Travel Rod for Tiny Klash

[Huntersharp]

Got the Daily looking for something on the lighter more moderate end for the TK, any recommendations? Been looking at the Triza Dragoon and the Valkyrie 78H

[HillCountryFishing]

I can say I’ve been doing a lot of the same research as you probably are and that the 711H would be great for the TK - it’s the next on my list to buy.

I use the Valkyrie WE 68M for squarebills when bank and wade fishing. It goes with me everywhere and I’ve had a lot of success with it. It has a good, what Megabass calls regular, bend through the rod that still maintains significant power. It’s also worth noting I have had absolutely no issues of quality after a couple hundred hours on it.

The dragoon, I feel, is a very nice rod, but not worth the price. I think the law of diminishing returns applies here and the Valkyrie WE series has a higher rate of cost effectiveness. If appearance is important, I think both rod lines are beautiful.

If you do go with either Megabass travel rod, go ahead and buy some ferrule wax. Because they use true ferrules, like you can find in fly rods, I’ve found it to be helpful in securing and sealing the ferrule connections. Because I think it helps keep the threads clear and secure through frequent reel removal, I also use diving silicone grease to coat the reel seat nut thread.

 

 

[chevro1et]

I can vouch for the Valkyrie VKC-711XH-4. I was throwing the Baitsanity Gill glide with it over the weekend and had no problems whatsoever. It is definitely a softer rod that bends quite deep into the blank. 

Edited July 24, 2023 by chevro1et
more words

[Papa_squat69]

New to these boards!  Can’t testify to the VWE rods but I plan to get the 8’. Xxh for big baits and some musky, but I own and absolutely love the dragoon. I even got the Yamasemi spinning rod version that also has two tips. 
 

the Dragoon with the soft tip is great for the TK and other treble hook reaction. Baits. I also love the fast tip as it makes the rod very sensitive and seems like it would be a great smaller beast hook soft bait rod. 

I keep a 150 size reel for smallmouth floats with the fast tip for jigs, Texas rig, etc, and use the regular tip and a 300 size reel when i use this as a dedicated small swimbait rod (specifically TK). It is also great for spinner baits and seems like it would be great for smaller magnum flutter spoons (a new technique for me)
 

not a great jerkbait rod but I can cast pointer 100 size lures on it if needed. 
 

it will handle the 3oz rating but I feel like it’s not super comfortable. Eg I don’t love casting an 8” mag draft on it. The 1-2.75 range is perfect though, specifically the 2oz sweet spot (TK)

my first fish on this rod was a dorado in Argentina on a Raid Japan G.I. And it was perfect for it. Dorado bite slowed down and water was super low so we went after tararira (so much fun). Switched to fast tip and pitched weed mats straight braid to wire leader with a 1(I think) oz Mepps spinner  with a weedless Stanley Ribbit style frog as the trailer, casting on top of weed mats and letting it fall off the edges. 
 

took it to Florida and caught fish. Taking it river striper fishing and plan to use it as a musky small bait rod for our smaller water musky and our lake musky that sometimes like small lures. Also have caught rainbow trout with it on jerkbaits. I Keep it in an old fly rod tube hidden under my truck seat and don’t have to worry about it breaking or being seen. Fits in a standard 9’ 4piece fly rod tube and comes with a standard 4 piece (very nice) fly rod sock.  
 

same thing with the Yamasemi. Use the regular tip for trout in the smokies with an indicator and double nymph rig (Nikko stonefly, mayfly, caddis etc and even actual tied flies) and the fast tip for smallmouth fishing with owner finesse football heads and Nikko hellgrammite/leeches and even 3” swimbaits on a 1/32 jig head. Same rod. 

For both rods I keep the rod tube tied onto my bag and worst case scenario I have an extra tip if one breaks. Also, it goes with me as a carry on. 

having been a fly fisherman for years before switching over to having more fun, the tech for multi piece rods is sound and solid so long as you assemble it correctly. I have noticed with casting bigger baits it’s good to check the ferrules and alignment every so often. As you would a knot connection. 

These rods are not cheap and I was quite disappointed to see the made in China when there is a lot of literature and talk about “handmade in Japan”.  To be fair, blanks made in Japan and assembled to whatever degree in China. They are beautiful and feel very high quality, and highly sensitive, especially with the faster tip. 
 

that being said they are worth every penny (to me) and i would recommend them to anyone if you can find them. 

I will be curious to see reviews on the VWE rods as they seem amazing and will be my next rod purchase 100%. The only reason I chose the dragoon over a VWE as my first travel rod was the versatility of the two tips. 
 

[GTier525]

I use mega bass valkyrie 78h and handles the tk nicely. It’s only 78 but it still loads up and chucks the bait nice and accurately. IMO. 

