Hey guys,

I'm a Loomis guy at heart and have more than I care to mention invested in them but I have been looking for a frog rod (mostly open water situaitons), and can't justify a Loomis as I really only get to frog fish 4-5 times a year. I'm really not looking to spend a whole lot here and I was kind of interested in the Powell Diesel 7'6" 765CEF. They appear to be made decently and seem like they would serve my purpose. I'm aware they don't warrenty these Diesels but the reviews seem fair with no one complaining about breakage and since it will really only see action a few times a year, I might be willing to take a chance. None of my local shops carry Powell so I'm flying blind here. Any one have experience with these rods? How is the tip, how do they load? Will they sling 1/2 oz hollow bodied frogs well?

Thanks in advance

In that price range you are probably better off going to Bass Pro and getting a store branded rod or going to Academy and getting one of the blue H2O rods. I owned several Powell rods and some were really good rods and a number of them had issues, guides not aligned correct, breakage, loose reel seats. What caused me to stop buying Powell was a breakage issue with a certain model, I broke 2 of the same model while casting and a buddy of mine broke his also. No the rods were not overloaded at all. The owner of Powell told me they had issues with that blank, had discontinued it and could not warranty it.

Just curious, what model gave you trouble? I've picked up 2-3 Powells my entire life so I know little to nothing about these things! Thanks for the input.

never fished one personally and only hear good things about them.

Powell offers a great product and an even better value.

I like the MAX series but my next purchase will probably be an Endurance.

I've used a handful of Powells. Everyone single one I enjoyed using. All seemed to be a good rod for what they are priced at. One tip I'd give is if your open water frogging, try a 7' rod. Works perfect and less fatiguing than a 7'6"

I personally have never had a problem one. All I buy is Powell. I have that rod and use it primarily for a flipping stick. It has a soft tip and strong back bone. I think it would make a good frog rod. The tip it has maks it easy to cast accurately.

The 804cef is the model that I broke 2 while casting and a buddy of mine broke his while casting, they all seemed to break about 6 inches from the tip. Keith Bryan, owner of Powell, emailed me telling me they had a number of problems with that rod and had made a decision to discontinue the rod.

I had a 704cef that the guides were not all inline with each other.

I had a couple different models where the reel seat was loose.

Out of the original 6 I ordered from Powell, 3 had issues.

Powell Rods were designed by Gary Dobyns. Notice the similar Part Numbers to the Dobyns Rods

Thanks for the input guys. DA175, glad to hear that it has a soft tip. That was one question I had. How well does it balance while fishing? To me, balance on a frog rod is as important as anything since froggin' can flat wear you out!

ChanceH, my other rod I've used for frogging was shorter like you referenced but on long casts, I struggled with hook up's/moving good fish compared to my friends with 7'6"ers. You are right though, I didn't get as tired with that 7'footer!

If anyone else has anything to share please do!

Thanks

Only bad thing about that rod is "0" warranty I have a max cb rod it's great

Yeah, that is part of the reason I was curious to see how many folks have had breakage issues. I imagine a few more will chime in and hollar if they have had this problem. I hope at least!

I got my first one recently, seems to be a great rod.
I didnt know they had zero warranty though? How doi they get away with that?

Talk yourself into the Loomis rod. I'm not a voice of reason, though.

Never tried non-cranking rods from Powell. Their 755 and 706 crank rods are the awesome, though.

I bought a Powell Diesel rod last year. I use it for dd-22`s. I have been very pleased.