How many rod brands do you use?

[Scott804]

Megabass - 3 

Shimano - 1

St Croix - 1 

Abu Garcia - 1

Lew's - 1 

Dobyn's - 1 

 

Thought I was going to stick with Megabass rods once I found them but that price bump has me looking at other things. My favorites rods are the St Croix Legend Glass 7'2M and the Shimano Zodias 7'0ML at the moment, but that could change a day/week/month from now. 

[jbsoonerfan]

One

[Diggy]

22 or so

 

 

 

[Gera]

On 1/14/2022 at 9:36 PM, padon said:

the action that im looking for is more important to me than brand. i have st.croix megabass, shimano,and dobyns right now. i like them all for their intended purpose.

we have the same taste in fishing rods. 

 

I use Exprides manly, but love some of the offerings from other brands as well. 

 

[GReb]

At one point had more. Down to 4
 

Falcon

ALX

Dobyns

Kistler

[Fishingmickey]

I've got a bunch, The majority brands are Kistler, Dobyn's and St Croix. I've got a four ALX's. A Enox,  Zolo and two customs, Couple of Denali Lithiums, Megabass, Loomis, Diawa, Shimano, Edge, Okuma. Just a hot mess and I'm looking hard at a Phenix Feather ML casting rod for some light/BFS type fishing. Not sure on the actual count but if I throw in the saltwater it is over fifty. 

FM

[Holetail]

Have whittled down to only Dobyns rods in Fury, Sierra, and Kaden series. Pretty much all Daiwa Tatula and Fuego reels. Have a few other brand combos but they don’t get used a ton. 

[Scott F]

For many years, I had a friend who custom built all my rods for me. After he stopped building rods, I went with all St. Croix. I use those almost exclusively because they are good rods and I often fish in the Park Falls WI region so if I ever break a rod, I can take it to the factory store where they will replace it on the spot and I don’t have to have anything shipped.

[tander]

On 2/2/2022 at 8:52 AM, Holetail said:

Have whittled down to only Dobyns rods in Fury, Sierra, and Kaden series. Pretty much all Daiwa Tatula and Fuego reels. Have a few other brand combos but they don’t get used a ton. 

I have got Daiwa Tatulas,  Dobyns, Sierra 703 and 704, great combination. I will probably try the Kaden Series sometimes in the near future.

[Holetail]

4 hours ago, tander said:

I have got Daiwa Tatulas on  Dobyns Sierra 703 and 704, great combination. I will probably try the Kaden Series sometimes in the near future.

Just got my first Kaden (713c) for light Texas rigs and tubes. Only one fish caught so far, but was really happy with the rod the few times I’ve had a chance to use it. Noticeably faster tip than the fury it’s replacing. 

[S Hovanec]

Just one.

[MickD]

Loomis, St. Croix, Rodgeeks,  American Tackle, Rainshadow RX6, 7, 8, 10, Revelation, Immortal, Eternity 2, Pac Bay, Cabelas, BassPro,  Point Blank, MHX, a Montague bamboo fly rod, rebuilt old Heddon glass spin, Shakespeare in my youth as well as a bamboo spin from way back when, and a few no-names I've built.  And of course, a fly blank from Herters built during finals at U of Michigan when I finally got my shXX together.  "Finest procurable quality."  

 

One cannot have too many fishing rods.

1 hour ago, Holetail said:

Noticeably faster tip

I keep seeing this description and don't know what it means.  Can you elaborate on what characteristics this rod has and why you like it?  Is it response time?  Or a fast taper to the tip which is often described as an "extra fast action?"  Or. . . ?  thanks

[Holetail]

3 hours ago, MickD said:

I keep seeing this description and don't know what it means.  Can you elaborate on what characteristics this rod has and why you like it?  Is it response time?  Or a fast taper to the tip which is often described as an "extra fast action?"  Or. . . ?  thanks

Dobyns rods are known to have slightly softer tips than what most companies use. For instance, their “fast” actions are typically a little slower than say a St Croix “Fast” action. I cannot speak for all of the Dobyns series rods since I haven’t used them all, but the Kadens were designed to be closer to a “true” fast action which so far I feel they accomplished at least in the one rod I have. Compared to the Colt, Fury, and Sierra rods I have, the tip is quite a bit faster making it ideal for what I wanted in this rod. Hope this helps explain some. I’m sure there are others here who could go deeper into this explanation if need be. 

