One rod Challenge 734 Sierra in the swamp

[Mike Cork]

I had a lot of trouble trying to decide which rod I should use to make for a successful trip with just a single rod. Then I decided that the goal of this was to put some of our favorite equipment to the test and see what happens.

So I picked a Dobyns Sierra 734. This rod is already known as a very good general purpose rod, however here in the swamps we have a ton of vegetation ranging from various grasses to lily pads. Then our lakes are full of cypress tress that are very rooty and have limbs laying in the water around them.

We cast, flip, pitch, skip, and when addressing a good ole fashioned pad field we do the heave ho.

I did a little frog work to start the day. The Sierra 734 handled it well. I figured I'd still get a good hook set but was afraid that I couldn't get a bass turned and headed to the boat in all the pad stems. The biggest fish was only about 3 pounds but I never felt like I needed more rod. I normally use a 736 for frogs and won't be changing anytime soon but I wouldn't be afraid to use the 734 Sierra if I could only have one rod while sneaking into a pond somewhere.

Next up I fished a wacky rig. This is about the lightest thing I fish with. While I felt my accuracy would have been better with a three power rod, the 734 Sierra did great with distance and hook sets. Again I didn't manage any super sized bass but what I did catch I had full control of. I think with some practice my accuracy would improve and the 734 Sierra will be a great wacky rig rod when the cover is a little thicker.

Just to test the light weigh side I tied on a 1/16 ounce beetle spin. We ran into a school of medium sized white bass and I thought what a perfect time. Catching a dozen was a blast and the rod handled them without issue. I was having trouble getting the distance I'd like when fishing schooling fish. In the heat of battle I didn't really measure my distance. A final thought on this though would be that I had 14 pound test line and that's pretty heavy for such a light bait. If I had 8 or even 10 pound line on, I bet the casting distance would have been a lot better with the lighter stuff.

Finally just for fun I put on a 3/4 ounce weight and big hook and did some punching. This really over tasked the rod. Just too much for the 734 Sierra, it performed but was what I call springy. The weight of the presentation had the tip loaded before the rod tip was moved. Then when you'd go to flip into the vegetation the tip loads even more and then springs up, effectively loosing control of the bait. If I had never used such great punching equipment (Champ Extreme 795) I might think the 734 Sierra was up to the task, but in reality it's just not going to handle this kind of presentation. From being able to put the bait on target and then pulling 4 pound plus fish out of super heavy vegetation... It could do it, but I'd much rather have at least a 5 power.

Over all I learned a lot about this rod. It's capabilities are much more than I ever expected. Using the correct line size will increase it's capability. Living here in Louisiana I use 17 pound as a minimum, I did put 14 on for this test, and the large size-diameter hampers lighter presentations. Downsizing line will expand the uses of this rod on the lighter side. If I was still out west in Northern California I'd probably have a deck full of these rods with varying lines.

[gtrpickr]

Great report Mike, the 734 really is a good versatile rod 

[zippyduck]

Thanks Mike for the report.

Yes, the Sierra 734 is a special rod to me. I agree that anything over 1/2 oz. is not in its range.

Skipping weightless senkos, spinnerbaits, whopper ploppers, and jigs are what I use it for the most.
I would have never put a frog on it before this review.