Dobyns Champion 805, Lews Super Duty wide spool, 5-1 gear ratio.

I would up going with a Kistler Helium 3 Heavy 7' 10". My only concern is it may not be soft enough. I fish a lot of rock, and if it gets hung up too much I may have to give the Dobyns a whirl. I've got a high speed abu revo beast that I use for musky fishing that I'm going to put on it. Cranking those 10XD's should be downright pleasant with that thing.

+1 806 is way to go. Can get away with 805 big it’ll wear ya out if you’re throwing 10XD on it all day

Berkley E-Motion Deep crank rod.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...ch_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1&psc=1

KLX FNR

Try it out and if you don't like it, Trey would likely swap you out for the one above. Works perfectly for what you're trying to do.

Nothing special on the rod. An Academy Ethos Nano 7’6” heavy/fast. The reel is a Steez that I bought cheap to use for frogging, but is too slow. So now it makes a great reel to use for cranking deep plugs and A-rigs. The trick to using the H/F rod is to take advantage of the Steez’s superior drag stack. I’ve only lost one or two good fish that I THINK a more dedicated rod action could have saved.

I went by the Kistler store yesterday. I went with the intent of getting the KLX FNR, the store manager talked me out of it. I told him I'd give the Helium 3 a whirl and if it had trouble I'd be back for the FNR. The tip on that thing was super soft, so I've no doubt it would do fantastic avoiding hangups.

Curious why he thought to talk you out of that rod?

I throw mine on an H2O 7’ MH with a Mettle reel. Works fine. Don’t overthink it.

He just said, basically a 100% of the guys looking to throw 10XD's go with the Helium 3. Also, the 7'10" FNR is only available in medium heavy and rated to 1 ounce. To get to a heavy rated up to 2 ounces, you have to drop down to a 7'6" rod. Not a huge deal, but I do prefer a longer rod when throwing big baits. The FNR is a hybrid graphite/Glass rod. The Helium 3 is a pure graphite rod, but it's got a deep parabolic bend, so it should keep fish glued. Anyone have any first hand experience here?

Good advice, the 806 was not out when I got the 805.

Phenix X14
Lews speedspool

Dobyns XP 806 with a Diawa crazy cracker reel.

I throw a Power Tackle Ultimate Crankbait rod with a super duty wide 5.1. The rod is expensive but it very well could be the best 10xd rod made. The power in the rod is incredible

I throw the Dobyns 805CB with a Lew's Super Duty Wide Speed Spool that holds more line. 5:1.1 gearing. Love it