kayaking_kev

I picked up a bunch of 1/2 oz. Red Eyed Shad from BPS for $3.99, lots left for now. The 1/2 oz. are cheaper than the 1/4 oz. for some reason.

I grab the line whenever flipping a fish is risky and I don't want to break my rod. It's usually when I'm bank fishing and the drop off is steep and I lift straight up quickly. The only problem I've had grabbing the line was while trying to pull a big catfish closer to the kayak on 6# line because it wouldn't fit in my net and I got inpatient after fighting it for 45 minutes on a UL setup at night. It seemed gassed out, but as soon as I grabbed the line it started kicking and easily broke the line. Lesson Learned!

I would also say those would be two different rods. Maybe a Dobyns Colt 703c for squarebills or a used Fury 703c if you can find one for around $75. All of the Dobyns Colt Series rods have 15% Glass in them, so they make good moving bait rods. Then for the 5xd, I would look into the 13 Defy Black Crankbait rod, or something that handles heavier lures that's within your budget.

I've had the 705 & 736 Glass rods, and I personally didn't care much for the 736 as I thought it was a bit heavy at 6.0 oz, but if you don't mind the weight that's probably the rod for you. Keep in mind their crankbaits rods, at least their glass, are not perfectly balanced like a regular Dobyns because as a tip down technique, it doesn't have to be. So unlike other Dobyns, that 6.0 oz. is going to feel like 6 oz. rod due to the imbalance. I loved throwing 3/8-1/2 oz. lipless on the 705, but I think I always threw 3/8 oz. bladed jigs + trailer on it and can't remember if I ever threw 1/2 oz. The 736 was more of a heavier bladed jig rod, but I would think you could get away with a 1/2 oz. + a small trailer on the 705. I've never tried the 705 Glass MF, but I heard it's whippy and if it's any where near as whippy as the 704 Glass, it wouldn't be good.

Those are what I have, but haven't had to use them yet.

Finally got a pair of good sunglasses and picked up another Tatula Type-R to match a recent custom build.

I just bought my first one recently, I'm guessing it's a newer version? I thought they were more of a shallow diving lure, but the one I got dives 7-11 ft, but maybe I just got a different series.

I have the Perch pattern WP size 60, but haven't been able to use it yet here. It's a weird Perch pattern, to me it looks like a frog on top and a bass on the side. I have every size, but the 190, but I normally like to throw the size 90. Occasionally, I will throw the 75 or 110, but I haven't even thrown my 130 yet. I only use them on the small, shallow rivers that I kayak and the smallmouth & rock bass tear them up. And, on those shallow skinny rivers they will bite them almost all season long, even if it's Sunny in the middle of the day.

I own or have owned several brands and I will basically only buy Shimano or Daiwa anymore. For me personally, Shimano is #1, I just think they feel better in my hand and feel more refined than Daiwa's. While all the Daiwa's I have owned have been nice reels, I really only love the Tatula SV, but I admit there's a lot I haven't tried on the higher end, but a lot of them seem big or heavy. I do like the look of Daiwa's better though. Lew's and Abu Garcia's probably feel the best in the hand to me, but not once you start reeling with a fish on the line and IMO, they don't compare with Shimano or Daiwa in durability or longevity. 13 Fishing reels are kind of hit and miss for me, some are decent and some are junk, so I just stay away now. I've had Penn Pursuit III spinning reel for 3 years now that had been good to me, but I think it's better suited for salt water.

I have a Dobyns Champion XP 704cb Glass rod and a Custom Phenix Composite X-10 that work great with them, both are paired with SLX MGL 70's. The Champion is probably slightly better for lighter cranks, but not by much, but the Phenix weighs a lot less overall though.

I picked up a few things lately.

I've had the Fury 663c and 703c and to me it seems the 703c had slightly more of a tip, and the 663c reached the backbone a little faster making it feel a little more powerful, but the differences are very small. Shorter rods are going to be more accurate casting and longer rods are going to give you more leverage on hooks sets.

