softwateronly

I'm about 353 days from my green bass pb, and just shy of 12,600 days since my brown bass pb. Thats 2/12/22 and sometime in August of 1988. I need a menderchuck.

I've found myself liking flipping rods for 6" baits and I throw 6" 2oz baits most often. It's more enjoyable to throw all day and I haven't lost fish doing it, but I'm also not in water with giant fish. I have a tatula 200 w/ 65lb braid on a 7'6XH expride for fatty trash fish, freestyles, 68's, etc. My 8" baits are thrown on a MB Onager w/ a tatula 300. If you're unsure if you wanna get all the way into the big bait game, a flipping rod could be a good option. scott

The bait monkey wants to remind you that A** has a 40% rebate on dobyns right now. Maybe 2 rods for a little more than 1 is the answer. scott

What Tom said ^^^ The 735 is quite a bit faster than the 734, but I'd worry about that tiny keitech jig hook with a 5 power. I've caught smallies with the keitech football on the 734 and worry a bit about bending out if I'm not precise with my drag. scott

I tend to agree w/ @SproDD79 with one exception. The champs have great action, absolutely love fighting and landing fish on them, but they are relegated to moving baits for me. When working bottom contact, I spend too much time/effort trying to discern what I'm sensing compared to other rods. The exception is the xtsay 755. It's uniquely sensitive to me, but these attributes weren't really apparent the first few times I fished it. For me, it's not the sharp feeling I get from the shimano/diawa feel of exprides, adrena, steez, or conquest, but a softer/more subtle feel that actually gives me a better underwater picture in my mind once I readjust to it. When I'm fishing a semi-slack line bite or working deep water I find this type of sensitivity to be better. scott

It's also possibly a definition thing. As an example, I have both exprideA 7'7H M/F rated to 2oz and a 7'6XH M/F rated to 2oz. How the mod/fast responds has a lot to do with the power of the rod. I think the 7'7 would be a terrible c-rig choice, would load up constantly while dragging, feel spongey, but the XH would be an excellent mod fast c-rig set up. The power of the XH would allow the tip to work the bait before the rod bends into the middle third, but after hook up having a powerful rod loaded 2/3rds of the way allows me to have an excellent landing percentage with heavy lead weights trying to pop the hook out. Also in my example, ratings are somewhat arbitrary. My expride 7'6MH M/F is a very different feel, to me it's much faster than the 7'7H. That MH would make a better c-rig choice than the H, even if I was dragging a 1oz sinker. So here's 3 rods in the same line up that all behave differently even though their actions are listed as the same. Then add in that everyone is different, now you have a recipe for internet disagreements without having a clear baseline for discussion. scott

I fish a lot of 7'6 rods, but the way you described your situation would give me pause. Bank, trees, and thorn bushes seem like tight spots to swing your casts into narrow targets. That said, I have a conquest 904 and once I get into the power on the blank I feel like I can move or direct most any bass. I'm sure someone with more gloomis experience will add in, but I'd lean to an 844. scott

Time on this site will certainly put you around lots of knowledge, it's helped me for sure. I have 3 jdm 18 bantams and one jdm 22 bantam. Fantastic reels, I think you'll love it. scott

I have thrown all those baits successfully on the Dobyns Champ 706cb graphite with braid to leader. There's a sale at A*F for dobyns right now and a used one at ***. Definite big step down in sensitivity from a P5 though. scott 2nd option: Thought about it some more and think a poison adrena 7'3MH R/F would do all of it and fill in on some heavier bottom contact too. I've thrown a big poppa on it, otherwise cranks are pretty infrequent for me. Everything else you listed handles real well on it. Stellar for all those single hook applications and a great trap rod for me.

