Couldn’t tell difference between my cheaper and more expensive rod….

[Cgolf]

1 hour ago, new2BC4bass said:

What?    $200 rods aren't high end? 

I think we al, have different high ends. The around 200 mark is my high end and I have many rods that work great for me. Heck I still carry an ugly stick spinning rod for a couple of presentations and it works perfect. 

4 minutes ago, Big Hands said:

Ugly Stik rods get a lot of bad raps, many of them deservedly so, because they have long been made so their best feature was that they could stand up to a lot of abuse. But they have apparently stepped up their game with a 'carbon' rod the goes for $80. I guess they are good enough that Matt Robertson (Bassmaster Elite angler) qualified for the Classic fishing Ugly Stiks this year. Finished 38th in AOY standings, which is better than a whole lot of other Elites fishing with much more expensive gear. Still doesn't make me want to fish with a Ugly Stik  ;~P, but I could if I had to.

 

Good, bad, right, wrong, or whatever, he is obviously a much better angler than I am. But as a young man from humble beginnings that's chasing his dream, he does what he has to do. 

 

None of this means that anyone should be looked down on for having the means and desire to acquire and use nice gear. It's not like you have to get approval or qualify to use fancy fishing gear, and I will be the first to say that nice gear is fun to use and can make fishing better in at least some circumstances. I also know there are folks that can kick my butt with 10 year old monofilament wrapped around a coke can. This is just a hobby we can all enjoy in our own way.

 

For the OP: If you don't really have much in the way of financial constraints, then knock yourself out, grab a knowledgeable friend and head to what you believe to be a reputable tackle shop and let them kit you up. Your shot in the dark might hit a bullseye, or not, but you'll figure it out as you go.

 

For those with financial constraints, this pursuit is much like any other. The entry level gear will get you into the game, but generally has some shortcomings if you find yourself in it for the long haul. Entry level has a place for those not sure if they're into it, or just want to dabble occasionally without without spending much.

 

Mid priced gear is generally going to give the best bang for the buck. Relatively modest increases in price can be much nicer to use compared to entry level gear and more durable.

 

High end gear can be nice to use, superior even when optimized by using it to it's potential, but sometimes it can also be fragile. Boutique gear can just be fancy or sometimes fancy and performs well.

 

Well said and what I really like about this forum is that the majority of the folks don’t push the if you aren’t fishing high end gear and catching trophy fish each trip why are you even trying. I have been on a forum like that when I was a budget angler by necessity and it was tiring to deal with that attitude. The BR folks are willing to help out any skill level and gear level without judging. 

[T-Billy]

4 hours ago, new2BC4bass said:

What?    $200 rods aren't high end? 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/165063516908?epid=26013746554&hash=item266e8d62ec:g:9ksAAOSwjaBgLNqr

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/324653998575?epid=25045746432&hash=item4b96e2e1ef:g:iD4AAOSw23Jgg-Wp

[bulldog1935]

Every time this topic appears on the forum, it brings out the worst in frugal fishers.  

A defensiveness that doesn't belong - no one is ever trying to force you to spend your money where you don't want - could they? (rhetorical question). . 

If you go to cane and fiberglass fly rod forums, you'll find people defending salmon and spey size rods made from those MOCs - always with feely exaggeration rather than empirical logic.  

 

Hey - I'll fish my Thomas/Talbot combo over a Daiwa Minicast any day - though my first significant bass, 6-1/2 lbs, was caught on the Minicast - no, I don't have a rational point with that one - no one ever does on these threads.  They only serve to polarize the forum.  

Of course the Minicast hasn't worked in 30 years, and the 1914 Talbot casts great.  

And no, I didn't buy it new.  

 

[Cgolf]

12 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

Every time this topic appears on the forum, it brings out the worst in frugal fishers. 

A defensiveness that doesn't belong - no one is ever trying to force you to spend your money where you don't want - could they? (rhetorical question). . 

 

 

 

I can only speak for me, but I don’t care what people fish, I just think the statements like that if we all fished 1000 dollar combos we would be better fisherpeople or that a more expensive rod will cast more accurately etc. aren’t true in a broad sense. 

