Champion XP's vs Tatula Elites

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BelDozer
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Champion XP's vs Tatula Elites

Post by BelDozer » Thu Aug 10, 2017 7:16 pm

So, first post here. I'm not sure if it's against any rules to post before making an "intro" post. If so, I apologize. Anyway, I'm in the market for a couple specialized rods and don't have the opportunity to handle either rod before purchasing. I'm looking for a dedicated chatterbait/swim jig rod rod and jig/Texas rig/worm rod. I have a few Fury rods, and love them. However, I'm looking to get a rod with a lot more sensitivity for bottom contact. I'm looking at getting a 736 glass & 734 in the xp's or a 7'3" Ehrler multi purpose rod and a 7'4" Howell in the elite line. Like I said, I have experience using Dobyn's (including their warranty/rod replacement). However, the elites are $60-$70 more affordable/rod and appear to, on paper anyway, be very similar in the use of quality components. My question is, will I notice that much of a difference between the 734 and Ehrler rod in terms of sensitivity to warrant the $70 difference? Does anyone have and use both rods to give me a comparison between the two? Thanks.

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kstephes033
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Re: Champion XP's vs Tatula Elites

Post by kstephes033 » Fri Aug 11, 2017 7:29 am

As for the chatterbait rod I have the howell rod you speak of, as well as the ehrler glass rod, and for chatterbaits the Glass rod is the way to go. It is sensitive, loads up and will flat out bomb a 3/8 or 1/2oz chatter. The howell rod i use for swimbaits with 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, and 3/4oz heads with either a 3.8 or 4.5 inch swimbait which it is awesome with, but i personally was not that thrilled with it as a chatterbait rod. I had the 736G as well and it was decent, but i like the Ehrler rod more for sure. As for the bottom contact i also have a couple of the Ehrler 7'3" MH and i love them for anything 1/4-1/2oz t-rigs. It is a little light for jig usage with more drag on the jigs, but i also fish in thicker coontail and milfoil up here so i prefer a heavy action for my jigs. Sensitivity wise i was never thrilled with the Dobyns i have used in either the Champ or Champ extreme lineups. For the money the tatula elites in general are hard to beat. If you are wanting a little more power the Tat Elite Omori 7'3" H is a stout rod and would be well suited for 3/8 and 1/2oz jigs, as well as 1/2-3/4oz t-rigs. Personally i dont think you would be dissapointed at all with the tatula elites, and i have been impressed with them enough that i now own 12 of them both spinning and casting, regular and ags.

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Re: Champion XP's vs Tatula Elites

Post by BelDozer » Fri Aug 11, 2017 7:58 am

Thank you for the very informative reply. I have read that the elite glass rods are a bit tip heavy. Has this been your expirence as well? Also, what is Daiwas "replacement" program like for their rods? When I broke the tip off my Dobyns rod, I sent them $50 and got a brand new fury in about 10 days. Obviously it would be more for a more expensive rod. I do try to baby my equipment as much as possible, but things happen of course. A great replacement program/CS is important to me and spending extra $ is worth it to me.

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kstephes033
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Re: Champion XP's vs Tatula Elites

Post by kstephes033 » Fri Aug 11, 2017 8:56 am

BelDozer wrote:Thank you for the very informative reply. I have read that the elite glass rods are a bit tip heavy. Has this been your expirence as well? Also, what is Daiwas "replacement" program like for their rods? When I broke the tip off my Dobyns rod, I sent them $50 and got a brand new fury in about 10 days. Obviously it would be more for a more expensive rod. I do try to baby my equipment as much as possible, but things happen of course. A great replacement program/CS is important to me and spending extra $ is worth it to me.
Truthfully it is a bit tip heavy with a Tat SV on it, but when im using it i dont notice it whatsoever as it is a designated chatterbait rod and always tip down. I am very "balance conscious" when it comes to rods, but i really dont notice it when using this rod. The howell rod is just about perfect balance wise, but i would take the bit of tip heaviness of the ehrler rod personally as it really feels that much better as a chatter rod. It took me a while and quite a few rods to find what i wanted, and honestly it did worry me a bit when i first put the reel on and the slight tip heavy nature of the rod, but after i used it i havent looked back or even thought about trying another chatter rod.

As for warranty, im not sure as i have not broken any of the daiwa rods until last weekend on mille lacs, and i have no clue how it broke, so i will find out soon here how their warranty works.I havent heard anything bad about their replacement policy, but again no first hand experience.

