Drop Shot Rod Recommendations?

[buckeye12]

Lookin to get a new drop shot rod. What's everyone like?

[needs2hunt]

well i live in the northwest and can go to the lamiglas factory and dig though the close outs and rejects...

picked up a competior series spinning rod 2 power medium light 6' 8" been a awesome rod for only costing $30...

so i thuink any good mdium/light rod with a fast action and ove 6'6" would be a good setup...

[buckeye12]

Never had a Lamiglass. Have to check it out. Looking hard at St Croix Mojo 6' 9" ML X fast. Also a Falcon Bucco. Tackle warehouse has a Powell Diesel on sale at 60$. Never owned a Powell either. Seen a Daiwa TD-X ? dropshot. Sweet looking but 200$ a little steep.

[WRB]

Spinning rod with 6 to. 8 lb line Dobyns SS692 under $150 a good drop shot rod.

Tom

[buckeye12]

Fish mostly the Ohio River for smallies. Local club. Maybe 6 tournaments a year on local lakes. Dobyns SS692 is med./ light. Think it would be alright or go with the med. 693?

[Shane J]

My dedicated drop shot rod is a Shimano Cumara 6'8" Med XFast, paired with a Shimano Ci4 2500 with 6lb Yo-Zuri Hybrid Ultrasoft. Doesn't get much better than that.

[WRB]

Fish mostly the Ohio River for smallies. Local club. Maybe 6 tournaments a year on local lakes. Dobyns SS692 is med./ light. Think it would be alright or go with the med. 693?

The 3 power rods are more towards medium with more tip power, less bend, so it depends on the line you use most of the time. There is a good Aaron Martens article on drop shot Jan 2013 Bassmaster mag.

I have a medium 3 power Lamiglas Ecel 703 and has a soft enough tip, but I also use 3/16 & 1/4 pz weights with 6 lb FC line in 15' to 45' of water. The SS693 is a good all around spinning rod. If I was to buy a specific spinning rod for drop shot or light inline spinners, the a 2 power is ideal for the lighter line applications.

Tom

[gobig]

Lamiglas dropshot speacial 2

[kickerfish1]

I have a few dropshots rods but my two favorite are a cumara 7'2 ML and a 6'9 ML fenwick elite tech rod. I also use a dobyns dx 742 casting rod.

[ww2farmer]

My drop shot rod is a 7' ML power, fast action St Croix Avid. I have used this rod going on 8 years now almost exclusivly for drop shotting. It's handled 4 and 5lb smallmouth from 30+ feet of water on Erie, and 10' of water next to thick weed beds at home. Plenty of sensitivity, light, well balanced with a typical 2500 sized spinning reel, and I like that it's just a plain looking, no fancy crap, old school spinning rod.

[buckeye12]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Was leaning toward med action before starting this thread. After listening to everyone and hearing about their set ups, now lookin med/light. ShaneJ thats a sweet lookin combo! Tom, thanks for the explanation on the Dobyns. Gonna keep lookin around and checkin different rods. any more info will be appreciated! Thanks again.

[BradGuenette]

7'2" ML Fast Cumara, wonderful rod, lots of tip with plenty backbone...though %80 of the time in fishing under a 1/4oz tungsten, paired with a ci4 I originally was using 10lb ghost braid, but quickly made the switch to 6lb FC, if you can find a good deal on the previous model Cumara jump on it!

[Brian Needham]

I used a dobyns dx742spinning this summer.

now with in the last month I have switched to a dx702c casting set up, both are great DS rods.

[Bluebasser86]

I've got a 7' 1" ML/XF St. Croix LTB with a 25 size Pluegar Supreme and a 6' 8" ML/F Shimano Crucial with a 1000 Symetre. I prefer the St. Croix for most situations but the Shimano gets the nod if I'm fishing light weights in shallower water.

