Reel For Dx742C

[Rudy1922]

I have a Dobyns DX742C coming from Valley Sports, he gave me a good price. I'm going to use the rod for Senkos and 1/4 oz. shaky heads.  I was going to test my Chronarch E 50 and Chronarch CI4+ (both with 20 lbs braid) on it to see which one I like best. Then I thought I should look at the  Shimano Core 50MG, since this is going to be my last bait caster for a while. I have some questions about the Core. Is it really better at throwing lighter baits than the Chronarch E 50 & CI4+? Now that the CI4+ is here, is the Core old news? 

 

I guess it's going to come down to which braking system I like better for lighter weights. The CI4+'s SVS or the Core 50MG and Chronarch E 50's VBS. 

[Brian Needham]

I have my DX742 paired with a Core50, 10# line

 

BEST... SENKO... AND... 1/4 SHAKY HEAD... COMBO... EVER!

[Arv]

Lol, I knew Brian would be all over this. I have a Lews TP on mine with 30# braid and I like it a lot. I'm sure any of those reels you mentioned will be excellent. The 742c is quickly becoming one of my favorite rods I've ever used 

[Rudy1922]

I have my DX742 paired with a Core50, 10# line

 

BEST... SENKO... AND... 1/4 SHAKY HEAD... COMBO... EVER!

ok that's 1 for the core. 

[Brian Needham]

Lol, I knew Brian would be all over this. I have a Lews TP on mine with 30# braid and I like it a lot. I'm sure any of those reels you mentioned will be excellent. The 742c is quickly becoming one of my favorite rods I've ever used 

 

HA HA............ I see your's came in.

 

just something special about that DX742c I tell ya!

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

I have all 3 ci4 50e core50 what are your brake settings on the 50e & ci4?

[Rudy1922]

I have all 3 ci4 50e core50 what are your brake settings on the 50e & ci4?

I use 3 brakes on the 50 E. I use 2 brakes and adjust the dial anywhere between 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 (depends what I'm throwing) on the CI4+

[kickerfish1]

The DX742c is an outstanding rod in the Dobyns lineup. It also make a great finesse jig rod for the 1/4 and 3/8 oz offerings. I have fished mine for 2 years and really like it. I have even done some mag finesse drop shotting it with and it faired well. I have fished 3 reels on mine. The Curado 50e, the core 50mg7, and a fully customized and tuned alphas reel. The Curado is a nice affordable choice and color scheme of the rod and reel match up nicely. The core is a very good choice as well and is more refined, has better internal bearings, a faster gear ratio, and obviously is one of the lightest reels on the market but I ultimately settled on the Alphas reel for the rod. If you are pretty set on Shimano and of the 50 series us reels or 1000 series Japanese reels will work just fine.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Im hoping to go out tomorrow Ill try to compare the reels with those settings. I run abec7 in my core but will put stocks back in. Ive been tossing small 3/16oz rated spinnerbaits with ci4 would you like me to try this spinnerbait on my core, do you throw that light? The actual total weight is .344oz so a little over 1/4oz. The only catch is I have 20# 832  braid on the ci4 and 12# fluoro on core so line a bit different.

 

I can say the CI4 easily handles this spinnerbait with 1 brake on & 3 on the dial.

 

I mean this politely, get out and practice the 50E with less brakes. It will really open-up and show you what its got. You can cast the same distance with less effort if thats what you chose or with one brake and having that thumb trained distance will improve dramatically. Practice practice practice.

[Rudy1922]

Im hoping to go out tomorrow Ill try to compare the reels with those settings. I run abec7 in my core but will put stocks back in. Ive been tossing small 3/16oz rated spinnerbaits with ci4 would you like me to try this spinnerbait on my core, do you throw that light? The actual total weight is .344oz so a little over 1/4oz. The only catch is I have 20# 832  braid on the ci4 and 12# fluoro on core so line a bit different.

 

I can say the CI4 easily handles this spinnerbait with 1 brake on & 3 on the dial.

 

I mean this politely, get out and practice the 50E with less brakes. It will really open-up and show you what its got. You can cast the same distance with less effort if thats what you chose or with one brake and having that thumb trained distance will improve dramatically. Practice practice practice.

3/8 oz. is the lightest I've thrown on a bait caster. Maybe your right about practicing with the 50 E. I've stopped trying to improve my casting. I reached a certain level, left the brakes where they were and just became comfortable. I'll try to "push it" tomorrow.

