Shimano slx combo vs Fuego Ct/ Dobyn fury

[niiickboy]

Hey so i will soon have both combos and i was wondering on opinions on which one is better/ like more in YOUR opinion, i know both are really good especially for the price, but i just want to know what other people would prefer (side note: i got the slx combo for 130ish and the fuego combo for 180ish), lastly would you say for the fuego combo it is worth the extra 50 in my case (it looks better in my opinion, but idk about performance)

[Eric 26]

First off congrats on your purchases, although I have not used either rod handling both side by side I would say the Dobyns is a better feeling rod imho. I do not have a Fuego CT  but I have a Tatula CT with plans to get the new version next spring  and a SLX and I don’t think you can go wrong with either. I personally like the Daiwa brakes for ease of adjustment but with the beetle wing side plate on the SLX I’m not bothered by having to make on the water adjustments. 

[MN Fisher]

I have a Fuego CT-H (6.3) on a Fury 705CB - I think it's a excellent combo for the price.

[swhit140]

I'm not really a fan of combo's, pick out what rod/reels you want/like. Looking at your choices I'd go with Tatula CT/Dobyns Fury which you can put them together for around $180 if you look around. I prefer the Tatula CT over the Fuego.

 

What baits are you planning to throw??

[niiickboy]

mostly t rigs and occasionally other things like chatters/jerks, but i figured i rather have it geared toward t rigs since that’s my primary method 

i feel like regular price the fuego combo is better, but on sale an slx rod and reel for 130 ish vs fuego for 180, i don’t see it being worth the extra 50 ish, but again i really don’t have any experience with higher end rods so i don’t know the difference , except a  spinning inshore shimano rod my uncle gave me w his stradic 

[niiickboy]

2 hours ago, swhit140 said:

I'm not really a fan of combo's, pick out what rod/reels you want/like. Looking at your choices I'd go with Tatula CT/Dobyns Fury which you can put them together for around $180 if you look around. I prefer the Tatula CT over the Fuego.

 

What baits are you planning to throw??

Why do you prefer the tatula?

[LCG]

I have had the Daiwa Fuego CT and currently have a Shimano Curado K and SLX MGL.

 

The Fuego is a solid reel, however I greatly prefer the centrifical breaks of the Shimano reels. The Fuego is good for control, but the Shimanos offer better distance and overall refinement in my opinion. The mag force z of the Daiwa reels is great for reducing backlashes, but the distance is sacrificed. No free rides I guess

 

I have the SLX MGL paired with a new to me Dobyns Fury 703c. The combo cast light weight baits quite a distance, with good control and accuracy. Use for squarebills, spinnerbaits 3/16-3/8oz,and weightless plastics. Even used a 1/16oz Ned rig and it did very well. The fury is still new to me, but I like the feel of the action of the blank but prefer winn grips over cork. 

 

The Curado K is paired with a Carbonlite 2.0 6'9 MH-XF, which is more for texas rigs, chatter baits, and heavier spinnerbaits. Solid reel all around workhorse. 

 

For spinning, I also use a Shimano Stradic FL. That reel is amazing. Paired with a Carbonlite 2.0 6'8 M-XF. 

[niiickboy]

13 minutes ago, LCG said:

I have had the Daiwa Fuego CT and currently have a Shimano Curado K and SLX MGL.

 

The Fuego is a solid reel, however I greatly prefer the centrifical breaks of the Shimano reels. The Fuego is good for control, but the Shimanos offer better distance and overall refinement in my opinion. The mag force z of the Daiwa reels is great for reducing backlashes, but the distance is sacrificed. No free rides I guess

 

I have the SLX MGL paired with a new to me Dobyns Fury 703c. The combo cast light weight baits quite a distance, with good control and accuracy. Use for squarebills, spinnerbaits 3/16-3/8oz,and weightless plastics. Even used a 1/16oz Ned rig and it did very well. The fury is still new to me, but I like the feel of the action of the blank but prefer winn grips over cork. 

 

The Curado K is paired with a Carbonlite 2.0 6'9 MH-XF, which is more for texas rigs, chatter baits, and heavier spinnerbaits. Solid reel all around workhorse. 

 

For spinning, I also use a Shimano Stradic FL. That reel is amazing. Paired with a Carbonlite 2.0 6'8 M-XF. 

How greatly would you say distance is sacrificed? 

[Hewhospeaksmuchbull]

Here is another consideration, can you get someone on the phone at Shimano that is as passionate about fishing as you can at Dobyns. I doubt it.

 

Does Shimano have a lifetime warranty? Pretty sure Shimano is one year. For twenty dollars more you get Dobyns lifetime warranty (https://dobynsrods.com/warranty/.  Break your rod pay fifty dollars and your replacement is on the way.

 

On the Fuego vs Tatula, going forward I wont be paying a premium for the Tatula. Just isn't worth it for the T-wing which loves to grab leader knots and splices. I don't know why others have a problem with casting distance, my Fuego Ct is my farthest casting reel other than my TatSV. I dont have a TatCT so I cant speak to its performance.

