Heavy cover frogging and flipping - DX746C or Expride 73XH?

[bwjay]

I need a stiffer rod for fishing the thick stuff next year. I'm basically set on the Expride 7'3" Extra Heavy, as I prefer shorter rods, and this seems to be the best rod I can find for what I want to do. I'd love a 7 foot XH but alas, you don't always get what you want. I am curious about the Dobyns Champion Extreme line, though, and I'd love the 746C. It's just $70 more than the Expride which is already up there in price.

Assuming 20% off both rods for Black Friday, which one should I go for? Anything that would make the Dobyns a better buy at $349 vs Expride at $279? Lighter weight? Better warranty? Better balance?

Thanks!

[russ57]

I don’t have either model, but most people view the exprides as superior rods. Have you watched tacticalbassin videos on YouTube?

[bwjay]

I don’t have either model, but most people view the exprides as superior rods. Have you watched tacticalbassin videos on YouTube?

I've seen many, many TB videos. They are the reason I am considering the Expride, lol. Turns out Matt showed a DX746C as one of his frog rods in a punching video from 2017, and also talked about the Expride 73XH. I feel like I probably can't go wrong with either one, but I wonder if the Dobyns warranty might be better. Isn't it only $60 to replace the rod? Better than paying 50% MSRP under the Shimano warranty. But it's also a $70 more expensive rod, so the only way it's going to be cheaper is if I break it and have to replace it. Which I hope I never have to do! But that peace of mind would be nice... I've just heard of people having trouble getting Dobyns to honor the warranty.

[hoohoorjoo]

That Dobyns cant hold a candle to the Expride in terms of sensitivity. That's why he was using it as a frog rod.

[bwjay]

That Dobyns cant hold a candle to the Expride in terms of sensitivity. That's why he was using it as a frog rod.

I've read that the Champion Extreme line is pretty sensitive though. I had an Expride, 6'8MXF spinning and it was very sensitive as far as I remember, but I feel like Dobyns should be able to match it in a $350 rod. I'd hope so.

[hoohoorjoo]

That Dobyns cant hold a candle to the Expride in terms of sensitivity. That's why he was using it as a frog rod.

I've read that the Champion Extreme line is pretty sensitive though. I had an Expride, 6'8MXF spinning and it was very sensitive as far as I remember, but I feel like Dobyns should be able to match it in a $350 rod. I'd hope so.

Your hopes would be dashed if you actually used one. They are lacking, plain and simple. Most people who have used any Dobyns in the past would agree. The original Dobyns Champion rods (looked just like the original Powell max rods, except for trim color) were good rods and well worth their $150-$160 price tag. Then they bumped the price up $60 with no improvement in the blanks. Smoke and mirrors, dude. At the original price, they were good rods. But there are much better offerings for less money today. Their composite and glass crankbait rods are solid products, if you like that kind of rod for cranks.

[bwjay]

That Dobyns cant hold a candle to the Expride in terms of sensitivity. That's why he was using it as a frog rod.

I've read that the Champion Extreme line is pretty sensitive though. I had an Expride, 6'8MXF spinning and it was very sensitive as far as I remember, but I feel like Dobyns should be able to match it in a $350 rod. I'd hope so.

Your hopes would be dashed if you actually used one. They are lacking, plain and simple. Most people who have used any Dobyns in the past would agree. The original Dobyns Champion rods (looked just like the original Powell max rods, except for trim color) were good rods and well worth their $150-$160 price tag. Then they bumped the price up $60 with no improvement in the blanks. Smoke and mirrors, dude. At the original price, they were good rods. But there are much better offerings for less money today. Their composite and glass crankbait rods are solid products, if you like that kind of rod for cranks.

Well to be fair, that's the Champion (and now Champion XP) and not the Champion Extreme. But, if they really haven't done much with Extreme line, that's disappointing. They look like nice rods. I haven't read this opinion before but I'll see if I can find other similar disappointment with the Extreme line.

[jpmoney]

That Dobyns cant hold a candle to the Expride in terms of sensitivity. That's why he was using it as a frog rod.

I've read that the Champion Extreme line is pretty sensitive though. I had an Expride, 6'8MXF spinning and it was very sensitive as far as I remember, but I feel like Dobyns should be able to match it in a $350 rod. I'd hope so.

Your hopes would be dashed if you actually used one. They are lacking, plain and simple. Most people who have used any Dobyns in the past would agree. The original Dobyns Champion rods (looked just like the original Powell max rods, except for trim color) were good rods and well worth their $150-$160 price tag. Then they bumped the price up $60 with no improvement in the blanks. Smoke and mirrors, dude. At the original price, they were good rods. But there are much better offerings for less money today. Their composite and glass crankbait rods are solid products, if you like that kind of rod for cranks.

I will second this sentiment towards dobyns rods. I had a bunch a few years back and yes they were all lacking: champ extremes, champs and savvy. They all sucked in their respective price range. I also had quality/warranty issues on at least half of them and getting replacements or getting them fixed was not as easy as the dobyns fanboys made it out to be. The 20% may be tempting but I still think you will be highly disappointed even with the discount. I have a few exprides now and can say confidently that they would perform better than the dobyns extremes. Hands down.

