Looking to step up from Mojo ... Why Dobyns?

[Steve Williams]

Everyone is different so it will probably come down to personal taste and what feels best in your hand. For me, I prefer Dobyns. Long but here's my story and why...

I've fished a lot of rods in the last few years. Primarily because I have a lot trouble in both wrists. I have arthritus in both of them as well as a cyst in one that nobody wants to try and remove because of all the ligaments, tendons, etc. Flipping, pitching, skipping, dragging, swimming a jig is my what do 80-90% of the year and I have always preferred longer rods. The problem was that after fishing for a day my hands and wrists hurt so bad that I had to ice them and it would take them a day or two to stop hurting from the repetitive motion of flipping/pitching. I tried a lot of rods always trying to find the lightest. I spoke with a custom builder who told me that it wasn't necessarily the weight of the rod that was causing my problem but the balance point. He built me a rod and I ended up going to almost entirely custom rods with built in balance kits because the balanced rods caused my wrists to hurt WAY less after fishing all day or for consecutive days than the lighter rods did. This proved to me that in my case, it wasn't necessarily the weight of the rod, but the balance point that was causing me so much trouble. Even though some rods were lighter than others, the weight in the tip or end of the rods were considerably heavier which put additional strain on my wrists. The downside to the customs I had was that when one broke or I had problems, I had to send back to the builder, they had to contact the rod company or blank distributor for warranty and then they had to fit into their schedule to get repaired or rebuilt once the new blank came in if not in stock which could take considerable time. However this was the route I took for quite a while and is a great route if you don't mind waiting as there are some VERY good cutom builders on this site and others that will take great care of you.

During early 2009 I begin reading posts on Dobyns rods on various sites. I had fished several models of the gen 1 rods in the past and heard the new rods were supposed to blow them away. Tacklewarehouse did a sale and I bought 2 DX784ML jig rods for dragging football jigs and carolina rigs. I ended up using those rods for about 80% of my jig fishing. They were long, they had plenty of power and they were very well balanced with a 7-8oz reels. They were also as sensitive as any rod I have ever fished regardless of price. I've spent over $450 on customs with extra bling so I've spent a lot on a rod... I noticed I was having less pain in my wrists and that sealed it. After that, I bought a 705CB Glass and a 705CBMF Glass rod and was very impressed with their weight, power and action. They caused me to sell my custom lamiglass cranking sticks. Then I ended up with a 764C and a 765Flip in a trade and my addiction was final. I ended up selling most all my custom rods and replaced them with Dobyns. I have now fished the above rods as well as the 733, 734, 736, 766 (in savvy and champion), DX795, 805CB RM, 765CB glass, DX782S, DX783S, DX743S, 704S, 703S and a few others... So I guess for me, it was balance, action, selection and sensitivity that sealed it. Oh, and they look cool to and customer service is incredible.

[fanjoo]

I'd have to agree on St. Croix rods being tip heavy. Owned several and sold them all except one Avid. I have mostly Shimano Crucials and Cumaras now. I am also very interested in Dobyns. Powell rods are also very good and better than St. Coix in my opinion and even on price. Not to mention, Gary Dobyns also helped designed the Powell Max Cast rods - don't know much about that what happened between Gary Dobyns and Powell.

Link to Powell Max Cast review from TT:
http://www.tackletour.com/reviewpowell683cxfast.html

Powell rods are great, you can get them for around $100 on forums. I really liked the rods, until I got a couple of heavy powered rods over 7 feet, which seemed very tip heavy. Their lighter action rods and under 7ft are all balanced great. But after I got a 743 and 744 DX, it was a no brainer. The 7'4 rod were just as balanced as the 7' powell rods and heavier in power.

[heatmizer]

He ate them, look at the size of that dude

[mattgarner1]

I too would also like to know what you mean by you got burned by DOBYNS???????????????????????????????????

[OhioChamp183]

Here's my look at it..................My uncle's a St Crix dealer, and i can get ANY st Croix for $10 over dealer cost.
I own 9 Dobyns Champions (was 10, but just sold one ) and I own 4 Croixs.
I think the thing I like most about Dobyns is that they carry such a large number of different powers/actions, that you can easily find what rod you need. It's hard to do that with St Croix.
Example. If you want a MH power/fast action 7'0 rod, there's only one in each of the Croix lineup, and it's a sturdy rod for a MH power. When you look at the Dobyns line, you actually have more options. Either a 3 power or 4 power. That's a big thing when you really want to get EXACTLY the power/action you want in a rod.
In the Dobyns Champion line, you got the option of a 2,3,4,5, or 6 power in that 7'0 rod!
5 different powers in one length! And each power is in "small" increments. NICE!

[Lucky Craft Man]

I think part of Dodyns business model is to flood the forums with "pro-staffers" to create an "increased" demand and hype over these rods. There is nothing wrong with that, but I think it unfortunately skews the opinions sought by someone who is genuinely looking for an honest assessment.

As far as Dobyns rods are concerned, I was able to finally handle some at my nearby Cabelas. They seem like nice enough rods, but definitely wouldn't consider them above and beyond any other brand. I would love to fish one to truly give it an on the water evaluation, but I was not impressed enough in the store to warrant a purchase to perform that evaluation.

