Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted
17 hours ago, new2BC4bass said:

From what I've been able to discover from my reading is that Dobyns aren't the lightest rods on the market, but are some of the best balanced.   I'm with T-Billy.  I'd rather fish a balanced rod all day than one that is an ounce lighter, but tip heavy.

 

I will agree that a balanced light rod/reel combo is a pleasure to fish all day.  One reason I love my Aetos 6'6" MLM / PXL Type R combo.  Not that I've ever fished it all day, but this rod is the reason I started to use a 6'6" rod instead of longer ones (which I prefer).  An absolute pleasure to use.

 

My Dobyns 704CB is listed at 4.6 oz. which is .2 ounce less than the graphite version according to TackleTour's review.  My 7' MF Helios weighs 1.2 oz. less.  I enjoy fishing both.

When the rod is light enough I’d argue balance doesn’t matter. My NRX+ 893 and 873 aren’t “balanced” but are better to fish than my Orochi XX rods which balance well. 

  • Like 1
Posted

Light weight and balance are a team for me.

I can't fish with a tip heavy rod, it causes wrist and should problems for me.

Posted
6 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

I remember when real bass fishermen fished with broomsticks. A worm rod was a long heavy thing with zero action.  We needed those rods because the hooks we used were so bad.  Setting the hook was a martial art.  We reeled down as we stretched toward the fish and put our backs into each hook set.   One of my biggest problems back then was elbow pain.  Once you get it, it can take a long time to recover.

 

Modern hooks changed all that.  Today's hooks hook most fish from weight alone.  I resisted buying new rods for a long time.  About six months ago, I purchased a 6' 6" MH Shimano Zodias rod.  The lightness and sensitivity is amazing.  I use it to throw weightless worms, flukes and Senkos.  I liked it so much, I bought a 7' 2" MH Zodias.  There is a significant between these two rods. Both are as light as any rod I have ever used.  The longer rod is much larger in diameter.  I have been experimenting by using the longer rod as a flipping stick.  My old flipping stick was a collapsible 7' 6" Bass Pro Shop graphite rod.  Not only is the Zodias lighter, but it seems to catch more fish.   With my old rod, I would sometimes miss a fish as I lifted the bait.  Not so with my Zodias.  It's so sensitive, I feel the strike immediately.   $200 is a lot of money for a fishing rod, especially in these times.  These rods are worth the price.

 

Phil, as a younger fellow who wasn't around to see older fishing technology, but has an eye for the vintage equipment, I always appreciate your accounts of fishing in the past. You paint a good picture, I can really imagine someone out there with a stiff steel rod making a rather vicious hookset, swinging for the fences to hook a regular bass. 

 

Would you say the issue with older hooks was due to sharpness, shape, or something else? 

  • Like 1
Posted
1 hour ago, Yuddzy said:

Phil, as a younger fellow who wasn't around to see older fishing technology, but has an eye for the vintage equipment, I always appreciate your accounts of fishing in the past. You paint a good picture, I can really imagine someone out there with a stiff steel rod making a rather vicious hookset, swinging for the fences to hook a regular bass. 

 

Would you say the issue with older hooks was due to sharpness, shape, or something else? 

 

I never fished with a steel fishing rod, although I do have one in my collection.   Supposedly, steel fishing rods were made from surplus tank aerials left over from WWII. The worm rods we used were fiberglass initially.  The rod to have in the 70s was a Lew's Speed Stick with a pistol grip handle.  If you had an Ambassador 5500C reel bolted on, you had the best there was.  Graphite rods came out in the seventies.  I owned one of the first in our bass club and I believe I paid $200 for it, a fortune at the time.  Back then, worm hooks were nothing like the hooks we have today.  They were mostly long straight shank hooks with two 90 degree bends near the eye.  Wide gap bends hadn't been developed yet. The big difference was the steel they were made of and the way they were sharpened.  They weren't sharp when they came out of the package.  The steel was soft and points dulled easily.    Even when filed, it took a hard yank to get one to penetrate.  If you hooked over 50% of your bites you were doing good.   Most people just let the poor bass swallow the bait.  Modern laser sharpened hooks are light years ahead of those old hooks.  Modern low stretch lines help too.  

  • Like 4
  • Super User
Posted
12 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

 We needed those rods because the hooks we used were so bad.  Setting the hook was a martial art.  We reeled down as we stretched toward the fish and put our backs into each hook set.

You didn't want to be behind my Dad when he set the hook.  That is exactly how he did it, and how I set the hook as a young lad although I never did have as full of a swing as my father.  As long as you were at least 3 feet behind me you were probably safe.  :lol1:

  • Haha 1
Posted

My thesis - balance is irrelevant if the rig is reasonably light.  If you have perfect balance in the default case, once you add a lure, then you're tip heavy.  I have a bunch of VERY spendy high end combos and they are so light that rod balance (without a lure) was never even a consideration.

  • Like 2
Posted

Here we go again with the ideal balance stuff (or ideal anything for that matter).  Ideal doesn’t exist in fishing…ideal is in the eye of the beholder.  Some posters should really go back and review their post history.  The level of “I have everything figured out…listen to me” is breathtaking.


I like light everything but that’s just me and it wasn’t as true 10 years ago.  Tip heavy…never notice.  Split v full grip…don’t care.  Recoil guides…don’t notice.  Are my preferences right?  They are right for me but may not be for thee.

