One Rod Company?

[Banned-99884]

This came up in another thread. What do you think about staying with 1 rod company? Not having 10 rods from 10 diffrent companys? Do you think its better to expirement or to have 1 rod so you know how the rod feels when you pick up a diffrent one?

[mjseverson24]

if you are a tournament guy it might be good to be as consistent as possible and go with the one company, but if you are just having fun fishing i would try as many different products as possible to find which you really like... that being said i dont think that any one company or rod line has the best of every different presentation out there, some company's have great finesse rods some have great flippin sticks, i have not came across a 1 brand is best for everything situation, at least at the 100-175 price range, which is where i like to be at on my rods...

 

Mitch

[Stingray23]

I believe in using one company for all my rods and reels. You get familiar with certain characteristics that each company has. For example, all my rods and reels are Quantum. I will be getting new rods in the near future and they will all be from one manufacture. I dont like having to re-learn new things and tendencies while fishing or anything for that matter.

[FlipnLimits]

I like the idea of it a lot.  But agree with Mitch, some brands do things better than others.  2 brands might do the trick though.

 

FL

[Hooked_On_Bass]

All of my rods are one brand. I don't think it's any better or overly advantageous, I just like consistency.

For that matter, all of my reels are one brand, as well. Although, that could change if the right reel came along.

[Tywithay]

I like too many different rods to just stick with one. Soon I'm going to start building my own though, so I can just pick what I want.

[Grizzn N Bassin]

I like my st crioix, but have tried others. Which ive liked alot . I buy whatever i can get a good deal on a rod.

[Grantman83]

I've tried tons of rods and company's. The reason I stick with one is because you become aware of that company's actions and tapers. Example,

St croix and Abu rods are generally heavier than their rating. So a MH Veritas fishes much like another company's heavy. So I found myself in the past fishing a chatterbait with a mh in one company and a H with another.

Why not just have several of one company's H action rods and not have to worry or think about other rods? I have 4 heavy action dobyns rods because they can do almost everything. That way I don't have to get crazy mixing and matching company ratings with the techniques I use them for. It is just easier for me.

However, having the OCD and bait monkey affliction that I do, I am not afraid to try new things. Some people prefer having several rods like I did in the past, and that's fine. Sometimes you just find "the" rod for the application you want regardless of brand

[flippin and pitchin]

I used to have four different brands of rods in use and two reel companies. I now have one rod brand and casting reels down to one company and I like it that way. I searched for years to get the actions, lengths, tapers and handle configurations I like.  When I could find them in one brand, I was a happy boy.  Back in the early 80's I built most of my rods to get what I wanted. Equipment has come light years beyond what was available when I started bass fishing. Having your stuff  "dialed in " is nice.

[Bluebasser86]

I like to try to stick to one brand for the familiarity. However, if another company makes a rod that does something better I'm not so hung up on brand loyalty that I won't use something else. 

[frogflogger]

Rods, I buy action not brand - reels - I like most of them - I have tourney pros and guide friends who use one brand and feel it gives them consistency - it makes no difference to me as long as the equipment performs to my needs.

[WIGuide]

I've got an assorted mix of rods, but I'm in the process of slowly upgrading and as I do so I'm moving towards one brand.

[KC5TTC]

I have had a variety of rods for the past few years, Garcia, Duckett, Carrot Stix, Allstar, Skeet Reese, and the list goes on and on. I recently joined the Denali Pro-staff and was required to only carry 4 of their rods. I felt that if I was going to represent them, I needed to have as much knowledge as possible. I sold all my rods and bought all Denali Rods. I now have 10 of them. Best thing I ever did.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

If you just have 3-4 rods to cover the basics and you have a brand you like, that's fine. The more technique specific you get, the more likely that you'll find a certain brand/model fits the bill better than the brand of the majority of your rods. This is the same reasoning for not being exclusive to one blank manufacturer for my custom builds. If the brand you like has a robust line up (like St Croix for example), being brand loyal makes more sense. It's really up to you.

[Lucky Craft Man]

I am a one brand rod guy for no specific reason (maybe consistency in collection), though, I am not a one brand reel guy.  Go figure.

[Felix77]

I try to stay with one rod company if I can for consistency sake.  Comes from my golf days.  Same set of clubs across my set.  

[Master Bait'r]

I have all 13 rods but that's just because I can't find another rod that I feel gives me more of everything I want for less money.  I'd love to own a Dobyns but I just can't justify spending the extra cash that could be spent rounding out the tackle or the boat instead.

 

I guess for my personal set of wants/needs/financial constraints, 13 is right about the pinnacle of the point of diminishing returns so I pretty much stopped there.  

[Darren.]