 

My take is regardless of the price, if you own a rod that doesn’t suit your casting motion, it is going to hurt your fishing and it doesn’t matter if you spent 20 from Wally World or 600. If you find a 600 buck rod that fits your style will it work better than the 20 buck rod of course. The issue I would take and have seen on other forums is the folks that own the high end gear that tell the lower end crowd to stop wasting there time and basically save up a grand to get that magic combo. So you could say this brings out the worst in both sides and honestly I am surprised this thread has lasted this long. 
 

Thankfully most on this thread were respectful of each other. 

[Captain Phil]

Bass don't care about the price of your tackle.  It's what you do with it that counts.  The idea that spending more money on a rod makes you a better fisherman is BS.  It's all about comfort and pride of ownership.  My 20 year old spinnerbait rod cost about $40 when I bought it from Bass Pro Shop.  So far it's caught more fish than my $200 Zodias.  If you hold both of them side by side, you can see and feel the difference, the fish don't. 

[bulldog1935]

Bass don't care - they have an IQ of 6 - if they're out-smarting anyone, something else is wrong.  

still defending a position that not one person has opposed -

- people who  buy nice tackle that works better in their specific niche don't do it to impress others, but to improve that niche for themselves.  

Where it doesn't matter, the very same people may fill out other niches with frugal tackle. 

Nor did anyone make the statement that buying $1000-combos makes them a better fisherman.  Projecting that doesn't come from a pretty place. 

Targeting specific niches with specific tackle can improve your catch rate.   

[Functional]

There is a lot of weight put on the rod in this thread. All the sensitivity in the world wont mean a thing if your hands and brain cant interpret what you are feeling. In my opinion it will come down to a combo of both. Personally, I feel almost (there are definitely some duds) any rod in the $100+ range will let you feel what is going on at the bottom and detect hits. The difference is how the feedback is transmitted from the rod to the hand and how your brain can distinguish the small differences. I've realized certain rods have a different "tone" to their feedback, not necessarily sharper than the other but a different "frequency". I'm starting to believe people can interpret these different frequencies better than some others which is why theres a lot of different favorite rods. The way a rod transmits the feedback just molds better/best with how you interpret it.

 

The other aspect no one has really touched on is comfort in the hand. Not everyones hands will hold a rod/reel the same way due to size and in some cases dexterity. How you can comfortably hold a rod will also effect what you feel out of the rod. Again, I love my Tharp, others hate it because its a skinny grip. I likely get more out of that rod for that reason alone.

 

Might sound like jibberish but hopefully some of you get where I'm going with all that.

 

 

[TnRiver46]

15 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

 

Targeting specific niches with specific tackle can improve your catch rate.   

And according to your photos, targeting specific niches on Estes flats puts tasty fish on the grill 

[Cgolf]

34 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

Bass don't care - they have an IQ of 6 - if they're out-smarting anyone, something else is wrong.  

still defending a position that not one person has opposed -

- people who  buy nice tackle that works better in their specific niche don't do it to impress others, but to improve that niche for themselves.  

Where it doesn't matter, the very same people may fill out other niches with frugal tackle. 

Nor did anyone make the statement that buying $1000-combos makes them a better fisherman.  Projecting that doesn't come from a pretty place. 

Targeting specific niches with specific tackle can improve your catch rate.   

 

I think one person implied that if pros used higher end rods they would be even better. There may not have been a monitary value but I picked a number which for a high end combo that  is about right depending on the brands. I honestly don't give a hoot and I personally am super happy with my stable of rods, or will be after Xmas, and had actually praised everyone for keeping this civil. Sure a couple of people had a skirmish but so be it. My point was I don't necessarilly think the frugal crowd started the fight if there even is one? Also saying this - Projecting that doesn't come from a pretty place.  - about me is pretty low.

 

I honestly learn stuff on these threads and filter out the crap for the most part that doesn't pertain to me.

[bulldog1935]

The finesse version of salt has its place, which I discovered more than a dozen years ago as a kid-fish exercise with my daughters.  

But there's nothing expensive about this tackle - the trick was finding it in Japan.  

While you can do something similar with a fly rod, it's less work and more productive with XUL spinning and long small-game rods (these are all schoolie males).  

 

We have standing winter trips to duplicate this result.  I've added to this niche with a longer frugal rod and one even longer high-grade combo, and most recently, a mid-grade BFS version for winter tide passes.  

 

The OP started the fight with there's no difference between his frugal and spendy rod.  

Now that he's figured out how not to spend his money, others may have spent theirs better.  

