Jack of all trades, Master of none

[bigspirit]

From a utility standpoint, I’ve really enjoyed my Berkley Cherrywood 7’ Medium (1/4-3/4oz) “Fast” action since I bought it a couple years ago. Nothing fancy, it has a black max on it and 15lb copoly but it’s a rod I feel like I can use for many things, mostly being moving baits: 

 

- topwater (ploppers and walking baits)

- lipless

- squarebill

- spinnerbait

- chatterbait (still trying to figure out how to do the “catching” part with this)

It has enough bend and tip to do alright with treble hook baits and haven’t had too many issues with a spinnerbait or walking the dog on a topwater. I’ve lost a couple fish here and there, but I have nicer rods and often find myself grabbing this and a small tackle box for quick trips to a pond and such. 
 

With all of that said, I would like to find a rod with a little more backbone but mainly more sensitivity. Looking for any suggestions if any wine has a rod that has a similar niche (or lack, thereof). 

[Eric 26]

I’m not sure if your budget, so I’m going to offer up 2 suggestions. First up is one of my favorite rods which just so happens to be relatively inexpensive, a “Wright & McGill pro insight advantage” 7’-0” med. 1/4-1oz lure rating available at Wal-Mart. Last time I seen it was $54.99, second up would be a Lews Carbon Fire available at Dicks. I have a 6’-10” which they no longer carry but they have a 7’-0” med mod/fast 1/8-1/2 oz. $69.99 but you may find a coupon for a few more bucks off. Both rods are IM-8 blanks, the Wright…. has micro guides if that’s a deal breaker. The Lews has Wynn grips although I feel the first version which I have the grips are a little nicer. Hopefully this helps.

[bigspirit]

13 minutes ago, Eric 26 said:

I’m not sure if your budget, so I’m going to offer up 2 suggestions. First up is one of my favorite rods which just so happens to be relatively inexpensive, a “Wright & McGill pro insight advantage” 7’-0” med. 1/4-1oz lure rating available at Wal-Mart. Last time I seen it was $54.99, second up would be a Lews Carbon Fire available at Dicks. I have a 6’-10” which they no longer carry but they have a 7’-0” med mod/fast 1/8-1/2 oz. $69.99 but you may find a coupon for a few more bucks off. Both rods are IM-8 blanks, the Wright…. has micro guides if that’s a deal breaker. The Lews has Wynn grips although I feel the first version which I have the grips are a little nicer. Hopefully this helps.

 Certainly helpful, totally forgot to include a budget in my first post. Sub $200 at the top end but the more cost effective the better! I’ll have to check those out in my search

[Mobasser]

Fenwick HMG at around 100.00.

[Aaron_H]

The rod I use for these techniques (minus lipless and squarebill but would do well for them given you're using copoly) is a simple 13 Fishing Defy Black 7'1" MH/F. It's a fairly parabolic rod with good backbone. It's no NRX+, but for $60 I have been impressed with the sensitivity, comes fairly close to the SLX and Dobyns Fury rods.

 

Better options out there for your $200 budget, but if you want to go budget as a go-to pond rod it's definitely one to look at.

[bigspirit]

7 hours ago, Aaron_H said:

The rod I use for these techniques (minus lipless and squarebill but would do well for them given you're using copoly) is a simple 13 Fishing Defy Black 7'1" MH/F. It's a fairly parabolic rod with good backbone. It's no NRX+, but for $60 I have been impressed with the sensitivity, comes fairly close to the SLX and Dobyns Fury rods.

 

Better options out there for your $200 budget, but if you want to go budget as a go-to pond rod it's definitely one to look at.

That sounds like a really good option and especially at that price - looks like they have a 6’7” too which might be handy as most of my fishing with this rod will be around trees or short casts to cover. thanks!

 

10 hours ago, Mobasser said:

Fenwick HMG at around 100.00.

totally forgot about these, they’re labeled as fast action, would you say they’re on the slower side of fast?

[softwateronly]

15 hours ago, bigspirit said:

From a utility standpoint, I’ve really enjoyed my Berkley Cherrywood 7’ Medium (1/4-3/4oz) “Fast” action since I bought it a couple years ago. Nothing fancy, it has a black max on it and 15lb copoly but it’s a rod I feel like I can use for many things, mostly being moving baits: 

 

- topwater (ploppers and walking baits)

- lipless

- squarebill

- spinnerbait

- chatterbait (still trying to figure out how to do the “catching” part with this)

It has enough bend and tip to do alright with treble hook baits and haven’t had too many issues with a spinnerbait or walking the dog on a topwater. I’ve lost a couple fish here and there, but I have nicer rods and often find myself grabbing this and a small tackle box for quick trips to a pond and such. 
 

With all of that said, I would like to find a rod with a little more backbone but mainly more sensitivity. Looking for any suggestions if any wine has a rod that has a similar niche (or lack, thereof). 

 

Out of what I've used, a Dobyns 734 can do all those baits very effectively.  If you desire a shorter rod, I'd be inclined to drop down to a 3 power.

 

scott

[Mobasser]

1 hour ago, bigspirit said:

That sounds like a really good option and especially at that price - looks like they have a 6’7” too which might be handy as most of my fishing with this rod will be around trees or short casts to cover. thanks!

 

totally forgot about these, they’re labeled as fast action, would you say they’re on the slower side of fast?

I have a med spin HMG. Very little tip flex on this rod. Fast to extra fast action.

