Caught Between Dobyns, Powell, & St. Croix

[hb2392]

Pretty much switching rods and reels from abu, and wanting to buy a whole new arsenal. I've never fished any of these rods, have held and seen all of them, and really like all three. What brand do you guys prefer? I know all three are well made and of quality caliber, but I need help deciding. I love the "feel" of them all, so how do I decide on one or the other? I'm sort of leaning towards the Dobyn but I want to be sure before I pull the trigger. 

 

Really I don't want to spend way over $225 on each rod. 

 

As for Dobyn, I like the Champion, Coalition, and Savvy

Powell - endurance

St. Croix - Avid 

 

I want to stick to one brand, as they will be paired with Lew's tournament pro's and BB1 pro's.

 

Thanks.  

[tbone1993]

 jig, small swimbait,frog, swim jig combo- 735c and a lews tournament pro 7:1

medium to deep crankbait (up to 5xd , maybe 6xd)  765cb glass and a lews bb1 pro 5:4 ratio

 

 

Anyone else can add to my list but I will buy them buy again in a heart beat. I plan on buying a heavier jig rod from them as well. If you have any questions call them up and ask, they will be more than willing to help you. I suggest you buy now while tw has 10% off. 

[Bluebasser86]

I'm a St. Croix guy myself and the Avids are great rods, but I really don't think you can go wrong with any of those rods. Never fished a Dobyn's but have heard nothing but good things about them. The Powell's seem a little heavy to me but lots of folks say the St. Croixs are tip heavy and I don't notice that so what I feel and what you feel holding a rod could be completely different. 

[tomustang]

Avid or Champion.

 

You don't need to pick between which brand and can have both.

 

If you really want to stick under $225 check out the Avids. You can also go used with a Champion for under you max.

[Arv]

Having used all of them, I would go with the champion. I don't think you can go wrong with any of your choices as they are all great rods, but I give the advantage to the champion. I like it more than the avid because I find them to be tip heavy and don't balance as well as I would like. I also give a slight edge to the champion in regards to balance over the endurance as well. Also, the sensitivity of the champion is better than the other two, not by a large margin though, to me at least. I like the materials used in the champion as well. Granted, I'm comparing a 250 rod to two 200 dollar rods so I don't think it's completely apples to apples, but if you can afford the champion I think you should go for it. For moving lures you can get away with the savvy of you want. I would not use the savvy for bottom contact presentations. One more thing to take into consideration however, you can find the endurance for 150 new at fish ranger. Don't know if that makes a difference, but it's worth considering if you're on a budget. Again, I don't think you can go wrong with any one though. All are excellent choices.

[thehooligan]

Ive used all three, cant really go wrong with any of them. Id probally lean more towards the endurance or avid.

[Grantman83]

A good group to be caught between for sure. I would go champion for sure but all these rods have their supporters. Whichever you choose, I'm sure you will find it up to your standards

[WIGuide]

I haven't used the Dobyns or the Powells. I'm still too stuck on St. Croix. I love the feel as well as the craftsmanship of them. You wouldn't go wrong if you go the all St. Croix rout! I have a feeling if you do, you'll end up loving them as much as I do!

[druben]

I would also definitely go with the champion. Dobyn's rods just have such a great feel to them and their customer support is second to none.

[lmbfisherman]

I only have extensive experience with the Avid from your list (owned 3 at one point, now own 1), since you are an Abu guy right now and if you liked how it fishes.  Then I think you can't go wrong with the Avid because imo they fish the same power/action as an Abu rod. 

 

I have only limited experience/held a Champion and a Savvy rod.  The Savvy felt dead to me, the Champion felt better but I picked a Cumara and a Fenwick Aetos over it in the end.  I just felt the other two rods fit my preference (fished the power/action) I liked.  Hence why I think you would like the Avid series. 

[MCS]

I just got a champion. I would have to say champion first choice, avid second. The finish and little details are nicer on the dobyns, the avid is more of a plain jane workhorse.

I feel the champ fishes a little light to its power rating imo where as I hear the st. croix fish heavier. Only held a st. croix in the store, both feel very light and great. Don't think you can go wrong either way.

[cbass12]

I'm a St. Croix guy myself and the Avids are great rods, but I really don't think you can go wrong with any of those rods. Never fished a Dobyn's but have heard nothing but good things about them. The Powell's seem a little heavy to me but lots of folks say the St. Croixs are tip heavy and I don't notice that so what I feel and what you feel holding a rod could be completely different. 

Personally I don't understand it when people say this. To me the powell and dobyns rods I have held feel tip heavy, and all my st croix rods and others I have handled felt weighted about right. Granted the only powell and dobyns I've held are the savvy and max so maybe the higher end of those brands are a little lighter.

 

I've never used an Avid but I have 2 rage casting and 1 spinning, and 1 LTB spinning and they are all fine rods.

[tbone1993]

Personally I don't understand it when people say this. To me the powell and dobyns rods I have held feel tip heavy, and all my st croix rods and others I have handled felt weighted about right. Granted the only powell and dobyns I've held are the savvy and max so maybe the higher end of those brands are a little lighter.