[Chris186]

I once bought into the you get what you pay for sensitivity wise. Since then I don’t believe that is true, especially since it’s so subjective. For example, I bought a St Croix Legend X because I love my Avid X and I kept hearing about how much better and more sensitive the legend was. For me, just comparing sensitivity  between the Legend and the Avid X, the Avid is much more sensitive. Same thing with moving baits. I had a $120 Duckett Triad 7’MH I used for spinnerbaits which I loved, you could really feel the blades spinning and thumping. Now I’m throwing a Spinnerbait on a Mojo rod, 7’ MHMF which cost a little more and all I feel is dead weight. 

[PhishLI]

15 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

The OP started the fight with there's no difference between his frugal and spendy rod.  

Brother, the OP simply compared a $55 rod priced as a loss leader by a huge corporation to a $129 rod by a small business. Not really controversial. BTW, the reason this thread hasn't been Irene'd yet is because it has remained civil.

[Randy Price]

Buy what you can afford and enjoy it!

[Mobasser]

You'll never hear me putting anyone down for they're choice of tackle. I'm the guy that will say go to your sporting goods store, pick a combo that feels right, and get out there and fish it.                             More importantly, you've still got to find the fish, pick the right bait, fish at the correct speed and depth, and everything else that makes for a good day.             These are the most important skills to have. The most expensive rod on the rack won't replace these skills, and it's been proven many times through the years.

[ironbjorn]

I'm enjoying my Champion XP more than I enjoyed my Furys and more than I enjoy my Sierras and Kadens. Has it made me better? No, not at all. I think I enjoy it more because I really wanted it and my fiance surprised me with it. I haven't had it long but I do know for a fact so far that it hasn't caught fish the other rods wouldn't have.

 

My position since this thread took a turn is specifically about the Ned Rig. The guy that is credited with inventing it catches 100+ fish a day sometimes using cheap Walmart gear. The Ned is one of my go-to presentations. I have caught hundreds of bass on this bait with cheap Walmart Cherrywood and Shakespeare rods and I have caught hundreds of fish on this bait with Furys and Sierras. The Sierra never did me any better than the Cherrywood with the Ned Rig. It's a no feel bite that any person of any skill level can fish successfully. The more expensive gear literally doesn't matter here. I will die on that hill.

[Randy Price]

I'm a St. Croix guy for a few reasons.  I like to support local American made products (I fish in N. Wis. all the time and visits the factory a couple of times a year) and I think they make an excellent product.  I would never say they're the best or criticize anyone for using another name brand.

[the reel ess]

Preachin' to the choir here. Fish have no clue what the rod cost. I still have two old Lightning Rods in my arsenal. One of them is my finesse rod. The other is my medium trebles rod. Its bend is perfect for this application. You don't need a $300 rod to feel a bite. That said, I do own 2 $100 rods and one that would have been $130 had I bought it retail. I got it from a friend who was changing hobbies for $50. One of the $100 rods seems to be worth the $$$. The other really is not.

[T-Billy]

5 hours ago, Functional said:

Again, I love my Tharp, others hate it because its a skinny grip. I likely get more out of that rod for that reason alone.

 Not the most comfortable for me, but not uncomfortable, and it locks the rod into my hand like no other I've used. I'm good with it, especially considering all the other positives this series brings to the table. OUTSTANDING for it's price.

[cottny27]

On 9/25/2021 at 10:54 AM, bgaviator said:

So yesterday I took my new Dobyn’s Fury rod out to Sardis Lake spillway. This is the most expensive rod I’ve bought so far. It’s a medium heavy rod. I bought it cause I heard so many good things about it being one of the best rods for the price point. I thought it would be a noticeable step up from my cheaper Daiwa Aird-x. Now granted my AirdX is only a medium rod, and this Dobyn’s is a medium heavy. But I don’t think I could tell a difference at all between them. I couldn’t whip lures quite as far I don’t think with the Dobyn’s, but as far as sensitivity or anything else I couldn’t tell a difference. Makes me question why I spent $130 on that rod as opposed to only $60 for the Daiwa. Is there something wrong with me that I can’t tell the difference?  What do you typically get from a rod by spending more money?  I know there’s rods a ton more expensive than even the Dobyn’s. But I’m just not sure it’s worth it for a casual fisherman like myself to drop that kind of coin on expensive rods I’m not sure I can feel a difference with. Appreciate any input on the matter. 

