St Croix Legend Glass crankbait rod / Daiwa Tatula Elite rods

[NorthernBasser]

Got my Elite's today. 

 

The Ehler 7'3 MH/F weighed in at 4.80 oz. Not light by any means but not terrible either. Then I weighed the Howell 7' ML/R. It weighed in at 4.91 oz. That one has a full grip as opposed to the split grip on the Ehler. Still surprised it weighed more. Obviously the paint on the rods contributes to the weights. In hand I'm not blown away, but that may change once I'm able to actually fish them. 

[MontclairDave]

4 hours ago, Dirtyeggroll said:

I guess they’re smaller but I wouldn’t consider them micro. Micro guides IMO are much smaller. I don’t know the measurement.

 

I used a leader on my 6’9 H without issue. 

14 hours ago, PhishLI said:

My 6'9" H does. The top 4. Can't say about the other models.

 

Left- 13 OB2 6'7"MHF tip top, Ring size 6.

Right- Tatula Elite 6'9"H

 

Those do look a bit small to me. I think I’m gonna pass on the 7’ 3” H that Was still available as of this morning. I really hate smaller ring sizes and even tho Dirtyeggroll says he can pass a leader through it I’m nervous about it. Baitmonkey hard to resist on this one.  

[Cbump]

I have or have had 4 elite rods.  
 

Randy Howell 7’3” M spinning for drop shots and underspins. Didn’t like this one and sold It today. 
 

Seth Feider 6’9” ML jerkbait Rod. Too soft. Didn’t do good with 1/2oz 110+2 jb on Saturday. Sold It and shipped It off today. 
 

Brent Erhler 7’ Finesse casting AGS. Says finesse but is rated 1/4 to 1oz. I love this rod and have no plans to get rid of It. It’s my weighted fluke/weightless senko/underspin rod. 
 

Now this 7’1” skipping jig. Jury is out but It feels good and hard to beat for $88!

 

 

[PhishLI]

2 hours ago, MontclairDave said:

Those do look a bit small to me. I think I’m gonna pass on the 7’ 3” H that Was still available as of this morning. I really hate smaller ring sizes and even tho Dirtyeggroll says he can pass a leader through it I’m nervous about it. Baitmonkey hard to resist on this one.  

Yeah, not with the heavier line(s) and leader(s) you'd be using with it. Would bug me too. I'll be using straight mainline, so IDGAF.?

[tander]

Got my $88 Daiwa Tatula Elite 7'1" Heavy. Of course haven't fished with it but putting a reel on and casting a few lures with it, this might turn out to be my favorite rod. To me it feels and cast great!!! I Thinking anything from frogs to worms to chatterbaits. Wish I ordered 3. Looks like they still have the 6'9" in stock and discounted. Anybody got both? How do they compare besides being shorter?

[Dirtyeggroll]

5 hours ago, tander said:

Got my $88 Daiwa Tatula Elite 7'1" Heavy. Of course haven't fished with it but putting a reel on and casting a few lures with it, this might turn out to be my favorite rod. To me it feels and cast great!!! I Thinking anything from frogs to worms to chatterbaits. Wish I ordered 3. Looks like they still have the 6'9" in stock and discounted. Anybody got both? How do they compare besides being shorter?

I have both. 
 

the 6’9” tip isn’t as forgiving . It’s a great and sensitive jig rod though.

[JediAmoeba]

On 2/27/2023 at 2:54 PM, Cbump said:

Seth Feider 6’9” ML jerkbait Rod. Too soft. Didn’t do good with 1/2oz 110+2 jb on Saturday.

It's perfect for 110's and does Ok with +1's. The +2's IMO require a Medium stick which is what I use for them. 

[Cbump]

38 minutes ago, JediAmoeba said:

It's perfect for 110's and does Ok with +1's. The +2's IMO require a Medium stick which is what I use for them. 

Got me a Dobyns Kaden 610-4cb to try. I like the crispness so far. 

[Diggy]

The 2023 playlist came out for the Tats
 

 

[Cbump]

Anyone fished their 7’1” elite yet?

@tander @PhishLI

 

I fished a two day tournament today and yesterday so put the rod to work. I first tried It with a spinnerbait just to see how It does. Not great. No big deal, it’s not a spinnerbait rod. 
Today I fished a bit with a 3/8 oz Luke clausen finesse jig with super hog trailer (cut in half). I bought this rod specifically for this bait. 
Unfortunately It didn’t cast It well (too stiff) and I couldn’t feel the bait at all with It. Maybe I just suck, but I feel like this rod needs a heavier jig to run properly. 
Unfortunately, I have 4 other setups that easily throw the bigger stuff and 2 that can get by better than this one with the luke clausen finesse. 
 