[jhoffman]

I had an older very large ugly stick and I couldnt find a good use for it till I tried drop shot with it. The tip is very slow, protects that lighter line well. Its the only thing I use that rod for, drop shot rig never leaves it.

[WRB]

The reason I believe Dobyn's SS 692 or SSM 692 is ideal is Gary's lifetime warranty , top quality giudes, reel seat and blank for your $150 budget. Gary is available to discus your fishing questions, few rod makers today offers that level of support. The Shimano and St Croix rods referenced are $250 price range 2X the Dobyn's Savvy series.

ALX rods offer far better custom rods at the $200+ price range and Alex makes all my casting rods today that are equal to top of the line Loomis for 1/2 the cost, IF you are not limited by budget constraints.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years.

Tom

[Sam]

G. Loomis NRX 822S Drop Shot Rod.

[WRB]

ALX does make an off the shelf Zolo-B series OBS-82-XF, 2+ power drop shot rod for $185 that is equal, IMO, to the Loomis NRX rod ($525), check them out.

Tom

PS, I used Lamiglas rods for over 30 years and changed

this year to ALX and not sponsored by any rod maker, both are made in USA with lifetime warranty.

[buckeye12]

Dobyns is sounding better all the time! Nothing against Loomis, I know they are quality rods, just never had one feel right. They always seem a little on the stiff side to me. Gonna check around and see what kinda deal I can find on the Dobyns. I'm a big fan of the Cabela's XML series. Might check out what they have.

[kickerfish1]

Dobyns is sounding better all the time! Nothing against Loomis, I know they are quality rods, just never had one feel right. They always seem a little on the stiff side to me. Gonna check around and see what kinda deal I can find on the Dobyns. I'm a big fan of the Cabela's XML series. Might check out what they have.

I have a cabelas XML ti rod. It is the 6'9 medium model with the recoil guides. It is a decent rod but feels more dead in hand compared to dobyns or a cumara. The dobyns 1 and 2 powered rods are ideal for dropshot fishing. Choose the power of rod based upon size of fish, amount of cover, and weight of the rigs you will throw. If you are on the fence go with a 2 powered rod. I have a 3 powered dobyns rod and I believe it is overkill for dropshot fishing. That is unless you plan on fishing no lighter than 1/4 oz weights and larger plastics with lots of cover and big fish present. Typically there three powered rods are for senkos, worm/jig, spinnerbaits, etc...

I haven't personally used the champion line rods except the 705cb glass for cranks so I can't speak to their sensitivity but the dx rods are truly great for my fishing needs. Superb looking, great sensitivity like the glx line, great balance, and of course the lifetime warranty.

TW has some of the dobyns line of rods on sale for a good savings... these are the longer rods which make good dropshot rods.

I would choose a 2 powered dobyns or a cumara if it were me. Fyi... thetacklecenter has a 20% off sale. You could snag the 7'2 medium xf rod for about $190.

You would be hard pressed to find 2 better rods around $200 +/-

[skeletor6]

In the $100 price range I would look at the elite tech smallmouth. Either the ML/F or the MXF, these rods perform well above their price point and will shock you at how light and sensitive they are.

In the $200 range, its hard to beat a Shimano Cumara Dropshot Rod. I have the 7'2'' MXF (cusdx72m) on the way. I've also heard really good things about the older full grip Shimano Crucial Dropshot rods. Specifically the 7'2'' MHXF version.

I heard the Dobyns Extreme 702sf dropshots well too while being able to handle other techniques. It is softer in power than the 742 spinning version, if you are looking to go that route.

The type of rod it takes to dropshot is much different from any other rod. The tips are very soft and forgiving. They are not great for setting any type of heavy wire hook, the idea is for the fish not to feel the resistance and sensitivity is very important as most dropshot strikes are very subtle, often you may only feel weight. That is why it is so tough to find good dropshot rods that can double up for other techniques. Very few rods can dropshot reallly well while actually being able to work other techniques.