[ww2farmer]

 

Haven't had an SLX rod, but I had a SLX 151 HG reel.

 

I liked it, but I like the Fuego CT's better, so I sold the SLX, and bought another Fuego, for no other reason than I like to have all my stuff the same if I can help it.

 

All my rods are Dobyn's Furys, and they are a fantastic pair with the Fuego. 

[niiickboy]

14 minutes ago, Hewhospeaksmuchbull said:

Here is another consideration, can you get someone on the phone at Shimano that is as passionate about fishing as you can at Dobyns. I doubt it.

 

Does Shimano have a lifetime warranty? Pretty sure Shimano is one year. For twenty dollars more you get Dobyns lifetime warranty (https://dobynsrods.com/warranty/.  Break your rod pay fifty dollars and your replacement is on the way.

 

On the Fuego vs Tatula, going forward I wont be paying a premium for the Tatula. Just isn't worth it for the T-wing which loves to grab leader knots and splices. I don't know why others have a problem with casting distance, my Fuego Ct is my farthest casting reel other than my TatSV. I dont have a TatCT so I cant speak to its performance.

d**n, didn’t even know about the lifetime warranty of Dobyns, that made me feel like i made the right choice 100% for sure now, so everytime you need a replacement it’s only 50? or is that like a one time thing?

 

edit: just read your link oops, that’s pretty cool of them especially the irl exchange with no questions asked 

11 minutes ago, ww2farmer said:

 

Haven't had an SLX rod, but I had a SLX 151 HG reel.

 

I liked it, but I like the Fuego CT's better, so I sold the SLX, and bought another Fuego, for no other reason than I like to have all my stuff the same if I can help it.

 

All my rods are Dobyn's Furys, and they are a fantastic pair with the Fuego. 

What rod specification do you have for your reels? I’d like some insight on what you prefer for your combos, if you don’t mind 

15 minutes ago, Hewhospeaksmuchbull said:

 I don't know why others have a problem with casting distance, my Fuego Ct is my farthest casting reel other than my TatSV. I dont have a TatCT so I cant speak to its performance.

I don’t think they meant casting distance with other diawas, but they mean that the slx does better than the fuego in casting, i saw a video where DEBO fishing mentioned it too, saying the slx is the best for distance in that 100 range

[ww2farmer]

10 minutes ago, niiickboy said:

 

What rod specification do you have for your reels? I’d like some insight on what you prefer for your combos, if you don’t mind 

 

This is exactly how I pair them up:

 

705CB

703c

733c

 

Those all have 6.3:1 LH Fuego CT's on them spooled with 20lb braid

 

704c (x2)

734c

 

Those have 7.3:1 LH Fuego CT's, spooled with 30lb braid (one 704 and the 734), and one (2nd 704) with 50lb braid, as it's my frog rod.

 

735C (x2)

 

Those have 8.3:1 LH Fuego CT's spooled with 50lb braid

[JustJames]

6 hours ago, niiickboy said:

Hey so i will soon have both combos and i was wondering on opinions on which one is better/ like more in YOUR opinion, i know both are really good especially for the price, but i just want to know what other people would prefer (side note: i got the slx combo for 130ish and the fuego combo for 180ish), lastly would you say for the fuego combo it is worth the extra 50 in my case (it looks better in my opinion, but idk about performance)

You have both coming, you will soon find out what is best suit for you. If you like the look of your CT combo, then don’t worry about xtra price you are paying for it.

Both reels are and best used in similar class, all around reel for medium to heavy lure. One is magnetic braking system while other centrifugal set it and forget it type. You will get tons of opinion which are not as important as your own. 
I’ll go with SLX all day long, lighter and smaller more comfortable for me to palm. I use SLX for everything, bottom contact, topwater, chatterbait spinnerbait and 3/8 Jig.

[niiickboy]

42 minutes ago, ww2farmer said:

 

This is exactly how I pair them up:

 

705CB

703c

733c

 

Those all have 6.3:1 LH Fuego CT's on them spooled with 20lb braid

 

704c (x2)

734c

 

Those have 7.3:1 LH Fuego CT's, spooled with 30lb braid (one 704 and the 734), and one (2nd 704) with 50lb braid, as it's my frog rod.

 

735C (x2)

 

Those have 8.3:1 LH Fuego CT's spooled with 50lb braid

big braid guy huh?

[LCG]

1 hour ago, niiickboy said:

How greatly would you say distance is sacrificed? 

The difference in my experience is noticeable. I couldn't tell you an exact number, but you can tell. 

 

Daiwa uses magnetic breaking which is fantastic for control. But Shimano centrifical svs infinity system does a better job for me. It's all personal preference. To me the Daiwa was a great reel but I much prefer the casting and feel of Shimano reels. To each their own.

 

The fuego would be good at short distance, accurate cast, without fear of backlashes. The Shimano is best with 2 brakes on, 2 off and the outer dial around 3-4. Shimano offers more fine adjustments and further casting. Both still require using your thumb though. 

 

I have heard some explain it like this, Daiwa breaks throughout the mid-later part of the cast, Shimano brakes more in the beginning - middle of the cast (way less of the end of the cast which is why there is an increase in distance, but your thumb has to be ready). 