[Rudy1922]

I don't know if this makes a difference or not but I loosen my tension control knob until there is a slight side to side movement in the spool. I do this to all my reels. 

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

I spent an hour and 1/2 or so fishing the CI4 and core 50 side by side with a Booyah Pond Magic 3/16oz spinnerbait actual weight .344oz. I had the CI4 with 2 brakes and 3 on dial the core50 started with 3 then 2 then 1. Strarted off somewhat calm wind then a slightly towards me crosswind that put some ripples on the surface.

3 brakes on the Core50 felt very restricted and even with hard cast was only getting 50' or so. Spend oh 10-15 minute with 3 brakes. Went to 2 brakes and got around 20' more but still well controlled. Set 1 brake and the ease and distance clearly showed improvement and spool still controlled. I was doing easy casts and hard casts getting a feel for the distance. I though I was getting very good distance so changed to CI4.

CI4 like mentioned 2 brakes 3 dial very first cast it was apparent that it was blowing away  the core50 on 3 & 2  brake setting. Even easy casts were beating hard casts of the core. Grabbed the core50 again 1 brake on threw out hard and right away switch to CI4 and and surpassed the core by a noticeable amount. I tried this back and forth casting a few more times and not once could I get the core farther than the CI4

I say I was quite surprised at this outcome. I thought the core was a great caster but the CI4 shined over it. I then put the CI4 on 1 brake and 4 on dial, no contest the ease and distance without a doubt beat the core hands down. By ease I mean effort casting. I could clearly get equal to better distance with not as hard a cast. The spool control was nearing the edge though on a hard cast.  To really get it out there was a bit sketchy at times but doable. More thumb needed at start and then let the spool do its thing.

One lure I throw 90% of the time with the core is a Kinami Palm tree so quite familiar with how far I get with it. I put one on the CI4 and a smile came to me it just flew out there very very pleased with this reel.

 A few noticeable feel attributes the CI4 is a bit bigger in hand and the thumb bar is a little higher off the handle. I too notice the one ounce difference cause the CI4 was on the rod that the core is usually on a 3.4oz smoke rod. So the ahhhh factor of the lightweight not there just a little off from what became normal to my feeling of the core/smoke combo.

I had been eyeing another core50 on sale at gander for $270 but my own comparison today has change my mind. 

So if paying full price $100 more to save an ounce and a bit smaller frame is what youll get but you wont be getting a better casting reel the CI4 takes that category.

 

 I didnt try any lighter baits on the CI4 yet like a SK Bitsy Minnow so cant say how very light works but I feel the CI4 will better the core at anything 1/4 and higher.

[Arv]

I used to have a Curado 51e (spooled w/ 10# fc) on a Champion 702c and it was awesome. If you plan on using it for senkos and 1/4oz shakey heads I feel confident the 50e will be more than capable of doing the job on the 742 as those applications were exactly what I threw on the 702. I don't have experience with any of the other reels but, like I said, I'm sure they will be more than capable of doing the job as well.

 

Just FYI, I was out today chucking a weightless T-rig senko on my 742 w/ the Lews TP and was hitting ~40 yds easy. I was also able to set the hook on the fish way out there as well. I'm probably just saying that because I'm still excited about how much I like this rod haha.

[Rudy1922]

I spent an hour and 1/2 or so fishing the CI4 and core 50 side by side with a Booyah Pond Magic 3/16oz spinnerbait actual weight .344oz. I had the CI4 with 2 brakes and 3 on dial the core50 started with 3 then 2 then 1. Strarted off somewhat calm wind then a slightly towards me crosswind that put some ripples on the surface.

3 brakes on the Core50 felt very restricted and even with hard cast was only getting 50' or so. Spend oh 10-15 minute with 3 brakes. Went to 2 brakes and got around 20' more but still well controlled. Set 1 brake and the ease and distance clearly showed improvement and spool still controlled. I was doing easy casts and hard casts getting a feel for the distance. I though I was getting very good distance so changed to CI4.