[cchapraps]

I have some decent experience with the VWE rods. I have owned the 78H and currently own the 80XXH and the 610ML. I fished the 78H for about two months and caught some good fish on it, it would be very good with a TK and baits of similar size. I’ve caught two solid largemouth on the 80XXH this summer since owning it. I also caught two solid smallies on a trip to michigan with the 610ML and it was money. Love the convenience of the four piece, also makes sneaking into spots easier on occasion 

[CodyC123]

On 8/3/2023 at 11:31 AM, Papa_squat69 said:

New to these boards!  Can’t testify to the VWE rods but I plan to get the 8’. Xxh for big baits and some musky, but I own and absolutely love the dragoon. I even got the Yamasemi spinning rod version that also has two tips. 
 

the Dragoon with the soft tip is great for the TK and other treble hook reaction. Baits. I also love the fast tip as it makes the rod very sensitive and seems like it would be a great smaller beast hook soft bait rod. 

I keep a 150 size reel for smallmouth floats with the fast tip for jigs, Texas rig, etc, and use the regular tip and a 300 size reel when i use this as a dedicated small swimbait rod (specifically TK). It is also great for spinner baits and seems like it would be great for smaller magnum flutter spoons (a new technique for me)
 

not a great jerkbait rod but I can cast pointer 100 size lures on it if needed. 
 

it will handle the 3oz rating but I feel like it’s not super comfortable. Eg I don’t love casting an 8” mag draft on it. The 1-2.75 range is perfect though, specifically the 2oz sweet spot (TK)

my first fish on this rod was a dorado in Argentina on a Raid Japan G.I. And it was perfect for it. Dorado bite slowed down and water was super low so we went after tararira (so much fun). Switched to fast tip and pitched weed mats straight braid to wire leader with a 1(I think) oz Mepps spinner  with a weedless Stanley Ribbit style frog as the trailer, casting on top of weed mats and letting it fall off the edges. 
 

took it to Florida and caught fish. Taking it river striper fishing and plan to use it as a musky small bait rod for our smaller water musky and our lake musky that sometimes like small lures. Also have caught rainbow trout with it on jerkbaits. I Keep it in an old fly rod tube hidden under my truck seat and don’t have to worry about it breaking or being seen. Fits in a standard 9’ 4piece fly rod tube and comes with a standard 4 piece (very nice) fly rod sock.  
 

same thing with the Yamasemi. Use the regular tip for trout in the smokies with an indicator and double nymph rig (Nikko stonefly, mayfly, caddis etc and even actual tied flies) and the fast tip for smallmouth fishing with owner finesse football heads and Nikko hellgrammite/leeches and even 3” swimbaits on a 1/32 jig head. Same rod. 

For both rods I keep the rod tube tied onto my bag and worst case scenario I have an extra tip if one breaks. Also, it goes with me as a carry on. 

having been a fly fisherman for years before switching over to having more fun, the tech for multi piece rods is sound and solid so long as you assemble it correctly. I have noticed with casting bigger baits it’s good to check the ferrules and alignment every so often. As you would a knot connection. 

These rods are not cheap and I was quite disappointed to see the made in China when there is a lot of literature and talk about “handmade in Japan”.  To be fair, blanks made in Japan and assembled to whatever degree in China. They are beautiful and feel very high quality, and highly sensitive, especially with the faster tip. 
 

that being said they are worth every penny (to me) and i would recommend them to anyone if you can find them. 

I will be curious to see reviews on the VWE rods as they seem amazing and will be my next rod purchase 100%. The only reason I chose the dragoon over a VWE as my first travel rod was the versatility of the two tips. 
 

Have you ever fished hollow belly frogs on the Dragoon's fast tip? 

[Quinnadamss]

Bumping this back up, anyone have experience with the 7’ 8” heavy vs the 7’ 11” x heavy? Wont be throwing anything over 4oz on it, mostly tks, gancraft 178s, smaller magdrafts and wakes

also interested in the destroyer ts casino if anyone has experience with that as well! 