So I’m thinking about off loading It. 

 

[PhishLI]

1 hour ago, Cbump said:

Anyone fished their 7’1” elite yet?

I have the 6'9"

1 hour ago, Cbump said:

Today I fished a bit with a 3/8 oz Luke clausen finesse jig with super hog trailer (cut in half). I bought this rod specifically for this bait. 
Unfortunately It didn’t cast It well (too stiff) and I couldn’t feel the bait at all with It.

I haven't been in the water yet with mine, but hopefully tomorrow before we're back in the freezer again at night. Could be the 7'1" wants a heavier jig. Hard to know what my 6'9" wants at this point but when tossing with it in the yard it was fine doing pitches with 3/8+trailer. All I have is very soft bottoms here, so I need to go by the subtle changes from goo to a bite in order to know what the sensitivity is like. The drag on a jig with these types of bottoms keeps at least a semi tight line, so sensing changes is usually enough for me to feel what's happening enough to swing in time regardless of which rod I'm using. I've been shut out of fishing particular heavier baits in some very juicy areas due to rod length, but with this one I'll be able to now. I'll make it work.

 

Just something to think about. I figured this out with chatterbaits, but it has translated directly to straight jig fishing for me. I had about a 50/50 landing percentage throwing chatterbaits using straight braid. It was always blown hooksets. Due to the cover I fish, I must use it. After trying different approaches to no avail, I really analyzed what I was doing while I was just winding. It turned out I had a rigid posture and an iron grip on the reel. I think it was because of anticipation. I dunno. Regardless of why, I decided to try relaxing my grip, and myself in general, and everything changed dramatically. Everything slowed down at the point where the bite occurred along with my response to it, and my hookups went way, way up. I could feel much more now. So, regardless of which rod you end up with ultimately, if you feel your jig game is so-so, perhaps finding an adjustment a little outside the box is worth considering. The rod is only part of the equation.

[Cbump]

It was pretty windy and I was in a buddies boat and he stayed further off cover than I’m used to. I’m going to give It another chance in my boat where I can do truer pitches rather than casting far. 

[Tatulatard]

On 2/27/2023 at 12:24 PM, NorthernBasser said:

Got my Elite's today. 

 

The Ehler 7'3 MH/F weighed in at 4.80 oz. Not light by any means but not terrible either. Then I weighed the Howell 7' ML/R. It weighed in at 4.91 oz. That one has a full grip as opposed to the split grip on the Ehler. Still surprised it weighed more. Obviously the paint on the rods contributes to the weights. In hand I'm not blown away, but that may change once I'm able to actually fish them. 

I have that rod.  It's tip heavy with a zillion on it.  It has a good action and is sensitive enough for me.  I do have to wonder what kind of rods people are coming from for the reviews to say the rod is light and balanced.  

[Cbump]

On 3/1/2023 at 6:07 AM, Cbump said:

Got me a Dobyns Kaden 610-4cb to try. I like the crispness so far. 

FYI, this rod is legit. Highly recommend. 

[Cbump]

Just got notice that my Daiwa/Huk shirt shipped already. 

[tander]

3 hours ago, Cbump said:

Just got notice that my Daiwa/Huk shirt shipped already. 

 

Same here!!

[NorthernBasser]

12 hours ago, Cbump said:

Just got notice that my Daiwa/Huk shirt shipped already. 

I been draggin' my butt. 

[Cbump]

I did this last year and It took months. So pleasantly surprised. 

[Bass Rutten]

I'm surprised to hear the  7'1" heavy is struggling with  3/8+trailer considering it's rating, would like to hear some more opinions on it. I have a 7'1" heavy kage arriving Saturday, I recall reading was the same blank, I sure hope a 1/2+trailer jig falls in it's sweet spot zone or it may going back.

[Cbump]

8 hours ago, Bass Rutten said:

I'm surprised to hear the  7'1" heavy is struggling with  3/8+trailer considering it's rating, would like to hear some more opinions on it. I have a 7'1" heavy kage arriving Saturday, I recall reading was the same blank, I sure hope a 1/2+trailer jig falls in it's sweet spot zone or it may going back.

I think It will be fine for you. I don’t know how to explain It. Maybe it’s fine for 3/8 and I’m just not used to the feel of a skipping rod. It just didn’t feel right. I’ll test again in better conditions on my own boat though. 

I already have the Brent Erhler AGS 7’ MMH X F rod. It’s called the finesse rod but it’s rated 1/4-1oz. I’m going to try that one with 3/8 jigs if the skipping rod doesn’t work out. 
I hadn’t really thought about trying the Ehrler for jigs until last night.