Daiwa DX-Bass DXB731MHFB TackleWarehouse Casting Rod Product Review

Rod Review

An Exclusive, TackleWarehouse Search For One Candidate! (continued)

Power: Interesting thing we've found now that we've been wracking rods for a few years is that rods with the same rated powers (even from the same manufacturer) but with different lengths have dissimilar power curves. Case in point is our 2010 Search for One baseline rods. Both are "Medium Heavy" sticks from G.Loomis, but one is 6'6" in length (MBR783C GLX) and the other is 7'0" in length (MBR843C GLX).

Fig 1 : The chart above illustrates the deflection characteristics of our Daiwa DXB731MHFB against our 2010, The Search for One baseline rods.

As you can see from the chart above, the DXB731MHFB aligns very well with our baseline MBR783 GLX/GLX 2000 stick and it does have the feel of being within that "medium heavy" power range out on the water with a lean more towards the heavy side. It's not quite as forgiving as the old MBR843 GLX, but then again, that stick has a rather special quality to it. The DXB731MHFB is a really good stick for close quarter situations with enough power to turn a fish's head once you hook up.

The DXB731MHFB features an open ended hook keeper...

Ergonomics: As mentioned earlier, the DXB731MHFB is a 7'3" stick with a 10" rear handle that feels just a bit tip heavy in hand. Our numbers from the lab show it has a balancing torque of 0.28 which is surprising to me because it's quite a bit higher than our Search for One average of 0.19, but perhaps it didn't bother me so much out on the water because I was fishing it primarily in tip down situations.

... and a fair grade of cork on the rear grip.

Otherwise, the rod comes with a very comfortable cork rear grip, no foregrip, and a standard Fuji ECS reel seat along with Fuji aluminum oxide guides.

Lab Results for Daiwa DXB731MHFB
Model	Avg RoD (2-32 oz)	Taper	Measured Weight (oz)	Balance Point (inches)	Balancing Torque (ftlbs)
DX731MHFB	1.61	Fast	5.3	9	0.28
MBR783C GLX2000	1.72	Fast	4.8	5	0.11
TSFO 26 Rod Avg	1.69	--	4.92	7.65	0.19

Price & Applications: When Daiwa's DX rods first debuted on TackleWarehouse, their price point was right around $130 - $140 or there abouts. At the time of this writing, the DX731MHFB is on sale for $89.97! That's an excellent price point if you're looking for a rod with a relatively soft tip, but excellent backbone to place your bait in and around medium to heavy cover situations.

It is styled with a no foregrip design.

The DXB731MHFB is also a good choice with spinnerbaits and lipless cranks that weigh in right around half an ounce to three quarters of an ounce (1/2 - 3/4oz). It will handle lighter and slightly heavier but 1/2 - 3/4 oz is the sweet spot for this stick with those baits.

These are Fuji SS framed aluminum oxide guides.

Ratings

Daiwa DXB731MHFB Ratings (?/10)
Construction/Quality	A solid, if not conservative build	9
Performance	A really nice pitching stick	8.5
Price	A good value at its regular price but a great one at its sale price!	9
Features	Pretty standard array of features for a rod in this price category	7
Design (Ergonomics)	Comfortable if not a bit tip heavy	7
Application	A relatively versatile stick suited well for tip down presentations	7
Total Score		7.92
Ratings Key: 1 = terrible : 2 = poor : 3 = lacking : 4 = sub par : 5 = mediocre : 6 = fair : 7 = good : 8 = great : 9 = excellent : 10 = unbelievable! For More Details of the updated rating system visit our explanation here

Pluses and Minuses:

Plus	Minus
+ Excellent value	- A little tip heavy statistically speaking
+ No nonsense, conservative design
+ Really good pitching stick

An aggressive little California Delta rat courtesy of the DXB731MHFB.

Conclusion: Hopefully by the time this article makes it to publication, the DXB731MHFB will still be available. We all know that once an item hits the sales rack at TackleWarehouse, its longterm fate on the shelf is rather dubious. If you're searching for good value in a workhorse class stick, the DXB731MHFB from Daiwa and available exclusively at TackleWarehouse is an opportunity you should not pass up!

Looking for Daiwa DXB731MHFBs? Try TackleWarehouse