...now let’s talk about rods

[bgaviator]

Thanks to everyone that chimed in for recommendations regarding baitcasters. Now I have a question about rod pairing. If I go on Bass Pro’s web site, I see cheaper rods like the Ugly Sticks get a good overall user score. 
Is there anything wrong with pairing a good baitcaster to something like these?  Or would that be like putting $2,000 rims on a $500 valued car?  (Maybe that’s a bad analogy). Would you just be hindering the capabilities of the baitcaster if you have it on a cheap rod?  What do you get with a higher priced rod compared to a cheap Ugly Stick?  Thanks. 

[jbsoonerfan]

Depends on your budget. A burger from the $1 menu will put food in your belly, but you might want a nice filet mignon. Both will get the job done, how much do you want to enjoy it relative to what you are willing to spend.

 

[bgaviator]

1 minute ago, jbsoonerfan said:

Depends on your budget. A burger from the $1 menu will put food in your belly, but you might want a nice filet mignon. Both will get the job done, how much do you want to enjoy it relative to what you are willing to spend.

 

Right...

so say I went all out on a baitcaster and got like an expensive Shimano DC. Would it just be a waste of its capabilities to pair it with a cheaper rod?  Or do you really need to pair it with something more moderately or expensive priced to get the most out of its capabilities?

[jbsoonerfan]

What do you want to do with it? Throw frogs, lipless, deep cranks, light Texas rigs, jigs, etc.?

 

Still, budget will play a role in all the suggestions you are going to get.

[DitchPanda]

Agree with @jbsoonerfan...it all depends on what you wanna do with it. I would look for a different rod at or around the same price. For bass fishing you'd be better off with a Berkley lightning rod for $40 or even better a  Daiwa aird for $55.

 

My actual suggestion would be to not blow all your money on one reel...depending on what DC reel your looking at you may be able to get one or maybe even two whole combos for the same price.

[ATA]

Also remember the rod is more important than reel, A good rod that fits your application is the must. If you choosing to have one all around rod also ill suggest you spend more money on rod not reel.

[islandbass]

You get a lighter rod and usually that translates to increased sensitivity. In addition you usually get better components too. 
 

Keep in mind one thing. You can have the most tricked out rod and reel, but it isn’t going to magically catch bass. 
 

The rod and reel are just tools. The angler, is the weakest link in the fish catching chain. 
 

what higher end gear tends to do is make the fishing experience more enjoyable. 
 

As already mentioned, you are just spinning your wheels if you haven’t already decided what you want this new rod and reel to do for you. After you do, find the rod that meets that need. Many casting reels will get the job done except at the extremes and ultra specialties for most techniques. 
 

Doing this first should really help to provide you the clarity to sift through the mess of rods and reels out there. 
 

Keep us posted and good luck!

[bgaviator]

30 minutes ago, DitchPanda said:

Agree with @jbsoonerfan...it all depends on what you wanna do with it. I would look for a different rod at or around the same price. For bass fishing you'd be better off with a Berkley lightning rod for $40 or even better a  Daiwa aird for $55.

 

My actual suggestion would be to not blow all your money on one reel...depending on what DC reel your looking at you may be able to get one or maybe even two whole combos for the same price.

Those Daiwa aird x’s look cool. 

22 minutes ago, islandbass said:

You get a lighter rod and usually that translates to increased sensitivity. In addition you usually get better components too. 
 

Keep in mind one thing. You can have the most tricked out rod and reel, but it isn’t going to magically catch bass. 
 

The rod and reel are just tools. The angler, is the weakest link in the fish catching chain. 
 

what higher end gear tends to do is make the fishing experience more enjoyable. 
 

As already mentioned, you are just spinning your wheels if you haven’t already decided what you want this new rod and reel to do for you. After you do, find the rod that meets that need. Many casting reels will get the job done except at the extremes and ultra specialties for most techniques. 
 

Doing this first should really help to provide you the clarity to sift through the mess of rods and reels out there. 
 

