NOC 1

I understand that and agree that is why people ask for recommendations. What I was addressing is why and how a sort of cult seems to form around certain rods and reels that seems to be disconnected to whether they are or are not good equipment and whether or not they are worth the money. That seems to affect the beginners, which is not to say that it is only beginners who ask for recommendations. I also get it that the folks making the recommendations are trying to be helpful.

Not entirely true. Megabass makes a series of rods with a good backbone with what I would call a MF or M action and a solid XF tip. Check out the JDM Destroyer Carbon Head series. I have the Speed tip special which is a 3 power 6'1" rod and is IMO excellent at the lighter top water stuff and jerkbaits up to maybe 3/8.

100% That Falcon Expert rod isn't as sensitive as the new Z-bone I got, or some of my Megabass stuff, nor do they make the many special purpose and niche rods like Megabass does. But I can throw the Expert in a mix with those rods and in no way do I feel like the Expert is really outclassed. In my opinion they are much better than the Avids, the Tatulas, LTB, etc. In fact I'd put a Falcon Lowrider at about $120 up against any of those rods any day. I have a hard time sometimes figuring out exactly why everybody always recommends stuff like Mojo Bass, and any Dobyns rod other than MAYBE the very top of their line up. Just like when anyone ever asks for recommendations for rods under $100, it's so predictable that a whole bandwagon automatically recommends the Aird-x. Certainly everyone has a right to use what they like and to recommend it. But I have a suspicion that what we end up with is sort of a regenerative feedback loop. Guys who are beginners ask for recommendations. On those recommendations they buy either a Dobyns Fury or an Aird-X. A month later another guy asks for recommendations and that same guy who a month ago didn't himself know what to buy is now on the bandwagon recommending the same rod. So it gets bigger and bigger as we go. And many of the recommendations are coming from people who, while they may be very pleased with their rods haven't really fished with enough other stuff to tell what of the other stuff might be better. The Aird is a nice rod for $50, but the truth is that for $69 the Falcon HD is a much better rod than the Aird and much much better than the cheaper Dobyns stuff. I wouldn't give you $50 for a Dobyns Fury. If you gave me a choice between a Fury and a $29 Daiwa Crossfire, I'd take the Crossfire in a heartbeat. Or even a Berkley Cherry-wood. And yes, I've had all these rods. I don't mean to step on anyone's toes. It's just that I have a hard time understanding why so many really good rods get passed over just because 40 people recommend a lesser rod. What's popular isn't always what's best. You can outdo any of the rods mentioned with a Falcon, Ark, the lighter HMG, a few of the BPS rods and likely a dozen more and probably cheaper too. I just try to keep other guys from making the same mistakes I have and save them the hundreds or even thousands of dollars that I blew when I didn't know any better either. I try to keep people from buying Vendetta's, Veritas, Furys, Sierras, and etc. because they are not very good rods for the money. I know that rods are a personal thing and that one mans pleasure is anothers poison, but on the other hand a broomstick is a broomstick. Shutting down rant mode.....

I wouldn't overlook the Falcon Expert. $199 and fishes better than that.

It's the same spool.

Ichiban has a very nice PX68 right now for $178. I have several and they are great reels.

Yes, yes, and yes. that is what I have in mine and TT is where I bought it.

A 10lb fish cannot pull 10 lbs of force because he is having to push against water with his tail and the water gives way easily. Imagine that you are swimming in water over your head. Let's say you weigh 200 lbs. Do you think that you could pull a 200 pound weight off the bottom and haul it to the surface? No, because you only have the water to push against. Add to that the fact that a fish is like most animals made of mostly water, so in the water that part of the fish that is water (or anything lighter than water) doesn't count as weight because it will be supported by the water. Take your open hand and swipe it hard under water. Your hand would make a fair sized fish tail. How much ever force can you generate? On the other hand pulling a 10 lb fish wrapped up in vegetation would weigh more. Most of my reels have about 8 or 9 lb drag maxed out and I've landed fish up to 18 or 20 lbs using them and 10 lb. line. Of course you can't just flip them up into tje boat or onto shore, you're going to need a net.

Yes, I know the blanks stay the same. The point was that maybe you could find the blank that you wanted that maybe wasn't offered in the length that you wanted and have it made in that length.

No, the drag is good on the Steez.

Glad to be useful for a change...Thanks

I'm done.

I came up with the pistol grip rods too. But other than plonking around for sunfish, I have to say that I don't miss them. Most of my rods are 6'6" to 6'10". I would have to say that 6'10" is my ideal if it is balanced.

You alluded to someone not being able to set the hook because they might at some point loosen the drag. The point is that no one is loosening the drag before the hook is set any more than you are back reeling before you set the hook.

True to a point, but I have probably a dozen or more good quality 5'6" to 6'6" rods that aren't pistol grips and that are from at least the 2000's. I favor Japanese rods because they still sell shorter but modern rods. Many of my shorter rods are Megabass, not exactly outdated and cheap. In the US you can still buy 6'6", but shorter rods are rare here unless you are wanting UL trout and pan-fish rigs.

