Well went to a local guy who is a dobyns dealer and got to "showroom test" the three different lines of Dobyns Rods. How much of a difference is it from the Champion to the Champion extreme? The savvys felt nice, but I felt the champions were the lightest of the bunch, Is the DX worth the extra money from the champion series. I throw a lot of soft plastics and the champion doesnt have the 7'4 model of Dx I like but the 703 and 704 were very light and had a nice feel.
there is a 734c....
I have a 703 that I use for light t-rigs and light c-rigs, I have no problem detecting bites from bottom structure, great rods IMO.
I have a handful of these rods...Champion 683C, 703C, 704C, 705CB, 735C and the Extreme 703S. I throw weightless plastics and T-rigs on the 683 and 703. Lately, the 704 has had a lighter C-rig on it. I find the sensitivity on mine to be very good. I will not say that the sensitivity is that much greater than other rods in the range, but for me, the combination of sensitivity and balance makes them extremely comfortable to fish with for extended periods of time.
My only Extreme is the spinning rod, and that's mostly for shaky heads, split shots, slider heads and small scrounger heads. By all accounts, the Extreme line has been VERY well received by many, especially for contact baits like jigs and plastics. I may consider picking up a 3 power or 4 power sometime in the future, but my Champions are getting the job done for me now.
As mentioned above, the closest to the DX 744 in the Champion line is the 734. Just one inch difference in length.
FYI, I've never held the Savvy in hand, but for that price range I'd find it hard to beat St Croix Avids
I have been working crazy ot and work and saving a bunch, so I am gonna really treat myself to some new gear. So the cost of the champion extreme or champion and I am not concerned.( Not to sound like an arrogant jerk)
Get the most rod you can afford, especially for jigs and plastics
I picked up a few Extremes over the offseason in addition to the Champions I own. I haven't fished with them yet, but they do feel lighter and a little more crisp to me. One of them is the DX744 and it feels like the perfect rod for soft plastics and jigs. Whether or not the Extremes are worth the extra money, it's too early for me to say. I do know that the Champions are very sensitive and are absolutely worth the money, and I won't hesitate to recommend them. I have a pair of the 734 and I'm not crazy about using them for bottom contact baits. They're built with a little slower action than all the other Dobyns that I've seen, so I use them for reaction baits.
I would recommend that you look into the Champion 704, 735, 764, and the Extreme 744. These are all good sellers with good feedback.
My jig rod is the 735c Champion, for me it's the perfect rod for fishing jigs, especially pitching and flipping.
I want to get like 3 more, LOL.
I really liked the feel of the champions, I will be getting some dobyns rods to try soon.
Also I know I am going to get a lews tournament pro reel for the bc rods, I want a pflueger patriarch spinning reel, and I know it sounds kind of dumb, but I want my reels to match my rods. The only think about the Champ Extremes is that nothing matches them great.
On 4/25/2011 at 9:36 AM, ToledoEF said:Also I know I am going to get a lews tournament pro reel for the bc rods, I want a pflueger patriarch spinning reel, and I know it sounds kind of dumb, but I want my reels to match my rods. The only think about the Champ Extremes is that nothing matches them great.
Daiwa Sol looks pretty sweet on them. On my Champion Extremes, I have Lews Tourney Pros for casting and they look pretty nice. For the spinning models, on one, I have one of the new Pflueger Supreme XT models. Matches perfectly with the black and gold(guide wraps have gold tipping) and balances very, very nice.
never thought about the sol, I havnt used any Diawas ever.
I probably would have gotten a Dobyns rod, but the *** description mis-lead me. Oh-well, they look and seem like great rods!
On 4/26/2011 at 5:16 AM, ToledoEF said:never thought about the sol, I havnt used any Diawas ever.
Calcuttas, Conquests, the orange, yellow, and red Pixy, and the TD Ito also all great on the DX's...Fuegos too.
On 4/26/2011 at 8:23 AM, WdyCrankbait said:I probably would have gotten a Dobyns rod, but the *** description mis-lead me. Oh-well, they look and seem like great rods!
What part confused you?
Well, the picture showed a full cork handle (wanted a split-grip) and on a readers review he mentioned how the reel seat was not exposed at the bottom. So, I ordered another brand of rod (I get it tomorrow!!) and checked Dobyns website for the price range I bought my rod at. There was a split-grip with the rod blank exposed on the bottom of the reel seat. Oh-well, I should have looked there first, but I am really excited about the rod I am getting. No regrets, I know a couple of people with Dobyns and they are nice rods.
Got my Dobyns 734c today....Using it for senkos only ...Great feeling rod....I have 3 St.Croix Avids ACV70MHF.......The Dobyns is definatly a bit lighter and also a bit lighter at the tip.....
What rod did you get Woody?
On 4/27/2011 at 5:43 AM, WdyCrankbait said:Well, the picture showed a full cork handle (wanted a split-grip) and on a readers review he mentioned how the reel seat was not exposed at the bottom. So, I ordered another brand of rod (I get it tomorrow!!) and checked Dobyns website for the price range I bought my rod at. There was a split-grip with the rod blank exposed on the bottom of the reel seat. Oh-well, I should have looked there first, but I am really excited about the rod I am getting. No regrets, I know a couple of people with Dobyns and they are nice rods.
I'm assuming you're talking about the Savvy series, correct? If so TW has a pic of the 766flip handle at the top of the page, and I agree it is a little misleading. That is the ONLY rod in the Savvy lineup that has a full grip and non-exposed reel seat. Every other Savvy casting rod is split grip with an exposed reel seat.
No clue why TW would put the one rod with a different handle as the main picture.
On 4/28/2011 at 1:07 AM, Fat-G said:What rod did you get Woody?
I ordered a Powell Endurance 7'-2" MH Xft tip (casting rod). I should get it tomorrow.
On 4/28/2011 at 6:15 AM, breezy said:I'm assuming you're talking about the Savvy series, correct? If so TW has a pic of the 766flip handle at the top of the page, and I agree it is a little misleading. That is the ONLY rod in the Savvy lineup that has a full grip and non-exposed reel seat. Every other Savvy casting rod is split grip with an exposed reel seat.
No clue why TW would put the one rod with a different handle as the main picture.
Yeah, I agree, not the best way to represent that line of rods.
On 4/28/2011 at 8:33 AM, WdyCrankbait said:I ordered a Powell Endurance 7'-2" MH Xft tip (casting rod). I should get it tomorrow.
Me and AJ are gonna meet you somewhere. I wanna try that thing out!
Yeah, AJ knows about it. I am hooking up my Premier to it so, at least it should be superlight! I'll shoot you a text tomorrow if it comes.
I have the Champion 683C. I like the rod. I think it compares to St. Croix
Avid series and close to G. Loomis IMX. At the pricing point, Dobyns has a
great line-up of rods and they are a good value.
On 4/29/2011 at 8:59 AM, roadwarrior said:I have the Champion 683C. I like the rod. I think it compares to St. Croix
Avid series and close to G. Loomis IMX. At the pricing point, Dobyns has a
great line-up of rods and they are a good value.
Well I have some money to spend, I am gonna go with a lews tournament pro, I wanted to love the curado e series, but the one I had was just meh for me. Maybe I got a dud, but the d series was better. I was thinking of the scv st croixs as well or maybe an nrx, but I dont think I can justify 500$ on a rod even though I could swing it.
Can't wait for my 704c to get here tomorrow! One concern: has anyone successfully used it for frogging for bass <5lbs? If so, how did the fights usually go?