My New Closeout $9 Cranking Rod

[ChrisD46]

Goofing around  at my local WM rod rack when I picked up a Berkley Lightning Shock casting rod (6'6" M/Mod) - the blank was perfectly straight as were the line guides and no blemishes any where on the rod . There was no price on it so a scan of the bar code came back as $9.00 (on clearance) so off to the checkout line I went ... . I had a spare H2O Xpress Mettle 6:3:1  (Academy) at home filled with #10lb. Yo-Zuri Hybrid line and it balances well  . How does it work ? Great - I'm not even using braid either ... 1.0's , 1.5's squarebills , 1/4 oz. ~ 3/8th oz. lipless cranks work just fine - reel set and moderate sweep hook set keeps them buttoned up well . Let's face it , I got lucky on the rod for $9.00 (again , not a blemish to be found)  however if or until the rod  breaks  I'm good for smaller cranks now  ... I'm still on the hunt for a 7' MH cranking rod for 1/2 oz - 3/4th oz. . lipless cranks and larger 2.5's square bills  but  expect I'll be paying a little more for that rod (lol !)

[NYWayfarer]

Good find. I assume the old cork handle models are clearance because the new models are called the Berkley Shock rods. They look pretty nice.

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Berkley_Shock_Casting_Rods/descpage-BSCR.html

[NYWayfarer]

9 minutes ago, BaitFinesse said:

I had one of those.  It made for a pretty decent squarebill rod.  The rod is on the stiff side so you will need to run a line with some stretch to compensate.  When I ran braid on it the fish would be barely hooked by the rear treble and would come off a lot.  I switched to 8# big game and it was great budget squarebill rod after that.  

It's ironic that they advertise this rod as perfect for braid.

[the reel ess]

That's a real steal. I use a regular Lightning Rod that's more than 10 years old for that very purpose. I find that action/power to be perfect for treble lures until they get to about 3/4 oz. I use Big Game 15# mono on it because i don't use deep divers much anymore. Too weedy or shallow where I fish.

 

I use two old LR rods and I'd like to replace them with better, lighter rods, but they just won't break. LOL. They're fine for applications that don't require or benefit from the lack of sensitivity.

[J.Vincent]

11 hours ago, ChrisD46 said:

Goofing around  at my local WM rod rack when I picked up a Berkley Lightning Shock casting rod (6'6" M/Mod) - the blank was perfectly straight as were the line guides and no blemishes any where on the rod . There was no price on it so a scan of the bar code came back as $9.00 (on clearance) so off to the checkout line I went ... . I had a spare H2O Xpress Mettle 6:3:1  (Academy) at home filled with #10lb. Yo-Zuri Hybrid line and it balances well  . How does it work ? Great - I'm not even using braid either ... 1.0's , 1.5's squarebills , 1/4 oz. ~ 3/8th oz. lipless cranks work just fine - reel set and moderate sweep hook set keeps them buttoned up well . Let's face it , I got lucky on the rod for $9.00 (again , not a blemish to be found)  however if or until the rod  breaks  I'm good for smaller cranks now  ... I'm still on the hunt for a 7' MH cranking rod for 1/2 oz - 3/4th oz. . lipless cranks and larger 2.5's square bills  but  expect I'll be paying a little more for that rod (lol !)

Nice find, those are one of my favorite budget reaction rods.....and at $9 dollars , I would have cleared the entire shelf !

[ChrisD46]

On 12/3/2018 at 11:08 AM, NYWayfarer said:

Good find. I assume the old cork handle models are clearance because the new models are called the Berkley Shock rods. They look pretty nice.

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Berkley_Shock_Casting_Rods/descpage-BSCR.html

*Right you are sir - cork handles on the $9.00  6'6" M/M bait cast rod.

On 12/3/2018 at 12:46 PM, BaitFinesse said:

I had one of those.  It made for a pretty decent squarebill rod.  The rod is on the stiff side so you will need to run a line with some stretch to compensate.  When I ran braid on it the fish would be barely hooked by the rear treble and would come off a lot.  I switched to 8# big game and it was great budget squarebill rod after that.  

*I concur - #30 lb. braid is in my stable of bait cast reels for moving / top water baits but I found rather than playing with a looser drag for crank baits  with braid  - I just switched to a non - braid line for the added stretch and all is fine for crank baits now with THIS rod .  Like a major league baseball team GM , I'm always on the lookout for upgrades for position players (i.e. rods & reels) but for a $9.00 Berkley composite rod -  I feel like I got a deal on a decent utility infielder (lol!)

[Chance_Taker4]

ahh good ole Wal-Mart in the spring my local one had every Skeet Reese rod marked with a $15 price tag that rang up as a Hank Parker rod. I bought all of them they had at $15 a pop (11 of them) and then sold all of them online within a week. I love looking in the back of isles at walmart to find all the crazy price errors they have. I could go on and on about everything I bought super cheap from miss labels.

[Last_Cast]

3 hours ago, Chance_Taker4 said:

ahh good ole Wal-Mart in the spring my local one had every Skeet Reese rod marked with a $15 price tag that rang up as a Hank Parker rod. I bought all of them they had at $15 a pop (11 of them) and then sold all of them online within a week. I love looking in the back of isles at walmart to find all the crazy price errors they have. I could go on and on about everything I bought super cheap from miss labels.

 

interesting.

ill start that myself.

 

any recommendations on what to look for?..

[Chance_Taker4]

16 minutes ago, Last_Cast said:

 

interesting.

ill start that myself.

 

any recommendations on what to look for?..

go to the section you want and look at the back end of the isle they will usually have stuff marked down and mis tagged. I bought my kids a ride on electric horse with its own stall reg price $249.99 on sale for $149 but they mistagged it and I walked out with it for $1.49, yes under $2. I also find that getting an associate to help you in the isle instead of arguing with the cashier betters your chances.

[Last_Cast]

26 minutes ago, Chance_Taker4 said:

go to the section you want and look at the back end of the isle they will usually have stuff marked down and mis tagged. I bought my kids a ride on electric horse with its own stall reg price $249.99 on sale for $149 but they mistagged it and I walked out with it for $1.49, yes under $2. I also find that getting an associate to help you in the isle instead of arguing with the cashier betters your chances.

 

interesting..

ill have to be on the hunt!!

 

I wouldnt mind screwing walmart =p

tax write off anyway lol