New Black Friday Rod or Reel - What's New For You?

[Fat Ika]

Hi Fellow Fishermen,

 

Just thought we could have some fun sharing our excitement for Black Friday reel & rod deals. 

 

What rod or reel did you get, what are you using it for, and why that specific brand/line/model? Share more than one if applicable! 

 

I'm trying out my first ALX rod. ALX Enox Casting Rod 7'2" Med Hvy+ BMJ. Planning on mainly using for frogs and swim jigs, but also want to test out the balance/comfort/sensitivity versus some of my other casting rods.....so I'll be dragging some bottom contact baits vs other rods I have in similar length action with the same exact bait to test out sensitivity for me personally. 

[leinad]

bought 2 light spinning rods ( shimano curado and phenix m1 for my river smallie and trout fishing ) to replace my dobyns fury 661 that snapped  thanksgiving morning fighting a mighty 1.5lb trout. was my favorite ned rod but really tentative about getting another since that was the first rod i ever broke in 55 years of fishing.

[MN Fisher]

BF sales?

 

New rod - Fury 765FLIP

New reel - Diawa CA-80XS

 

This is gonna be my flip/pitch/punch rig

 

Side note - with that purchase, all my main BC rigs now have aluminum frame reels.

[NYWayfarer]

New reels:

 

Abu Garcia Zata SP20 spinning reel. Best deal of BF for me.

 

New Rods:

 

St Croix Bass X 6’10” medium light x-fast spinning rod

Fenwick HMX 6’6” medium light fast spinning rod

Abu Garcia Vendetta 6’6” medium fast casting rod

 

the reel and 2 spinning rods are for Yellow Perch and Trout fishing the rest of fall and come spring. They will pull dropshot duties for Smallmouth come summer.

 

The casting rod is for my Revo SX baitcaster.

 

[Oklahoma Mike]

Diawa DX swimbait rod

Megabass Wind Buster spinning rod

Megabass Tequila Baccarac bait casting rod 

Shimano Twin Power (for the Wind Buster)

Shimano Met DC (for the Baccarac)

 

[Aaron_H]

1 hour ago, leinad said:

bought 2 light spinning rods ( shimano curado and phenix m1 for my river smallie and trout fishing ) to replace my dobyns fury 661 that snapped  thanksgiving morning fighting a mighty 1.5lb trout. was my favorite ned rod but really tentative about getting another since that was the first rod i ever broke in 55 years of fishing.

 

Why not take advantage of their replacement policy? Only $50 for the Fury line, definitely worthwhile IMO.

 

https://dobynsrods.com/warranty/

[CrashVector]

I bought an Abu Garcia veritas tournament rod in 7'2", M/EF...and a Revo SX.

[T-Billy]

Rods: 2 Ark Tharp B-Hittay's, 1 Tharp Money Maker , 1 Tharp Hammer, 1 Ark Cobb "One More".

Reels: 2 Lews Speed Spool LFS 7 speeds to pair with the B-Hittays. 

B-Hitt's for chatterbaits and ploppers. Money Maker for jigs/T-Rigs, Hammer for skipping, and Cobb One More for light T-Rigs, Senkos, Tubes etc.

I bought 11 Ark rods this year. Most of the Tharp line and the Cobb because they don't have that taper in the Tharp or invoker series. Great rods that fish above their price point. WAY ABOVE compared to some other popular brands.

[TcRoc]

Rod .. Dobyns Champ xp 744c that will be leaning on the Christmas tree Christmas morning. 

[Firstoutfisher]

Picked up a steez AGS 6'9 target sniper rod, haven't got a reel for it yet. Would have got an additional rod with thehookuptackle BOGO 1/2 off deal but they were out of the other steez models I was interested in. 

[leinad]

4 hours ago, Aaron_H said:

 

Why not take advantage of their replacement policy? Only $50 for the Fury line, definitely worthwhile IMO.

 

https://dobynsrods.com/warranty/

plus 30$- 80$ the way i read it on their site

[SK1]

St. Croix Victory 7.1 M/F spinning for weightless finesse. 