Heck, I've landed Flathead cats on 10 lb line with a reel that has 9lb of drag. My son last year boated one near 30lb using similar gear. Neither of us noticed any lack in just using the drag. I get it if folks want to back wind, but to say it works better is BS. Likely that was true 40 years ago, but no longer. Good luck finding the gear that even works like that anymore. And you better stock up on donor reels if you do. What I hear from the OP is an old guy (I'm 64 and am one too) who is grumpy because his antique gear isn't respected anymore. But hey, like in everything else, time keeps moving on. That said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with keeping the old ways alive. There are guys who like fishing with the old wooden pin reels too and all power to them. There are guys who love cars from the 20's, who shoot old re-curve bows from the 60's and who are devoted to hunting with rifles from the 1700's too. But none of those people dare to make the argument that they do so because it is more effective than the modern stuff. This is the same.

Seems to me that if you have to loosen the drag to let a fish run, you have already successfully set the hook? Do you back reel before you set the hook?

I use 5' 10" Megabass MH Jigging Special rod for vertical spoons and jigs when fishing for bottom hugging Stripers. No advantage to longer rods at all when vertical jigging, in fact the shorties offer better leverage and control over the larger fish which are always going to come up under the boat. I also use a 6'1" Destroyer Speed tip Special (solid tip) when throwing Texas rigs into brush where accuracy trumps casting distance. I also use a 6'3" Evoluzion Super Griffin MH/M for throwing top-water and various cranks in places like brush and stump fields. I'm sure there are other good uses as well. But I guess my repertoire is sort of limited.

Yep. If you are looking I might suggest starting at Ichiban Tackle in Japan. I have bought a lot of stuff from them and they have always been very good about honestly reporting the condition of their used gear and for the most part are cheaper than The "Bay".

Well, SOMEBODY is buying them...BAAAAAH

Heck yeah, for $109 it's a steal. The original spool is pretty over-braked but IMO not unusable as long as you don't need 50 yd bomb casts. But for the guys with the trick thumbs who like the somewhat wild and on the edge spools, it probably seems really lame. If you like the SS SV, you'd probably love the Steez reels. The old ones that the SS SV is derived from can be had used for under $200 in really nice shape. Maybe you should look into them the next time you're on the market. They feel a lot like the SS SV except for smoother and more solid.

I think the bigger (and so heavier) reels definitely make a difference. In the case at hand of the 2 SC rods I have, I originally tried to put Steez reels on them and they were horribly tip heavy, so I tried Tatula SV TW and it helped quite a bit. One rod became sort of OK while the other, 1" longer, while not good enough, did improve. For me I think a lot of it is because I'm older (64) and came up using heavy reels on fiberglass rods 6' long for about 25 years. The reels and metal handles on those old combos were so heavy that there was nothing tip heavy about them. Fast forward 40-50 years and now all the rods are 7'-8' long and they just don't feel right to me. Another factor is likely that I have never acquired the habit of palming my reels for the most part, so I am always feeling the rod from the handle. For me, while I really like the feather weight stuff, the overall weight of a combo isn't a deal killer for me as long as it balances well. It's a good thing that they make gear for all of us isn't it?

I like mine pretty well too. When I bought it I was hoping that because it was a spinoff from the STEEZ OG reels that it would be pretty much like it. But even after changing out the spool, the bearings and adding the handle bearings, it still isn't a Steez...but for the price it holds it's own in my opinion. Of course I paid around $190 brand new and not the $350 or so it listed for. If I would have had to pay list and then replace the spool and add bearings, I wouldn't be that happy with it I don't think. As it is, I have spent around $330 on it (not including a bit of bling) and for about 2/3 of a Steez and I ended up with a reel that is about 2/3 of a Steez.

Yes. I have it on a Megabass Destroyer Speed Tip Special rod and use it for lighter weight (< 1/2oz) top-water stuff and for small Texas rigged lizards, 1/4-3/8 casting spoons and things like that.

Sums me up pretty well. I cannot afford to buy all the most expensive rods, but I do tend to buy a lot of Japanese rods because they seem to think like I do and offer many shorter and lighter rods. I also favor the lowest power rods that I can use. I mostly use ML and M rods but favor Moderate taper for most things and XF for a few. I have quite a few rods under 6'6" that I like quite a bit. I guess the majority of USDM rods seem way too long and tip heavy. For example my favorite rod is a 6'3" Megabass Evoluzion Super Griffon. For me it is nearly a perfect rod. As for lighter reels, all but 3 of my bait casters weigh under 6 oz. There are a few other things that I can do as well. I tend to favor full grips on longer rods, which does add weight, but seems to help balance a bit. The weight matters to me less than the balance with a light reel. I can also have a builder add few grams of weight to the butt if need be. You are spot on about the ergonomics in my opinion. A jerk bait rod with a trolling rod handle is useless.