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Re: Champion XP's vs Tatula Elites

Post by BelDozer » Fri Aug 11, 2017 9:18 am

Hate to hear that. If you think about it, let me know about your warranty experience. I'd be interested to know

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Re: Champion XP's vs Tatula Elites

Post by godshippy » Fri Aug 11, 2017 1:34 pm

736 glass is a good choice, but I'd recommend you go with the 735C for your jigs/trigs. The 734C is a great all purpose rod, but I feel it's a tad slow for jigs.

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Re: Champion XP's vs Tatula Elites

Post by BelDozer » Fri Aug 11, 2017 2:08 pm

godshippy wrote:736 glass is a good choice, but I'd recommend you go with the 735C for your jigs/trigs. The 734C is a great all purpose rod, but I feel it's a tad slow for jigs.
What's the lowest weight you throw on the 735C? Will it handle a weightless senko ok? Just trying to get an idea of how it handles

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Re: Champion XP's vs Tatula Elites

Post by godshippy » Fri Aug 11, 2017 3:35 pm

It will handle a 6" senko, but the 5" senko won't load up like you'll want it to. I have a Champion Extreme 743C that i use for 5" senkos

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Re: Champion XP's vs Tatula Elites

Post by civicrr » Fri Aug 11, 2017 8:52 pm

godshippy wrote:It will handle a 6" senko, but the 5" senko won't load up like you'll want it to. I have a Champion Extreme 743C that i use for 5" senkos
good info right there!

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Re: Champion XP's vs Tatula Elites

Post by civicrr » Fri Aug 11, 2017 9:09 pm

Personally, I use the Champion or Sierra 734 for my swimjigs. Typically, I'm throwing a Coosa River style Dirty Jig in 3/8oz (with 3X hook) with a Keitech for the trailer. Seems to have the right amount of tip to let them eat & the taper/power to drive the hook home.

I prefer the 735CB Glass over the 736CB Glass for chatterbaits. I tried the 735CB Glass for swimjigs but think I get a better results with the 734. Not sure how to explain it exactly. I thought that I would prefer the 735CB Glass for swimjigs but I don't. I'm not sure if it because I use different trailers or what. I just know I do better with the 735CB Glass when throwing chatterbaits & the 734 when throwing swimjigs.

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Re: Champion XP's vs Tatula Elites

Post by BelDozer » Sat Aug 12, 2017 2:30 pm

civicrr wrote:Personally, I use the Champion or Sierra 734 for my swimjigs. Typically, I'm throwing a Coosa River style Dirty Jig in 3/8oz (with 3X hook) with a Keitech for the trailer. Seems to have the right amount of tip to let them eat & the taper/power to drive the hook home.

I prefer the 735CB Glass over the 736CB Glass for chatterbaits. I tried the 735CB Glass for swimjigs but think I get a better results with the 734. Not sure how to explain it exactly. I thought that I would prefer the 735CB Glass for swimjigs but I don't. I'm not sure if it because I use different trailers or what. I just know I do better with the 735CB Glass when throwing chatterbaits & the 734 when throwing swimjigs.
Interesting. I figured with a charterbait being nothing more than a swim jig with a blade on the front, the same rod would work well for both.

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Re: Champion XP's vs Tatula Elites

Post by hungry_cow » Thu Aug 17, 2017 11:16 am

I have the the Dobyns 765 Chapmpion glass rod as a chatterbait / spinnerbait / buzzbait rod and it works great. Although if I was doing it again I would get the 735 because the 765 is a little longer than I like for target casting as it has a shorter handle so the actual rod length in front of the reel makes it feel more like 7ft 8 or 7 ft 9 rod than 7ft 6. But it has just the right power and action isn't light but not "heavy" either and good sensitivity with flouro, doesn't feel like a dead fiberglass rod.

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Re: Champion XP's vs Tatula Elites

Post by cndbasshunter » Thu Aug 17, 2017 11:51 am

Depending on model i'd get the XP over tatula elites unless the ags models. Regular XP are allot lighter and more balanced than the regular elties.

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kstephes033
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Re: Champion XP's vs Tatula Elites

Post by kstephes033 » Thu Aug 17, 2017 1:02 pm

cndbasshunter wrote:Depending on model i'd get the XP over tatula elites unless the ags models. Regular XP are allot lighter and more balanced than the regular elties.
I dont find this accurate at all between the two rods. If you are talking about the cranking sticks then possibly, but i had the 736g and have 2 of the elite 7'4" glass rods and weight wise is pretty similar, as well as the balance. All of the elites i have, which is basically all but the 8' flipping and the 8' cranking, are very light and very balanced (except the mentioned 74 crank). Not at all less balanced or more weight than the dobyns XP series. The AGS models are lighter, but by very little.

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