More Rods Or Higher Quality Rods

[marktz96]

I am thinking about selling my higher end rods and switching to duckett so I can have a wider variety of rods rather than a few good ones. What are y'alls opinions on this?

[fishguy613]

more higher quality rods

[plumworm]

All of my rods are mid level St Croix. I have never felt that I was at a disadvantage. I am a 68 year old  clutz and would never spent more than $150 for a rod. Plus, the one or two fish I might miss because I don't have a $400 rod  are irrelative. A $ 39.00 lightning rod no, A $100 Mojo rod, Yes  

[BobP]

Do you think you can sell your high end rods for enough to cover the cost of more lower cost Ducketts?  Color me doubtful but If so, why the heck would you want to do that?  I have nothing at all against Duckett rods - I've never used one.  But the idea that one rod company has rods that would be "just perfect" and better than all other brands tor me for every presentation seems damned unlikely.  If you have a financial sponsorship with Duckett, it would make sense.  Or if you have some misbegotten insistence on rod fashion that dictates you must use rods all the same color or style.  If not,.... 

[mjseverson24]

I go with the more medium quality set ups, rather than a few very nice ones... a combo in the 200 dollar range will work great for most applications, some techniques higher end gear is helpful, but you can do without...

 

Mitch

[Bluebasser86]

Your idea of higher end may not be the same as someone else's either. I fish mostly St. Croix LTBs, which I consider to be high end rods, but some are going to consider them mid range rods if they fish all G Loomis or Megabass. For me I like to find the balance of price and performance and just accumulate them slowly as I get extra income. 

[WIGuide]

My advice would be to keep your high end stuff especially for techniques that require the higher sensitivity. From there you can add on some lower budget ones to fill the holes especially in actions you'll use for power fishing if you feel you really need more. 

[roadwarrior]

Grow the herd slowly and own any brand you like.

[aavery2]

I wish I had all the money I have spent back on 100-150 rods and purchased all Gloomis NRX

[bflp3]

I'd rather have more combos than super expensive stuff. Before this winter, all of my rods were BPS brand and less than $80, still caught fish and won tournaments. I'm probably in an ignorant bubble of bliss never fishing the expensive stuff, so I don't know what I'm missing.

[hike4steel]

Keep and enjoy your higher end rods.  I personally can't make myself take a financial hit to get rid of an expensive rod with a lifetime warranty.   There are a lot of very good "bang for the buck" rods out there in the 100 to 200 dollar price range.  Add them as you can and seek advise hear before your purchase.

[curtis9]

I wish I had all the money I have spent back on 100-150 rods and purchased all Gloomis NRX

 

 

I agree with this.  If I would have saved and spent wisely I have a lot better rod collection these days.

 

Instead I bought anything that I found a good deal on, and end up selling most at a loss as I finally bought better gear.

[*Hootie]

A very interesting topic, as I just recently traded some lower end gear for two new G Loomis GLX's and a few other items.

Hootie

[Tywithay]

Give me 5 great combos over 10 ok combos. I sold basically everything a couple years ago and upgraded, won't go back. I had spent stupid money to have 30+ rods and reels, most of which I never used; now I have 7 and don't even use all of those either. Quality over quantity for me.

[new2BC4bass]

Keep and enjoy your higher end rods.  I personally can't make myself take a financial hit to get rid of an expensive rod with a lifetime warranty.   There are a lot of very good "bang for the buck" rods out there in the 100 to 200 dollar price range.  Add them as you can and seek advise hear before your purchase.

X2.  Me either.  I will keep my "nice" rods.  Nice for me, but only mid tier at best for some.    My older model Tec Spec is a better rod than any I use to fish with.

 

What do you consider high end?  My older Cumara is high end for me.  My Smallmouth rods are super values and are rods I can enjoy using whenever I go fishing.

[Jon G]

Give me 5 great combos over 10 ok combos. I sold basically everything a couple years ago and upgraded, won't go back. I had spent stupid money to have 30+ rods and reels, most of which I never used; now I have 7 and don't even use all of those either. Quality over quantity for me.

X2 the biggest thing I would say is to buy something that feels good to you and can fit your budget. I have ducketts and a few dobyns i tend to get ducketts because they feel really comfortable to me and can fit my budgett. 

[Arv]

Quality over quantity for me as well. I fish from a yak though so it doesn't make sense for me to have 10+ rods (I have 6). Not that there is anything wrong with the mid-range (which I agree is relative) or even a $50 rod, but once I got my first higher end rod, I eventually wound up selling all my 'low' to 'mid-range' rods for the higher end rods. I could have saved a lot of money just buying the more expensive gear.

