For years, Gary Dobyns and his company were known as a premier rod brand, but they've expanded and added more items. They still make excellent rods but also offer baits and accessories. Now, they're also getting into reels with the same quality that Dobyns is known for.
Maverick Reels, Rods, and Combos
The push to get into reels was after many requests for rod and reel combos from their dealers. After starting the project over two years ago, the Maverick spinning and casting reels are now available. They are sold as a combo or separately. Alone they retail for $99 or with the $99 Maverick rod as a combo with cost savings, bringing the combo price to $179.99.
The spinning reels are offered in the 2000 and 2500-sizes and are available in red, green, and blue accent colors to perfectly match many different Dobyns rods. They have an aluminum forged spool, 5.2:1 gear ratio, and are priced right while offering excellent performance.
On the baitcast side, they also have the three accent colors and come in right and left-handed retrieves. The three gear ratios are 6.5, 7.2, and 8.1. They are a low-profile design and have an 11+1 bearing system.
"In all of the thousands we have shipped out, we haven't had a single one come back yet," said Dobyns. "The performance and packaging are great and they are solid reels."
The Maverick rod line features a quality high modulus graphite blank and comes in five spinning models, five casting, and one cranking model.
"They have a 24-ton blank and are extremely light, crisp, and balanced," shared Dobyns. "We start with the blank and then add the components around them when designing rods. It's such a good rod for the money and it's something I could fish a tournament with right now. We were able to keep the costs down on the rod by going with an EVA foam grip instead or cork."
More Rod Models to Come
One thing that separates Dobyns from other rod brands is that they listen to customer feedback and bring new models to development based on customer requests.
"I could fish just about every technique with 10 rods or less, but I know that anglers have different preferences," said Dobyns. "We build what fishermen want. I fish a lot heavier rods than many guys do, but I know there are needs for other rod models. For example, I couldn't see many places I would use a 733, but it's one of our top sellers in many of our rod lineups."
One very popular rod they make is the 8-foot, 3-inch Mike Bucca Bull-Shad rod and Dobyns said another model is on the way.
"That rod is very versatile and you can fish very big swimbaits as well as smaller ones," he said. "People like the extra length and the feel of that rod. It's been very successful and we are working on another model."
Another rod in the works is an Alabama Rig/Swimbait rod. Right now, both the Champion XB 794SB and 795SB are great sellers, and there will soon be an in-between size.
"The 794 is great for lighter A-Rigs and the 795 is needed for the heavier ones, so we are going to make a 794.5 that will feature cork instead of the EVA. It's an excellent rod that will be great for all A-Rigs sizes and for swimbaits."
In the high-end Xtasy Series, look for a new 754 spinning model. "It's a heavier spinning rod than I would use, but we got so many requests from anglers for that rod," said Dobyns. "That's how I look at rods and after hearing all the requests from guys fishing the Great Lakes for big smallmouth, we decided to start making it."
Tip Removal Tool
As a rod manufacturer, Dobyns knows all about rod guides. The most common failure for guides is the tip, and he helped to develop a tool that allows anglers to safely remove the old tip without damaging the blank.
"The tip is by far the most common guide failure," said Dobyns. "Anglers either reel their bait up to the tip or damage them by trying to free a jig from a stump. We made a tool that makes it easy to remove the old tip without damaging the rod."
Dobyns says many anglers damage the rod blank by using a torch instead of a lighter or not removing it correctly, so they developed a spring-loaded tool to make for easy removal. "It's easy to use and impossible to do wrong with the tool," he said.
Dobyns Rods has become more than just rods; they continue adding more products for anglers. New this year are the Maverick rods and reels, tip removal tool, and some added models in some of their most popular rod lines.
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