Triple Review: LDC XH, Calcutta TE, P-Line CXX

[Fat-G]

Checked the review section and didn't see any reviews for the LDC Custom XH, just the production rods. Also didn't see anything on the TE reels, or my favorite swimbait line, P-Line CXX. This is just a short little summary, as I will be adding to it throughout the year.

 

My first swimbait combo was a Lamiglas XC807 that I got for free, a Daiwa Luna 300, and 25# P-Line C21. I was only throwing one bait, and that was an 8" Hudd. At the time, it was a convenient, readily available combo for me, and it ended up being cheap for me to obtain. I basically got the Lune for free, one of my friends who is a tourny pro pretty much just sent it to me. With that combo, I was throwing a Huddleston 30 yards. If I got lucky and had the wind at my back, I could possibly hit 40 yards. After a couple weeks of missing bites due to lack of rod power and line stretch, I bought a Dobyns 807SB. Long story short, I learned how to adjust the Luna and started making much longer casts. At that time, I also switched to 20# CXX. From February 2 to March 7, I landed six bass weighing more than 7 pounds on that combo; two 7's, an 8, two 9's, and my personal best at 10.3 pounds, all caught on the Huddleston. I was on fire, and there was no stopping me. That was far and away the best fishing month of my life. During that month, 'jwafan' messaged me that he wanted to come and fish. Josh is a cool ass dude, but he cost me a lot of money. He brought his LDC Custom 8' XH / Calcutta 400 TE combo. I really liked the reel, but the handle on his rod (at the time) felt way too long. The more I fished with my Dobyns after that, the more I began to want a much longer rear handle. I bought a Calcutta 400 TE to put on my Dobyns, but it still didn't feel right.

 

Skip ahead three months - I get my LDC Custom 8'6" XH in the mail. I had talked to Ben a lot about the handle length, and suggested what I thought it should be. Ben, in a very nice way, said that he didn't think I would like it that long and to just trust him. Seeing as he has been making rods for longer than I have been alive, and throwing swimbaits a heck of a lot longer than I had, I went along with it. Now on to the good stuff.

 

My first cast with the rod was meant to place a 12" Slammer in front of a willow tree that hung over the water, maybe thirty yards away. I was used to how far my Dobyns would throw the Slammer, so I fired away. The Slammer went twenty yards OVER and PAST the tree, into the peoples yard. I was dumbfounded. The XH loaded up so tightly that it literally had a slingshot effect on the bait. I fished the Slammer for a while, then tied on a 6.5" top hook Rising Son. Again, I threw it 20-30 yards past where I intended for it to land. I tried every bait I owned that day, and on the last cast with a BAA, a 4.5 pound chunk came up and bowling-balled it. It was a fiery little fish, but it had absolutely no chance against the hammer-dropping capabilities of an LDC/TE combo. The thing about the Custom XH blank that surprised me the most is it's versatility. I t feels like the perfect rod for the 8" Hudd, but it also feels like it was 'meant to be' when you throw a Small Rising Son. It loads so differently than other swimbait blanks. It's almost like going from a magnum crankbait rod with a lot of parabolic flex to a flipping stick with a nice parabolic tip that transitions into an XF middle section/butt.

 

Seeing as I had ordered the rod in the middle of my toad-fest with a Huddleston, that was the bait that I had really intended to use the most with the rod. When I throw a Huddleston, it's with a 'trophy bass' mentality. I don't fire off a bunch of casts trying to cover all of the bank. It's a one cast, one chance type of thing. I guess it could be described like the way Don does it. He lines up for a cast with the perfect angle to work the structure, launches the bait, and slowly works it back. In my eyes, that's a big fish technique, where as running and gunning points is a tournament day thing. I got my rod made with thick full grip, long handle, and the doorknob style buttcap. When I finally got the rod, my prespawn Hudd bite had long since died, but I went out yesterday to throw a Hudd anyways, just to see how it felt. With bass fishing in general, I like to keep my spool tension and brakes set very loose, almost to the point of nothing stopping or slowing down the spool. I kid you not, yesterday afternoon I threw a Huddleston over 100 yards easily, and probably pushing 120. I was thinking to myself that there is no way at that distance I would be able to set the hook, but two cranks in, the Hudd got drilled. It was probably a post-spawn male in deep water just slapping at it, so I didn't get a hook in the fish, but when I did set the hook, I set it right into a 15' log. That was one of the most solid hooksets I have ever felt in my life; so solid in fact that I actually dislodged the log (who knows how long it's been laying there) and brought it all the way in to the dock.

 

I'm a believer in Ben's rods. I believe that the spiral-wrapped guides help casting distance, I believe the extra 4" I have in the actual rod length help with distance (minus the extra length in the handle), and I believe the taper of the Cuxtom XH blank help to throw your bait as far as it could humanly go.

 

The only bait I ran in to problems with were my Baby Bass Wake Jr. I know that this bait is not exactly the best casting swimbait, but I could barely throw it far enough to effectively fish it. I threw my TE on that Lamiglas rod I had on my rod rack, which has basically the same lure rating as the Production Heavy, and I could throw it much farther. Low and behold, I'm about to order a Production Heavy.

