Are Bass Pro brand rods and reels any good?

[MAN]

I have an JM carbonlight baitcaster and its been wonderful. 

 

Doyo does not make all of Bass Pro's baitcasters. 

[HaydenS]

Yes!

My main reel is a BPS XPS baitcasting reel.  I like it a lot.  I've got a fish eagle rod, I use for frogging.  The tiptop got bent( no idea how) and the insert broke out but it hasn't cause any problems yet, and wasn't the rods fault.   I've got an old Rick Clunn BPS baitcasting reel that cast farther than any other reel I own, and farther than my buddies expensive reels(shimano, diawa,etc).  I've tried an old carbon lite combo and wasn't a fan, the casting on it was weird.  

But yes, there rods and reels are good. 

[GRiver]

I have a bass pro extreme bait caster, it’s got to be 10yrs old, still going strong. 
and I have a carbonlite bait caster combo that is my reel I use the most. 

[Luke Barnes]

16 minutes ago, GRiver said:

I have a bass pro extreme bait caster, it’s got to be 10yrs old, still going strong. 
and I have a carbonlite bait caster combo that is my reel I use the most. 

I see the new BPS Extreme series come with an aluminum frame for under $100. Combo is like $130 and I think that's an amazing price if it works as good as the specs show. The more ive been thinking the more im leaning towards a MH/M or MF rod because that's what I wanted for chatterbaits but went with a MH/F so going to be looking in that area on a rods power and action. 

 

Those Carbonlite reels sure look super nice. I need to go put hands on one soon. 

[DitchPanda]

23 hours ago, mcipinkie said:

The BPS Crankin Stick is an excellent rod, well better than its price.  $80 normally.  Can find on sale for $60.

 

I use a 7'-0 MH for almost every moving bait except crank baits.

 

I like a M for CB's. 

 

Got a hand full of PQ's, Carbonlites, and JM's.  No problems. 

 

Here's my sermon for the day.  If you buy a $50 piece of equipment, regardless of brand, you get a $50 piece of equipment.  If you spend a $100, it will be better, $150 even better still.  Once you get above $150, IMHO, you have to ask your self "Am I buying status, or am I spending money that will help me catch fish?" Certain brands have features that you may like better, or worse than others, but the formula is generally true.

This is true to a point but even in any price range there is still variance in quality from brand to brand. Take for instance I bought a cheap $50 bps reel and compared to my black max which is the same price the bps reel is junk. 

[jtharris3]

I have 5 Carbonlite 2.0 rods that I have used regularly (3 to 4 days a week) for the past 4 years. They've been a great rod. I have had zero issues with any of them. 
I have 2 Carbonlite 2.0 reels and 1 PQ2. Same story with those, no issues at all. The only reason that I don't have more of them is, I prefer Shimano and Lew's for my reels.

SLX DC, SLX and Lew’s Speed Spool KVD are my main reels.

I can’t comment on the cranking rod as I don’t own one.

[GreenPig]

I fish 2 spinning & 3 casting Carbonlite 2.0 rods and have no complaints. Never went down the BPS reel path.

[Derek1]

I have three carbonlite 2.0 rods. At the sale price they are tough to beat. 

[Ratherbfishing]

Don't know about their rods but ALL of my baitcasting reels are Pro-qualifier (2) or carbon-lite (1) reels.  They haven't let me down yet.

[Eric 26]

Just prepped my 2006 bps bionic blade 5’-6” ultralight spinning rod last night, I have the 6’-6” med power spinning rod also.  I also purchased a panfish pro rod last year which I’m really happy with. I feel for the price they are well built.

[Fishnski48]

I have 7 of the Black Carbonlite rods and 1 CL2. They are Medium - fast and Moderate; Medium Heavy Fast and Extra Fast, 6' 9" to 7'.  All a great rods (I also have Exprides and Fenwicks). and durable. I Bass fish an average of 2x/week and I'm usually out for 6-8 hours each time (nice to be retired).  I also have a Crankin' stick, older one with power hump and cork handle handle 7' MH very nice,  Although I am now thinking about getting a custom made cranking rod for lipless and med depth

crankbaits.

I have Carbonlite BC reels and PQs and they work well.  On my last cleaning for 2 of them I replaced the bearings with ceramic bearing and it made a nice improvement.  Although distance is important, smoothness and durability are key for me.  I also fish SLX and the Curado "Greenie" and I think they are just as good.

[Squarebill79]

The short answer is yes, they are very good. Heres what I have:

 

2 Carbonlite Casting Rods  6'6 M, they rods are a dream come true for throwing senkos and Texas rigged worms, they are extremely sensitive and lightweight, they play more like a ML though.

 

1 Pro Qualifier Casting Rod, 6'6 M, I use this one for cranks and spinnerbaits as it seems it has a little more backbone than the Carbonlites but not quite as sensitive.

 

1 PQ1 reel and 1 PQ2 reel, the original one is a workhorse, the PQ2 doesnt seem as well built to me

 

1 Carbonlite Reel

 

I also have a bunch of PQ and Extreme Reels that I dont really use for bass fishing.

 

My favorite rod out of all I own though is an old Extreme Spinning Rod, 6'0M. Ive caught hundreds of walleyes and wipers from the rivers on that rod.

[Mbirdsley]

On 6/6/2021 at 1:57 PM, Luke Barnes said:

Ive been looking at what i dont have setup wise or replacing a cheap combo.

 

I was looking at more dedicated cranking sticks and came across the BPS Crankin Stick. Anyone have experience? 

 

Also the Johnny Morris Carbonlite 2.0 is on sale. Looks like a nice reel but I wonder who actually makes it and if it's a good reel. 

Yes I love my Johnny Morris carbon light combo and It gets used extensively  almost every time I’m out fishing ( 1x-2x times a week 4-8rs a time) . I think mines a 6ft9 mh rod with a 8:1:1 reel.  It is my go to rod for t-rigs and jigs 1/4-3/4oz.  I think it has a softer tip than most fast action mh rods. It is very light and sensitive.

When I first took mine apart this winter I was a little disappointed.  The only knock on the reel is it’s all plastic inside I don’t know how long it would last being abused by heavy weights.  For the lighter 1/4-3/4 stuff the reel is good to go though. I purchased my on sale 2 Christmas ago for $174.99 from cabelas.  
 

 I should have bough the carbon light 2.0 7ft4 H version for a punching rod.  If I went that route though I’d just buy the rod and put my tatula sv103 hs reel on it.