Daiwa BLX Rods

[NorthernBasser]

Anybody have any experience with any of the models? Any insight/thoughts would be appreciated. 

[PBBrandon]

I have the 7’2” HF and it’s a pretty good rod. It’s sensitive and looks beautiful, but it’s a bit tip heavy and the power is deceiving. I’d call it a H+ or an XH. Really good for frogging and jigs 1/2oz and up. I’m only happy with it because I got it used and paid half of what it retails for. I think there are better options out there for $400-430.

 

However, some reviews I see of the BLX line say the 7’2” HF is the most disappointing of the line, and that the others are great. Not that the 7’2” is necessarily a bad rod, it’s just that it should’ve been rated as an XH. Down here in Texas it’s definitely useful with all the slop, but for folks who have a lot of open water and not too many weeds, it might collect some dust.

[softwateronly]

2 minutes ago, PBBrandon said:

I have the 7’2” HF and it’s a pretty good rod. It’s sensitive and looks beautiful, but it’s a bit tip heavy and the power is deceiving. I’d call it a H+ or an XH. Really good for frogging and jigs 1/2oz and up. I’m only happy with it because I got it used and paid half of what it retails for. I think there are better options out there for $400-430.

 

However, some reviews I see of the BLX line say the 7’2” HF is the most disappointing of the line, and that the others are great. Not that the 7’2” is necessarily a bad rod, it’s just that it should’ve been rated as an XH. Down here in Texas it’s definitely useful with all the slop, but for folks who have a lot of open water and not too many weeds, it might collect some dust.

 

I completely agree with this review, ended up selling it.  7'2 Steez power pitch and 7'3 XH Expride are better versions of it or what it wanted to be.

 

scott

[newapti5]

1 hour ago, PBBrandon said:

It’s sensitive and looks beautiful, but it’s a bit tip heavy and the power is deceiving.

 

I have a 7' MH Extra Fast, Sensitive line, and I pretty much have the same opinion. Sensitive and nicely crafted. The tip-heavy isn't that bad with this model, but it's too stiff for a MH, or its rated 1/4 - 1oz weight. More like H and 1/2 - 1.5oz.

[NorthernBasser]

Thanks guys. Found a few different models online marked down to $200, which is why it piqued my interest. 

[Bigbox99]

It's not uncommon for 7'2" "heavy" rods from Japanese brands to be in fact, an XH with double footed guides and a realistic upper bait range of up to or over 3 oz.  Think of them as short swimbait rods.  It's some unspoken thing but a lot of the rods are like this.  I own a few myself since I am bit of a connoisseur of these as kayak big bait rods that do everything I want out of a H+ from throwing big frogs, beast hook paddle tails, big topwater and 1-3oz swimbaits.  I was eyeing the Orochi X10 72H Swamp  Survior but I may have to cross shop with the 72H BLX.

[PBBrandon]

1 hour ago, Bigbox99 said:

It's not uncommon for 7'2" "heavy" rods from Japanese brands to be in fact, an XH with double footed guides and a realistic upper bait range of up to or over 3 oz.  Think of them as short swimbait rods.  It's some unspoken thing but a lot of the rods are like this.  I own a few myself since I am bit of a connoisseur of these as kayak big bait rods that do everything I want out of a H+ from throwing big frogs, beast hook paddle tails, big topwater and 1-3oz swimbaits.  I was eyeing the Orochi X10 72H Swamp  Survior but I may have to cross shop with the 72H BLX.

Yeah I actually just put a 7:1 Bantam MGL with 20 pound big game mono on my BLX. Bet it would make a killer mag topwater/single hook swimbait rod. My 7’4”H Tatula Elite AGS already has frog/pitchin duties and my 7’6”H Tat AGS and Xtasy 755 rods have big jig duties. Might as well make it a dedicated topwater/swimbait stick

[KP Duty]

I have the 7-3" ML+/mod and 7-4" MH/mod in the limber line.  Really like using them and they look really nice with AAAA cork..

[TNBankFishing]

On 3/19/2024 at 8:50 PM, NorthernBasser said:

Anybody have any experience with any of the models? Any insight/thoughts would be appreciated. 

The MHRB is my personal favorite chatterbait rod for anything 3/8 or higher. I mean, it’s a pure joy. Let’s see if I can dig up my initial month review. The way I felt then is still how I feel today. Fantastic rod. This was written in oct of 21. 
 

