seasons later with a BC and I still need to practice certain things. If you want to increase distance, loosen the spool tension little by little and practice thumb control.

I got them shipped from their site and they had a lot of colors available, I got 9 different colors and there was at least 15 available at that time. I got enough of them and a few other things to put me over $50 to qualify for the free express shipping. Edit: Still (29) 1/2 oz. different colors available online at the time of this post.