The stunna has produced best for me on the days they want it fast. I'm still learning it though. scott

Currently, these are my favorite techniques and their combos. 3/4 of these rods were bought used, and I'm glad I went slightly out of my normal range. Conquest 904, jdm 20 metanium w/ 30lb pp 8strand, 16lb fc leader, fg knot 1/2-3/4oz cali swim jig w/ 4-5" paddle tail Steez 7'2H power pitch, jdm 18 bantam w/ 65lb max cuatro, 25lb fc leader, fg 3/8-3/4oz SC flippin jig hematoma w/ beaver Poison adrena 6'11M+, jdm 20 metanium w/ 30lb pp 8strand, 16lb fc leader, fg knot nishine erie darter 115sd in hologram smelt; 1/4-3/8oz punisher jig camo w/ beaver MB Tequila Bacarrac 7'XH, jdm 21 Zillion HD w/ 65lb max cuatro, 20lb mono, fg knot 6" bacca burrito Who Dat Jigs, swimbaits, and jerkbaits are the way I wanna catch em, but I often junk fish and bring 8-10 combos on the boat. scott

Landis is a douche

If you're looking for a shorter swimbait rod that's effective with both trebles and single hook, you probably have to look closer at Japanese rods. This line is highly recommended, but I have no personal experience. https://www.majorcraft-america.com/collections/rods/products/benkei-casting-type?variant=42004745126070 7' long and covers 3/8-3oz in reg/fast at $150. The description by those that have it reminds me of Megabass P5 Tequila Bacarac. scott

I think you can get by with 2; a white/green pumpkin combo and a black/brown combo. Here's some of each kind that I have confidence in for clear water. Those are my green pumpkin/white combos. . My black/brown combos. I do have all 5 colors, but one of each category is probably all I really need. If I'm swimming or stroking a jig, I lean toward the panfish colors. If I'm dragging, I lean toward the crawfish colors. But I mix and match trailer color variations and also go against those tendencies I just listed. The others above are correct, profile and action are more important. and the bait monkey never loses. scott

Not specifically but I’ve sure learned the value of hyper aggressive retrieves when they want it. I think this is why I’ve settled on 7:1 as my standard. scott

For me; trimmed down RI beaver, gambler otter, & z-man crawz. Except in the dead of summer, my confidence lies in the profile and glide of a do nothing trailer. I really only fish clear water and I think this plays a significant role. scott

DJ 3/4oz swim jigs w/ a big EZ & a 5/8-3/4oz DJ Canterberry flippin jig w/ a beaver are my favorite ways to get after em. Working downhill, surfing the weed tops, the outcast chicken jig became a big player for me last summer too. Looking to add in a 6" fatty trash fish, flutter spoon and a 8" hags tornado on a mag shot caller at various points this year. Most of this happens on the clumps and edges in 15-25.' Large profiles have been much more successful historically, but I should push some finesse out deep on the slow days. scott

I want to add 3 combos, jigs, and swimbaits to leave at my in-laws next year. I bought 3 combos, jigs, and swimbaits during BF for this purpose, yet I still "need" 3 combos and jigs to leave at my in-laws. This monkey is strong. scott

Might be worth contacting Dobyns like @WRB suggests. I have the exact same set up and the reel seats tight and stable. Hope it gets rectified for ya soon. scott

I just picked some g finesse 1/0 hybrid worm hooks up. They seem like they’d be perfect for 4-5” worms if you like ewg, they run a little large. I plan on pitching a 4” trigged otter or smaller beaver with them. scott

I would think an airtight container with loads of desiccant would dry it out in a day or three. But that won’t solve your bigger problem. I’d do as @Fishingmickeyadvises and hope they send you a new one. Surface tension is a b****, maybe casting has exposed a manufacturing defect. scott

I mean you already have the mojo. If you get the champ, which it seems you have your heart set on, you can overlap most techniques and gain new ones. From my point of view, I’d lean toward this strategy. scott

There’s a sale at A*F coming up specifically concerning dobyns starting this Thursday. I received an email about it yesterday. scott

If I could spend everyday on the water in MI for 6 weeks I’d probably choose 5 of them to be from April 1st to May 7th and then one week in mid to late November. The big girls just seem to get active and angry. Last year, almost all of my MI chatter bait fish were at night w/ 3/4-1.25 oz jackhammers and 6” spunk Shads running deep weed lines. scott

I would definitely throw larger whopper ploppers on a 734. That rod is a do all. I think Gary himself designed it as a spook rod. That tip will pin treble hooked fish. Set your drag correctly, drop the tip on jumping fish, and I’d expect you to land 95% of what you hook. Get the rod. It is good at most everything moving. scott