Current Lineup, anything you feel would be a good fit?

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

@softwateronly Yeah I was kind of concerned about that mod-fast being too slow for grass, I'm surprised tacticalbassin recommends it for their flipping and pitching jig rod. The Expride 7'4 looks a good bit slower than the poison adrena 7'4 from what I can tell.

 

I also wonder about that BMG and if it will have the same problem as the Expride. 

[softwateronly]

3 hours ago, 10,000 lakes Bassin said:

@softwateronly Yeah I was kind of concerned about that mod-fast being too slow for grass, I'm surprised tacticalbassin recommends it for their flipping and pitching jig rod. The Expride 7'4 looks a good bit slower than the poison adrena 7'4 from what I can tell.

 

I also wonder about that BMG and if it will have the same problem as the Expride. 

We all have our preferences.  The thing I've come to realize is that our natural weedy lakes don't compare well to most of the country.  May thru Sept my water, especially shallow water, is usually closer to FL/LA fisherman in terms of cover than a lot of places even if we have a different strain of LMB.

 

scott

[MRQturbo]

4 hours ago, 10,000 lakes Bassin said:

@softwateronly Yeah I was kind of concerned about that mod-fast being too slow for grass, I'm surprised tacticalbassin recommends it for their flipping and pitching jig rod. The Expride 7'4 looks a good bit slower than the poison adrena 7'4 from what I can tell.

 

I also wonder about that BMG and if it will have the same problem as the Expride. 

They get paid to push and promote brands... Just like what the pro anglers tell you, take it with a grain of salt... If someone paid me enough money, I'd swear a bamboo stick is the greatest rod ever made.. 

[GardenStateFishin]

2 hours ago, softwateronly said:

We all have our preferences.  The thing I've come to realize is that our natural weedy lakes don't compare well to most of the country.  May thru Sept my water, especially shallow water, is usually closer to FL/LA fisherman in terms of cover than a lot of places even if we have a different strain of LMB.

 

scott 

[softwateronly]

6 hours ago, 10,000 lakes Bassin said:

tacticalbassin recommends it for their flipping and pitching jig rod.

 

I watch most of their videos every winter  .  The way they fish it, I agree with them.   If you pitch to holes, lift once or twice, then reel in and repeat, the 7'7H is really nice.  Plenty of power once it loads fully.  It's when you're trying to drag thru the weeds where I feel the amount of force it takes to load up is too much to keep control.  A faster rod or a heavier mod/fast becomes my preference.

 

scott

[Brian11719]

On 2/7/2025 at 12:17 AM, GardenStateFishin said:

think I should go 7’3 XH or the 7’4 H? 

Not sure if you pulled the trigger yet but this question stood out to me as I found myself in a similar spot a while back. Long story short I'd personally argue you need both but it depends on what you want to do. In my case here's what I'd do w/ these 2:

 

7'4 H -> frogs, flipping and pitching into all but the nastiest lake okeechobee roland martin type stuff...heavier spinnerbaits and heavier jigs...maybe like a 6" magdraft or a mini a-rig but that would be about it

 

7’3 XH -> if you want to get into swimbaits more this would be the starting point as you could start looking at stuff like a 6" shadtron, bigger a-rigs or a 5" bacca burrito...probably also better for an actual 'punching rod' where you are pulling them out of really nasty stuff. 

 

If I didn't own either I'd start w/ the 7'4 H...that would get you most of the way there and you could still throw smaller swimbaits on it and decide if you want to branch out.

 

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

5 minutes ago, Brian11719 said:

If I didn't own either I'd start w/ the 7'4 H...that would get you most of the way there and you could still throw smaller swimbaits on it and decide if you want to branch out.

 

I agree 

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

55 minutes ago, softwateronly said:

 

I watch most of their videos every winter  .  The way they fish it, I agree with them.   If you pitch to holes, lift once or twice, then reel in and repeat, the 7'7H is really nice.  Plenty of power once it loads fully.  It's when you're trying to drag thru the weeds where I feel the amount of force it takes to load up is too much to keep control.  A faster rod or a heavier mod/fast becomes my preference.

 

scott

Same here, their videos and some others is the only bass fishing action I get from November through may.

So your saying that if your not actually fishing through the grass then a slower action is nice, but if your ripping the jig through the grass then you get that “slingshot” effect with a slower tipped rod? Makes sense to me.

[softwateronly]

1 minute ago, 10,000 lakes Bassin said:

Same here, their videos and some others is the only bass fishing action I get from November through may.

So your saying that if your not actually fishing through the grass then a slower action is nice, but if your ripping the jig through the grass then you get that “slingshot” effect with a slower tipped rod? Makes sense to me.

Yep!

 

scott

[casts_by_fly]

2 hours ago, softwateronly said:

We all have our preferences.  The thing I've come to realize is that our natural weedy lakes don't compare well to most of the country.  May thru Sept my water, especially shallow water, is usually closer to FL/LA fisherman in terms of cover than a lot of places even if we have a different strain of LMB.

 

scott

very true around here. Weedy natural lakes for the most part. Plenty of pads, milfoil, and pondweed. I stayed off the heavier rods for a while, but then once you start fishing one you realize how much easier it makes a lot of things. 

