Why does purchasing a new rod excite me more than a new reel?

[Deleted account]

5 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

but with a rod, what you see is what you get.  

When my rods misbehave, I just need to flash a hacksaw and some hot glue...

[throttleplate]

Rods, especially when i find a steal on an allready low price rod.

I am a cheapskate, last fall i found a 7 ft medium Berkley Cherrywood on sale for $12.99. I used it all fall and caught muskie, smallies, walleye......

 I root for the underdog and this rod gets the captain designation in my arsenal of low budget rods.

[Junk Fisherman]

Rods definitely get me more excited than reels.  I love my high-end Steez and GLX rods yet my assortment of reels are somewhat interchangeable.  All of my spinning reels are about the same;  $150 to $200 Daiwa reels.  While I have a bigger range of quality with my casting reels (Tatula to Zillion), their isn't as big of a performance difference as my rods.  My arsenal is complete but it's the rod that I upgrade when I am treating myself.   

[ThatZX14Fella]

I’m the opposite. I get excited about reels. So much so that I ordered a Zillion SV TW G and have no rod to put it on. It’s a continuous issue that needs to be resolved, but I just enjoy the mechanical aspect of the reels. I finally bought my first higher end rod last week, and it didn’t excite me very much. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy buying rods, but I’ve yet to buy one that really gets me going. Sadly, the only one that really pleasantly surprised me was the AirD-X, and that’s primarily because of the price/performance ratio. The new rod I got is a G. Loomis GCX. Fished it a little Saturday, but had no bites. Maybe ones I get a few hits on it, it’ll make me appreciate it more.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

2 minutes ago, Slipknot_Fan666 said:

I’m the opposite. I get excited about reels. So much so that I ordered a Zillion SV TW G and have no rod to put it on. It’s a continuous issue that needs to be resolved, but I just enjoy the mechanical aspect of the reels. I finally bought my first higher end rod last week, and it didn’t excite me very much. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy buying rods, but I’ve yet to buy one that really gets me going. Sadly, the only one that really pleasantly surprised me was the AirD-X, and that’s primarily because of the price/performance ratio. The new rod I got is a G. Loomis GCX. Fished it a little Saturday, but had no bites. Maybe ones I get a few hits on it, it’ll make me appreciate it more.

You'll find a rod for that Zillion reel quick the second you turn the handle on it ?

[ThatZX14Fella]

8 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

You'll find a rod for that Zillion reel quick the second you turn the handle on it ?

I’m not too sure about that. Lol my tool bills are $600 a month, I’m paying $212 a month on the Zillion, about $150 a month for my phone bill, and then my expenses for alcohol and other things on top of that. I only make about $2,200 a month. Lol

[newapti5]

I am more into reels, old or new.  A favorite rod, like GLX MBR 843, gets me excited for sure, but you cannot tinker with it much. Even with rod building, you'll have to choose a pre-built blank.  Reels, on the other hand, have so many parts that you can tweak to your preferences. Having said that, I do have almost equal amount of rods as reels. I guess that makes me a mild hypocrite? 

 

[Scott804]

I totally agree. I think rods just have more/more pronounced character as far as what makes them different than a reel. There is something incredibly satisfying about hunting down the perfect model for a specific technique and it feeling perfect for the way you fish. I generally loathe buying reels the same way I loathe buying line. I wish I was excited about buying them! 

[killobet]

Rods for me. Thats why I order them first before reels.

[KP Duty]

Agreed.  I'm a rod junky, and always scratch the itch when I see something I like.

[throttleplate]

I get really jacked up watching a $2.00 rod i bought at an estate sale working hard to haul in a large muskie from the river.

 

 

 

 

[GReb]

You get an adrenaline rush buying a rod that a reel will never match….seeing how many pieces the tube arrives in!

[Big Hands]

On 1/28/2023 at 8:19 PM, Catt said:

I started with this awkward combo!

 

Were you raised in a Zebco-free household?  ;~)

================================

A rod and a reel are best considered as a system, especially when used at the extremes. Putting a 'great' reel on a 'great' rod doesn't necessarily equal 'magic'. I can't honestly say that a rod or reel excites me more than the other. I go back and forth between both of those rabbit holes with plenty of hand-wringing taking place.

[Eric 26]

1 hour ago, Big Hands said:

 

Were you raised in a Zebco-free household?  ;~)

 

I nearly choked on my drink reading this ??

2 hours ago, throttleplate said:

I get really jacked up watching a $2.00 rod i bought at an estate sale working hard to haul in a large muskie from the river.

 

 

 

 

The way the photo is taken it looks like a guide is missing on top of it being a $2.00 rod?. 

[Catt]

2 hours ago, Big Hands said:

Were you raised in a Zebco-free household?

 

You ain't gonna land fish like that on a Zebco.

 

[throttleplate]

5 hours ago, Eric 26 said:

 

The way the photo is taken it looks like a guide is missing on top of it being a $2.00 rod?. 

 

I can assure you the guide is intact on this old rod. Its a FLW branded rod sold by wallmart. I got it for a spare for my wife and of course i needed to try it out and was having a blast workin a muskie and proud she didnt break.

My wife now uses it as her favorite instead of her ugly stick gx2. The way she flips the fish onto shore i hope she doesnt break the tip. Thats why i had her using the indestructable ugly stick before.