I'm a bank fisherman looking for a new casting rod. My last rod was a cheap ($30) 6'6 m action field and stream rod. At this point anything is an upgrade. I dont want to spend a lot of money because I want to get a rod with some features I've never tried so when/if I do decide to buy a really nice rod in the future I'll know more about which features I want in a rod. I'm looking at a 7'0 MH, preferably split grips and a foam handle (haven't had a rod with either of those) but those last two features aren't deal breakers.
I dont have a BPS or Cabellas nearby, just dicks sporting goods. I would prefer to hold the rod before I buy it, but at the same time I'm new to the details of rods and it's hard for me to tell the difference when I do hold multiple rods.
I'm looking at getting the Vendetta. I know for 20 bucks more I can get the veritas but I hate the looks of that rod. As much as we dont want to admit looks do play some role in rod selection dont they? lol
What rods under $100 are good value rods? I've heard the dicks tec spec rods are good for $60, the BPS carbonlite (with shipping thats about 120 which is more than I want to spend)