Hopefully this review finds everyone with tight lines and plenty of fish being caught by all. Spring is absolutely my favorite season of the year and after this latest brutal winter I know it is welcomed like few others have been! I want to go over some of the gear I have been using and the pros and cons of each, in my opinion. Keep that last statement in mind during your reading. I also want to state that nothing, absolutely nothing I am using has been given to me, everything has been purchased with a working man's wages, so I am beholding to no one and don't ever figure to be. Also I don't care if you are the hottest guide on the water or a weekend warrior, don't care how many degrees are on your wall or medals on your chest, the quickest way for me to not respond to a reply is to detect arrogance within a comment. I detest arrogance and rude behavior and life is to short to cater to either one. Now that I have stated my soapbox feelings I will get on with my latest views. I have been fishing Dobyns spinning rods. 7' light and 6'8" medium. Paired them with the new Shimano CI4+ reels. Bonehead braid in Hi-Vis yellow. The Dobyns rods are loaded with sensitivity and are a tight handling rod. No clunky feeling or bulkiness. I have learned how to handle the bait keeper under the reel. The bait keeper is actually a modified loop, that i have not ran into until now. I fought this feature and mentioned it in an early review and stated that it wouldnt keep me from fishing it, and I have mastered a quick motion that actually brings the bait in under the loop in one swift motion that i can now do almost with my eyes closed and most certainly during low light conditions, when we decide to move on to another fishing spot. The rods are decent to bring fish up out of the water and behave well when the fight is on. The con to these rods is the price tag, but all i do is fish, have no other hobbies, so my resources are not spread out over a myriad of interests. The CI4+ reels by Shimano are exceptionally nice. Very lightweight @ 8 ounces and i have no problems with these. I average about 30 hours a week fishing and figure on a 10 hour day to get in somewhere around 400-500 or more casts. Many times doing this Saturday and Sunday. This combo doesn't fatigue me at all. I have yet to have a drag workout with this reel. I have it cranked down fairly tight, as i am also fishing braid. The con on the Shimano is also the price tag. The Bonehead braid is a fine casting braid. Comes off the spool well and i am impressed with my distance on the 7' rods, I can hit 30 yards regularly, but don't always need the distance. The bonehead winches fish in, there is no playing them or much resistance. I have yet to have a wind knot with it and have fished it into a stiff south wind. It does tip loop. What braid doesn't though? It has looped up so badly i have had to cut the mess out. On 2 separate occasions. I have fished Fins Wind Tamer and Liquid Braid and Power Pro. The Power Pro is on my Musky rods so I really cant compare it to the Bonehead as it is not an equal application. I will tell you that I am going to fish the Bonehead braid all year and will spool up with Power Pro on my favorite crappie outfits next year, because the Power Pro I fish on my Musky rods fishes like a dream! I love it. The Bonehead braid has a comfortable price tag in my opinion and i figure to always have an outfit spooled with some. Josh of Bonehead tackle is dedicated to providing good customer service and being in the service industry, I value that a great deal. I also value flawless performance, because nothing takes the heart out of time on the water, like equipment/bait issues. I have also purchased a couple of Josh's Bonehead 7' spinning rods and have fished them a little early on. I won't compare them to the Dobyns as that is not apples to apples comparing, I will tell you I am going to have to force myself to leave the Dobyns rods in the shed, in order to fish the Boneheads. I am not on the lake this weekend as it is my youngest son's Senior Prom weekend and my children and wife have always come first. However if the Tuxedo rental place hadn't totally annihilated the boys entire tux order I would have fished yesterday morning with Crappie1963! LOL. Hope this helps someone out there and if not i will try better next time! Tight lines, EHall.:biggrin