I have no brand loyalty when it comes to rods: I like to try many brands and lineups within the brands, and trust me there are some that simply stand out from the rest even in their own lineup. With that being said, one has to be cautioned not to assume every rod in a particular lineup is as good as the next. From my experience With the exprides, i find that for the price they definitely perform at or beyond what you pay. After fishing with it you will realize the great value you just got in your purchase. With dobyns there really isn't any rod in any of their lineups that stand out to me. None are unicorns and all are lacking in varying degrees, and after using them the result is always disappointment and wondering what other rod that $300+ could have bought. Definitely smoke in mirrors 100%.

[bronzefly]

Consider the BLX 72H... it's definitely more like an extra heavy. Nice deal at TT with the TT10 code anytime...

[russ57]

I feel that the champion rods are very overpriced. Not really much nicer the a TCS or mojo, and definetly not comparable to an Expride, or Evan a tatula/levante.

[bwjay]

I ended up going with the Expride, it's cheaper and I know they're very sensitive and lightweight. I considered just scrapping the idea and continuing to use my 7' HXF Helium3 but I know I could benefit from a stiffer rod because we get so many weeds in the summer here. If you're frogging here you're almost always gonna be dragging a fish through junk, no way around it.

[goldrod]

I ended up going with the Expride, it's cheaper and I know they're very sensitive and lightweight. I considered just scrapping the idea and continuing to use my 7' HXF Helium3 but I know I could benefit from a stiffer rod because we get so many weeds in the summer here. If you're frogging here you're almost always gonna be dragging a fish through junk, no way around it.

Please provide feedback on your findings
This is one of those threads that I have been monitoring and just reading when I can. Thanks

[bwjay]

I ended up going with the Expride, it's cheaper and I know they're very sensitive and lightweight. I considered just scrapping the idea and continuing to use my 7' HXF Helium3 but I know I could benefit from a stiffer rod because we get so many weeds in the summer here. If you're frogging here you're almost always gonna be dragging a fish through junk, no way around it.

Please provide feedback on your findings
This is one of those threads that I have been monitoring and just reading when I can. Thanks

Will do. Though we have some open water again due to warm temperatures, I won't be able to put the rod through its paces until mid May after fishing opener. Gotta keep myself busy on the ice until March or April. I'll make sure to quote you so you get notified once I get a chance to use it.

[goldrod]

I ended up going with the Expride, it's cheaper and I know they're very sensitive and lightweight. I considered just scrapping the idea and continuing to use my 7' HXF Helium3 but I know I could benefit from a stiffer rod because we get so many weeds in the summer here. If you're frogging here you're almost always gonna be dragging a fish through junk, no way around it.

Please provide feedback on your findings
This is one of those threads that I have been monitoring and just reading when I can. Thanks

Thanks
I appreciate it man.

Will do. Though we have some open water again due to warm temperatures, I won't be able to put the rod through its paces until mid May after fishing opener. Gotta keep myself busy on the ice until March or April. I'll make sure to quote you so you get notified once I get a chance to use it.

[bwjay]

My 73XH showed up today, and I have to say I am very pleased!! The rod weighs in at 4.7oz, pretty light for its power and length I think! And, get this..... the balance is awesome with a Bantam, awesome for how long and high power it is, anyway. It balances maybe an inch in front of the reel seat screw. What's crazy is, though my Helium3s are a little tip heavy, the 7'HXF Helium3 at 4oz is less balanced with a Bantam than this 7'3XHF Expride at 4.7oz with the same Bantam. Longer rod, heavier power, and it's more balanced?!? Incredible... I think I will be able to frog and flip with this for hours on end.

I also think I got what I wanted, a stiffer rod for ripping lures free from weeds, as the Helium3 HXF just bends too deep when you really get stuck. The Expride is far more stiff; when twitching the rod as if I were walking a topwater, all of my Helium3s do a big exaggerated wobbly dance, while the Expride has a much-abbreviated wobble that doesn't travel as far down the blank and wobbles for about half the time of the Helium3 7'HXF. It would seem that the Expride is definitely a stiffer rod. My hope is that it's not so stiff that fish come unbuttoned; I will probably have to fine-tune my drag to allow for head shakes and body rolls without unloading the rod. At least the stiffness will help with burying big frog/jig hooks! Besides the mostly minor concern about keeping fish pinned, I'm very excited about this rod, and it's going to be hard to let it sit around for the next 5 months while I wait for spring, and even then, it's for fishing summer junk, so I will have to wait more like 6-7 months to put it to use. At least I know I'm well-equipped!

Oh, and I had a dream last night about breaking this Expride too. Broke the top 12 inches off the rod by shutting a door on it or something dumb. Clearly I am concerned after cracking my first Expride with a Ned head coming out of a tree at 100mph. Let's hope I don't do something as careless with this one! I'm leaving it in the rod tube until it's time to fish it...