Keep us posted and good luck!

I guess I just need to come to the realization that I can’t get one rod & reel to do it all. I just want to catch fish. I don’t care what kind. Sometimes I’ll start off on the main lake or the river branches off of the lake hoping to land a bass with a Texas rig soft plastic, but if I’m not having luck I’ll then head to the spillway to try for crappie or smaller white bass, which I can usually get using 1/16-1/8 jig heads and small crappie baits or marabou jigs under a bobber. 

[MN Fisher]

19 minutes ago, bgaviator said:

Those Daiwa aird x’s look cool. 

They are a nice looking rod - I have four of which two are still in my main rotation, one designated for shore fishing and one as a backup.

 

19 minutes ago, bgaviator said:

I guess I just need to come to the realization that I can’t get one rod & reel to do it all. I just want to catch fish. I don’t care what kind. Sometimes I’ll start off on the main lake or the river branches off of the lake hoping to land a bass with a Texas rig soft plastic, but if I’m not having luck I’ll then head to the spillway to try for crappie or smaller white bass, which I can usually get using 1/16-1/8 jig heads and small crappie baits or marabou jigs under a bobber. 

Might I suggest the Medium-Light Aird-X - either 6'6" or 7'0" (your preference). It'll handle those crappie lures as well as a T-Rig up to 1/4oz weight with worm (7" Berkley Powerworm, 4" Yamamoto Senko/Yum Dinger, 6" Zoom Lizard. 6.5" Zoom Trick Worm or 6" Zoom UV Speed Worm are ones that wouldn't overload the rod)

[Deleted account]

The price of a rod or reel, or where it sits on a manufacturer's tier, has no effect on how it will match up with it's counterpart as far as function. The one caveat I will mention is that a really light rod or reel will usually not match up well with a heavier one, as the current trend goes, weight does track with price (usually).

[BC VC basser]

If you want a Shimano DC reel check out the SLX vs the Curado (if you aren’t already).  It will save you a few bucks you can sink into the rod purchase…

I have both DC the Curado and SLX

SLX works just as well as the Curado !

[lunkerboss923]

There's a train of thought to go higher on the rod than the reel. Usually the more expensive the rod, the more sensitive. For bottom baits lures (jigs, Texas Rigs) I want to feel everything so I'll spend a little more. Moving baits, is where I tend to go a little cheaper, and maybe pay more for a better reel. 

[CrankFate]

10 hours ago, jbsoonerfan said:

Depends on your budget. A burger from the $1 menu will put food in your belly, but you might want a nice filet mignon. Both will get the job done, how much do you want to enjoy it relative to what you are willing to spend.

 

In my opinion, I get the most consistent satisfaction by going with the ribeye.

[deep]

More expensive rods, in general, are lighter, crisper, more sensitive, and just more fun to fish with.

 

I've fished Citicas on NRX's and still fish a Curado on my Conquest. In fact, other than a Calcutta TE and an Exsence DC, I don't own a reel higher than a Curado (I have 11 Curados from different generations, all non-DC).

 

Anyway, my point is the price of gear, in itself, is not a big deal to me. The enjoyment I get from using the gear (in this case higher end rods) that I like to use matters more. Do I catch more/ bigger fish? Pretty sure I don't.

 

I fish an awful lot from the banks, then I usually only bring one or max two rods. In my kayak, I almost never take more than two rods; and I have 13 rods to choose from. I also never bring more than a handful of baits (like literally a handful). Works just fine for me.

 

In your multi-species angling situation, I will suggest a MH/F or a M/F rod (depending on the weight of baits you're looking to fish). Mix in a few bass-sized jerkbaits, topwaters, rattletraps, a couple small spinnerbaits/ inline spinners, and you'll catch almost any gamefish in your waters. Jerkbaits are the best multi-species lure I know of btw.

 

Good luck.

[brophog]

15 hours ago, lunkerboss923 said:

There's a train of thought to go higher on the rod than the reel.

