Dobyns DX744, where have you been my whole life?

I dont often post just all out love fest's for a product, but I feel like I need to make an exception here.

This past off season I purchased a few new casting rods and did a complete overhaul of my casting reels (saying goodbye to Shimano and welcoming in Daiwa). One of the rods I purchased was the Dobyns Champion Extreme DX744. A rod that came highly recommended by other members of the Dobyns team as well as friends... and I quickly saw why

My idea behind the purchase was to help me migrate my Texas rig fishing over from spinning to casting gear. But once I got this rod in my hand I knew this was not your average t-rig rod, simply put, this rod is a thing of beauty. It is perfectly balanced (a Dobyns Staple) super lite, and has the perfect amount of backbone thru tip that I have ever  seen or felt on a rod.

Last week when this gorgeous spring weather hit, I took the rod out into the yard to get in some testing and lets face it.. some practice.. Immediately I noticed a difference, not only was there a different feel, but honestly cast after cast I noticed improved accuracy.. something i don't usually see while in my mid winter form (straight off the sofa). I fell in love with this rod instantly

Truly a multi-purpose rod. Yes, I have found my new T-rig rod, but there is much more to it then that. I will be giving this rod a test run with my collection of swim frogs, I believe although it will not have the same strenght of my 735c it will provide increased accuracy and feel, It will allow me to better work the frogs in and around cover, and still give me the ability to pull them out when I need to.

I will also give the DX744  a workout with my topwater baits like the IMA Skimmers, It seems to have that perfect amount of tip to walk those babies with ease, and the forgiveness not to rip the hooks out of the fishes mouth even on a hard set.

For a rod the calibur of the DX744, I knew no simple baitcaster would do, so I decided to spend some extra cash and break one of my own person rules in the process (never spend over $300 on a reel). 

So i splurged and purchased a Daiwa Zillion 100SHA, a tiny little reel that packs some serious punch and more speed then I think I will ever need (31.6 inched per crank). Coming in at 8.6oz this small framed reel sits incredibly well on the DX744, and as a combo I dont think I have even found a better pair. Speed, Balance and Power, three things that make this pair a deadly duo, not only to the fish, but also to my wallet, as I know just like Lays chips, I just cant have one

P.S, I know you are checking out my reel grips in the above pic, for those of you who have not used them, I highly recommend you give them a look. The are extremely comfortable, and give you that extra grip in wet condition. (Check to make sure they fit on your reels befor you order a wack)