Misfit95

That's EXACTLY how I feel, Primetime. I can't afford nor do I need even a $100 rod (although I know that they are definitely better than cheaper rods usually are) but I DO feel that there are cheaper rods that are still dependable and fairly sensitive. The way I see it, I need something TOUGH and I need something that is sensitive, but I don't need it to be so sensitive that I have to spend 100 dollars on it. I fish for fun, and when I start putting hundreds of dollars into my gear, that's not fun to me anymore because I'm taking it too seriously. Taking my fishing too seriously is something I think I need to work on, because I think I often take it so seriously that I take the fun out of it. I often times have to step back and remind myself I'm NOT Kevin Vandam, have never been Kevin Vandam, and never will be Kevin Vandam, nor will I ever be HALF as good of a fisherman as he is. That being said, I heard good things about the cherrywood rods, they felt nice and seemed nice, and they were cheap, so I just decided I'd give them a try. If they aren't what I hoped, I can always afford to get a few rods more in the 50-80 dollar range if I need to. I used to have a Vendetta that I LOVED until the second eyelet decided to come 'unwrapped'. The eyelet is now on the rod still, but it can swivel any direction it wants to on the rod. Still casts, but just doesn't seem right for me to use a rod with a broken eyelet.

Nice picture, OroBass. A picture is worth a thousand words. So, I went to Bass Pro today, and I was looking at the lightning rods, and happened to notice the Cherrywood HD rods right next to them. Well, I examined them, tested out the tapers, played around with them a little, and decided that I actually liked the Cherrywood HD way more than the lightning rod. I love how stiff the cherrywood is, and the fact that it's incredibly light. Not an extraordinary number of eyelets, I think the ones I got only had like, 5 or 6 but for 25 dollars a piece, I figured I'd try them. Plus, I still have the receipts, so if something goes wrong and I need to return them to try something different, I do have that option. Just wanna say thanks to everyone for all of your input. After all that, I went with a cheap $25 rod LOL but so far, it seems really nice. (the term 'really' is relative haha).

Wow, thanks for all the responses guys...just got home from work and I'm overwhelmed by all the advice and what not... What a great website. =) I'm really not sure what to do here. I'm headed to bass pro in a little bit, maybe I just need to play around with some rods for a while. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Thanks for all the responses so far. So, Tony L, I'm thinking maybe I'll just pay the extra 10 bucks and get a vengeance rod. I am a HUUUUUGE Abu Garcia fan, I absolutely love everything they make because I feel that EVERYTHING they make is quality. For example, I own an Abu Garcia Black Max low profile baitcaster...A lot of guys will probably laugh when they read that...but it's a $50 reel and it has BRASS GEARS...I mean, how often do you see a baitcasting reel in that price range with brass gears? That's crazy!!! And it reels very smoothly, casts very well....Anyway, my point is, with Abu Garcia, even if you buy something cheap from them, generally, it's still decent, because they just don't make garbage gear. Period. So maybe I'll go with the Vengeance... The rod I'm wanting to get is actually a flipping stick to use out of my kayak. However, I also plan to use this rod for carolina rigging, and possibly some pike fishing with gigantic oversize spinnerbaits and the like, LOL. I'll probably pick up the Vengeance tomorrow, but maybe I'll wait to get some more opinions... Thanks guys...

Good evening, everyone. I want some new rods, and I'm on a budget. I have been eyeing the Berkley Lightning rods (NOT THE SHOCKS, I'm talking about the original ones, I hate the shocks because they have too much flex for me). I once owned a Berkley Amp, which is a similar price point but the very first time I used it, I tightened the reel seat down on the reel because it was loose, and the reel seat cracked...it had this little plastic ring around it that cracked right in half. I was extremely disappointed. That's what I get for buying a 25 dollar rod. I'm concerned that the Lightning rod may do the same thing because I've noticed that the reel seat does have some plastic in it. But, at the same time, every time I read a forum online or hear someone talking about budget rods, they almost always bring up the berkley Lightning rod, so I figure there must be some reason for that. Anyway, do any of you guys have any experience with the lightning rods? Again, not talking about the shock series, but the original lightning rods. Are they tough? I'm not necessarily looking for the absolute nicest rod in the world, but I am mostly looking for something that is TOUGH and reliable. Anyone ever use these? Thanks in advance.

Yeah, figured I would be the odd one out, I know most bass guys kinda prefer throwing lures as opposed to live bait. I like that, too, but I've always been someone who does some of both..I do some lure fishing, and some bait fishing. Thanks for all the replies, everyone, was just curious to see if I was the only person who fished that way for bass

I like the challenge. No matter how long you've been fishing, there will always be times you come home having not even gotten a bite. You always strive to learn more, perfect your technique, and improve to the point where you will always be successful. That is the challenge of fishing. And there is ALWAYS more to learn. I fish because it keeps me busy. I am a person who will basically fill any free time I have with fishing or another hobby (but usually fishing) just because I hate sitting around and not doing anything. I generally don't like to just sit on the couch and watch TV (that's for AFTER I go fishing lol). I also just like the bragging rights. One can argue that it's selfish to brag about a 5 lb bass you caught, but honestly, if you put forth that much money to buy your gear, boat, and learn everything you know to go out there and catch her, you kind of deserve to brag A LITTLE. lol Those are all the reasons I like to fish. And contrary to what most people say, I actually don't find fishing relaxing, but maybe that's because of my personal style of taking it very very seriously, and running and gunning to different spots and what not....Only time I find it relaxing is when I'm drifting lindy rigs or trolling from my kayak. Other than that, I'm pretty serious when I'm out there.

Hi, everyone, I'm new to this website...so I hope I'm putting this topic in the right section. While on vacation up North with my family, the fishing proved to be quite horrible....the only way we could seem to catch any fish was by drifting lindy rigs with a 3/8 oz walking-style sinker with a 3-foot leader rigged with a jumbo leech...We caught a little bit of everything, but, man, those Smallmouth up there loooooved the leech on that lindy rig...And drifting with the wind allowed us to cover water, and since we didn't have a trolling motor, or even know the lake, that proved invaluable. Anyway, question I wanted to ask was, Does anyone ever drift lindy rigs with minnows, leeches, or crawlers for bass? Any tips for that? Thanks in advance, sorry if I posted this in the wrong section.

Yeah, that's sad. Sad how people have to go and take the fun out of good things by ruining it for everyone.

In my opinion, a White Bass is not really a 'bass' at all; it's actually a species of panfish (although, technically, a bass is actually a species of panfish, but let's not get that in-depth LOL). I tend to think of white bass almost a crappie, with the main difference being that white bass are a little prettier, and they also will school very aggressively on the surface, similarly to a largemouth bass or smallmouth bass. They will take bigger lures than your average panfish. My dad used to catch them on poppers. My buddy caught one on a Storm Chug Bug in a river one time...I know I've caught them on Worden's Rooster Tails and small crappie spinners...They are a pretty cool fish. A good setup for fishing for white bass, or at least what I'd use, would be a 6' 6" - 7' light or mediumlight composite rod, loaded with 4 lb test trilene XL. (I'm old school, and like mono for everything. Call me crazy, lol).