The NRX 822DSR is a good example of a GREAT dropshot rod that probably won't work well for any other techniques

[flippin and pitchin]

I will kick in this, I don't think you have to have a dedicated drop shot rod. If you drop shot a bunch, maybe you would like one set up. I currently use a Dobyns DX742S. But I will also use that rod for shaky heads, tubes and hula grubs at 1/4 OZ or less. Anytime you can fish three or more lure types with the same rod, that's an advantage. Lots of good suggestions. The Savvy 702 or better, Champion or Extreme 702 will do great. I have a Lamiglas DS701TH that is pretty neat. Tennesee handle rated for 4 to 10 lb line. Lots of bend. It's a fun rod when small schoolers are eating robo worms.

[buckeye12]

Thanks alot skeletor! Now I gotta go check out another rod!! LOL! No really thanks for all the great input guys. I'm a lot bettter prepared to buy the rod now! Most of my drop shotting will be in the Ohio River for smallies. We'll have four lake tournaments fairly early in the year and then from early June on, most of my fishing will be in the river. Low current and super clear water has been the norm last three or four summers. !/4 oz weight probably be about the heaviest I go unless current gets up. 1/8 and 3/16 oz weights in 12 to 25 feet of water most of the time around bridge pilings, barges, ledges, etc... Occasional 3 or 4 lber but average bout 1 to 2 lb. Been some great suggestions for rods that seem right up my alley.

[central.PA.bass]

I have the 7'1 Powell endurance 2- power....

[Quillback]

I have a cabelas XML ti rod. It is the 6'9 medium model with the recoil guides. It is a decent rod but feels more dead in hand compared to dobyns or a cumara. The dobyns 1 and 2 powered rods are ideal for dropshot fishing. Choose the power of rod based upon size of fish, amount of cover, and weight of the rigs you will throw. If you are on the fence go with a 2 powered rod. I have a 3 powered dobyns rod and I believe it is overkill for dropshot fishing. That is unless you plan on fishing no lighter than 1/4 oz weights and larger plastics with lots of cover and big fish present. Typically there three powered rods are for senkos, worm/jig, spinnerbaits, etc...

I haven't personally used the champion line rods except the 705cb glass for cranks so I can't speak to their sensitivity but the dx rods are truly great for my fishing needs. Superb looking, great sensitivity like the glx line, great balance, and of course the lifetime warranty.

TW has some of the dobyns line of rods on sale for a good savings... these are the longer rods which make good dropshot rods.

I would choose a 2 powered dobyns or a cumara if it were me. Fyi... thetacklecenter has a 20% off sale. You could snag the 7'2 medium xf rod for about $190.

You would be hard pressed to find 2 better rods around $200 +/-

In the $100 price range I would look at the elite tech smallmouth. Either the ML/F or the MXF, these rods perform well above their price point and will shock you at how light and sensitive they are.

In the $200 range, its hard to beat a Shimano Cumara Dropshot Rod. I have the 7'2'' MXF (cusdx72m) on the way. I've also heard really good things about the older full grip Shimano Crucial Dropshot rods. Specifically the 7'2'' MHXF version.

I heard the Dobyns Extreme 702sf dropshots well too while being able to handle other techniques. It is softer in power than the 742 spinning version, if you are looking to go that route.

The type of rod it takes to dropshot is much different from any other rod. The tips are very soft and forgiving. They are not great for setting any type of heavy wire hook, the idea is for the fish not to feel the resistance and sensitivity is very important as most dropshot strikes are very subtle, often you may only feel weight. That is why it is so tough to find good dropshot rods that can double up for other techniques. Very few rods can dropshot reallly well while actually being able to work other techniques.

The NRX 822DSR is a good example of a GREAT dropshot rod that probably won't work well for any other techniques

Good explanation on the soft tip on a dedeicated DS rod. I have fished a buddies 822 NRX DS for a few minutes, incredibly light rod. Of course your wallet will be incredibly light after buying one.