couple of rod questions?

[ohihunter2014]

I took a trip to my local Walmart that doesn't have their fishing stuff in a mess like most of them to look at a couple rods I was recommended.

 

abu Garcia vengeance

 

Berkley lightning rod

 

and a couple mitchells i read some decent reviews on.

 

Ugly stick light pro

 

Now here is the question-I tried a lightning rod and IMO the tip on that thing and everything else about it seemed like it would break almost like it was too flimsy and kind of whippy like a switch or something. It also felt very graphitey. it was marked medium action. the cork handle was really nice but the top part that screws over the reel seems like its junk.

 

abu Garcia vengeance one was medium and other medium heavy action. this rod was more stiff and the medium-heavy the tip seemed like if bent it would snap right in half like it was a stiff rod. the medium the tip was a little whippy and felt like it was well medium duty. It didn't say what they were made of and ran about $50 but I think they might be on sale cause the other ones were. this one had a coating on it that almost reminded me of the cheap Shakespeare rod combos for $20 but appears built better.

 

ugly stick light pro was a medium action and man that thing felt like I was holding a willow tree switch the last 6 inches or so was very whippy.

 

Mitchell was a combo that was around $70 marked down to $35 and it felt pretty stiff.

 

Is having a whippy tip or a non whippy tip good? I also checked some cabalas rods and noticed that the split handle ones some had longer handles and some shorter and some had more rod material showing in the middle of the handle than others. does this make a difference?

 

all rods are 6ft6 spinning rods.

 

Thank you.

[CTBassin860]

That lightning shock is 40 bucks at walmart and a great buy.A lot of us have them.I have the ML spinning rod and i wouldnt call it whippy.Its not stiff but its far from flimsy.I bought the medium vengeance a few weeks ago but haven't gotten to try it out yet.I didn't pass it up at 30 bucks since i have never had an issue with any Abu product i have owned.I plan to use it for crankbaits.All this talk about whippy rods makes me want to go to BPS and go play in the UL aisle making all the rods go "swoosh". You guys know what im talking about.You cant help it.

[RoLo]

I wouldn't pull the plug on the Berkley Lightning rod just yet.

You mentioned that it was 'medium' power and from your description it sounds like 'moderate fast' action.

Before you throw in the towel on Berkley, see if Walmart carries a 'fast' action tip, which is not as mushy.

In either case, you don't have to worry about blank failure unless you're high-sticking bass over 3 pounds.

In the final analysis, it's your baby, so make the decision that you feel most comfortable with 

 

Roger

[ohihunter2014]

16 minutes ago, MassBassin508 said:

That lightning shock is 40 bucks at walmart and a great buy.A lot of us have them.I have the ML spinning rod and i wouldnt call it whippy.Its not stiff but its far from flimsy.I bought the medium vengeance a few weeks ago but haven't gotten to try it out yet.I didn't pass it up at 30 bucks since i have never had an issue with any Abu product i have owned.I plan to use it for crankbaits.All this talk about whippy rods makes me want to go to BPS and go play in the UL aisle making all the rods go "swoosh". You guys know what im talking about.You cant help it.

was your vengeance in store or online purchase?

 

I have an ultra light Shakespeare I use for bluegill and crappie and when you cast it swooshes. LOL.

 

Its might have been a UL lightning rod then. I'm talking the tip and last few inches was very thin compared to the others.

 

is a whippy tip good or bad?

13 minutes ago, RoLo said:

I wouldn't pull the plug on the Berkley Lightning rod just yet.

You mentioned that it was 'medium' power and from your description it sounds like 'moderate fast' action.

Before you throw in the towel on Berkley, see if Walmart carries a 'fast' action tip, which is not as mushy.

In either case, you don't have to worry about blank failure unless you're high-sticking bass over 3 pounds.

In the final analysis, it's your baby, so make the decision that you feel most comfortable with 

 

Roger

thank you I will do that. the rod by the handle was beefy but seemed hollow feeling and the tip was very fine. smaller than the others tips. I will take another look.