I have found, in my limited brand experience, that I like some more than others, wish I didn't buy some after I try another, etc.

 

So I might be that guy who, once he's gotten over the bug of trying new brands, settles with one.

[roadwarrior]

...but if you are just having fun fishing i would try as many different products as possible to find which you really like...

 

Well, I understand where you're coming from on this, but I would suggest at least considering another tact.

Most of "Team Depends" have spent a decade or four fishing different brands and whatever is the New Best

Thing! That's fun and you do get a more rounded view. However, for those that care, it's an expensive journey.

My suggestion is to use what others have learned the hard way. The options are many and today's competitive 

market offers several great opportunities at every pricing point.

 

Shimano, G. Loomis and St. Croix have been my primary choices for many years. Recently I have had the

opportunity to test and review several of the Pinnacle Tournament Series Rods and Reels. The DHC rods 

are VERY nice and a GREAT VALUE at $160.

 

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing_lures/pinnacle-optimus-xlt-dhc-review.html

 

 

 

[B@ssCrzy]

I have not found one company that has satisfied me completely at the price point ($100) I want so I keep looking at different brands and models.  Normally I just find something on sale for a higher price point and then it spoils me for the $100 price point.  Just bought a Denali Jadewood for $100 so we will see how that goes. 

[J Francho]

I have to admit, a pile of Saint Croix's with Daiwa reels on them looks good on the deck. That said, some of my favorite rods come from G.Loomis, Pinnacle, Deep South, Dobyns, and Saint Croix.

[bigbill]

I just purchased all my new spinning rod setups in the lews brand from lighter trout setups to heavy action bass setups.

I have a few lews bait caster setups. I purchased the other bait caster really rods in various brands for a boat when I rent a boat on the lake. These are longer rods in different actions.

I could fish with any rod with a decent reel. If I did it all over again from the start I'd say put your money in decent quality line. Yozuri hybred, 22caliber silver thread, vicious copolymer lines are all decent lines.

Good quality reels are okuma, fin nor, but more affordable ones for the tight budgets are the quantums. I never wore out a quantum reel. The diawa seems like a decent reel too(all spinning).

No matter what your using you can't catch fish if your not out there fishing.

[240 LTS]

I like simplicity and organization. Like my latest purchase, I try and keep it simple (3- PQ, BC all are 6.4:1; 5 Signature Series II, 2- spinning and 3- BC'ers)

The purchase before that, long ago, 6- PQ IM7 spinning combos for $50.00 each. 3- 6'-6" M and 3- 7'-0" MH with PQ reels to match.

Yes, they are not near top of the line but they have preformed well for me.

 

When I take others out, the trend goes towards the more simplisitic and organized they are, the better angler they turn out to be.

Guys that have this or that because they thought it was the latest and greatest or just picked something off the rack, had no real ryme or reason for how they set up their equipment, from the basics (matching rod/reel/line/bait choice) to the detailed (sharp hooks, good knots, drag set, etc...) The latter could be considered the basics also.

 

Because my tools look the same at a glance, at the bottom of the rod blank, just above the reel seat, I have white electrical tape wrapped once around the blank with the rods action wtitten with a Sharpie, i.e. M, MH, on the top side for easy quick identification of that rod.

Depending on the reel manufacturer, (BC'ers) Lews, Abu, Diawa, and now the PQ'ers, the retrieve ratios are the same, or very near with the Lews, in their group.

 

Yes, I think staying with one brand is wise but that doesn't mean I won't look at others and try them out when possible.

It let's you know if the equipment you have chosen is helping or hindering you.

 

 

[Goose52]

Browsing through my tackle spreadsheet shows that I have accumulated rods from 14 companies and reels from 13 companies.  I like variety, it's fun.

 

If I was to start over from scratch, I could probably whittle it down to 3 or 4 companies for rods - the same for reels.  Even if one company DID cover all the bases...I would find limiting myself to only one brand somewhat...boring.

 

Regarding efficiency - I don't fish tournaments so time isn't a critical factor. I fish for fun, and having lots of different tackle to play with is fun. I managed to catch 1885 bass last year.  I wonder how many more I would have caught if all my rods and reels were from the same company...

[NathanW]

I have not found one company that has satisfied me completely at the price point ($100) I want so I keep looking at different brands and models.  Normally I just find something on sale for a higher price point and then it spoils me for the $100 price point.  Just bought a Denali Jadewood for $100 so we will see how that goes. 

 

X2. At first I was thinking no way can one brand suffice for an entire arsenal of rods but on second thought they probably can. I am just not willing to pay for em now that the 100 dollar sticks are fishing at such a high level. I have 9 different brands currently that I use.