68 Special - Fury FR795SB or iRod Swimbait Jr?

[fishwizzard]

Hi,

 

I have had enough success with my "big baits in small water" project this season that I want to really devote myself to them this winter.  Specifically I want to crawl a 68 Special through every sqft of some of my local ponds and see if I can find some bigger bass. Right now the rod I am using, a MB Hyuga 72h, is working ok, but I think I want something more powerful and a bit longer for a dedicated rod.  The new rod will also be used for the BBZ 50 Rat in warmer months as the Hyuga is a bit light for that as well so accurate casting is tough.  

 

The two options I am looking at the hardest are the two in the title.  I have found some good info on both of them but I am still undecided.  I have an iRod "Fred's" and really like it, so I think the Swim JR would be a good choice, but I have always wanted to try a Dobyns' and the Fury 795sb seems like a great rod for my uses as well.  I am going to put a Millionaire cv-z 253a on the rod and likely use 25lb Armilo Defier as my line.   The wildcard rod is a MB XX Leviathan, but that will be twice the price and don't know if I will really need that much extra power.

 

I would love any insight ffrom anyone who has used these rods with Hudds 68's or similar lures.  

[Dangerfield]

I think the Fury 795 is more of a treble bait SB rod because it's rated as a Heavy with a Mod-Fast action. Dobyn's rod do run .5/1 power down compared to most rod manufacturers. I don't think it has enough backbone to be setting hooks on a bait like the 68 special. Maybe in a pinch but not as a dedicated set up. The BBZ rat is a perfect fit.

1 hour ago, fishwizzard said:

Millionaire cv-z 253a

[insert drool icon]

[WRB]

Both the Hudd 68 and BBZ-1 wise 50 rat weigh 2 1/4 oz, any swimbait rod rated 1-5 oz will work. My recommendation is go up in power because you can effectively fish 2 1/4 oz swimbaits and rats using 8' swimbait rods rated 2-8 oz allowing a wider range of lures. I use my XHeavy 2-10 oz 8' swimbait rod for size 50 rat with treble hooks on 25 lb Armillo line at night for example. If you use braid then a lower power more moderate action rod may be a better choice for hook sets.

If you don't plan on using 8" Hudds, Okuma GS 7'11" Heavy 1-6 oz lures should be a good choice.

Tom

 

[fishwizzard]

4 hours ago, WRB said:

Both the Hudd 68 and BBZ-1 wise 50 rat weigh 2 1/4 oz, any swimbait rod rated 1-5 oz will work. My recommendation is go up in power because you can effectively fish 2 1/4 oz swimbaits and rats using 8' swimbait rods rated 2-8 oz allowing a wider range of lures. I use my XHeavy 2-10 oz 8' swimbait rod for size 50 rat with treble hooks on 25 lb Armillo line at night for example. If you use braid then a lower power more moderate action rod may be a better choice for hook sets.

If you don't plan on using 8" Hudds, Okuma GS 7'11" Heavy 1-6 oz lures should be a good choice.

Tom

 

My current rod, the Hyuga, is Mod action and with 55lb braid it does give pretty good hooksets, but like I said, it's a little weak and I feel it in my shoulder if I fish the 68 Special for more then an hour or three. 

 

Your point about going heavier is what has me looking at the XX Levithian. That and a strong preference for cork handles.  I am leaning towards the iRod Jr. biased on now much I like the Fred's.  I assume I can find it somewhere on BF for 20% off. 

[CroakHunter]

Just a suggestion with no experience. But what about a daiwa dx swimbait rod. Heavy or xtra heavy.

[fishwizzard]

11 hours ago, CroakHunter said:

Just a suggestion with no experience. But what about a daiwa dx swimbait rod. Heavy or xtra heavy.

I have never heard anything about them, but this pic from TW does not make me confident about the quality of the cork.

[Dangerfield]

the Daiwa DX SB rod is definitively entry level especially at $109. I would head over to SB Underground and do some reading. Most folks seem to start out with the Daiwa DX, the Okuma GS, the Fury, Gen 2 IRod as you already mentioned and the Phenix M1.