I love the Fury 703c for jerkbaits, squarebills, and shallow divers, but I wouldn't throw medium divers on it unless their light enough and the trebles aren't too big. Not the best power for bladed jigs though.

Tatula 7'0" Medium Power/Regular Action did a good job for those baits for me. I'm selling mine in like new condition/less than a year old for $95+shipping.

I ordered my Kaden prototype last year through email because the phone lines were so backed up and they didn't accept any orders online at that time.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lifetime-Tamarack-Angler-10-ft-Fishing-Kayak-Paddle-Included-90508/28912499?selected=true Add a stadium seat for $10-$15 and a few other small mods and a good paddle. There's a lot of videos of mods done for this kayak on youtube. I don't have one, but if I was looking for one in that price range I would seriously consider it.

I would personally go with the 733 being a Northern guy and fishing for smallies also. Guys down South would probably prefer the 734 as they usually deal with bigger fish and usually don't have any smallies down there. I've had the Fury 703 and Champion 734 and found the 3 power more versatile for my style of fishing and being a Northern guy. If you're going to use to it mostly for bottom baits though, I would consider waiting for a sale or saving more money and getting a Kaden, Sierra, Champion, something with a bit more sensitivity.

I've tried lots of hooks and by far the best for me has been the Owner Sniper Finesse Neko Hook Size 1 or 1/O when using barbed hooks. The barbs are strong and will keep the fish pinned. I recently been using a lot of barbless hooks and use the Gamakatsu Barbless Octopus in the same sizes. I haven't had any problems losing any fish with them. I always use an O-Ring and have caught up to 30 bass with the same worm before.

And I thought my previous collection was good, WOW! Very Nice. ?

Currently Xtasy 723c - Neko Rig Champion XP 704cb Glass - Shallow Crankbaits Fury 663c - Jerkbaits This Past Season Xtasy 755c - Jigs Extreme HP 702c - Finesse/Ned Rig Champion XP 734c - Spinnerbaits Champion XP 736cb Glass - Chatterbaits/Deep Divers Champion XP 705cb Glass - Medium Divers/Lipless Champion 634cb - Skinny River Kayaking Champion XP 704sf - Never Used Kaden 744c - Utility Sierra 735c - Frogs Fury 703c - Utility Fury 702sf - Finesse/Dropshot ------------------------ I will be selling the 3 Dobyns that I have left, not because I don't like Dobyns Rods, but because I have recently built my own custom arsenal with X-ray and Phenix blanks with Torzite & SiC guides using carbon grips.

I asked in the Dobyns Community on Facebook and even they don't really know. I had someone say it was a misprint, and someone say basically what myself and kingmotorboat was trying to explain. I would say that's about the best explanation so far, but if I get any better responses on there I will let you know. Gary Dobyns post on there, as well as other staff members, but right now Dobyns office is out of commission due to power outage.

I know it's pretty confusing, my guess is that it has to do with handle length. They can be both used for pitching & flipping as can other regular Mag-H Dobyns casting rods. In regular casting rods such as the Sierra 735c it doesn't go any heavier than a Mag-H, but if in their pitching & flipping rods where the handles are longer and the lure ratings I believe go higher, they have to call that one a MH to be able to call the others with higher lure ratings a H and Mag-H. But, that's just my guess, I didn't check the website to reference any of it.

My 1st year of fishing I used a $10 zebco 202 ML spincast combo on a skinny river full of smallies and would occasionally throw a rapala floating minnow and catch an occasionally 3 lb. smallie with it, so I'm sure that setup will do you good. It will handle a 4 lber with your drag set accordingly. I would consider using mono line, at least as a leader for it's stretch with those smallies, have fun.

I believe it was Sportsman Warehouse, but I think you had to email them or something to get a code for it. I think it was MN Fisher who posted about it.