Need Help Selecting A Spinning Rod.

[jab9411]

As a gift, I am allowed to select a rod that is of "reasonable" price. Reasonable being anything about 150 and under. I nearly always go weightless Texas rigged soft plastics, sometimes I use some topwaters and poppers, but not as much as I used to (a semi versatile rod would be nice, but not a big deal.) So, I already know about St. Croix, I see that there are a couple options by them which are very appealing (Mojo Bass specifically), but I want to know about some other brands and experiences with the product. I'm using a ten pound test pflueger reel and would like medium light or medium with whatever action you feel is best(not sure.) I'm still undecided about how many pieces so don't worry about that. Thanks for your time.

EDIT: Font size.

[MCS]

This is my suggestion.

http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-CarbonLite-Spinning-Rods/product/10205013/-1751644

I pretty much fish zoom toads, or T-rigged plastics on it, ocasionally fish live night crawler with a small split shot, top water poppers and floating Rapalas and shallow suspending jerk baits. I have a 6'-6" MH fast with a Pflueger 35 series reel with 10 pound Stren mega thin. It is super light and it casts like a dream, good feel and plenty of back bone. I don't like throwing cranks with it, but is what I would call a great worm/finesse rod.

Here is a thread with a pic of my setup and a pretty decent fish caught on it.(If I don't mind saying so myself)

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/102440-some-decent-jax-bass-today/#entry1123704

[SmokeRise1]

Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth 6'9" Med Xtra Fast. Rod is very light and comfortable to fish all day. Soft tip is perfect for top-water poppers or 'walk the dog' baits like spooks or spittn' image and sensative enough to feel everything that is happening to flukes and worms down deep. Plenty of backbone to set hooks and drag bass out of weeds and lily pads. Not to mention it is right in your wheelhouse in terms of price. Good luck.

[smalljaw67]

Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth 6'9" Med Xtra Fast. Rod is very light and comfortable to fish all day. Soft tip is perfect for top-water poppers or 'walk the dog' baits like spooks or spittn' image and sensative enough to feel everything that is happening to flukes and worms down deep. Plenty of backbone to set hooks and drag bass out of weeds and lily pads. Not to mention it is right in your wheelhouse in terms of price. Good luck.

X2 !!!!! BTW, make the font a little bit bigger, my vision isn't great but I really thought it was bad when I saw your post.

[jerzeeD]

I used a 6'8" M xf mojo bass rod with a 35 size pflueger president xt for the past 3 seasons until I upgraded. It was a great combo for the money. Good sensitivity and great backbone. The new setup is a St croix legend tournament in the same size/ action as the mojo with a 35 series Pflueger patriarch that i will be posting a review of shortly. I would say stick with the medium power rods..... The ML rod will kill you if you hook a lunker in vegetation.

[MCS]

I used a 6'8" M xf mojo bass rod with a 35 size pflueger president xt for the past 3 seasons until I upgraded. It was a great combo for the money. Good sensitivity and great backbone. The new setup is a St croix legend tournament in the same size/ action as the mojo with a 35 series Pflueger patriarch that i will be posting a review of shortly. I would say stick with the medium power rods..... The ML rod will kill you if you hook a lunker in vegetation.

Patriarch sweet I been looking at them on eBay. Not that I need one lol.... love to hear about it...may just talk me into it lol

[jab9411]

Thanks for the replies. I really like that fenwick especially for the versatility that you stated it has. I would go with that Bass Pro rod, but I'm pretty partial to cork. Sorry about the font size. I'll try to put up gear porn pictures when I make up my mind and get my stuff in.

[00 mod]

Pinnacle DHC5-721SPM, and don't look back! I have the ml/f and it is one of , if not my favorite rod!

Jeff

[deep]

You should take a look at Powells. I have been very happy with my 7'3" Max, been fishing it for the last two years. I love it for senkos and small jigs. I'd hate to use it for topwaters and stuff like that though.

EDIT: My big jig rod, a baitcaster, is a Powell Max too..

[jab9411]

You should take a look at Powells. I have been very happy with my 7'3" Max, been fishing it for the last two years. I love it for senkos and small jigs. I'd hate to use it for topwaters and stuff like that though.

EDIT: My big jig rod, a baitcaster, is a Powell Max too..

I was told to look at Powell and Dobyns by another forum. The Powell Max, the Dobyns Savvy, and Fenwick Elitetech Smallmouth are my top 3 right now, I just don't know much about them, the reviews are pretty scarce.

