Primus

Great choice

Sometimes I've been known to play in the rain

The Matt Lures Floating Hardgill has been a long time staple in my arsenal . It tends to produce for me better in clear water at times when the lipped clacking style baits like the 3:16 Wake Jr and similar baits are too aggressive for the mood of the fish. It also very natural looking as Matt does an exemplary job with his paint schemes. In addition to the obvious slow roll I've done well giving it quick rips like you would with a prop bait and also subtle little pops which have also triggered bits for me. One last thing I do when slow waking over shallow grass is give it a quick burst with a couple of fast cranks on the reel and let it pause. I've also have caught some nice ones on the old Got 'Em Coach Floating Gill which is a little bigger than the standard Matt lures hard gill. In my opinion the lipless floating gill baits are a very good addition to your wake bait arsenal.

I've been using it for 8" Magdrafts & 8" Hudds , very happy with it.

For a lot of those smaller baits such as a 6" Little Creeper with a beast hook and similar baits to that I've been using a 7"6" Tatula Elite Daiwa Flipping stick and has performed very well for me and it is light weight , comfortable and can also be used for jigs & soft baits. The one I do differently when throwing the swimbaits is I tend to point my rod downward straight to the bait when swimming through shallow grrass, I'm typically using 20 lb floro.

I replaced mine with a Triple Trout tail, swims great.

The Bull Shad wake bait in a Bone color will work in that condition

Love this bait, right up there with the Slammer & 3:16 wake baits in my opinion.

Baitsanity Explorer Glide, I can catch fish on other Glides just not that one. Fished 4 different colors the last two seasons, finally unloaded them on ebay.

on some of my smaller soft swimbaits I 've been using a Daiwa Tatula Elite 7'6" Ish Monroe Flipping stick for smaller baits like the Little Creeper Bluegill. I've been very pleased with both the casting distance and landing percentage. I have a 200 size reel mounted on it and use 20 lb Floro. On the hard bait side I use a Dobyns Boom Boom 8' medium swimbait rod, I think it is fantastic rod for fishing snack size hardbaits like a River to Sea S Waver 168.

I have one Dobyns 795 with a braid to leader set-up that I use for jig hook and beast hook baits in 2- 3.5 oz range. I have this paired up with a Calcutta 201 D which has a narrow deep spool which I like when using braid as it basically has eliminated wind knots . It also has larger line guide which I feel is an advantage if using a long leader. I've been happy with the set-up so far.

The Beast Coast baits have been a real good option for me. Not the same profile but I love the Little Creeper baits, especially the Bluegill.

Just to add to what's been said so far, I have done well at times with crankdown baits like a Pat's Perch or a crankdown Slammer. One of my biggest swimbait Bass of recent years was caught on a Matt lures floating Hardgill on a full moon night. The floating Hardgill is a litle more subtle than baits like the Spro Rat, Slammers etc and at times can be a better option when they are not hitting louder baits.

I have not tried it for weedless baits like the one in the Boom Boom series that you mentioned with this rod and I suppose it would work if using braid but I would be skeptical if using any other type of line. I have other rods that I already use and feel would be better suited for weedless baits. I came to the same conclusion as you did about using the 795 , I felt like it was too much for certain baits in my arsenal and have been on the look out for a lighter stick prior to this purchase. I have not used the 794 but I had previously used an Irod Genesis Junior swimbait model for those type of baits. While the Jr swimbait cast these baits well I feel the Dobyns has increased my landing percentage with these type of baits like the Gancraft 178 based on my experience so far.

I have this rod and love it, use it for smaller glides like the RTS 168 , Gancraft 178 Jointed claw , Evergreen ES Flat and similar baits up to 2 ounces or so. I also throw 5" Bullshads , Baby Hardgills and small line through baits on this rod. I pair this up with a 200 size reel and 16 lb Floro and I think it excels at throwing treble hook and line through baits but would not likely be what you are looking for if throwing jig or beast hook baits. This rod also excels at casting the RTS 168 , with a sidearm cast I can heave it a mile and minimize tumbling . There are some baits in the 2 oz range that I would have thrown on my Dobyns 795 rod in the past prior to owning this rod. One example would be a Gancraft 178 Jointed Claw that weighs 2 ounces. I now throw this on the Roumbanis rod as I can feel the bait better and it seems like a more natural fit with this rod as the bait does not have as much water displacement as a Matt lures hardgill to compare it to another bait in that same weight range . I don't have plans on using this as a deep diving crankbait rod so I can't comment about that, that said I like it as a complement to my arsenal of swimbait rods and it is perfect for a lot those snack size swimbaits in that 1-1/2 oz range and even some in the 2 ounce category depending on the bait. One last thing , this rod is 8' but it has the feel of more conventional Bass tackle and is very light weight compared to the shorter Dobyn's 795 as a comparison. It has been a joy to use thus far and I think it would be a terrific addition for anyone's lineup .

follow-up to the 1st video

this is a pretty interesting way to present swimbaits in deeper water ...

based on last years results I would have to go with an Arashi Glide, waiting for open to see what 2021 brings me.

Don't sleep on a floating Matt lures Hardgill. Wake & pause or at times I will give it short rips like a propbait. The floating version of the Got'em Coach Bluegill has also produced for me using the same type of approach.

I added a 6" slow sink bullshad in a foil pattern. I really wanted one of the Bull Gills that were painted up real pretty but they were gone .

I'm stoked, I just ordered one earlier today before I saw this post. I'm glad to it's producing nice sized fish. That definitely reinforces my decision try one. Thanks for sharing your feedback.

I've also seen a few vids, I appreciate your work.

I bought there 7'3 " MH last winter for fishing chatterbaits, I wanted a somewhat moderate bend to help when a fish surges by the boat but that also has the power to horse fish out of cover. So far it has performed very well in driving in the hook and I've been able to land the majority of fish that I've stuck. It also is responsive enough to feel the grass and it rips it through very well. I realize this is swimbait forum, that said I wanted to chime in that I am happy customer and would consider getting another rod from them for anyone on the fence about trying them . Their customer service was also top notch as they returned phone calls and answered emails promptly.

That's true, that said it I fished it hard this spring and it's a very good bait at an affordable price. Nothing wrong with promoting the Arashi Glide in my opinion.

Interesting one featuring Mike Iaconelli .... https://mikeiaconelli.com/bass_fishing_video.php?id=GwwhVFEsy0c