[BradGuenette]

4 years ago during the off season I sold off 10 Shimano crucials and replaced them with 5 Dobyns Rods and since that point have been adding 2 or so rods a season. If you save up for them it really doesn't hurt your pocket, I'm up to 16 now and could not be happier

[rippin-lips]

You don't need expensive gear to catch fish. There are plenty of people on here that catch a lot of fish using a lot cheaper gear then others. You can't buy experience or time on the water. I'll bet there are more then a few people on here that hopped on the Dobyns train and don't do any better then they did before or would get out fished by someone using a $100 rod.

[jbsoonerfan]

You don't need expensive gear to catch fish. There are plenty of people on here that catch a lot of fish using a lot cheaper gear then others. You can't buy experience or time on the water. I'll bet there are more then a few people on here that hopped on the Dobyns train and don't do any better then they did before or would get out fished by someone using a $100 rod.

 

 

Some people will never understand this. I have used really high end gear (Steez reels on Steez rods) and now I use Tatulas on Duckett Ghosts. I didn't catch any more fish on the Steez stuff than I do now. In fact, I catch more fish now because I have learned more about how to catch fish, instead of what to catch fish with. I too was once caught up in the whole idea that spending more $ meant that I would catch more fish. Then one day I took my high dollar gear and one of my buddies got on my boat with a couple old rods and old reels. The only thing I could think was "how does he expect to catch anything." After getting my butt kicked (probably 5 to 1) for 8 hours, I decided that maybe I needed to learn how to present baits as opposed to how cool I looked standing on the boat.

[RippinLips4]

Some people will never understand this. I have used really high end gear (Steez reels on Steez rods) and now I use Tatulas on Duckett Ghosts. I didn't catch any more fish on the Steez stuff than I do now. In fact, I catch more fish now because I have learned more about how to catch fish, instead of what to catch fish with. I too was once caught up in the whole idea that spending more $ meant that I would catch more fish. Then one day I took my high dollar gear and one of my buddies got on my boat with a couple old rods and old reels. The only thing I could think was "how does he expect to catch anything." After getting my butt kicked (probably 5 to 1) for 8 hours, I decided that maybe I needed to learn how to present baits as opposed to how cool I looked standing on the boat.

 

Ive been so hard headed and this just finally made me realise that i dont need the Dobyns Champions or G. Loomis GLX but if i have the money for them i would for sure buy them. I thinki just wanted some  "High Quality" gear. but there was nothing wrong with the stuff i had. i just wanted to say "I Have a 300$ rod im the best a fishing." but in realitity its 80% the fisherman 20% the gear. i bet KVD could use a berkley cherrywood and still bash there heads in. 

[RippinLips4]

You don't need expensive gear to catch fish. There are plenty of people on here that catch a lot of fish using a lot cheaper gear then others. You can't buy experience or time on the water. I'll bet there are more then a few people on here that hopped on the Dobyns train and don't do any better then they did before or would get out fished by someone using a $100 rod.

 

I always think you should spend more on the rod than the reel, if your budgets 300$ i would buy a 200$ rod and wait for a reel to go on sale or buy a used one.

[SirSnookalot]

I think it's admirable to support the fishing industry and the economy with higher priced gear, even if some go into hock to do so.  Cost is not the major determining factor for me, I buy what gets the job done.  I have rods I don't use often or at all because I don't care for them, some of those are not what would be classified as budget.  I have an offshore rod that cost well over $200, used 3 or 4 times and it's been sitting for years, it doesn't get the job done.  On the opposite side I have a bass rod that cost $55 and I love it and I use it almost daily.  My favorite brand cost slightly under $100, I'd put it up against anything.

I was at DSG in Ft Laud the other day, the associate working there,(a gentleman about my age), had an album of fish pictures sitting on the counter he had caught using my favorite brand.  I catch some pretty nice fish, but my jaw dropped when I saw what he was catching with this very same rods that I use.

[Jason Penn]

i don't think it matters what the cost of the gear is, it's who's using it.  i've always used good to hi-end gear because i don't carry a lot with me, normally 4 casting & 1 spinning.  i just fish the things that i like fishing and stick pretty much to the techniques i have confidence in and have gotten fairly good at.

 

i'm also a believer in the rod being more important for jig/worms than the reel.  i would (and have) use a bps reel on hi-end rods for these techniques

[EsoxWI]

Jbsooner fan has it right, IMO. It comes down to knowledge and experience that makes you a better fisherman. The gear adds to the experience for some, others may care less. My mid range gear (Avids & Loomis IMX's) have not necessarily caught me any more fish, but my growing knowledge and experience have landed a few more than in the past. However, and I am sure this is just in my head, but my gear has made the experience even more enjoyable, and in truth, for me, it adds some confidence, wether real or just perceived, by having a rod with slightly better components than rods I have owned in the past.