[Brian11719]

btw if anyone is wondering what i meant by punching nasty stuff like Roland Martin on Okeechobee:

 

'that big old bass broke my dang gum rod'

^ I'd argue this guy is one of the best of all time and this video inspired me to throw my lures into crap I used to be afraid to throw them into (although I still have yet to snap a rod like he did).

[UmairF]

On 2/7/2025 at 12:17 AM, GardenStateFishin said:

think I should go 7’3 XH or the 7’4 H? 

The 7’3 XH is my frog rod. I will say it doesn’t do too well with the lighter frogs like the kaera but will def do the job. Doubles as a great single hook big swimbait rod too from what I’ve heard. For pitching jigs and texas rigs into grass I picked up a Steez AGS BC2 so I’m looking forward to using it next season.

 

Also, I think I’m in a similar situation as you with the additional spinning rod. I asked a similar question here: 

Thinking my next move is going to be a P5 Windbuster. Best rod out of the ones I had mentioned for soft and hard baits. Plus I’m really starting to get into the free rig after having some success with it last year…

[GardenStateFishin]

19 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

very true around here. Weedy natural lakes for the most part. Plenty of pads, milfoil, and pondweed. I stayed off the heavier rods for a while, but then once you start fishing one you realize how much easier it makes a lot of things. 

Definitely agree! 

 

19 hours ago, Brian11719 said:

Not sure if you pulled the trigger yet but this question stood out to me as I found myself in a similar spot a while back. Long story short I'd personally argue you need both but it depends on what you want to do. In my case here's what I'd do w/ these 2:

 

7'4 H -> frogs, flipping and pitching into all but the nastiest lake okeechobee roland martin type stuff...heavier spinnerbaits and heavier jigs...maybe like a 6" magdraft or a mini a-rig but that would be about it

 

7’3 XH -> if you want to get into swimbaits more this would be the starting point as you could start looking at stuff like a 6" shadtron, bigger a-rigs or a 5" bacca burrito...probably also better for an actual 'punching rod' where you are pulling them out of really nasty stuff. 

 

If I didn't own either I'd start w/ the 7'4 H...that would get you most of the way there and you could still throw smaller swimbaits on it and decide if you want to branch out.

 

Haven’t pulled the trigger yet thankfully since the 7’3 XH is out of stock at my dealer… this is awesome info and I really appreciate it. To be honest I currently haven’t no interest in throwing big swim baits. Just not my style and too expensive for my taste right now. I’m more of a finesse guy anyway, even thinking about throwing into semi heavy cover spooks me a bit lol. That 7’4 Heavy I feel like is the better fit for me. Will help me start/get comfortable throwing some smaller sized A-rigs, handle my frog needs, and learn pitch/flip into some of the weedy covers I face here in NJ

17 hours ago, UmairF said:

The 7’3 XH is my frog rod. I will say it doesn’t do too well with the lighter frogs like the kaera but will def do the job. Doubles as a great single hook big swimbait rod too from what I’ve heard. For pitching jigs and texas rigs into grass I picked up a Steez AGS BC2 so I’m looking forward to using it next season.

 

Also, I think I’m in a similar situation as you with the additional spinning rod. I asked a similar question here: 

Thinking my next move is going to be a P5 Windbuster. Best rod out of the ones I had mentioned for soft and hard baits. Plus I’m really starting to get into the free rig after having some success with it last year…

Yeah man that p5 wind buster is super intriguing and I’m really tempted to pick it up. I just haven’t gotten to use my 842/872 yet to see if I really need it or not. I mainly want it to just be a dedicated free rig rod, I have most of my other bases covered. But hoping the 842 can handle that and keep my 872 with a Shakey head on it most of the time

[UmairF]

46 minutes ago, GardenStateFishin said:

Definitely agree! 

 

Haven’t pulled the trigger yet thankfully since the 7’3 XH is out of stock at my dealer… this is awesome info and I really appreciate it. To be honest I currently haven’t no interest in throwing big swim baits. Just not my style and too expensive for my taste right now. I’m more of a finesse guy anyway, even thinking about throwing into semi heavy cover spooks me a bit lol. That 7’4 Heavy I feel like is the better fit for me. Will help me start/get comfortable throwing some smaller sized A-rigs, handle my frog needs, and learn pitch/flip into some of the weedy covers I face here in NJ

Yeah man that p5 wind buster is super intriguing and I’m really tempted to pick it up. I just haven’t gotten to use my 842/872 yet to see if I really need it or not. I mainly want it to just be a dedicated free rig rod, I have most of my other bases covered. But hoping the 842 can handle that and keep my 872 with a Shakey head on it most of the time

Heard the Winbuster is THE free rig rod. Not to say the 872 wouldn’t be great at it too. I personally love the secondary action that P5s have when fighting a fish. The 852S is my go-to shakey head/shallow water finesse rod.

Grabbed an 803S for close-quarter finesse fishing in docks and pads. P5 Addermine is my dropshot/ned rig rod, and 852 is more of an all-around rod. That’s why I figured the Windbuster would be a great addition for my arsenal. Hope that helps

[GardenStateFishin]

Anyone try out the new orochi x10 swamp survivor? Seems like it might be exactly what I’m looking for