Did I buy the wrong rod?

[jeb]

I've owned a G. Loomis BCR803C GLX for several months now, along with several other Loomis rods. The 803 is a great rod with outstanding feel. I use it mostly for C-rigs and larger jigs and have been very happy with it. As I use it more and more, I find I really would like another similar rod. I'd been hearing great things about the Kistler rods, too, and found what I thought was a similar rod in the LTA HE70MC that I decided to try. They have the same general lure weight listed, but the 803 is a med-heavy where the HE70MC is listed as a medium. Still, I figured they'd be close.

I took the new rod fishing yesterday and rigged up a 5/8 oz C-rig with it. Same exact fishing line on both it and the 803. I was really surprised how much difference there is in feel of the lure on the bottom! It was much more vague with the Kislter. It is indeed a very light rod, but that's not nearly as big a deal to me as feel. I fished it for a while and did get one small bass on it. Which is where the other difference ( - - blocked - - ) in. The rod bent way more on the hook set than the Loomis. Got the job done and all, but I wondered how it'd do on a bigger fish on a long cast.

I was throwing a 1/2 oz football jig with the 803, and decided to exactly swap the baits on the same fishing spot to see the difference. It was dramatic how much more feel the 803 gave me walking the C-rig over the rocks! Just way more feedback. I could feel every pebble, where the HE70MC was only giving me much more muddy feedback, if you will, and then only on bigger stuff it seemed.

The Kistler is a well made rod, and I think it'll come in handy for maybe topwaters and crankbaits, but I won't use it much where bottom feel is important, at least not with 1/2 and 5/8 oz stuff. I need to try it with less weight to see if it gives better feel with those.

My question is, do the Kislter's run quite a bit softer than the Loomis rods? Should I have gotten a heavy to be similar in feel to the 803C? I'm not slamming Kislter, I may have well just bought the wrong rod. I bought it on the way home from vacation at a store far away from where I live, so there'll be no returning it. Which is fine, I'm not whining about that. Nobody to fault but myself. Just mentioning it to save any "take it back and get a heavier rod" replies.

Thanks

[jeb]

Can someone tell me why the word "c a m e" was blocked in my post? I'm new here and just trying to understand.

Thanks

[kistlero]

Jeb, Ryan is going to contact you today. This is not a simple yes or no question. Thanks,

[jeb]

Okay, thanks Trey. I'll wait to hear from Ryan.

[jeb]

FYI, nobody contacted me about this rod.

I did try it for a short time with some lighter line and smaller crankbaits over the long weekend. Seemed adequate for that, I guess.

[rsburns]

jeb,

I agree with you about the He70MC being too light for a C-rig with a heavier weight; I think you'd be happier with the He70MHC for that. The He70MC is great for small to medium crankbaits; also a good drop shot rod when using a 1/4 oz weight.

[BigCheese]

I would have to agree with the above and feel the He70MC is awful light for throwing a Carolina Rig or Football Head Jigs. The He70MHC would be the best choice IMO for both of these applications as is the rod I normally use for both techniques. I do though at times prefer a He76HC for throwing the C-Rig.

The He70MC is a great Crank Bait rod, especially for fishing Traps in open water.

[jeb]

It's been 3 weeks and "Ryan" never contacted me.

I've been okay with the rod for throwing Pop'r and small crank baits. But it's lack of feel is frustrating. Even when fishing small, 1/4 oz worm jigs, it does not give me the feel of even my Loomis IMX spinning rod (SHR 821). I guess I think I could've spent a lot less money to get a rod just for topwaters and cranks.

But it is what it is, and it's found a small niche in my rod locker as a fill in rod.