Shimano Expride 7'2" H or 7'3" ExtraHeavy?

[Dragonstop852]

I enjoy pitching the grass at Candlewood Lake in CT during the summer month, . (fairly dense milfoil that grows out till @ 14 feet, but to just below the surface in @6-9 ft.) Normally, I'll fish 1/2 oz @ early summer and move up to 3/4 oz, then 1 oz. by end of summer. I'm wondering if anyone has an informed opinion as to whether the Exprides (above) are stout enough not to be overly influenced by the rather dense milfoil that I fish? If I can feel good that the tip is not too soft for pitching fairly dense grass then I need to determine whether the Heavy can adequately do the job, or if the XH would be best. Its not that I need an ultra sensitive rod, but the Exprides are quite light weight, and pitching for hours on end can take a toll! Plus, these Exprides are just FUN to fish!

[bwjay]

I got the 7'3XH for frogging around pads and milfoil and it does exactly what I wanted. It's pretty damn stout and loads up when dragging a 2 pounder through thick mats. It casts my 1/2-3/4oz frogs pretty far so it's not a pool cue that sucks at casting. I haven't flipped around heavy vegetation with it yet, but I have no doubt that it would rip through stuff with ease. I have heard the 7'2H is a slightly soft rod overall but I can't confirm it myself.

As for balance, the 7'3XH is one of my best balancing rods (not saying that much) with a Bantam balancing it just slightly in front of the lock nut. Pretty freaking impressive for how light the rod is.

[Drakestar]

Expride 7’3” XH is my main frog rod, and I’ve converted it to pitching when that bite wasn’t there. It wouldn’t be my no.1 pitching rod (a bit too short), but it’ll definitely get the job done well.

[cndbasshunter]

If you need up to 1oz go to the 73XH. I have both and i use the 72H for 1/2 to 3/4 but 1 oz i am going for the XH or my 916C.

[Dragonstop852]

Thanks guys for the help - your comments were all helpful! I just pulled the trigger on the XH. These Exprides don't last very long once they do come back into stock! I had also heard somewhere a while back that the heavy did have a bit softer tip than the XH. Without too much weed I've recently learned to enjoy some tip (softness in it, that is), but with dense vegetation a softer tip seems to fight with the density of the weeds, slowing the process of hook setting, sometime just a bit too much. Because I'd also heard from guys who had both rods that the XH wasn't a ton heavier in feel than the H, & considering that I'm planning on fishing a full 1 oz. more often than I had been on texas rigs (for that "reaction bite"), I decided to be on the safe side and get the heavier one.

[bwjay]

Congrats! I think you'll like it a lot for your uses. Let us know what you think of it!

[Dragonstop852]

Its coming 2-day, so I'm excited to get out with it by mid next week. I'll post my impressions!

[montey]

How did it work out? You dig it?

[Ballin21]

^x2

[Dragonstop852]

I've had several occasions to use the 7'3" Xtra Heavy and I'm glad I chose this rod. When the rod got delivered my initial impression was two-fold - Wow, how light it was to hold, and boy, that blank gets pretty skinny in that final climb approaching the eye at the tip!!! Never did get to throwing anything over 3/4 oz. but it handled that just fine. I normally go straight FC on my grass pitchin rods, although this season was my first converting all of my spinning to braid to leader (from straight FC also).
Initially I used 30# braid to 15# FC leader. For the first time I was having problems with my connection knot seemingly pausing at the tip, as if I could feel it "catching" ever so briefly - but I didn't like that feeling, nor was I confident that it would not damage that eye at the tip over time, so I did abandon that reel, and went back to straight 15# FC. (no big deal - I'll just do my braid experiment with another rod with larger guides throughout....) I have caught a number of largemouth between 2 and 5.5 lbs. and the rod behaves flawlessly, plenty of power bringing the fish out of the dense milfoil, and just a pleasure to pitch with all day, as light as it is! I will admit to you that I'm not chancing it, and have not swung my fish into the boat with this rod. I'll do that with my St Croix 7'0 H premier rods (meatsticks that have their place), but not going to push the envelope with that skinny neck on this Expride!!!

[ChubbyGoby28]

7'3" expride is the way to go, perfect blend of tip action with backbone to drive the hook home. Id say to get the 7'3" for your scenarios!