Score!

[Kirtley Howe]

Just scored an ARK 7' 3" medium heavy fast action casting rod from Dicks' Sporting Goods.   $22.48 plus tax. Free shipping.  Anyone have one of these? What are your opinions of this rod? I figure for $22.48 (cheaper than most of those weird brand Chinese rods) that I can't go wrong.

[Eric 26]

15 minutes ago, Kirt Howe said:

Just scored an ARK 7' 3" medium heavy fast action casting rod from Dicks' Sporting Goods.   $22.48 plus tax. Free shipping.  Anyone have one of these? What are your opinions of this rod? I figure for $22.48 (cheaper than most of those weird brand Chinese rods) that I can't go wrong.

How in the bloody he double hockey sticks did you score that deal? I check their Black Friday sales quite often and at least on my end they’re not offering much this year. Never mind me just saw the deal??

[PhishLI]

16 minutes ago, Kirt Howe said:

Just scored an ARK 7' 3" medium heavy fast action casting rod from Dicks' Sporting Goods

You have my prayers if you chose to have it shipped by them. It'll get the corrugated triangle box treatment instead of a rod tube. Torture test it asap. At least they're good about taking stuff back. Good luck. Hope it works out for you.

[Kirtley Howe]

1 hour ago, PhishLI said:

You have my prayers if you chose to have it shipped by them. It'll get the corrugated triangle box treatment instead of a rod tube. Torture test it asap. At least they're good about taking stuff back. Good luck. Hope it works out for you.

Since I live about 35 miles from the warehouse in Binghamton NY that it is shipping from, I have high hopes it will arrive in one piece. I wish it had been available for in store pickup....but it was not. And it was VERY limited (like 5 available) stock. 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

Probably a Catalyzer. I have a higher grade Ark in a 7'3 MH and I really like it.  Tough to beat a 36t blank at retail price much less what you paid.  The catch with Ark, particularly the cheaper ones is the quality control can really vary.  Just make sure the blank has no cracks and the eyes are straight and in good shape.  If the rod does fail, Ark will work with you as long as it's within the warranty period.

[T-Billy]

Stick with mono on that rod. Fluoro and braid will groove SS guides. 

[Kirtley Howe]

On 11/27/2022 at 11:42 PM, GetFishorDieTryin said:

Probably a Catalyzer. I have a higher grade Ark in a 7'3 MH and I really like it.  Tough to beat a 36t blank at retail price much less what you paid.  The catch with Ark, particularly the cheaper ones is the quality control can really vary.  Just make sure the blank has no cracks and the eyes are straight and in good shape.  If the rod does fail, Ark will work with you as long as it's within the warranty period.

Got the rod today. It is, indeed, a Catalyzer. Shipped in a square cardboard box with some paper padding inside. Not the best packing job in the world, but the box arrived in perfect condition, and the rod was unscathed. Quick observations.....Rod appears to be of very good quality. It has EVA padding on the butt which I expected due to the price point. All guides are in perfect alignment. It has what I would consider to be micro guides. The guides are stainless steel (again expected due to the price) so I will be sticking to mono on this rod. Feels a little lighter in action than most brands MH. It definitely is a fast action rod. I was very pleased with the overall weight of the rod....very light so it should reduce fatigue. It weighs about as little as any similar length (7' 3" MHF) $200 rod that I have tested. One thing I noticed is the surface of the rod is "textured". Not rough exactly, but it has a----I don't know how to explain it----corrugated maybe?---feel to it. Every other rod I have owned is smooth to the touch, so I was bemused by this. I doubt it will cause any problems, as I suspect it is just a design choice to set the rods apart from others. Time will tell. The rod balances very well with any of my casting reels, so I am pretty sure I will be very happy with it; especially since I paid less than thirty dollars for it, including tax (free shipping). I will report back when I get a chance to actually fish with it.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

8 hours ago, Kirt Howe said:

Got the rod today. It is, indeed, a Catalyzer. Shipped in a square cardboard box with some paper padding inside. Not the best packing job in the world, but the box arrived in perfect condition, and the rod was unscathed. Quick observations.....Rod appears to be of very good quality. It has EVA padding on the butt which I expected due to the price point. All guides are in perfect alignment. It has what I would consider to be micro guides. The guides are stainless steel (again expected due to the price) so I will be sticking to mono on this rod. Feels a little lighter in action than most brands MH. It definitely is a fast action rod. I was very pleased with the overall weight of the rod....very light so it should reduce fatigue. It weighs about as little as any similar length (7' 3" MHF) $200 rod that I have tested. One thing I noticed is the surface of the rod is "textured". Not rough exactly, but it has a----I don't know how to explain it----corrugated maybe?---feel to it. Every other rod I have owned is smooth to the touch, so I was bemused by this. I doubt it will cause any problems, as I suspect it is just a design choice to set the rods apart from others. Time will tell. The rod balances very well with any of my casting reels, so I am pretty sure I will be very happy with it; especially since I paid less than thirty dollars for it, including tax (free shipping). I will report back when I get a chance to actually fish with it.

The texture is just a raw unsanded blank.  When they sand a blank generally they paint and clearcoat it which protects it, but it can add a noticeable amount of weight.  

That blows my mind they dont send it in a tube, but I guess the tube is wort has much as the rod and profit is the bottom line.

Arks a great budget option, even at 60$ that Catalyzer is a good deal and for 30$ its a no brainer.  I really like my 7'3 MH F essence, its an incredibly versatile rod.  Your rod doesnt have the same blank, but if the action and power are similar to mine, I cant see you not liking the rod.

[Kirtley Howe]

On 11/29/2022 at 2:29 PM, Kirt Howe said:

Got the rod today. It is, indeed, a Catalyzer. Shipped in a square cardboard box with some paper padding inside. Not the best packing job in the world, but the box arrived in perfect condition, and the rod was unscathed. Quick observations.....Rod appears to be of very good quality. It has EVA padding on the butt which I expected due to the price point. All guides are in perfect alignment. It has what I would consider to be micro guides. The guides are stainless steel (again expected due to the price) so I will be sticking to mono on this rod. Feels a little lighter in action than most brands MH. It definitely is a fast action rod. I was very pleased with the overall weight of the rod....very light so it should reduce fatigue. It weighs about as little as any similar length (7' 3" MHF) $200 rod that I have tested. One thing I noticed is the surface of the rod is "textured". Not rough exactly, but it has a----I don't know how to explain it----corrugated maybe?---feel to it. Every other rod I have owned is smooth to the touch, so I was bemused by this. I doubt it will cause any problems, as I suspect it is just a design choice to set the rods apart from others. Time will tell. The rod balances very well with any of my casting reels, so I am pretty sure I will be very happy with it; especially since I paid less than thirty dollars for it, including tax (free shipping). I will report back when I get a chance to actually fish with it.

Got out with the new rod today.

Air temperature 35-41 F, water temperature 36 F. River was up, but fairly clear. Mostly cloudy, with winds from calm to about 9 mph.  Caught 1 bass about 1 1/2 lbs on a 1/2 oz generic hair jig with a craw style trailer working it through boulders and chunk rock on a flat near deep water.

Also caught several small walleye on Rapala jerkbaits.

Overall impression of the rod:  It is, as I thought, much closer to a medium than medium heavy in feel. I would describe the action as extra fast rather than fast. I cast lures from 3/16th to one 1 oz.  The rod does not work well with 3/16th.  A 1/4 oz is about as light as is practical, and even that is pushing it. 3/8 oz and up to 3/4 oz are the best weights. The rod can handle up to 1 oz, but I didn't feel very comfortable at that weight.  Could be just me, but I really felt like the rod just was not up to the task. The rod worked fine for just about everything I threw. It was better than expected on light to medium crankbaits though I would prefer a slower action rod for them. I was happy with it for fishing jigs, and wacky rigs. It worked fine for T-rigs and carolina rigs up to 3/4 oz. It is usable with spinnerbaits but is a bit fast in the tip for them in my opinion. I did not throw any topwater baits.

The rod is not the BEST at anything I tried today, but it is a very useful "all around rod". I may find that it excels at one or more techniques when I use it more and become more accustomed to it.  For $30.00, I think I scored a major deal. Even at the regular price of $60.00 it is a good deal on a very useful rod.