The Stowable, Powerful, Versatile 706CB from Dobyns Rods (continued)

Features: As with all Champion series rods, the 706CB features Kigan tangle free, stainless steel framed guides with SiC inserts. The reel seat is the popular Fuji ECS exposed blank seat, and the hook keeper is a standard closed loop design installed on the left side of the blank just above the reel seat. The rod is built with a full rear cork grip, and came with no rod sleeve for protection in the rod locker or when in storage.

This stick comes with a standard, closed loop hook keeper.

Design/Ergonomics: The 706CB is an anomaly of sorts. These days, rods that are capable of pulling a deep diving crank are super long - at least seven feet ten inches (7'-10") in length. The great majority of rods that long are a bit cumbersome to fish by your second or third hour chucking and winding deep diving cranks. This stick may not be as capable of launching your deep diving crank off to the horizon, but it's much easier to use in general because there's no extra length to get in the way of you moving around the boat, putting it down, picking it back up, swinging back to cast, etc..

Dobyns Rods provides a nice accent piece at the top of the handle just underneath the fore-nut.

Because of its shorter length compared to traditional deep diving crank sticks, its better balanced making it feel light even if it does weigh over five ounces. Colors and graphics on the current generation Champion series rods are all the same with the woven carbon sleeve replacing what used to be a bright silver patch underneath all the rod's labels and specifications. This is a much cleaner, less distracting, more welcome design.

Application: I've been talking about the 706CB as an alternative to the super long, unwieldy deep diving cranking sticks out there today. Realistically this stick can of course, do so much more. Too often anglers rely on the labels decaled onto their rods to tell them how to use their fishing rods. Remember, these are suggestions. Think of the 706CB as a heavy powered rod with a moderate-fast taper. Know that its sweet spot in casting range is anything over one half an ounce in weight (and if you want to stay within warranty, under one and a half ounces).

Dobyns Rods delivers another solid performing stick.

Realistically, because this is a graphite cranking stick and not glass, you can fish any number of techniques with this stick including pitching senkos, jigs, and soft plastics. What you lose in power for setting the hook (because of the rod's taper), you gain in the ability to fight your catch to your position without pulling the hooks out of its mouth. Bottom line is the rod can handle a wide range of baits during the cast and it gives you enough feel to fish a variety of techniques.

Ratings:

Pluses and Minuses: