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Posts: 432
Location: Eagan, MN | I already have a couple of these. I bought a 9' Heavy last spring to use mainly for bucktails up to dbl 10. Love the way it casts, but feel I could use just a little more backbone. So what to do but order up a new one ;). I don't want to go up to X-heavy, so I'm going to have them trim a little off the tip of a Heavy. How much is the question? I'll get Lonnie's advice on this, but wondering what everyone else has been doing. How much did you have trimmed, and what do you use the rod for? |
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Posts: 752
| Turgeon swears by cutting 2 inches off the top of an H. He uses them for evrthing up to Mag Dawgs. I know Brad P did the same thing and loves it. I hae used Bob's a few times and they are nice but I have not put a ton of time in with them. I have one of each style oof Pred and like the H for up to 10 blades (I like its softness over the next step up) but use an XH when I want a little more beef... |
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Posts: 432
Location: Eagan, MN | Thanks mojo, I was hoping you'd see this. It's hard to believe that 2" really makes that big of a difference. I'd never even think about throwing a mag dawg w/ my regular heavy. Before this I was using a Steel 20 and was looking for just a little more beef, was disappointed when my predator turned out softer than the rod it replaced. Of course it was 6" longer which seems to make a rod fish lighter. Maybe I just need to knock 1" off and call it good. I don't want to lose the casting distance and control I'm getting right now. |
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Posts: 981
| I owned both a H and an XH, how come you don't want to go up to an XH? I absolutely loved the XH and will own one again when I have some spare cash to get a blank!
Instead of a H predator maybe consider either buying a big nasty or having Lonnie build you a rod on that blank? |
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Posts: 296
| I have an H with 2" chopped off, an MH and 2 XH. What are you looking to throw with this new one? I think the H+ is a poor rubber rod but I know others disagree. Fantastic for blades and big top waters etc. The XH is a much heavier blank weight wise and is a huge step up in power. If you are looking for something in between the H and XH I think you will need to look at another blank. |
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Posts: 432
Location: Eagan, MN | Ronix - an XH is way too stiff for my tastes. I want something a touch heavier than the H predator. Trying to figure out how much to take off the tip.
Nick - will be used for bucktails up to dbl 10.
Wasn't there another post here from someone who took off 1"??? Where did it go? |
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Posts: 296
| I am very happy with my H+ for both 10s and 13s. The blank is stiff enough to apply speed to 10s in the 8 without overloading. I only slow roll 13s with mine. The blank loads up quite a bit with 13s at the boat but is great for after dark slower consistant speeds since we can't see the fish to read their attitude.
You might want to find a trimmed H to make a few casts with a D10 to see if trimming makes enough difference for you. My initial impression was that my H+ was a more limber than anticipated. |
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Posts: 537
Location: Gilberts IL/Rhinelander WI | I have a H with an inch trimmed off. I use it as a jerk bait rod , it's 8'4". I've thrown blades with it but I feel the tip is a little soft. You may want to have Lonnie build one on a sling blade. Remember the legend rods fall nicely in between the predator series. |
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Posts: 1638
Location: Minnesota | Lonnie is the man .I tell him what I want the rod to do and when I get it they all ways work great. talk to Lonnie he dose it right |
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Posts: 23
Location: St Paul | I have a predator Heavy, an XH, and a Heavy with 2" trimmed off the tip. The H -2 is a great blank for blades , cranks, and large topwater and you will be suprised how much of a difference that 2" makes. As others have said, not a great rod for big rubber, but if you want a stiffer blank for figure 8's on dbl 10's...this is the one you want. |
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Posts: 833
| I've been running the H-2" this season. Rod will handle Mag sized rubber and handles it well, I've been using it a lot for those types of baits this year. Also does well with smaller stuff, like inline topwater. Just a bit more muscle for the heavier stuff, but loads up and casts just about everything well. Most impressive thing about this rod is the range of stuff it can do. In addition to being great for what has been mentioned, it is also the best twitchbait/crankbait rod I've ever used. It will handle blades as well, but I put more of that mileage on a different rod. There really isn't much I've done with this rod that it hasn't handled. Pounders are too much for it IMO and Gliders are probably better served with something more technique specific, but honestly that is about it. Fantastic all around rod. If I had to only own one, it would be the H-2" Predator.
I strongly recommend saving the extra $$$ for the Titanium guides. This set up with those guides feels like a heavy bass rod. Just crazy that a rod that can fish mag sized rubber can weigh so little. |
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Posts: 109
Location: Pewaukee, WI | I have the XH Predator and really like it for twitching big cranks and rubber but do not like it for dbl. 10's. I like a little softer tip for blades. They did a C-Series Blank a few years ago and it works great for blades and it's a little less $$. This winter I was going to look into the H Predator-2 or have them build me a Sling Blade and pair it up with a Tranx for burning blades. |
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Posts: 833
| Something to consider for Blades:
The best double 10 rod I’ve ever used is my 9-6” H with an inch trimmed off the tip. Have to give credit where it is due, BTURG came up with this rod and I bought it from him. The rod is highly specialized to fish Tens. It sacrifices some of its “general” ability to be excellent with the DCG. The blank is able to launch a DCG with minimal effort by the caster, plus the length is awesome for a massive figure 8.
The biggest “challenge” I’ve had with this rod is pairing it with a viable double 10 reel. The one “down side” to this rod is the fact that the H Predator blank is so light it makes balancing it with a bulky reel a challenge. I run mine with a Tranx HG, which works great, but the reel is heavy so the balance is not quite to my liking. (Admittedly, this is very much nit-picking.) From a balance stand point the better reel for this set up is probably the 14 sized Trinidad, but then you have to deal with the Trinidad casting challenges. (again nit picking, you also lose 6” per crank) If they ever come out with a 300 or 400 size Tranx that would be the “be all/end all” blade reel for this set up, IMO.
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Posts: 432
Location: Eagan, MN | Thanks Brad. So you're saying that for d10's specifically, you prefer the H-1 over the H-2? |
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| I have a H -1" Predator that I added a butt extension to and I love it for bucktails up to the double10. Gives you a little more lumber while still being able to sling it a mile. For 8's and 9's it is the cat's pjs. |
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Posts: 833
| Yeah, but part of that is the 9-6 length. The top 1/3 of the rod is like a catapult when you tie on a DCG. Casting them is just effortless. When you really get dialed into your cast you can put the bait anywhere you want and with great distance. Again, this is a very technique specific rod. The H-2 does a great a job with blades and just about everything else, awessome all around rod. The H-1 gives up some of the versatility to be the Cowgirl champion. |
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| If you are reeling the cowgirl in fast (Trinidad or other HG outfit aggressively) you will appreciate the H-1 or even H-2. |
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