[wiscobassin]

I own / have owned a few mojo's in the past, for what i consider an entry level rod it was fantastic. I then took a few steps up and purchased a st croix LTB. The actions between the two felt very different to me (same model 7' M fast) the LTB felt much crisper, was lighter, and better balanced. I then purchased 3 extremes a DX702sf a DX742C and a DX 744C. To shadow what was already said about the dobyns for example my 742 balanced better than my 7'm LTB and also felt lighter in hand. Sensitivity from one person to another is a huge variable but I feel the dobyns DX's are more sensitive than the LTB series and a world of difference compared to the mojo.

I don't think that the Dobyns supporters are "drooling" over themselves, I think any top tier rod in a manufactures line up should be and typically is very good.

Those who criticize the dobyns crowd are more than welcome to do so but I have never had an issue with the three that i own, and with such a strong following it's nice to have many thorough and well evaluated opinions on a rod that you may have a question about.

[DrPerf]

I think part of Dodyns business model is to flood the forums with "pro-staffers" to create an "increased" demand and hype over these rods. There is nothing wrong with that, but I think it unfortunately skews the opinions sought by someone who is genuinely looking for an honest assessment.

As far as Dobyns rods are concerned, I was able to finally handle some at my nearby Cabelas. They seem like nice enough rods, but definitely wouldn't consider them above and beyond any other brand. I would love to fish one to truly give it an on the water evaluation, but I was not impressed enough in the store to warrant a purchase to perform that evaluation.

What you call "pro-staffers" are a 'flood' of satisfied customers . From all of the information I have heard from actual Dobyns pro-staffers, it is not a "just anyone who is interested" program, but one with very specific requirements and has not resulted in a 'flood' of pro-staffers.

Doc

[Birdi23nls]

I'm not on the Dobyns Pro Staff, but i will give someone a deal if they are in to St. Croix rods. I have a Big Gulp rod for punching and flipping, it retails for $260.
http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/St_Croix ... SCLTC.html

It is in very good shape with only a few minor cosmetic scraches. I will gladly trade you straight up for the Dobyns 805 flip...it retails for $250. That is a savings of $10 and ill give you $40 if it is good shape as my rod is

Of course I know this is not the for sale forem, and I'm not trying to steal the thread or anything. I'm just making the point, that in my personal opinion, Dobyns puts out a great product. I like all of Dobyns rods and have zero complaints.

One more thing...I have a Steez Compile X 7'1" that I also love. But in my opinion, the Dobyns DX 744 I have is over $200 cheaper and it is more senstive and balances better. Having said all that, The Steez gets fished a lot, just becasue I love to look at it. It is one bad looking rod.

[njbasscat]

I am not a pro staffer. After TT did a review on the 704CB Glass, I decided to give one a try. I love this rod because it floats in my hand and is the most sensative glass rod I have used. Since then I have aquired nine more Dobyns rods in the Champion and DX line. I enjoy fishing with Dobyns rods because they are very well balanced and as sensative as any rod I have used. I use Kistler and Loomis rods as well but at the present time Dobyns are my most preferred rods. Kistlers are a tad tip heavy (excluding my Zbone). Loomis rods are nice but look outdated, at least the ones that I own. The NRX rods look sweet but at that price I would get a custom built on a NFC blank.

[fanjoo]

Which model did you try out? I am sorry, but until you actually try the rod out on the water your comments don't have much credibility. Most people on these forums are regular people just trying to find the best rods for themselves. Any business model that revolves just flooding the market with information is not going to last if they have a crappy product...but Dobyn's rods just get more and more popular because people love them.

[Daddychatham]

I think part of Dodyns business model is to flood the forums with "pro-staffers" to create an "increased" demand and hype over these rods. There is nothing wrong with that, but I think it unfortunately skews the opinions sought by someone who is genuinely looking for an honest assessment.

As far as Dobyns rods are concerned, I was able to finally handle some at my nearby Cabelas. They seem like nice enough rods, but definitely wouldn't consider them above and beyond any other brand. I would love to fish one to truly give it an on the water evaluation, but I was not impressed enough in the store to warrant a purchase to perform that evaluation.

This is too Funny....

[Mr SwimJig]

I have always used St Croix rods and yes they are on the tip heavy side. Our local Cabelas just started carrying Dobyns and I have looked at them but that is about it. The Champion rods look very nice but the Extreme rods, I just do not care for the painted reel seats at all. But to each their own.

SJ

[breezy]

I absolutely love every Dobyns rod that I own and will pick up more in the future. A lot of great reasons have been stated in this thread about balance, sensitivity, price, variety etc. For me the rods just feel great in hand and fish very well. I think their variety of powers and actions are a big selling factor as you can perfectly dial in the rod you want. The large Dobyns community helps even more since it's so easy to get quality reviews and comparisons.

If you're looking to step up from the Mojo there are plenty of reasons to do so. Dobyns is a great manufacturer (my personal favorite), but I would still encourage you to look at other brands. Try and handle as many rods in your price range as you can. In the end pick what you feel is best. I purchased my first Dobyns without ever feeling one simply to see if it lived up to all of the hype--it did. Now that I've found a local dealer I'm sure I will be picking up new ones even faster, when I discovered the dealer carried them I probably spent an hour in the shop just holding and playing with every Dobyns in the store

[Buck2thPerch]

I probably spent an hour in the shop just holding and playing with every Dobyns in the store

And we guys think our wives and girlfriends when shopping is horrendous. Funny, my wife absolutely will not go to a Sporting goods store (Cabelas, ma & pa tackle store, DICkS) with me. Because I do the exact same thing as Breezy does!!!