 

I've never used an Avid but I have 2 rage casting and 1 spinning, and 1 LTB spinning and they are all fine rods.

The saavys are a completely different rod than the champion. They arent my favorite but for anything other than bottom contact they are great rods.

[kickerfish1]

I would say that you may want to lean in the direction of where you want and foresee your aresnal going. Figure out about how many rods you think you may need, the techniques you will use them for, the legnths and powers you desire and choose a rod manufacturer that fits what you are wanting. Dobyns would probably give you the most options for legnth, power, actions, etc... but would be the most expensive. Between the champion and savy series you could comfortably fish about any technique you could imagine.

[Bass_Fanatic]

I have alot of all three.  I have Avids, LTBs, and a Legend Extreme.  Also have Dobyns savvy, Champion, and Champion Extreme.  I like them all, but there is a reason that I only have one or two of each of these and I have 13 Powell Endurance rods.  The Powells are flat out a better rod IMO.  I just got a Dobyns DX 795 FLIP, it an awesome rod, BUT, I still favor my Powell 775 FLIP.  You cant go wrong with any of them as they are all great rods, but as for me, Im sticking with Powell!

[roadwarrior]

I have three Avids and two Legend Elite. I owned the Champion 683C and

liked it just fine, but sold it last winter. At any rate, you will probably like the

rods from any of these three companies, but I am recommending the St. Croix.

[hb2392]

Thanks for everyone's input. I really appreciate it, I still haven't been able to narrow it down but if my wallet can handle it I think I will go with the champion. Still gotta figure out which lew's to put on which stick for technique. In a previous post I was wanting two new combos to handle a multitude of styles, but now I think I am going to need several new setups to better fit each style. Looking for a shallow cranking/topwater/jerkbait, medium to deep cranking, something for senkos wacky style since I tend to love fishing wacky, something for t-rig & flukes, and a flipping/pitching for jigs and what not.  Never really gotten into frog fishing, what rod powers suite them best? 

[MCS]

Thanks for everyone's input. I really appreciate it, I still haven't been able to narrow it down but if my wallet can handle it I think I will go with the champion. Still gotta figure out which lew's to put on which stick for technique. In a previous post I was wanting two new combos to handle a multitude of styles, but now I think I am going to need several new setups to better fit each style. Looking for a shallow cranking/topwater/jerkbait, medium to deep cranking, something for senkos wacky style since I tend to love fishing wacky, something for t-rig & flukes, and a flipping/pitching for jigs and what not.  Never really gotten into frog fishing, what rod powers suite them best? 

 

The champion 734C is what I have and I am really loving it for the t-rig and spinnerbaits(my favorites things to do). I talked with Needham, the resident dobyns guru, he was spot on with his assesment. 1/2 spinnerbaits, and 3/8 jig plus trailer and t-rigs are great on this rod (It will handle a stick bait and fluke too) but if you need to go heavier(1/2 jig plus trailer) go with a 5 power.. If I went with the avid I would go MH for the stuff mentioned above......

[BassinLou]

I have never used or held a Powell so I can't comment there. I fish with 3 kinds of St. Croix rods and 1 Dobyns.  Premiere, Avid, LTB's on the St. Croix side, and a champion on the Dobyns side. Both company's produce great rods. I have upgraded from the premiere, and I use an Avid several times a week and I have 2 LTB's that I really enjoy. I will agree with some of the comments made about the St. Croix's being tip heavy. Although, I don't see that effecting my fishing at all. The champion is my newest acquisition in the rod dept. So far, I am really enjoying it. I went with a 736C, and this rod is very light, but can put a serious hurting on any fish that I stick with it. One thing I will say however, is that the champion balances a lot better than the St.croix's if that is important factor for you. 

[rippin-lips]

Personally I don't understand it when people say this. To me the powell and dobyns rods I have held feel tip heavy, and all my st croix rods and others I have handled felt weighted about right. Granted the only powell and dobyns I've held are the savvy and max so maybe the higher end of those brands are a little lighter.

I've never used an Avid but I have 2 rage casting and 1 spinning, and 1 LTB spinning and they are all fine rods.

I've never experienced that with any of my Powell's. Even with a 775.

[cbass12]

I've never experienced that with any of my Powell's. Even with a 775.

I'm sure they're fine rods, just saying that when I held a couple of them to me they felt a little heavy. It's all personal preference.

[Got1Fishing]

I see a lot of great replies here. One thing to add to the St. Croix Avid with being a little tip heavy, is that with a a good reel it ends up balancing super well. 

[Teal]

If your caught between those three, its really not a bad placento be caught. All good choices. My wife has two avid pearls and I have 12 endurances ans 1 DX and I love them all. endurance for 150 and I have a lot of confidence in those rods.

[WRB]

The Dobyn's rods have a highly skilled tournament bass angler "you" can talk to...the owner Gary Dobyn's, try that with the other brands! Compare the cost of ownership, warranty, customer service.

Before you pull the trigger, contact Ron at Valley Sports, site sponsor for best price and delivery.

Tom

PS, also take a look at ALX rods, custom rods in your price range.