 

My buddy has the Fury 795 paired with a calcutta 400B (50lb j braid, no leader), I've used it a few times. I do remember an occasion where I lost a fish from overdoing the hook-set and ripping the 168 s-waver right out of it's mouth. At the time I wasn't mentally set about dropping my jig set up, and adjusting how you set the hook with a treble bait vs a single hook bait. Thinking about it now, I echo  Tom's (@WRB) comments about using braid with a lighter powered rod to help setting the hook vs. using mono and struggling.

[MattC]

I have the Dobyns 795 I got at the beginning of season to try solely swimbaits with for my entire season. knowing what the rod is rated for and looking at baits and competing sizes I sorta narrowed it down to specific sized baits I figured I'd have the best luck and chance of catching fish on. the Rod is rated 1-5oz but I wouldn't throw anything bigger then a s waver 200 (3.5oz) on the rod because you can really feel the rod load up and stress and didn't wanna damage or break the rod but I didn't plan on tossing anything bigger then the waver 200 so I just made sure to keep my casting under control and not get careless with casts and start trying to launch the bait across the pond or lake which in reality ya don't need to these baits are already heavy enough, all you have to do is make sure you load up the rod and let the reel and your thumb do the rest of the work cus the bigger baits naturally just wanna keep flying! I tossed a lot of weedless Hudd 68s on the rod and it casts them perfectly and hook sets with it are fine you just gotta lay into them and grind them into shore or the boat and keep there head coming towards you and not let them jump and shake or else heart break happens don't ask how I know about that! But honestly the rod will do what you're looking for it to do another option you can look at it is the 806 from the same Fury line up, little heavier and better suited for the heavier stuff and will probably do better for hook sets but that's another very solid option and will also allow you to toss some bigger baits if you get hooked into the swimbait world which definitely can and will happen, I originally just wanted to try it out and well now my fishing is solely swimbaits and the collection and buying habit is bad but is definitely fun and very rewarding when you finally hook into a fish!

[MassYak85]

I have the 795 but like others said I feel it's more of a treble hook rod. But I think if you used braid you'd still have plenty of power for the 68's. Like @MattC said the Waver 200 is the heaviest bait I throw on the 795, I feel 4oz is probably it's true max not 5oz. 

[MattC]

3 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

I have the 795 but like others said I feel it's more of a treble hook rod. But I think if you used braid you'd still have plenty of power for the 68's. Like @MattC said the Waver 200 is the heaviest bait I throw on the 795, I feel 4oz is probably it's true max not 5oz. 

exactly, that 4oz mark is probably the safest limit. If I knew I was gonna have the success I had for the year so far on swimbaits I probably woulda jumped straight into the Champion swimbait rod lineup but I didn't have any confidence in tossing a big bait at them and only expected to catch some pike but over the winter I'll be adding a champion 807 and probably pick up a 806 fury or champion for the lighter stuff. Just would really like a heavier rod like the 807 to throw some bigger baits since that rod's ratings are right around the standard swimbait weights you typically see on some of the bigger 8-10" baits and from reading a lot of feedback the 807 is the true "do all" rod for jig hooks and treble hooks 

[fishwizzard]

13 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

I have the 795 but like others said I feel it's more of a treble hook rod. But I think if you used braid you'd still have plenty of power for the 68's. Like @MattC said the Waver 200 is the heaviest bait I throw on the 795, I feel 4oz is probably it's true max not 5oz. 

Interesting.  Like I said, my current rod has been working well with treble hooked rods and I am starting to think that I should look harder at the XX Leviathan.  What I don't want is a rod that is too close to the Hyuga, it's upper limit seems to be around 2.5oz.  

[Dangerfield]

On 10/26/2018 at 11:32 PM, MattC said:

I'll be adding a champion 807 and probably pick up a 806 fury or champion for the lighter stuff. Just would really like a heavier rod like the 807 to throw some bigger baits since that rod's ratings are right around the standard swimbait weights you typically see on some of the bigger 8-10" baits and from reading a lot of feedback the 807 is the true "do all" rod for jig hooks and treble hooks 

From what I understand, the champion 807 is the exact same blank as the Fury 806 but with better guides, reel seat etc.