Black hole challenger rods for fluke/seabass/tog

[John D.]

Looking into the black hole challenger conventional rods for fluke. All of my fishing is on charter boats out of NJ Thinking of definitely getting the 701L as I know Kil loves them even for deeper water. Would be out of NJ for June-Aug fishing buck tails, as well as June inshore sea bass, with an accurate twin drag 300 valiant. I am assuming this rod can handle bucktails up 6oz?

Where I am torn is getting the 731M or MH as the second rod for deepwater fluke and could also serve as a tog rod and nov/dec deepwater sea bass rod?

any and all thoughts welcome.

thanks,
John D.

[bostich36]

Can't speak to the 701 or 731 M but imagine they're both terrific rods.

That said, I have an 801 MH and I'm a huge fan. It's an excellent choice for offshore sea bass, tog, and bottom fishing in general imo. It's lightweight, sensitive, powerful, and can be used comfortably with heavy sinkers/jigs. Another big plus is that you can swing almost any bottom dwelling species (around here) over the rail without any problem.

The rod could work for deep water fluke, but it's "overkill" for my preferences. I wouldn't use any 8-foot rod for fluke either.

Either way, the 761/801 MH is a fantastic rod, and I'd highly recommend getting one if you're interested.

[kurtisb]

I have a 731M and an 801M that I use for tog. Both can handle 12 ounces.

[Gerry Zagorski]

701L perfect for Fluke and Blackfish Jigging up to 4 ounces

731m OK for Blackfish jigging but can handle 10 ounces when you're fishing a rig or a heavy fluke jig.

If you only want to spring for only one all around rod, I would go with the 731M.

I have the 731M conventional spiral wrapped which I use to jig and rig for Blackfish and the 731M spinner which I use to Fluke and Blackfish jig. Albeit it more then you need for some applications it's plenty light weight wise and super sensitive, the tip just doesn't have the give you might want for Fluke, depending on how you fish.

Looks like your valiant is fairly lightweight @ 14.6 ounces so it would probably pair up well with either..

Can't comment on the 801 since I don't own one.

Good luck with your choice John and if you want to hold the 731M and see how it feels with your reel on it send me a PM and we can arrange.

[John D.]

Thanks Gerry. Think will get the 701L and 731M both paired with a valiant 300 which at 9.8 oz is a powerhouse with twin drag and 24# at strike. My 8 yr old demanded one too so he will get the medium lol

I did a lot of research and feel these rods are perfect for how I fish.

[hammer4reel]

Originally Posted by John D.

Thanks Gerry. Think will get the 701L and 731M both paired with a valiant 300 which at 9.8 oz is a powerhouse with twin drag and 24# at strike. My 8 yr old demanded one too so he will get the medium lol

I did a lot of research and feel these rods are perfect for how I fish.

Gerrys specs on those rods is pretty accurate , maybe he asked Joey lol.

That being said , IMO many of the new low profile reels are a much better match to those rods for the type of fishing you listed .
Thumb bar payout is simple even using one hand , and many have between 24 and 30 pounds of drag .

When I use those rods they are paired to Revo NACL 50 , or the Penn 300 LP.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Originally Posted by hammer4reel

Gerrys specs on those rods is pretty accurate , maybe he asked Joey lol.

That being said , IMO many of the new low profile reels are a much better match to those rods for the type of fishing you listed .
Thumb bar payout is simple even using one hand , and many have between 24 and 30 pounds of drag .

When I use those rods they are paired to Revo NACL 50 , or the Penn 300 LP.

That's some funny stuff right there

And I too think these rods match up better with the lighter and low profile reels too... Much better sensitivity with a lighter combo, the lower the profile of the reel the better it balances from left to right etc..