Am I the only one

[carnegie519]

I have all expensive reels(curado dc, antares dc, chrnoach ci4) list goes on. But only use cheaper rods. Just picked up the 2  shimano exage and my othe workhorse rods are all 100 dollar rods. Am I missing out by not pairing up with rods of higher quality. Maybe somthing like a zodias rod? 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

To each his own.  Personally, if the goal is strictly putting fish in the boat I'd screw the budget toward rods. 

[The Bassman]

I have a pair of 40.00 Cabela's spinning rods that fish better for me than my two Zodias.  In my case comfort and utility outweigh sensitivity.  That said, the Cabela's Pro Guides are very light and sensitive also.

[PAbasser927]

I am with DVT in that I would much rather put money into my rods than into the reels.  For one of my setups, the rod cost me about $230 while the reel sitting on top of it cost me about $50.

[rippin-lips]

Easy solution. Buy rods just as nice as your reels. Shimano Expride is a very nice rod series. 

[carnegie519]

Gonna have to give the expride a shot. I like to say a reel makes a rod better. Maybe I have been looking at the picture wrong

[DogBone_384]

I mix it up.  Most of my reels are  $200 and up and and they’re paired with Abu Garcia Veritas, Ike, and a couple of Villains.  When not using Abus, I’m fishing Kistlers.  I use Abus more than Kistlers because they work well and feel good in my hand.  

 

I’ll use my Kistlers when I want to treat myself, I guess.

[diehardbassfishing]

I look at rod / reel as separate functions. They work together in only the basic obvious way. But one can't make up for a deficiency of the other.

Starting out I was a reel nut. The rod didn't matter as long as there was one there. Then after a time, I really needed to see if I could appreciate differences in rods. Quickly found that the rod(s) I was using couldn't honestly handle the rated lure weights. A rod rated for a top end of 3/4 oz should have a tip that handles that weight on a hard cast. This was not so on the popular inexpensive rods I became used to. I just wasn't paying to the details - especially at the extremes.

A rod that can't really handle a lure that it's in its stated rating will cause a "shanked" cast. Proper loading of a rod during a cast is a fisherman's best friend. Consistency and max distance are the reward.

Good rods don't have to cost $500. But a good rod that any experienced angler would recommend will come from a respected manufacturer and will cost at least $100. And if American made, in the $200-$300 range.

I won't go into the sensitivity aspect here - there's plenty of that to read - but a good rod should be used with a good reel. Need to appreciate both for maximum performance.

 

Karl

[burrows]

3 hours ago, carnegie519 said:

Am I missing out by not pairing up with rods of higher quality. Maybe somthing like a zodias rod? 

Sensitivity your missing out on sensitivity. But your having a lot of fun with nice baitcasters.

[Bluebasser86]

I use cheaper rods for moving baits and higher end stuff for feel baits like T-rigs and jigs. 

[Mike L]

You gotta know the fish is there before you can catch 'em. 

The reel does nothing for you. 

 

Its all in the line up the rod 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[TOXIC]

First and foremost, I am a finesse fisherman.  Usually on spinning rods.  Rod sensitivity is a big aspect of my game so I tend to put more value in a quality spinning rod.  Spinning reels are mid-range in price because I need a good drag system finessing and a bail system that holds up.  I really like my CastAway Skeleton's.  I usually pair them up with Browning Midas reels.  Baitcasters I tend to go more towards the reel since I want performance that keeps me from pulling out backlashes.  The waters I fish, long casts are rare.  The key question on value to me is always......at what point do you end up paying big $$ for minimal gains?  What is the difference between a 150-200 dollar rod or reel compared to a 3-400 dollar setup.  To be honest, it's never been enough to move me into that camp.   

[LCG]

I prefer to focus on rod quality and sensitivity. All of my reels are bang for your buck Pfluegers and Daiwas. Smooth drag and decent amount of line retrieval (IPT) is all I really need in a reel. The rod seems to be a bigger factor in how I fish. YMMV. 

[NHBull]

I think you answer is obvious based on the the state ants above.

For me, bottom contact requires sensativity, thus more expensive rod.  Moving baits require less, so the same is true here. The issue for me is weight and pain. Having had wrist, shoulder, and back issues, a light rod is my solution......more expensive!

 

I too have expensive reels, because for me it is about the combination.  Feel and balance make the sport more enjoyable and the lack of backlashes, even more so

 

Fishing is about the total experience 

[NYWayfarer]

No you are not the only one. I fish a lot of budget rods in the $60 range. I only own a few over $100

 

The reason is simple, I am accident prone and have busted a few rods in falls, doorways, car trunks, etc. If I lost a $200 or more rod like that I would have a stroke.