 

Calcutta 400 TE: There's not much that really needs to be said here. Shimano labeled the reel as a TE, which means "Total Efficiency". they weren't lying.It is by far the smoothest, most powerful casting reel I have ever owned. The first time you use one, the difference in power is very apparent. Going from a Luna 300 (which is by all means an awesome reel, I would buy one again in a pinch) to the 400 TE is, like Matt Peters said in Southern Trout Eaters, like towing a bass boat with a Prius versus an F-450 dually. It's that good. The Curado 300, Pluton, and Z2020 are great reels, but in my opinion they don't hold a candle to the 400 TE in terms of power. Granted, they are all 300 sized reels, but still. I took mine apart and removed all of the excess grease from the pinion gear. It helped with casting distance a lot, but I'm curious to see what Geoff could do in terms of supertuning. Maybe when I get the Production Heavy / Daiwa Lexa combo I'll send both reels to Geoff.

 

P-Line CXX: In my mind the toughest, most abrasion resistant, lowest stretch non-braided line we could use for swimbaits. It eventually gets stretched out, but the first couple hours and/or fish seem to be the best for me. I hate stretchy line, and obviously it will inevitably become stretchy, but to me, this is the perfect line. I have snagged Hudds on the bottom before and bent out 2X Owner hooks trying to get it back. I've never felt the need to worry about break-offs if I'm sure my knot is perfect, and I've never felt like my line wasn't strong enough. I've used 20, 25, and now 30# for my swimbaits. My only complaint is that I go through a lot of line, and it adds up over time. ish gets expensive!

[Cochran53]

Awesome review! I'm talking to Ben about this very same Combo (XH and TE)! Thanks for the added incentive to buy one!

[Vedak]

Excellent review! I actually had the same thoughts on the Dobyns vs LDC. Ben said my XH and XXH should be done soon. Gonna run a 400TE on both of them. And I'm coming off the Dobyns 807MAGH.

 

You should definitely get the reels super tuned by Geoff. He can do some ridiculous stuff with your reel from what I understand.

[Wakebait]

Nice and informative. Great review.

[Fat-G]

Thanks guys, I'm surprised no one else has added anything. These three things seem to be real popular!

[Mikey99]

Nice reviews, thanks for putting the time in to write them.

 

What are the smallest baits you would throw on the XH/400 combo, and how large have you tried?

 

Also, how do you like the lower gear ration on the 400 as compared to a Curado?

[Fat-G]

Nice reviews, thanks for putting the time in to write them.

 

What are the smallest baits you would throw on the XH/400 combo, and how large have you tried?

 

Also, how do you like the lower gear ration on the 400 as compared to a Curado?

 

I don't have the 400TE anymore, but the smallest I have ever thrown on the custom XH is a swimjig. The biggest and heaviest is a BA Armageddon. This blank is really incredible. The comparison I use is the Dobyns swimbait rods are like a giant crankbait rod, and the LDC custom blanks are like giant jig/worm rods. They are much more powerful and authoritative - and give you a ton more control over your bait, casting distance, and power when you're cranking in a big fish.

 

I would consider the custom XH to be the perfect rod to throw a hudd with. But then throw a Lexa or curado on it and you can throw small FS's, 3:16 soft bluegills, etc. This rod will absolutely launch a Rising son (small and large) into the sunset.

 

I liked the TE a lot, but my only gripes with it were:

 

Hated the color

 

Wished it was 2" faster

 

Wished it was not such a wide reel

 

Wished it had a longer handle

 

Literally everything in that list points to the fact that I would love a Calcutta 400D. The TE is an insanely powerful reel, though.

[elnicko]

Nice review! I fish a 401TE spooled with 25#CXX for my bigger baits like Slide Swimmers, 10" Triple Trouts, OG Wake etc. and love the combo. The TE has tons of power. I've winched in a couple of stripers north of 10# with no problem when I have to due to limited room on the bank at one of my spots. The CXX casts really well when its new, but it does get some kinks and nicks in it over time so checking the line and respooling frequently is a must. I'm using an 867 right now and really like it, but would love to try a Custom XH one day when funds permit.

[Fat-G]

Nice review! I fish a 401TE spooled with 25#CXX for my bigger baits like Slide Swimmers, 10" Triple Trouts, OG Wake etc. and love the combo. The TE has tons of power. I've winched in a couple of stripers north of 10# with no problem when I have to due to limited room on the bank at one of my spots. The CXX casts really well when its new, but it does get some kinks and nicks in it over time so checking the line and respooling frequently is a must. I'm using an 867 right now and really like it, but would love to try a Custom XH one day when funds permit.

 

Do it, you will never look back. I liked the TE a lot too, it has incredible power and gearing and you can really put some pressure on fish. The first 9 pounder I caught on a Hudd last spring I was using a Luna 300. Great reel, but the fish freight-trained it going the other way and didn't plan on stopping. It got to the point where the fish was pulling so hard the other way that I could not move the reel handle - never ran into that problem with the TE. My only complaints are the handle length feels a bit short and I hate the gold color!