I have only handled them in store and do not understand all the praise.  Not very crisp or balanced IMO.

[GReb]

A F-150 XLT drives the same as a Lariat. Same frame, drive train, and suspension.  But Ford sure does sell a lot of Lariats and above. 
 

Higher end items have a larger profit margin. Shimano makes more selling you an Adrena than SLX. This is why marketing campaigns dump most of their money on higher end items. 

[Tennessee Boy]

5 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

Bass don't care - they have an IQ of 6 - if they're out-smarting anyone, something else is wrong.  

still defending a position that not one person has opposed -

- people who  buy nice tackle that works better in their specific niche don't do it to impress others, but to improve that niche for themselves.  

Where it doesn't matter, the very same people may fill out other niches with frugal tackle. 

Nor did anyone make the statement that buying $1000-combos makes them a better fisherman.  Projecting that doesn't come from a pretty place. 

Targeting specific niches with specific tackle can improve your catch rate.   

One thing I've learned from this forum is that people enjoy the sport of bass fishing in different ways.  There are many here that clearly enjoy admiring,  collecting,  and using high end rods and reels.  You are certainly one that comes to mind and you contribute a lot to this forum.   I can respect that and think people should enjoy this sport any way they want using whatever equipment they enjoy using.   I would never assume that everyone that buys a high end rod does so for the same reasons.  While I suspect that some may do it to impress others,  I certainly do not think they all do.  Many buy them because they admire the quality and craftsmanship.  I can understand that.  I think most people buy them because they think they will help them catch more fish.  That's where I strongly disagree and I think that's the line that divides the two sides that everyone takes on these threads.   I've looked at the high end Megabass rods.  There are many legitimate reasons for buying one. They are works of art and I can see why people like them and would want to own them.  It's just not art that I'm personally interested in collecting.  I can afford them and might consider buying one if I thought I could catch one more bass a year by using it.  No one has made a convincing argument to me that these rods can improve my fishing in any way.  The other valid reasons for buying them does not apply to me personally. 

 

Also, if someone want to buy one to impress others,  that's a perfectly valid reason as far as I'm concerned.

 

[MAN]

On 9/25/2021 at 12:35 PM, TOXIC said:

I still think there is a limit to what the human hand can feel and how that equates to cost but I will say this…..sensitivity is an acquired feeling.  

I think I have solved this

[FishTank]

7 hours ago, GReb said:

A F-150 XLT drives the same as a Lariat. Same frame, drive train, and suspension.  But Ford sure does sell a lot of Lariats and above. 
 

Higher end items have a larger profit margin. Shimano makes more selling you an Adrena than SLX. This is why marketing campaigns dump most of their money on higher end items. 

 

Oh I wish this was true.....  I have an XLT and was given a Lariat for a week when they did two recalls. The Lariat is a smooth riding dream.  My XLT is a truck with chrome bumpers.

 

Also, Shimano did more marketing for the SLX than the Antares.   I went to two shows when the SLX came out along with the Daiwa Tatula Elite.  Tons of hype, marketing, and pro fisherman pushing for these reels but nothing on the Antares and Steez. 

 

 

 

[Aaron_H]

On 9/25/2021 at 12:16 PM, Captain Phil said:

I recently bought a Shimano Zodias casting rod.  I have never paid more than $150 for a rod before this rod.  Most of my rods are over ten years old and cost about $50.  I use the Zodias rod for worm and Senko fishing.  This rod is amazing.   You can feel the quality just by holding it in your hand.  Fishing with it is like nothing I have ever experienced.  The lightness and sensitivity is well worth the extra money.  

 

Did you end up getting it at Bitters? ?

[GReb]

2 hours ago, FishTank said:

 

Oh I wish this was true.....  I have an XLT and was given a Lariat for a week when they did two recalls. The Lariat is a smooth riding dream.  My XLT is a truck with chrome bumpers.

 

Also, Shimano did more marketing for the SLX than the Antares.   I went two shows when the SLX came out along with the Daiwa Tatula Elite.  Tons of hype, marketing, and pro fisherman pushing for these reels but nothing on the Antares and Steez. 

 

 

 

Was the Lariat an FX4?  According to Ford they all use the same suspension depending on package across the full lineup. Tires can make a huge difference