[deep]

jab9411, I've owned and fished the Powell Max 703 M/XF spinning, 733 M/XF spinning, and the 753 TW football jig casting rod. And also the Dobyns Savvy 703SF (I think) spinning. I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have regarding these models...

[jab9411]

jab9411, I've owned and fished the Powell Max 703 M/XF spinning, 733 M/XF spinning, and the 753 TW football jig casting rod. And also the Dobyns Savvy 703SF (I think) spinning. I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have regarding these models...

I really appreciate this. So, I have big interest in both the Powell Max and the Dobyns Savvy. I can easily get away happy with a weightless soft plastic oriented rod. That being said, I need something that has great sensitivity and the ability to get an non-weighted senko out far. I'm not a fan of skull dragging(pulling the fish straight out of the water after I set it; I like to fight the fish) so I dont know if I can still get good feel from a Medium or if I should drop down to a Medium-Light. I also am unsure about what action is best, I use fast currently and have been told that Medium power with XF Action is what I want. I would also like to ask how you feel about the construction(durability I guess) and the reel seats. So, you have had time with both of these rods so you get the chance to rule one out.....Which is, in your opinion, is the better of the two or at least better for my wants. Thank you for time.

[deep]

...

The Powell Max 733 is a medium power extra-fast rod. I do believe the power tends a bit towards a medium-heavy, rather than a true medium. The baits I've fished most on this would be a 1/4 oz jig with rage craw trailer, 5" weightless T-rigged GY senko, 1/4 oz swim jig with RI skinny dipper trailer, and a 5" weightless wacky-rigged GYsenkos, in that order.

The action is pretty close to an extra-fast, while casting. The length of the rod helps in casting the bait pretty far out, as far as I'd like it to anyway. While playing the fish, the power of the rod comes into play, and the rod bends quite far down the blank. The rod is probably as heavy or may be heavier (weight-wise) as comparable rods. With a Shimano Symmetre, the balance point is on the front screw of the reel seat though, so I like the balance.

I don't have any higher priced rod to compare the sensitivity to. But I think the 733 Max is more sensitive than the Shimano Compre, St Croix Triumph, St Croix Premier, and the Dobyns Savvy. I fished a lot of bottom-bumping baits with braid on slack line, and more often than not, I felt the bump of the bite. Although feeling for the bite is never my primary technique for bite-detection unless the wind is too hard to keep a slack line. I'm a line watcher. I always place my index finger of the non-reeling hand on the blank though.

Unfortunately, once I set the hook, my goal is to land the fish as soon as possible. I set my drag *very* tight too. I have fought larger (5+) fish on the 733 Max- I don't drag them to the boat/ shore straight away, unless I can. I get a very good feel of the fight, but I use braid, as I said. The power of the rod gives me an absolute control of the fish though- I usually am fishing in moderate cover.

I haven't managed to break a Powell in the last two years. I baby my fishing equipment when I'm not fishing, but I'm pretty hard on them when I am. I have boat/ shore -flipped 3-5 lb bass with the 733 Max, although it's probably not recommended. I don't think I can ask for a hardier rod that is as sensitive.

I can't really understand what you want to know about the reel seats, but I might be of help if you'd clarify.

When I am shore-fishing, which is often, I have fished topwater poppers and spooks with the Powell. I have to be a bit careful not to rip the treble hooks out of the fishes mouth!

Onto the Savvy; I think the 2 Powell Maxes I had are more sensitive than the Savvy 703SF. With the Max, I could, and can differentiate between different types of cover (rocks/ grass/ wood etc); with the Savvy, all I could feel was a mushy feeling that something is *different*. Workmanship was a little shoddy on the Savvy- excess epoxy etc. I fished the Savvy for less than a month, so I can't comment on the durability, It didn't seem to be fragile by any stretch though. The power was lighter than the Powell 733, and the action was a little more moderate, as may be expected from the rating. It might have made a good light spinnerbait rod, I think.

Also, I didn't really fish the Savvy for any length of time, and it might have been an one-off rod. But what I saw, I definitely didn't like, compared to the Powell.

Feel free to ask for more opinions,

[jab9411]

The Powell Max 733 is a medium power extra-fast rod. I do believe the power tends a bit towards a medium-heavy, rather than a true medium. The baits I've fished most on this would be a 1/4 oz jig with rage craw trailer, 5" weightless T-rigged GY senko, 1/4 oz swim jig with RI skinny dipper trailer, and a 5" weightless wacky-rigged GYsenkos, in that order.

