Swimbait rod for soft baits w/ J Hook ( Dobyns 806 or 807)

[cjam93]

Hi Guys so I am getting a new swimbait rod for throwing softbaits with J hooks. On average this will be for 2-6oz baits.   I am wanting a Dobyns Champion rod for this. I know by weight rating the 806 or 807 will do this, but does the 806 have enough back bone to have solid hook sets?

 

I will be on 25lb FC. Ive tried braid to leader and was not a fan.

 

Id prefer the 806 for versatility if you believe it will stick the hookset as I don't see me going heavier than 6oz, but want to make sure I dont miss fish due to the softer tip

 

thanks!

[WRB]

806 is perfect!

Tom

[Dogface]

I have an 806. I'm very happy with the rod and a surprising aspect is that I have been able to throw lightweight baits in addition to heavy swim baits.  

[Big Hands]

I recently acquired a Fury 806 and I believe that the Champion 806 might be a tad stouter/faster. But, I got the 806 for treble hook baits in the 2 to for or 6 ounce range. It's not a stud stick as the bend is more toward the parabolic end of the spectrum IMHO. If your hooks are kept sharp and are not super heavy duty, it might have the backbone to get the job done, but I don't see that being what the 806 is best at (at least with the Fury version). The general consensus is that the 806 (Champion or Fury) are great for baits in the 4-5 oz sweet spot and it won't be great for larger single hook 

baits. Once the fish is hooked solidly, I think the 806 will be great for great for keeping the pressure on them without unloading easily.

 

The stud stick (my generic term for a rod with more backbone) is great for getting the big hooks to set, and sometimes having to apply a lot of pressure to keep a rod like that bowed can tear a treble hook loose. 

 

If I wanted to throw a lot of baits in the 5 to 6 ounce range, I would go with the 807. I haven't held an 807 and haven't been ale to see for myself how the rod bends. 

 

My take is that there aren't a lot of rods out there that would do a good job with both single hook and treble hook swimbaits. The fellows at TB feel that the Loomis IMX-Pro966c SWBR is an exception to that rule, but it kind of stands alone in that regard. At almost $400, one could make a case for pairing that up with something like a Tranx 300 with 20-25 fluorocarbon line and have one high quality rig rather than two $200 swimbait rods and two reels that run another $200 to $300 each.

 

Just to give you an idea, I am posting a couple pics of a Dobyns 806 in action (with a Tranx 300 with 20 Seaguar fluorocarbon line) so you can get an idea of what to expect. This guy was fishing mostly treble hook baits with his 806 and you can clearly see the rod is nowhere what I would consider a fast action and loads up all the way down.

 

 

 

 

[Hammer 4]

I used an older 806 Champion for the weight you listed,  and never had any issues with hook sets. 

[cjam93]

Thanks everyone for the responses and the screenshots. This was really helpful I appreciate it!