 

 

  • Like 5
Posted

I'm an automotive technician.  I work ~50 hours a week with my hands/arms/upper body.  It would take a really rod to wear me out.  If an additional ounce is wearing someone out I'd recommend an exercise program.  

  • Like 6
  • Haha 1
  • Super User
Posted

Being down in the budget category - balance far surpasses weight for me.

 

Example:

My 7' Aird-X MH/F weighs 1.4oz less than my FR 704 - but the Fury is much more balanced..which is why the Fury is my jig/bottom contact rod and the Aird is my moving baits rod. The more balanced Fury makes feeling the bottom and those light strikes easier.

Posted
10 hours ago, new2BC4bass said:

You didn't want to be behind my Dad when he set the hook.  That is exactly how he did it, and how I set the hook as a young lad although I never did have as full of a swing as my father.  As long as you were at least 3 feet behind me you were probably safe.  :lol1:

 

I've posted about this before.  I actually fell out of the boat twice one morning when setting the hook on Lake Okeechobee.  My wife still laughs about it today.  ?

  • Like 1
  • Haha 3
Posted
16 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

The worm rods we used were fiberglass initially.  The rod to have in the 70s was a Lew's Speed Stick with a pistol grip handle.  If you had an Ambassador 5500C reel bolted on, you had the best there was.  Graphite rods came out in the seventies.  I owned one of the first in our bass club and I believe I paid $200 for it, a fortune at the time.  

I have a few old Speed Sticks that I use for throwing squarebills and rattle traps from the bank on my way home from work. Now you've made me want to grab some of my old Tru turn hooks and some Jelly worms. Oh,  and a reel without instant anti reverse! 

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
  • Super User
Posted
On 6/19/2022 at 3:06 PM, zelmo said:

Do you think 1 ounce is a big difference on a 7’+ rod or am I over reacting?

1 oz is a significant difference.  I weighed an old Ugly Stick a couple years ago and found it was only about an oz heavier than my other similar rods.  But it felt a lot heavier.  

 

Keep in mind that depending on what reels one has, it might be easier to shed a couple ounces off the system by getting lighter reels.  

  • Like 1
  • Super User
Posted

Raw weigh I don't care about at all but balance is very important to me.  

Posted

Its come a long ways...  But I don't think some fisherman will be happy until the rods can float in the air

  • Like 2
Posted
1 hour ago, MAN said:

Its come a long ways...  But I don't think some fisherman will be happy until the rods can float in the air

 

I would buy it...  ?

  • Like 1
Posted

Whether bicycles, sports cars, motorcycles, precision rifles, or fishing gear, why would one NOT want to take advantage of modern materials and manufacturing improvements?  Most of my casting rigs are in the 8 oz range and my spinning rigs in the sub 7 oz range.  Spendy, yes - user experience: priceless.

Posted
1 hour ago, ironbjorn said:

Thread title: "How important is rod weight to you?"

 

my comment:

 

"I wouldn't even notice what amounts to the final sip in a water bottle let alone be worn out by it. I find this topic possibly the most ridiculous in bass fishing."

 

thread title again: "How important is rod weight to you?" [stuff deleted]

 

Hundreds of dollars per reel or rod.  If it's not important to you, then just don't buy that stuff but don't pontificate to others who don't share your view.

  • Like 1
Posted
15 hours ago, Woody B said:

I'm an automotive technician.  I work ~50 hours a week with my hands/arms/upper body.  It would take a really rod to wear me out.  If an additional ounce is wearing someone out I'd recommend an exercise program.  

Big arms Images, Stock Photos & Vectors | Shutterstock

 

  • Haha 1
  • Super User
Posted
19 minutes ago, QED said:

If it's not important to you, then just don't buy that stuff

I'd love to buy that stuff - problem is, my wallet would roll over and die before I got one rig purchased.

 

(having nothing but SS is a drag.)

Posted
7 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

I'd love to buy that stuff - problem is, my wallet would roll over and die before I got one rig purchased.

 

(having nothing but SS is a drag.)

 

Sorry if I inadvertently offended you but I don't recall you pontificating on what other people should buy.  Look, we all should buy the best stuff within our budget constraints and then just go fishing.  Internet chatter be damned...

  • Like 2
Posted
38 minutes ago, QED said:

 

Hundreds of dollars per reel or rod.  If it's not important to you, then just don't buy that stuff but don't pontificate to others who don't share your view.

I'm really starting to question my schooling. As far as I know the OP asked the members of this community and I answered for myself. 

  • Like 1
Posted
4 minutes ago, ironbjorn said:

I'm really starting to question my schooling. As far as I know the OP asked the members of this community and I answered for myself. 

 

The OP's original query was about rod weight.  That is what my responses were directed towards. How is that non-responsive to the original question?

  • Like 1
Posted
11 minutes ago, QED said:

 

The OP's original query was about rod weight.  That is what my responses were directed towards. How is that non-responsive to the original question?

I used the words "I wouldn't" and "I find" when answering a question about what each of us thinks about rod weight. I didn't pontificate to anyone.

  • Super User
Posted

Enough. Walk away from your keyboards. 

  • Like 2
  • Haha 1
  • Sad 1
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.


  • Outboard Engine

    fishing forum

    fishing tackle

    fishing

    fishing

    fishing

    bass fish

    fish for bass



×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.