[CTBassin860]

It was in store.I have it rigged up.I like the way it feels in hand.I know its not top quality but like i said at 30$ its was worth a look based on my experience with other Abu Garcia products.The rod blank weighs 5.1 oz. if it helps any.

This is also the 7' MM casting rod.

[ib_of_the_damned]

Are you only looking for budget rods? How much are you willing to spend on a rod?

 

I ask because when I started fishing and didn't know any better, I bought a cheap telescopic rod and reel combo from Ross and then upgraded to the cheap Walmart Shakespeare rods, then I got bit by the Bass bug and have over the years built up a 13 rod arsenal. Multi-purpose spinning and baitcasting combos, technique specific combos, etc. If I had to do it all over again I would definitely have saved up and sprung for a good MF spinning rod and MHF casting rod, it would have saved me a little money in the long run but not up front. You can certainly tell the difference between the budget rods and higher end rods. I have to admit though, that I do not have rods that exceed $200, in fact the rod that I use the most would be the iRod 7' HF casting rod (~$150), followed by a *** 7' MLF spinning rod (~$70). Both are not overpriced and handle just about everything.

[ohihunter2014]

7 minutes ago, ib_of_the_damned said:

Are you only looking for budget rods? How much are you willing to spend on a rod?

 

I ask because when I started fishing and didn't know any better, I bought a cheap telescopic rod and reel combo from Ross and then upgraded to the cheap Walmart Shakespeare rods, then I got bit by the Bass bug and have over the years built up a 13 rod arsenal. Multi-purpose spinning and baitcasting combos, technique specific combos, etc. If I had to do it all over again I would definitely have saved up and sprung for a good MF spinning rod and MHF casting rod, it would have saved me a little money in the long run but not up front. You can certainly tell the difference between the budget rods and higher end rods. I have to admit though, that I do not have rods that exceed $200, in fact the rod that I use the most would be the iRod 7' HF casting rod (~$150), followed by a *** 7' MLF spinning rod (~$70). Both are not overpriced and handle just about everything.

I only shore fish and some of the areas are public so get pounded so I have to walk through the woods to find better spots so stuff gets beat up a lot so don't want to buy a lot of stuff or expensive stuff and have it get broken. Just want something to fool around with but better than my Walmart Shakespeare combos.

[ib_of_the_damned]

1 minute ago, ohihunter2014 said:

I only shore fish and some of the areas are public so get pounded so I have to walk through the woods to find better spots so stuff gets beat up a lot so don't want to buy a lot of stuff or expensive stuff and have it get broken. Just want something to fool around with but better than my Walmart Shakespeare combos.

I only bank/shore fish as well, I don't know anyone with a boat or been to a real lake and rented a boat. I have been relegated to just going to local city park lakes and fishing there. A lot of the times I catch the skunk and probably average 1-4 bass a month (I also only fish 2-4 times a month on the weekends) so I know all too well what its like to go fishless... But I am a firm believer that if I can catch Bass in heavily pounded/pressured city park lakes, I can catch Bass anywhere. If you are only going to take a couple rods with you, I would save up and spend a little extra on better blanks. Most reputable rod manufacturers have value driven rods that are very good for the money. iRod has the Fiber Series, G.Loomis has E6X, Powell has the Diesel and Nusance line, and Dobyns with their Fury line of rods. I would definitely look into those. Like I said before, none of my rods are over $200 and most of these rods are about $80-$120. You get what you pay for with rods. So I would recommend a MF spinning rod and a MHF casting rod and that will cover most of what you might be throwing.

[slimjim1135]

If the Mitchell combo has a 300 or 308 reel on, it'd be hard to beat for that price. I prefer the drag on Mitchell 300s to Pflueger Presidents, and the reels themselves are worth the $40 they normally cost, let alone getting a little combo out of it. I can't speak for their avocet combos though. 

[ohihunter2014]

Well I think I've made my decision. I reviewed the cabelas tourney trail im8 with pflueger president reel and it seems like a good setup. I am also thinking of buying the abu Garcia vengeance or vendetta and pairing it with the pflueger summit which is on sale right now or i might buy both combos so i don't have to decide between the 2.