[QED]

2021 Daiwa Steez CT SV TW.  Pre-black Friday purchase but shipment has been delayed and I didn't want to lose my place in the queue.  Subtle gearing improvements and possibly other stuff but I won't know till I fish it.

[Brian14]

Picked up a Mojo Bass 610 MLXF Finesse spinning rod and a Powell Diesel 6104 Glass CB rod.

[Fat Ika]

@Oklahoma Mike  - That sounds sweet. I am definitely interested in the WindBuster for finesse swimbaits, small cranks, poppers, & most jerkbaits. 

@T-Billy  I have had several Ark rods and agree they're a great price value. 

@TcRoc The 744 Champion Extreme HP is my most used casting rod. What are you planning on using the your 744 XP for?

 

[Fat Ika]

@QED I have not tried the CT version, but the Steez SV TW is my favorite reel. Sounds like gear issues were the reason they revamped the 2019 CT so quickly? What were the issues and your experiences with the 2019 Steez CT TW?

[TcRoc]

17 minutes ago, Fat Ika said:

@Oklahoma Mike  - That sounds sweet. I am definitely interested in the WindBuster for finesse swimbaits, small cranks, poppers, & most jerkbaits. 

@T-Billy  I have had several Ark rods and agree they're a great price value. 

@TcRoc The 744 Champion Extreme HP is my most used casting rod. What are you planning on using the your 744 XP for?

 

3/8 to 1/2 jigs .. open to light cover.. may try for some heavier T-rigs as well

[a1712]

3- 20 Metaniums

2- 21 Scorpion DC's

3- Stradic FL 2500's

2- Curado 150's

1- Aldebaran BFS

4- ARK Rods

3- Loomis Edge Rods

Bunch of line, baits, parts, spools, and various accessories. Brian.

[JS8588]

2 new Daiwas.

 

Saltist Back Bay 4000

 

Certate LT 5000D

[Chaos10691]

Bought a new Dobyns Champ XP 736cb Glass and paired it with a used Curado K off of ALF.

[newapti5]

Just a long-waited, my first Expride rod, and a couple spools of Tatsu line. I have to get a new compatible phone before Feb, so this year budget is a little tight. 

 

[QED]

3 hours ago, Fat Ika said:

@QED I have not tried the CT version, but the Steez SV TW is my favorite reel. Sounds like gear issues were the reason they revamped the 2019 CT so quickly? What were the issues and your experiences with the 2019 Steez CT TW?

I haven't had any issues with the 2019 CT SV TW XH at all and really like it.  The new 2021 reel seems like more of a refinement rather than a major upgrade.  Longer default handle and finer pitch gears that purportedly are smoother are the main improvements.  I'll have to wait till Dec to do a hands-on comparison.

[PhishLI]

2021 Daiwa Zillion SV TW G HL 

[Choporoz]

Local shop has had a custom shakey head rod on display for months, but the price tag (and lack of warranty) kept it from selling.  I've looked at it a number of times, but couldn't pull the trigger....but kept thinking about it, because it just felt so perfect.  Found it was marked half off yesterday....so now I can take those LTB, Poisons and Megabass rods out of my TW cart.  ?

[Holetail]

Rods:

SA 702 sf for Ned rigs. 
SA 734 c for swim jigs, spinnerbaits, and chatters. 
Have both of these rods in the Fury and they have served me well. Wanted to upgrade for lighter weight and better sensitivity. FR 734 will be for jigs to replace H2O xpress rod and FR 702 sf will see drop shot and the occasional saltwater trip for trout. 
Reels:

Tatula SV 103H to go on a SA 682 c for finesse swimbaits, underspins, slider heads, light shakey heads. 
Fuego 2500 for new SA 702 sf. Have one of these already, but it will stay on the FR 702. Plan on 10 lb hi viz braid to 8 lb fluoro for mostly 1/20 oz neds. 
 

Feel I got decent deals on everything but I’m going to have to take care of the wife this year so she doesn’t dig too deep into what all this cost!! Haha