 

There’s a couple of reasons I subscribe to this idea.

 

I feel you hit the point of diminishing returns much faster on reels.  Plus, as long as you have a good starting platform you can often slowly upgrade a reel to make up that gap. Not to mention the rod is really what’s doing all of the work.

[CrankFate]

Well, if you go to the store and look at the rods, once you hit $300-350, you will notice the greatest diminishing returns in anything you’ll ever buy. 99% of what the difference at that point are just marketing terms. Just because a guide or rod handle is made from something that costs more as a raw material or is manufactured in a process that cost more to do, does not mean it will make the rod better. Usually, that is the only difference between rods once you get to that price point. What add ins were attached to it. You’ll always see the most gear disappointment with rods once you get past $350. All you have to do is scour the BST’s and auction sites. The worst place to spend your money fishing is going for the most expensive rods, unless your goal is status. The guys winning tournaments are not usually doing it on the most expensive rods out there.

[brophog]

Rods can get to see some ridiculous diminishing returns at a certain point. I feel like just looking at the top end is a bit disingenuous when we are talking about something like an Ugly Stik. There is just a massive difference between low end rods and that point of diminishing returns. 

[Captain Phil]

There are two factors to consider when choose a fishing rod.   One is function and the other is pride of ownership.  From my experience, function is not a factor of price.  I once fished in a Federation Tournament with an angler who had a box full of $500 reels and $350 rods.  I beat him out of the back of his own boat with a $50 spinning outfit.  This angler believed outspending the competition would make him a better fisherman.   Evidently, the fish had different ideas.

 

When I buy a fishing rod, I go to where they have a large selection of rods I can hold, flex, touch and feel.  I may try every rod in the store.  I am not fond of fiberglass as a rod material.   I want a light graphite rod that won't wear me out.  I want a rod with decent backbone and a sensitive tip.  I don't look at the price until I find one I like.  If it's under $150, I may make the purchase.  If it's over $150, I keep looking.  Most of the rods I use now cost around $50 from Bass Pro Shop.  I wasn't always like this.  In my younger days, I wanted the most expensive of everything.   That's pride of ownership.  I guarantee a skilled angler can catch fish just as well with a $70 rod as a $350 rod and it doesn't hurt as much when you break the tip off in your car door. ?

[AmmoGuy]

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Ark_Brandon_Cobb_Series_Casting_Rods/descpage-ABC.html

 

At $74, I'd grab one of these in whatever spec's you need. Fish it all year, and go from there. 

[Deephaven]

I have a ton of custom made rods and 2 that aren't.  One of the two is a quantum KVD cranking rod.  For presentations that require mostly reeling it does more than fine.  I am into for $40.  The other is a Bass Pro Shops Extreme 7' MH from about 12-14 years ago.  It has the fastest tip out of anything I own and way outperforms it's price point.  Bought it new on sale for $65.  Neither are as light, sensitive, or satisfying as the rest of my customs but they both do the jobs I ask them to.  

When push comes to shove and I am presenting something on the bottom, IMX/Avid are the starting points for quality blanks for me.

[brophog]

2 hours ago, Deephaven said:

The other is a Bass Pro Shops Extreme 7' MH from about 12-14 years ago.  It has the fastest tip out of anything I own and way outperforms it's price point.

 

I have a few about that age like that, especially when they went on sale they were a tremendous value. Unfortunately, I think they hit a point where that’s no longer the case.

[Deephaven]

Oh yeah, new ones are junk in comparison.  These are serious over price performers.

[MAN]

All my reels are now on assorted basic IM6 rods.  Don't think any of my rods exceed the value of my reels. (anymore)  

[bgaviator]

Can I assume that an ultralight wouldn’t be good for a place like a spillway where there is fast moving current?  The current alone tends to pull my light crappie lures and bobber. Would an ultralight just bend too much in that situation?  I mean there are times where I just got to still water ponds too.