The action is pretty close to an extra-fast, while casting. The length of the rod helps in casting the bait pretty far out, as far as I'd like it to anyway. While playing the fish, the power of the rod comes into play, and the rod bends quite far down the blank. The rod is probably as heavy or may be heavier (weight-wise) as comparable rods. With a Shimano Symmetre, the balance point is on the front screw of the reel seat though, so I like the balance.

I don't have any higher priced rod to compare the sensitivity to. But I think the 733 Max is more sensitive than the Shimano Compre, St Croix Triumph, St Croix Premier, and the Dobyns Savvy. I fished a lot of bottom-bumping baits with braid on slack line, and more often than not, I felt the bump of the bite. Although feeling for the bite is never my primary technique for bite-detection unless the wind is too hard to keep a slack line. I'm a line watcher. I always place my index finger of the non-reeling hand on the blank though.

Unfortunately, once I set the hook, my goal is to land the fish as soon as possible. I set my drag *very* tight too. I have fought larger (5+) fish on the 733 Max- I don't drag them to the boat/ shore straight away, unless I can. I get a very good feel of the fight, but I use braid, as I said. The power of the rod gives me an absolute control of the fish though- I usually am fishing in moderate cover.

I haven't managed to break a Powell in the last two years. I baby my fishing equipment when I'm not fishing, but I'm pretty hard on them when I am. I have boat/ shore -flipped 3-5 lb bass with the 733 Max, although it's probably not recommended. I don't think I can ask for a hardier rod that is as sensitive.

I can't really understand what you want to know about the reel seats, but I might be of help if you'd clarify.

When I am shore-fishing, which is often, I have fished topwater poppers and spooks with the Powell. I have to be a bit careful not to rip the treble hooks out of the fishes mouth!

Onto the Savvy; I think the 2 Powell Maxes I had are more sensitive than the Savvy 703SF. With the Max, I could, and can differentiate between different types of cover (rocks/ grass/ wood etc); with the Savvy, all I could feel was a mushy feeling that something is *different*. Workmanship was a little shoddy on the Savvy- excess epoxy etc. I fished the Savvy for less than a month, so I can't comment on the durability, It didn't seem to be fragile by any stretch though. The power was lighter than the Powell 733, and the action was a little more moderate, as may be expected from the rating. It might have made a good light spinnerbait rod, I think.

Also, I didn't really fish the Savvy for any length of time, and it might have been an one-off rod. But what I saw, I definitely didn't like, compared to the Powell.

Feel free to ask for more opinions,

All really good stuff. You pretty much eliminated the Savvy, which has been slowly looking less and less of good choice for me. What I meant by reel seats is that even in the high end rods, I've seen that people still have trouble keeping those things tight. From what you have told me, the Powell Max seems like a great rod, but just a bit too heavy in power and action for me. I'm thinking the Fenwick EliteTECH Smallmouth(gonna look funny on my rod cause there are hardly any smallies my lakes) is the one for me. Thank you Deep, you helped a guy who is extremely picky about his buying decisions. It's people like you who make newcomers like me stick to a forum. Thank you everyone else for your input.

So, I will give it till the end of 6/29 for myself to find another rod model or anyone to throw a new one my way before I finalize that Fenwick is the rod for me.

[deep]

jab9411, the only reel seat I ever had trouble with was the one on my St Croix Triumph. I fixed it with some tape, and frankly, it wasn't that big of a deal. I do think the Savvy 703 SF is a more all-around rod, compared to the Powell Maxes (703 and 733 spinning). The Max works very well for my style of bottom- fishing, but the way I fish, I have learnt, is quite different from that of most people. I have had guys fishing with me say that the 733 Max is too *heavy* (weight), and more of a *pool-cue* than a fishing rod, so really, what works for me may be terrible for someone else. I have heard nothing but good things about Fenwicks, though I have no personal experiences!

[SmokeRise1]

Jab, The writing is pretty small, so no one but you will know you're using a smallmouth rod... ; )

[00 mod]

Check out these links. I think you are missing the boat here.

My personal rod is this one, and I think you would be VERY happy with it.

DHC5-701SPML Medium Light/Spinning 8+Top 6-12

1/16-3/8 7’0" (1) $159.99

Jeff