[casts_by_fly]

For a jack of all trades rod, the falcon 7’ 5-powers are great. They even call most of them ‘all-rounders’ as the name of the rod. I have the trap caster which is the bucoo series version. I fished it with 12-17 lb mono and fluoro last year for all of the techniques you mentioned plus a few more. It was my general do anything rod, even light plastics pitching. This year I’ve put some 30lb 832 braid on it and it’s going to be more dedicated to lipless, some cranks, a buzzbait, and some backup duty for chatters and spinnerbaits. The braid has changed the rod and sensitivity is great for moving baits. 

[FishTank]

St.Croix 7' M Mojo Yak. It's meant for kayak fishing but the tip is so soft that it works well for just about anything.  The power is pretty good for a Med rod but sensitivity wise it's just OK.

 

For the best do all rod, I like the G. Loomis 783C GLX.

[Eric 26]

Also check out the bps carbonlite 2.0 rods, I have a 7’-0” med fast and it’s as you described softer tip plenty of backbone. I believe they’re $120.00 but you can trade in your cherrywood during the spring classic sale now. But I’ll stick with my original post on the Wright &McGill if you’re really looking for a budget rod.

[bigspirit]

3 hours ago, softwateronly said:

 

Out of what I've used, a Dobyns 734 can do all those baits very effectively.  If you desire a shorter rod, I'd be inclined to drop down to a 3 power.

 

scott

Actually have a Fury 734. I do really like it but I want something shorter and I agree I think I’d drop down to the 3 power if I do so. 

2 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

For a jack of all trades rod, the falcon 7’ 5-powers are great. They even call most of them ‘all-rounders’ as the name of the rod. I have the trap caster which is the bucoo series version. I fished it with 12-17 lb mono and fluoro last year for all of the techniques you mentioned plus a few more. It was my general do anything rod, even light plastics pitching. This year I’ve put some 30lb 832 braid on it and it’s going to be more dedicated to lipless, some cranks, a buzzbait, and some backup duty for chatters and spinnerbaits. The braid has changed the rod and sensitivity is great for moving baits. 

Perfect, I forgot about these as well. I think I actually looked at one a while back online and liked that it was a moderate fast. This will be one I absolutely need to look into - thanks!

1 hour ago, FishTank said:

St.Croix 7' M Mojo Yak. It's meant for kayak fishing but the tip is so soft that it works well for just about anything.  The power is pretty good for a Med rod but sensitivity wise it's just OK.

 

For the best do all rod, I like the G. Loomis 783C GLX.

I believe these have a shorter handle on them right? I think that would be a bonus. I’ll see if I can find one locally to check out. Sensitivity wise, I imagine it has to be better than this cherry wood!

[FishTank]

7 hours ago, bigspirit said:

 

I believe these have a shorter handle on them right? I think that would be a bonus. I’ll see if I can find one locally to check out. Sensitivity wise, I imagine it has to be better than this cherry wood!

I haven’t used the Cherry Wood so I really can't compare it.  

 

It does have a shorter handle and Winn Grips. It's definitely a different rod from most but I like it. In a way I it like better than the regular Mojo and the Premier. 

[evilcatfish]

Its just a bit more than your budget if buying new, but I highly suggest the Megabass Levante Diablo Spec R. This is an excellent all around medium heavy rod that can handle just about anything within (and a little above/below) its lure rating. You may be able to find a deal on a used one in either the Levante or Orochi series if you look around

[PaulVE64]

HMG is a bit too fast for me to walk the dog. The cherry wood too.

Ive heard amazing things about the Falcon Bucoo.

 

I held a StC mojo bass glass recently. That was a nice rod.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

If you want to spend under 100$ or less then def take a good look at 13 fishing.  I got an Ark Essence a few months ago and really liked it but 2 days ago a peice of the reel handle assembly came loose during a cast and it slides up and down the blank now.  It's probably a fluke, but I contacted Ark and have yet to hear from them.  I had to use my 13 Omen Black as a back up and I forgot how comfortable it is to fish with.  

[casts_by_fly]

On 3/17/2022 at 1:35 PM, bigspirit said:

Actually have a Fury 734. I do really like it but I want something shorter and I agree I think I’d drop down to the 3 power if I do so. 

Perfect, I forgot about these as well. I think I actually looked at one a while back online and liked that it was a moderate fast. This will be one I absolutely need to look into - thanks!

I believe these have a shorter handle on them right? I think that would be a bonus. I’ll see if I can find one locally to check out. Sensitivity wise, I imagine it has to be better than this cherry wood!

i fished the trapcaster for a long time today, mostly with red eye shads but also with a squarebill, a flat side, a swim jig, and a chatterbait. Next to it I fished the expert 6’10” finesse jig. The first was with 832 braid, the second with 14 mono. Both are great for wha I was doing.  The expert is lighter, more responsive, and more sensitive, but braid on the trapcaster means you feel every little tick your lure touches.  At some point I will try the expert with braid.  I think that will be something else. 

[bigspirit]

58 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

i fished the trapcaster for a long time today, mostly with red eye shads but also with a squarebill, a flat side, a swim jig, and a chatterbait. Next to it I fished the expert 6’10” finesse jig. The first was with 832 braid, the second with 14 mono. Both are great for wha I was doing.  The expert is lighter, more responsive, and more sensitive, but braid on the trapcaster means you feel every little tick your lure touches.  At some point I will try the expert with braid.  I think that will be something else. 

Great to hear, I think that trap master/caster whatever it is is my #1 target to check out. Just need to get to academy cause I think that’s the only place around me that carries  them