Dobyns Kaden 744C, 743C, and Similar

[Drawdown]

1. Which of these two do you like more for heavier spinnerbaits + chatterbaits (maybe the occasional 5/8oz rattletrap), and why? And to what extent do you feel like you can switch to Texas or free-rigged plastics if needed?

 

2. What else, at similar or lower price point, has a similar profile?

 

I had (and recently accidentally broke) a Sierra 7’ MH (703C, I think?), but thought it was just a bit too “noodly” for my taste, but not by much. From reading other threads, the Kaden series is still a soft-tipped “Fast” action, but a bit firmer than the Sierra. Might be just the ticket for me—but I’m wide open to other options, since I’m not a dedicated Dobyns person.

 

Mainly fishing around and in grass—idea is to hit the edges with the aforementioned moving baits, and switch to soft plastics to finesse them through the salad.

[Brian11719]

For typical size spinnerbaits I personally like a heavier rod so I'd say the 744C. Bladed jigs are a whole different rod for me but there's plenty of people that throw them on a fast action rod and the 743C would be ok for that IMO if you like a fast action rod for them. The 743C would also be my choice for a texas rig although it is a couple of inches shorter than the one I have for texas rigs overall I'd say that one is a pretty nice rod for texas rigs especially if you aren't going into super deep water or if you happen to be targeting specific structure vs. trying to cast as far as possible.

 

For the second question I'd argue the St Croix Victory line is slightly better for some purposes than the Kaden line...although I really like both lines and companies and they both come with an outstanding warranty program (and I own rods in both lines)...also right now the Victory line is on sale at American Legacy so even though it's normally a bit more right now it turned out to be $114 and $120 for the two that I picked up yesterday. They also have a chart that you might be interested in here:

 

If you don't care so much about a warranty the new Lew's Custom Lite Rods are pretty good. They usually retail for about the same price as the Kaden line and sometimes you can find them on sale for around $120. They also have a newer type of grip (I forget the name off the top of my head) on them that I personally really like. Overall I prefer the Victory and Kaden lines and most of my rods are either St Croix or Dobyns but those Lew's rods are also pretty good. Plenty of rods at a lower price point but I'd argue you usually get what you pay for (unless you are patient and wait for stuff to go on sale which seems to be the trick with buying fishing rods lately).

 

Also to your point on action there was a video Gary made about the Sierra vs Kaden line (probably still easy to find on google) that goes over the difference and TLDR the Kaden series was meant to be a faster action series...St Croix rods in general usually have a bit more of a moderate action while the Lew's ones in that Line that I own feel a bit faster like the Kaden...if you can get to a local tackle shop and hold some of them and check out the action I'd always suggest that but if not might be able to find some review videos on youtube that review some of them and use that to help make your decision. Hope you really like whatever you end up deciding to go with and catch a lot of fish with it...

[PBBrandon]

The 703 Sierra seemed noodly for a MH rod because it’s actually more of a medium. 3 power Dobyns= typical M. 4 power = typical MH.

 

Id go with a 704 or 734 Sierra, or a 714/744 Kaden

[Drawdown]

@Brian11719, I just pulled the trigger on a St. Croix Victory 7’3” MH/F - VTC73MHF from ALF.
The sale was just too good to not take a flier on it—and with ALF’s liberal return policy, low risk.

[PBBrandon]

47 minutes ago, Drawdown said:

@Brian11719, I just pulled the trigger on a St. Croix Victory 7’3” MH/F - VTC73MHF from ALF.
The sale was just too good to not take a flier on it—and with ALF’s liberal return policy, low risk.

Victorys are great rods, you’re gonna love it

[Drawdown]

Yeah, I may end up regretting not getting the 7’4” Heavy/Fast - VTC74HF. But I ultimately went by the chart, and the fact that unlike the Kaden, the 7’3” MH rod claims an upper lure weight range of 1oz.

[PBBrandon]

3/8-1/2oz chatterbaits and 3/8-1/2oz spinnerbaits with a trailer are gonna be great on that rod. As are lipless cranks in that 3/8-3/4oz range. That rod will work great for 80% of things bass fishing including Texas rigs.

 

Also you could trade that broken Sierra into Dobyns and get a 735 Sierra or 745 Kaden for if you wanna get into the grass

[Drawdown]

1 hour ago, PBBrandon said:

Also you could trade that broken Sierra into Dobyns and get a 735 Sierra or 745 Kaden for if you wanna get into the grass

I was not the original owner of the Sierra, so not sure if I would have benefitted from a trade-in.

And, would you believe I have already thrown it away? 😂 Didn’t know about Dobyns’ warranty—I’d bought the thing secondhand at a local shop in Dayton, TN.

[PBBrandon]

1 hour ago, Drawdown said:

I was not the original owner of the Sierra, so not sure if I would have benefitted from a trade-in.

And, would you believe I have already thrown it away? 😂 Didn’t know about Dobyns’ warranty—I’d bought the thing secondhand at a local shop in Dayton, TN.

Dang lol yeah you just send them the logo section of the rod and 60 bucks, and wait for the new rod to come in. Hasn’t been trash day already has it? 😂

[Drawdown]

6 hours ago, PBBrandon said:

Dang lol yeah you just send them the logo section of the rod and 60 bucks, and wait for the new rod to come in. Hasn’t been trash day already has it? 😂

Afraid so!

Though the trash service is rural, and involves manually picking up bags rather than the “one armed bandit” type.

 

So maybe it’s in the bottom of the can. 😅

[Drawdown]

First (of hopefully many to come) on my new Victory! Felt the strike brilliantly whilst working a creature bait through the middle of the pond.

[lunkerboss923]

I like the 734 for topwater walking baits, buzzbaits, underspins, and heavier spinnerbaits. Gary Dobyns made the 734 for spooks and it excels at it. It's a great all purpose rod. The 744 is a better bottom contact rod. If you want a moving bait in the 734, I think the Sierra is a great option. It's a little slower than the Champion and the Kaden. In fact, I think the 735CB Kaden is a great chatterbait rod. For spinnerbaits, I like the 703. It is is very hard to beat as a spinnerbait rod. Perfect for squarebills as well.