CI4 like mentioned 2 brakes 3 dial very first cast it was apparent that it was blowing away  the core50 on 3 & 2  brake setting. Even easy casts were beating hard casts of the core. Grabbed the core50 again 1 brake on threw out hard and right away switch to CI4 and and surpassed the core by a noticeable amount. I tried this back and forth casting a few more times and not once could I get the core farther than the CI4

I say I was quite surprised at this outcome. I thought the core was a great caster but the CI4 shined over it. I then put the CI4 on 1 brake and 4 on dial, no contest the ease and distance without a doubt beat the core hands down. By ease I mean effort casting. I could clearly get equal to better distance with not as hard a cast. The spool control was nearing the edge though on a hard cast.  To really get it out there was a bit sketchy at times but doable. More thumb needed at start and then let the spool do its thing.

One lure I throw 90% of the time with the core is a Kinami Palm tree so quite familiar with how far I get with it. I put one on the CI4 and a smile came to me it just flew out there very very pleased with this reel.

 A few noticeable feel attributes the CI4 is a bit bigger in hand and the thumb bar is a little higher off the handle. I too notice the one ounce difference cause the CI4 was on the rod that the core is usually on a 3.4oz smoke rod. So the ahhhh factor of the lightweight not there just a little off from what became normal to my feeling of the core/smoke combo.

I had been eyeing another core50 on sale at gander for $270 but my own comparison today has change my mind. 

So if paying full price $100 more to save an ounce and a bit smaller frame is what youll get but you wont be getting a better casting reel the CI4 takes that category.

 

 I didnt try any lighter baits on the CI4 yet like a SK Bitsy Minnow so cant say how very light works but I feel the CI4 will better the core at anything 1/4 and higher.

Thanks so much for the side by side test. Sounds like you really like the CI4+'s SVS braking system. I got my CI4+ down to 2 brakes and 1 on the dial today. It casted farther with less effort but I had to really focus on using less effort. I had a couple small backlashes because I was casting too hard but after awhile I got use to the adjustment. I also used my Chronarch 201 E6 and got it down to 2 brakes. It also had an increase in distance but it was a little more difficult to control.

 

I'm also surprised by your results today. It sounds like the SVS braking system is better than the VBS. I have one question. I always thought you had to "balance" the brakes but you are only using one brake?

[Grantman83]

I am sure you will be happy with whichever you choose. I recently got a 742 and it has become one of my favorite rods. Alphas type r with 10lb fluoro makes a very versatile Setup.

My only chime in regarding the reels would be that if you are going light line, then the ci4 is overkill when weighed against the core 50.

[new2BC4bass]

The actual total weight is .344oz so a little over 1/4oz.

 

Actually it is 11/32 oz. so half way between 5/16 oz. and 3/8 oz.   This makes it an easy weight to throw on most any reel.   For me a weight difference of .0625 oz. is very significant when I get down to what amounts to light weights for me.  I can cast a true 3/16 oz. lure with ease on at least 5 of my reels.  Dropping down to a true 1/8 oz. (a .0625 oz. difference) results in some poor casting results on my part.

 

I mean this politely, get out and practice the 50E with less brakes. It will really open-up and show you what its got. You can cast the same distance with less effort if thats what you chose or with one brake and having that thumb trained distance will improve dramatically. Practice practice practice.

 

In my mind you are 100% correct when it comes to light lures.  They require a lot more proficiency from the caster....at least they do from this caster.  Practice, practice, practice.  It is going to take a lot more practice for me to get good with 1/8 oz.  I can't imagine guys throwing 1/16 oz. and less on a b/c reel.

 

I love my Curado 51E, but my Alphas is fantastic.  Haven't tried 3/16 oz. with the Alphas yet, but it is a very satisfying reel to use.  The 51E is one of the reels I have used for 3/16 oz. lures.  No experience with Cores or newer Shimano reels.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Thanks so much for the side by side test. Sounds like you really like the CI4+'s SVS braking system. I got my CI4+ down to 2 brakes and 1 on the dial today. It casted farther with less effort but I had to really focus on using less effort. I had a couple small backlashes because I was casting too hard but after awhile I got use to the adjustment. I also used my Chronarch 201 E6 and got it down to 2 brakes. It also had an increase in distance but it was a little more difficult to control.

 

I'm also surprised by your results today. It sounds like the SVS braking system is better than the VBS. I have one question. I always thought you had to "balance" the brakes but you are only using one brake?

 

No issues at all balance wise with just one brake. The spool wont spin with lopsided feel or whatnot. Perfectly fine to use one.