[MickD]

10 hours ago, Holetail said:

Dobyns rods are known to have slightly softer tips than what most companies use. For instance, their “fast” actions are typically a little slower than say a St Croix “Fast” action. I cannot speak for all of the Dobyns series rods since I haven’t used them all, but the Kadens were designed to be closer to a “true” fast action which so far I feel they accomplished at least in the one rod I have. Compared to the Colt, Fury, and Sierra rods I have, the tip is quite a bit faster making it ideal for what I wanted in this rod. Hope this helps explain some. I’m sure there are others here who could go deeper into this explanation if need be. 

So does "tip is quite a bit faster. . ." mean the tip is softer, less powerful?  If two blanks have the same power and one is fast action and the other is extra fast action, the extra fast will have the softer tip.  "Fast" and "extra fast" being defined as where the blanks first bend, extra fast bending farther out, more power down low.

[padon]

17 minutes ago, MickD said:

So does "tip is quite a bit faster. . ." mean the tip is softer, less powerful?  If two blanks have the same power and one is fast action and the other is extra fast action, the extra fast will have the softer tip.  "Fast" and "extra fast" being defined as where the blanks first bend, extra fast bending farther out, more power down low.

faster tip means the action is in a shorter section of the rod. say like the first 3 guides down from the tip. where a slower action has more flexability further down the blank.and yes dobyns are typically have a slower softer tip than alot of others. at least in the shampion line.

[J Francho]

Which is it?  Faster or Slower?  It's a simple concept.

[Holetail]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

Which is it?  Faster or Slower?  It's a simple concept.

A picture is worth a thousand words… thanks for the assist

[MickD]

I well know the power and action descriptors that have been traditionally used for many years, but when I read posts I'm not sure that everyone else does.  Rods have "fast actions," or "extra fast actions," etc, and we fish with rods, not tips.  

 

The more we can use CCS numbers the more accurately we will discuss rod power and action.  

 

I've often said that the same people who write wine labels write advertising content for fly rods.  

[J Francho]

1 minute ago, MickD said:

I've often said that the same people who write wine labels write advertising content for fly rods.

My Orvis has hints of oak, cherry, and apple blossom, lol.

 

I posted the picture of the actions to at least get on the same page.  While CCS is pretty objective, I don't think you're gonna see the industry get away from the current non standard, relative terms.

[CrashVector]

Three.

 

1 old Shakespeare supreme I got as a combo from k-mart 20 years ago for $20.

 

Shimano

 

All of the rest of my rods are Abu Garcia.

 

So...13 total.

 

[Jerryj33]

Starting out I was a Fenwick only guy. Built up a nice little set of HMX and HMG rods. Ended up trying quite a few other rods, Phenix, St. Croix, Falcon, Powell, Dobyn’s, and eventually the rods that won my heart, G Loomis. 
 

I still love my St. Croix and even have a Powell cranking rod still in rotation, but I have a hard time seeing myself buying anything but Loomis in the near future. I am curious to try some Shimano rods, but it it ain’t broke… 

[MickD]

7 hours ago, J Francho said:

My Orvis has hints of oak, cherry, and apple blossom, lol.

 

I posted the picture of the actions to at least get on the same page.  While CCS is pretty objective, I don't think you're gonna see the industry get away from the current non standard, relative terms.

But is it "soulful?"  Yes, unfortunately we have a long way to go to talk mostly about objectives rather than subjectives, the latter meaning whatever the writer means and not necessarily what anyone else thinks it means. 

Just now, MickD said:

But is it "soulful?"  Yes, unfortunately we have a long way to go to talk mostly about objectives rather than subjectives, the latter meaning whatever the writer means and not necessarily what anyone else thinks it means. 

I was told by an industry person that one reason they avoid objectives is that inevitably they get into discussions/arguments with those builders/users who don't get the same numbers, and it gets messy.  Better to stay with subjectives.  I can understand taking this position having seen the stuff I've seen on forums.

[Alex Ball]

Here's my list. I am a tackle salesman so, it's a LOT! I'm with you on feel, I love to cap the power on my rods at 5 when possible. Just feels right. Everything above that is too stiff.

Spinning

2 Lew's

1 Shimano 

1 Kastking

2 Abu

2 Denali

1 Daiwa

1 Heddon

2 Ugly Stik

1 Shakespeare

Casting

4 Denali

3 Shimano

2 Berkley

2 Abu

1 Ugly Stik

 

 

[Nick49]

From most to least:  Dobyns, Shimano, Virtus.  If the Virtus performs as well as I think it will I will probably be adding a few more.

[Gkitz]

Gloomis

Alx

dobyns

st croix

JM SIGNATURE

Duckett