[Boomstick]

I'm generally not a fan of combos, most of them aren't great but I think the SLX combo is a pretty decent combo for someone on a budget and sometimes the sales are pretty solid too. I do think the Fury is a bit better of a rod.

 

As to the Fuego vs the SLX reel, it's a preference thing but both are pretty decent reels. I can say the Magforce-Z on the Fuego is the superior braking system as in you will get fewer backlashes with it unless you just turn it off, but the Shimano reels typically cast further.

[niiickboy]

i guess for the fuego it’ll be better for me to learn how to flip and pitch on for around lily pads 

[Michigander]

1 hour ago, Hewhospeaksmuchbull said:

I don't know why others have a problem with casting distance, my Fuego Ct is my farthest casting reel other than my TatSV.

I was out today and felt like an idiot. I realized that the brakes were all the way up on the Fuego I was using, and they've probably been that way all year but I thought the casting distance was fine all summer. So I turned them down to half and on the next cast I hit my blood knot, lol. Note to self, don't use a half full spool with lower brake settings and a heavy lure.

 

$130 is a good price for an SLX combo, great buy!

 

SLX rods are crisper than Fury rods IMO and they are... "different feeling" than others in the price bracket that I've held. Not a bad thing, I think they feel closer to my more expensive rods but they are quirky. Fury rods seem to be going for that best in class vibe, which is also good. They never quite sit right with me personally though.

 

Largely, it depends on if you like black and blue or black and red. Both combos should serve you well as long as the rod power is appropriate for your technique. 

 

The lack of exterior settings on the SLX reel also bothers some, and there's mixed reviews about its durability in the long term. Depends how much you fish though probably and whether you do maintenance on it.

[BlakeMolone]

Love my slx reel but my 7,5 mh slx rod does not really have enough tip for accurate casting and is tip heavy. It’s a fine rod especially with the combo price but it has not been as versatile as a mh could/should be. 

I mean I still use it for almost everything but a shorter mh with a softer tip is my next purchase. I will use the slx rod for casting bigger keitechs and hollow belly swimbaits, half ounce jigs, maybe smaller frogs.

I have a 7ft medium slx spinning rod and it is great and has plenty of back bone, still though a little softer tip would go a long way.

[Michigander]

10 minutes ago, BlakeMolone said:

I have a 7ft medium slx spinning rod and it is great and has plenty of back bone, still though a little softer tip would go a long way.

That's funny, I have the 7' MH SLX spinning and my complaints were that the tip was too soft and the backbone was lacking. Sounds like I should have picked up the Medium, lol.

[niiickboy]

43 minutes ago, Michigander said:

I was out today and felt like an idiot. I realized that the brakes were all the way up on the Fuego I was using, and they've probably been that way all year but I thought the casting distance was fine all summer. So I turned them down to half and on the next cast I hit my blood knot, lol. Note to self, don't use a half full spool with lower brake settings and a heavy lure.

 

$130 is a good price for an SLX combo, great buy!

 

SLX rods are crisper than Fury rods IMO and they are... "different feeling" than others in the price bracket that I've held. Not a bad thing, I think they feel closer to my more expensive rods but they are quirky. Fury rods seem to be going for that best in class vibe, which is also good. They never quite sit right with me personally though.

 

Largely, it depends on if you like black and blue or black and red. Both combos should serve you well as long as the rod power is appropriate for your technique. 

 

The lack of exterior settings on the SLX reel also bothers some, and there's mixed reviews about its durability in the long term. Depends how much you fish though probably and whether you do maintenance on it.

I guess i’ll know when it comes in, but the fury rod looks so much nicer, and the life time warranty is a big big plus, but i don’t see myself breaking a rod?

[Michigander]

1 minute ago, niiickboy said:

But i don’t see myself breaking a rod?

I didn't either, and yet I have broken many. ?

[BlakeMolone]

36 minutes ago, Michigander said:

I didn't either, and yet I have broken many. ?

Straight up truth ? until I have a real boat and a vehicle capable of safely transporting my rods I will not spend over $100 on a rod

[swhit140]

5 hours ago, niiickboy said:

Why do you prefer the tatula?

I've had a couple Fuego CT. I'm not saying the Fuego CT is a bad reel, I just prefer the Tatula CT. If you go with the Fuego CT you'll be happy fishing it.

[jimanchower]

10 hours ago, niiickboy said:

I guess i’ll know when it comes in, but the fury rod looks so much nicer, and the life time warranty is a big big plus, but i don’t see myself breaking a rod?

 

I broke the tip off my week-old SLX rod earlier this year when loading up after a trip. I said a few bad words and the next day bought a replacement. Then a week later I had to run back to Academy to buy some bait and decided to take my receipt and the rod up there just to ask if they could do anything for me. I was truthful that it was an accident on my part, but they didn't care - they gave me store credit for the rod. I used it to pick up a Dobyns Fury, in fact. I recently added two Sierras and I have a Champ XP on the way but I still like my SLX a lot.