I’ve moved to a different stick for deep divers but still feel like anything reaction is at home on this rod. I prefer the 17 Javelin for small trebles but I’d 100% throw a chunkier squarebill with larger trebles or big top waters. If you prefer a more parabolic bend for swim jigs or spinners it’s also amazing with those. Stick to 3/8 and above, with a sweet spot at 1/2. 
 

Daiwa BLX Impressions

I recently picked up a BLX 7’4” MH Round Bend Limber casting rod from The Tackle Trap. Full disclosure I’ve never fished a Daiwa rod prior to this, which may or may not impact my thoughts. I’ve had a chance to fish the rod now for 4 trips, about 8 hours total with just this combo. A lot of these impressions are still early, but I’ll try to be clear and honest. 

Price:$399 

Aesthetics: The rod is simple in color choices and carries very little flash for its price. The cork was very nice, high grade. Little to no filler. The BLX badging was… a weak point in the look. If Daiwa was hoping for stealth they nailed it. Coming from MB Destroyers, Orochis and Carbon Heads I felt it was lacking. 

Design: I prefer a shorter handle as I fish from a kayak, but the overall design and ergonomics of the rod were fantastic. The shocking thing is how absolutely light it is. For a rod this size, and it looks as thick as a normal glass rod, it’s a feather. I fished it with a 20 Met, 21 Zillion, and Revo Winch. All felt great and balanced well. 

Applications: This is the first rod I took a single cast and knew it was the one I was looking for. Chatterbait, deep diving cranks, squarebills, big topwater, heavy spinners. It threw them all amazingly and the most interesting thing was how sensitive it was. For fun I tied on a half oz jig and dragged it over some chunk rock. It was much more sensitive than it had any right to be. Since I fish tournaments from a kayak rods need to be versatile, and that characteristic carry’s a ton of value to me. 

Verdict: I need to spend more time with this stick, but for now it has been an utter joy to fish with and absolutely worth every penny. If you’re looking to try something new and are brand agnostic do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

[NorthernBasser]

38 minutes ago, TNBankFishing said:

The MHRB is my personal favorite chatterbait rod for anything 3/8 or higher. I mean, it’s a pure joy. Let’s see if I can dig up my initial month review. The way I felt then is still how I feel today. Fantastic rod. This was written in oct of 21. 
 

I’ve moved to a different stick for deep divers but still feel like anything reaction is at home on this rod. I prefer the 17 Javelin for small trebles but I’d 100% throw a chunkier squarebill with larger trebles or big top waters. If you prefer a more parabolic bend for swim jigs or spinners it’s also amazing with those. Stick to 3/8 and above, with a sweet spot at 1/2. 
 

Daiwa BLX Impressions

I recently picked up a BLX 7’4” MH Round Bend Limber casting rod from The Tackle Trap. Full disclosure I’ve never fished a Daiwa rod prior to this, which may or may not impact my thoughts. I’ve had a chance to fish the rod now for 4 trips, about 8 hours total with just this combo. A lot of these impressions are still early, but I’ll try to be clear and honest. 

Price:$399 

Aesthetics: The rod is simple in color choices and carries very little flash for its price. The cork was very nice, high grade. Little to no filler. The BLX badging was… a weak point in the look. If Daiwa was hoping for stealth they nailed it. Coming from MB Destroyers, Orochis and Carbon Heads I felt it was lacking. 

Design: I prefer a shorter handle as I fish from a kayak, but the overall design and ergonomics of the rod were fantastic. The shocking thing is how absolutely light it is. For a rod this size, and it looks as thick as a normal glass rod, it’s a feather. I fished it with a 20 Met, 21 Zillion, and Revo Winch. All felt great and balanced well. 

Applications: This is the first rod I took a single cast and knew it was the one I was looking for. Chatterbait, deep diving cranks, squarebills, big topwater, heavy spinners. It threw them all amazingly and the most interesting thing was how sensitive it was. For fun I tied on a half oz jig and dragged it over some chunk rock. It was much more sensitive than it had any right to be. Since I fish tournaments from a kayak rods need to be versatile, and that characteristic carry’s a ton of value to me. 

Verdict: I need to spend more time with this stick, but for now it has been an utter joy to fish with and absolutely worth every penny. If you’re looking to try something new and are brand agnostic do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

Nice. 

 

There's 3 rods available but that's not one of them, unfortunately. For $200-$220, I'm tempted to try one out.