Super User rippin-lips Posted November 29, 2014 Super User Posted November 29, 2014 Okay so I happened to find one that had a great price. So I now own a 703. One thing I've always noticed is it seems that they are underpowered when people are talking about what weights they use them for. It's rated 1/4-3/4 mh/f just like any other mh I have. My powell endurance 3 power can throw everything without a hitch. 1/2oz is about where I set the cutoff from it to the 4 power. From what I read from anyone though is a 4 or even a 5 power would be your choice in the dobyns lineup. So is this rod more of a medium in a sense? It'll be my plastics rod and I typically don't use anything more than a 1/4oz weights but sometimes I use 3/8ths if it's needed. When bank fishing though I need it to be an all around rod. Quote
JGBassinAL Posted November 29, 2014 Posted November 29, 2014 I personally would not throw a 3/8 oz bottom contact bait with a 3 power Dobyns. 3/8 oz weight plus a bait seems to overpower those 3 power Dobyns IMO. To me a 3 power Dobyns is more suited for more finesse baits (1/4 oz like you stated) or moving baits maxing at 3/8 oz spinnerbaits or chatterbaits. 1 Quote
Super User rippin-lips Posted November 29, 2014 Author Super User Posted November 29, 2014 Can anyone tell me why this is? Is it due to the soft tip or are they just not rated like most other mh rods? That just seems really wimpy. I throw a lot of 3/16 and 1/4 with rage craws or 7" rage anaconda worms. Quote
JGBassinAL Posted November 30, 2014 Posted November 30, 2014 I love soft tips on my jig, texas rig, and wobble head rods. When it comes to Dobyns, their 5 power rods have soft tips with more backbone and that is what I prefer when throwing any of the baits I listed. If I owned a 703C I would use it for spinnerbaits or finesse jigs in the 1/4 oz range. But that's just me, everyones opinion is different. Quote
Super User iabass8 Posted November 30, 2014 Super User Posted November 30, 2014 Can anyone tell me why this is? Is it due to the soft tip or are they just not rated like most other mh rods? That just seems really wimpy. I throw a lot of 3/16 and 1/4 with rage craws or 7" rage anaconda worms. The rod is by all means your traditional M powered rod. I would not consider it close a MH. It's got power, but not something I would throw a 3/8oz weight + plastic on. The 703 will throw those 2 particular weights you listed perfectly-almost as if the rod was made for them. Great Senko rod, too. I throw down to 1/8oz on a DX743 /w no issues as well. I personally would not throw a 3/8 oz bottom contact bait with a 3 power Dobyns. 3/8 oz weight plus a bait seems to overpower those 3 power Dobyns IMO. To me a 3 power Dobyns is more suited for more finesse baits (1/4 oz like you stated) or moving baits maxing at 3/8 oz spinnerbaits or chatterbaits. Perfectly put. i have no idea why or how people throw 1/2oz + moving baits on a 3 power dobyns. 1 Quote
Grantman83 Posted November 30, 2014 Posted November 30, 2014 My dx 703 was used for weightless flukes/senkos and finesse jigs or 1/4oz spinnerbaits. Quote
Super User rippin-lips Posted November 30, 2014 Author Super User Posted November 30, 2014 Yeah basically all of you are saying the same thing. It will definitely have a spot in my rotation. I just read a few conflicting reviews saying 1/2oz isn't a problem. I'm excited to give Dobyns a try after all the great things I hear about them. Quote
Super User kickerfish1 Posted November 30, 2014 Super User Posted November 30, 2014 Hmmm... I have a DX703 casting rod among the 5 Dobyns rods I own. The rod is rated as a MH xf. I have the older model compared to the newer rod which is labeled as fast. The rod has been in my rotation for nearly 3 years. I have fished a wide variety of baits with it but like it up to around a 1/2 ounce, though the rod is rated up to 3/4 oz. I have fished swim jigs up to a 1/2 oz (3/8 oz jigs plus a soft body paddle tail trailer) and never felt the rod was too over loaded. At a 1/2 oz the rod is approaching over load but doesnt feel overloaded until you surpass 1/2 oz. At 1/4 it just starts to load so I wouldn't go much lower. That 3/8 oz mark is the infamous sweet spot. Jigs, swim jigs, texas rigs, spinnerbaits, flukes, senkos, caffeine shads, etc all fish well on this rod. Haven't fished the champion version of 703 casting rod but DX 703 is a fine all purpose rod from 1/4 to a 1/2 oz in my 2+ years of using it. I know you are a Powell Endurance fan and think you will find the Dobyns similar to Powell rods. Quote
Super User rippin-lips Posted November 30, 2014 Author Super User Posted November 30, 2014 You are probably the 4th person I've seen that from. This guy says the same thing too. 1 Quote
Super User Angry John Posted December 1, 2014 Super User Posted December 1, 2014 Dobyns seems to use a different scale and go up to 8 power. I consider them one less than the same power of everyone else. I use a lot of st croix which everyone goes the other way with. Dobyns 4 power is a medium in my eyes. Quote
Super User kickerfish1 Posted December 1, 2014 Super User Posted December 1, 2014 Dobyns seems to use a different scale and go up to 8 power. I consider them one less than the same power of everyone else. I use a lot of st croix which everyone goes the other way with. Dobyns 4 power is a medium in my eyes. I am not sure if the last sentence could be further from the truth. The 4 powered rods are heavy action. They have ratings typically from 1/4 to 1 oz. If you are familiar with the Loomis MBR 844 rods they fish quite similar. It would be very unfair to say they are a true medium. Some may agree they tend to be closer to a true medium heavy, but the 4 powered rods have a significant amount of power. I have the 734 and it doesn't even compared to true medium casting rods. Rippin Lips - I haven't seen the video link you posted until now. I watched it and will say that your 703 would be just fine up to about a 1/2 oz total and any additional weight after that you will the rod being a bit more taxed. I think you will enjoy it for most of what you would ask for an all purpose rod to do. Quote
Trey Harpel Posted December 1, 2014 Posted December 1, 2014 I know some guys that throw square bills on the 703 as well, me not so much as I use my Savvy 703 micro for only spinnerbaits in the 3/8th-1/2oz range no problem... Great all around rod from weightless to jigs, t rigs,spinnerbaits, squares, topwater poppers..etc. Quote
Grantman83 Posted December 1, 2014 Posted December 1, 2014 Funny you mention that, paul mueller just won his way back to the classic using the 703 as a squarebill rod. My 733 savvy micro was a great squarebill rod as well though the tapers tend to get slower down the line (DX -xf, Ch-F, Savvy -MF) if that makes sense, so maybe the champion wouldnt be as good Quote
Super User rippin-lips Posted December 1, 2014 Author Super User Posted December 1, 2014 Well this all good news. I didn't want to be limited to light weights. I'm sure this rod will quickly become my favorite and that means it'll get the most use. So I wanted it to be able to be used for everything. My endurance 723 was so versatile I ended up with 2 more. Quote
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