pretty good experience rod shopping today.

[Darth-Baiter]

I took my brand new reel to the shop today, to get it loaded with line.  done.  I started asking about rods.  the guy told me what he paired his exact reel with and it was frankly more than I wanted to $pend.  he then walked me to the lineup and put my reel on one rod after the other.  I am not an expert, and cannot even describe what I like.  I wanted lighter, but not waif-like.  there are some really light rods out there.  ethereal almost.  when I landed on the one that felt balance to me, it was kinda obvious.  it for lack of better, felt like my other spinning setup.  right or wrong it just felt correct.

 

I bought it.  surprise!!  it is the Dobyns Kaden 712SF.  I was actually shocked somewhat.  I thought I was targeting a lighter rod.  but the palm swell, the clean cork, all traditional looking, the bait hook out back.....

 

headed out tomorrow if this 50mph winds do not materialize.  (they will :() hope to get some bass slime on the thing.

 

thanks you guys.  putting up with us newbs must be exhausting.  hahaha..  when I am not planning on punching the weeds for bass, I feel two spinning rigs with 3 cast rigs is my sirens song.  if I punch, one spinning set up stays home.  (my thought process at least, for now)

[islandbass]

As a bank angler, I took up 5 rods and it was a pain to carry those rods in hand with the tackle bag and maybe a backpack when I first started.  However,  I’m a keen observer and try to learn at least one thing every outing. I soon realized that no more than 3 of those rods were used the most. 9 out of 10 times for my environment. So I reduced it to 3, but choosing the 3 I thought would be most effective that day. 

It was still a pain in the you know what to carry 3 rods among the fingers in one hand and so I came up with a solution. I built what I call a rod quiver. I can now easily hold 3 rods in one hand comfortably and easily. 
 

I built the original over a decade ago and it still is in use. I built another for an old timer who lugged around 3 rods and a Winnebago sized tackle bag.
 

Here is a link to the second one I made. I do know a way to use pvc pipes to lock in the rods over Velcro which is also superior but I had to build this one quickly, lol. 
 

I used a triangle to hold 3 rods but you can pick a different shape to accommodate more rods. But like I said, you’ll probably conclude you will also need 3-4 per trip. If I faced heavy cover and lily pads, I’d definitely have a 4th rod but I don’t so why carry a rod that will never see use? duh, ib, lol. 

 

just to given you an idea. There is more that can be done to improve it like adding legs to prop it, and I would have, but I found my tackle is sufficient to serve as a prop. 
 

Good luck tomorrow. Ain’t never let a little wind stop me from fishing ?
 

 

 

[papajoe222]

Awesome customer service. That is the type of store that would get repeat business from me and the type of sales person that knows what sells isn't the product as much as the way it's presented.

[CrankFate]

Rod shopping is always a good experience. Even when you leave the store like “nope I ain’t gettin nothin in there.”

[Oldskool67]

I’m in the east bay. What shop did you go to ?

[Darth-Baiter]

8 hours ago, Oldskool67 said:

I’m in the east bay. What shop did you go to ?

Outdoor pro shop in cotati. 

[Boomstick]

Nice! I have no experience with the Kaden, but to my understanding they are on par with the Sierras but with a faster tip, so basically they're pretty good rods.

[Oldskool67]

15 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

Outdoor pro shop in cotati. 

Thanks