[MickD]

I build my own rods , so have a lot of very fine rods.  But millions of fish are caught every year on reasonably priced outfits.  If you are satisfied with what you're doing, fine.  Your rods will most likely be less fragile than top of the line rods.

 

The way I look at it is that with bait casting, the reel is the most important component of the outfit.  Sensitivity is less important than being able to cast well, and a $200 reel will cast better and last longer than a $50 reel, in my opinion. 

 

With spinning, where the reel simply holds line and lets it flow off a stationary spool, the reel is much less important, but the rod, with finesse techniques, becomes much more important. As stated above, it's about sensitivity, and the more expensive rods normally give better sensitivity at the price of fragility.  

 

Having said that, the biggest plus you can do for sensitivity is to use braid instead of mono or FC.  If you are not, then you are giving up a lot on sensitivity , which is very important with some but not all techniques.

[the reel ess]

17 hours ago, carnegie519 said:

I have all expensive reels(curado dc, antares dc, chrnoach ci4) list goes on. But only use cheaper rods. Just picked up the 2  shimano exage and my othe workhorse rods are all 100 dollar rods. Am I missing out by not pairing up with rods of higher quality. Maybe somthing like a zodias rod? 

Are you telling me $100 is a cheap rod? Then no, you're not the only one. I have 2 $100 or more rods and I actually bought one of them used from a guy I worked with for $50. Aside from that I have 3 Lightning Rods and an old BPS Viper spinning rod that came on a combo for $70...For the whole combo.

 

As for the higher end rods, one is my jig rod and one is my frog rod. Two areas I didn't want to skimp on. If I broke a cheap rod I'd replace it with a better one. And I just wish they were a little lighter. But until then I just keep catching fish on them. 

 

How many pros do you see using the Duckett rods?

[the reel ess]

This thread leads me to share this tidbit. Cabela's Tournament ZX rods are on sale for $75. That's what my frog rod is.

 

edit: a few models are left

[OnthePotomac]

I have been getting along on mostly BPS Carbonlites for years and enjoy fishing with them. I believe they are not considered "high end" rods, but I have caught my share of bass ( and a few accidental cats and snakeheads) with them from the Tidal Potomac and none have broke, or fallen apart. Being a stingy retiree, two of my great finds were a Rick Clunn topwater 6'6" MH for $70 on  a close out when he and BPS got divorced and a KVD 7' MH on sale for $80 on a close out. The Rick Clunn has an incredible top water action and the KVD is a brute I use for frog fishing rated at 1/4-1 1/2 oz and 10-25lb.  All of my Carbonlites were on sale.  I confess to using nice Shimano reels from gift cards.

[Catt]

My first priority is my reel, when I hit the lake it will be from sunup to sunset, under extremely adverse conditions, in very heavy cover and with full expectations of bass in excess of 6 pounds so any failure on the part of my reel is not accepted.

 

A quality reel given proper care should last a lifetime which means I now have my entire future budgets to spend on rods.

 

Sensitivity has nothing to price, my worm rod is a Shimano Crucial I think I gave $180 for it & in my hands it's as sensitive as any G Loomis I've owned.

[GReb]

So many factors at play and there’s really no wrong answer. I tend to spend more on rods simply because I think you can get better quality reels for cheaper than you can rods. In the end it has more to do with the angler than the equipment. 

[Tennessee Boy]

What would happen if you took a wide selection of rods,  removed all branding and pricing information and allowed anglers to select the one they like the most.  I'm convenced there would be very little corolation between price and the ones selected.  

 

[FrankN209]

Nothing wrong with it.

 

My Steez SV TWS is on a kistler helium and my SV103 is on a powell diesel...

[Yumeya]

I love my NRX, St-Croix and Megabass rods as much as I love my high end reels.

 

 

[DanTheFireman]

2 hours ago, FrankN209 said:

Nothing wrong with it.

 

My Steez SV TWS is on a kistler helium and my SV103 is on a powell diesel...

The Kistler He3 LMH is probably my overall favorite rod, have two Magnesium 2s also which are excellent and sold a Light Mag2 which was a great rod, replaced with a Jackson Super Trickster L which I love paired with an Abu MGXtreme reel at 4.5 ounces. The Antares HG on a MB Super Orochi is a great combo. For travel the Bone rods break down to 22-23 inches and feel a lot like my Exprides. 

On a recent trip at the insistence of a buddy I used cheap $25 rods and junk reels and it was miserable, you really do get spoiled (luckily I did sneak in one Bone Voyage rod and a Metanium). However, nowadays you can get some d**n nice rods and reels in the $100 or so range.