New To Me Rod, Jenny's and Bulldog

Today I was pleasantly surprised to receive the Lamiglas Excel Bass 735C I got on Ebay (7'3"MH). I wasn't sure when it was shipped and I didn't know if I'd have it in time for Sunday's Bass Snatcher tournament. The rod is designed for frogs and small swimbaits. At this point I want to get a feel for how it works for "Dipper Fishing," since I broke the rod I really like for that and won't replace it until next month. The Excel is not as soft as that Croix LTB or the Rapala Long Cast I was now using for the Dippers. The Excel, however, is not as stiff as my 7'3" Croix Avid MH's that I like for frogs, but not dippers. So tonight I went to test it out.

I didn't get out of the house until after 7:15PM and I made Jenny's on Platte Lake my first stop. The thing is that the rice is now up and matted at Jenny's so it isn't the best place for dipper fishing. I gave it a try, but when I didn't get any hits right away I switched to a Snagproof Ish's Phat Frog.

I got this skinny 16.5" and a much more healthy 16", as well as missing a few hits. The mosquito's were bad and I wasn't getting to use the Excel, so I decided to bounce over to Bulldog a little after 8PM. I put the float tube in at the Public Access and headed South just like on Monday night. It turned out to be an OK decision because I got a few bites on the black Berkley Havoc Grass Pig on the Excel rod. First fish was a 14" bass and then a 12" bass. I made a cast up next to shore and as soon as the Grass Pig hit the water a fish nailed it and I landed this fat 17.5"

After that action I caught another 12incher and a nice pike. I had another good bass on that got off, half way in to the tube. The mosquito's started getting really bad, so I started to head back throwing the frog. I think I had a couple of fish slap at the frog, but nothing pounded it. I think I was done fishing by 9:20PM.

So far my impressions of the Excel for Dippers is positive, but the jury is still out at this point.