[Papa_squat69]

I’m an update- I ended up getting the 7,11” and love it. Haven’t caught anything on it yet but took it traveling and missed a barracuda and a tarpon on it with the extremely limited time I got to fish from shore. For being rated as an XH rod it casts light lures remarkably. The lightest I’ve gone this far is 3/8oz dark sleeper. 1/2oz is better. Still need to get a proper beach spinning rod but am extremely happy with this one. It cast everything from spoons to top water pencils, 4” paddletails. Favorite lure combo (missed barracuda and tarpon on this) was the ISM magnaberius. Super responsive with 50lb braid and 100lb mono leader. It will likely replace dragoon for travel purposes, though the rod sock it comes with is IMO overkill. It’s made out of like cordura kr something and has pockets and neoprene and stuff and It’s tough to get it into a standard fly rod tube. It’s worth noting that this rod also did not fit into any of my regular rod socks, even a blue water fly rod. Dragoon packs much better. Having had and travelled some with both, I think 7’11” is my new go to casting as If I’m going to travel for fish it’s likely salt or musky and dreams of peacock bass. The 7’11” just feels more versatile for reaction baits. Even casts 1/2oz spinner bait very well. If there’s bass or river fishing, probably will take dragoon. And locally (mid tn) I see myself using it more as it’s so damn light. 

On 1/21/2024 at 10:18 PM, CodyC123 said:

Have you ever fished hollow belly frogs on the Dragoon's fast tip? 

I haven’t got into frogging yet, but it does cast them quite well and seems responsive. I like it for jigs and single hook weedless swimbaits. Also pitching into trees. My new favorite lure for it might actually be a Separ 9 and Duo Clawtrap. Casts a mile. Haven’t put in a lot of time with those yet but they seem promising. Also love it for free rig.

[chang127]

10 hours ago, Quinnadamss said:

Bumping this back up, anyone have experience with the 7’ 8” heavy vs the 7’ 11” x heavy? Wont be throwing anything over 4oz on it, mostly tks, gancraft 178s, smaller magdrafts and wakes

also interested in the destroyer ts casino if anyone has experience with that as well! 

I owned both the VKC-78H and VKC-711XH, but I ended up selling the 78H and kept the 711XH. The 711XH is much more versatile which suits my needs better. The 78H was great for smaller treble hook baits like TKs, Negotiators, Jointed Claw 178s, and similar-sized baits. If that were all I threw or if I preferred lighter baits, I would have kept it. However, I also like to throw baits in the 4-5oz range like K9s, Phoneys, Mag Gills, etc. I found that the 711XH could handle these baits well while still being able to comfortably throw the smaller baits mentioned above. It may not have handled those lighter baits as well as the 78H, but it performed well enough that I often left the 78H at home.

Also, I recently picked up a Cookai CK-710EXHC, and I think it's even more versatile than the VKC-711XH. I've thrown baits from the TK all the way up to the K9 on it comfortably, but with the faster tip I'm even using it for soft baits like Bacca Burritos and other similar-sized top hook soft baits. So, if you don't mind a longer rod when broken down since it's only a two-piece, it's another option to consider. It still fits in the trunk of my small hatchback when broken down. 

[Huntersharp]

Bumping this thread back up, ended up getting the Triza dragoon and love it, I now have the dragoon and a leviathan daily. Thinking about adding the 7’8H Valkyrie for throwing rats and punkers, anyone have insight on using this rod for topwater applications? And I’m also looking into getting the 8XXH Valkyrie for throwing the DRT ghost, if anyone could chime in with their experience with these two rods and said applications that’d be great

[GTier525]

1 hour ago, Huntersharp said:

Bumping this thread back up, ended up getting the Triza dragoon and love it, I now have the dragoon and a leviathan daily. Thinking about adding the 7’8H Valkyrie for throwing rats and punkers, anyone have insight on using this rod for topwater applications? And I’m also looking into getting the 8XXH Valkyrie for throwing the DRT ghost, if anyone could chime in with their experience with these two rods and said applications that’d be great

Crazybassfisher has a YouTube video of him breaking down the mega bass travel rods. I believe he throws a frenzy on xxh in the video.  

[chevro1et]

4 hours ago, GTier525 said:

Crazybassfisher has a YouTube video of him breaking down the mega bass travel rods. I believe he throws a frenzy on xxh in the video.  

 

 

Edited February 23 by chevro1et

[chevro1et]

5 hours ago, Huntersharp said:

Bumping this thread back up, ended up getting the Triza dragoon and love it, I now have the dragoon and a leviathan daily. Thinking about adding the 7’8H Valkyrie for throwing rats and punkers, anyone have insight on using this rod for topwater applications? And I’m also looking into getting the 8XXH Valkyrie for throwing the DRT ghost, if anyone could chime in with their experience with these two rods and said applications that’d be great

https://swimbaitunderground.com/forums/index.php?/topic/88439-valkyire-world-expedition-vkc-80xxh-4-“-review-requested”/&tab=comments#comment-675734 

Edited February 23 by chevro1et

[Csweitzer]

The 8XXH is an absolute monster of a rod. Would be great for the Ghost. I wish I bought the 711XH because the bait I throw the most on the VWE is a Chadshad and that's a little smaller than the 80XXH is comfortable throwing. They're well made rods for sure.