Is rod/reel aesthetics super important to you?

[roadwarrior]

                                                  

 

 

9 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

 I'll take performance over looks any day of the week.

 

There is no reason to sacrifice performance for aesthetics, but I would never buy gear 

that isn't stunning. The bling is part of the fun!

[FishTank]

Nothing white, orange, or green. Function and quality components come first but if it looks cool it's a bonus.  

 

One line of rods that just looks amazing but their components and overall function are just as good, is the Megabass Valkyrie.  They just do it for me on every level except weight.  

[A-Jay]

This is when most all of my gear seems the most aesthetically pleasing.

#hookedup

https://youtu.be/VhGFkOO_UaE?t=1179

A-Jay

[Cbump]

37 minutes ago, Catt said:

I threw Calcuttas for yrs not because they were cute little reels but because they were solid as an anvil, versatile as a pair of Channellocks®, & dependable as a 30/30!

But also pretty bad A looking. 

[Manifestgtr]

1 hour ago, PhishLI said:

My wife picked out every stich of clothes I wear. She calls me her Ken doll.

HAH that’s great 

 

I’m pretty much the same way. If it were up to me, jeans and a button down shirt are all I would wear for the rest of my life. 

[Bankc]

As long as it's not seriously ugly, I don't much care.  

[BrianMDTX]

1 hour ago, FishTank said:

Nothing white, orange, or green. Function and quality components come first but if it looks cool it's a bonus.  

I am not a fan of orange or white rods. I believe if one designs garish rods to make them stand out, their focus should lie elsewhere. 

[volzfan59]

Are rod/reel aesthetics super important to me? Kind of, I want my stuff to look good, but performance is more important to me. I purchase good stuff and take excellent care of it.

[Hulkster]

I can't do the purple rod thing other than that I'm pretty easy

so no St. Croix Mojo rods for me lol 

 

that being said I think the Loomis IMX pro rods are super sharp looking. I only have one model (the MBR903C) but i want to add one of the spinning rods to my arsenal in the future. 

[swhit140]

I prefer simple black/grey rods with some normal wraps/colors. I would never buy a bright orange/lime green/pink rod, just not my thing. I like simple finishes on my equipment, some people don't care. It doesn't matter to me what other people use, the important part is you're out fishing and enjoying your time on the water.

[GReb]

I’m not fishing a white, orange, green, etc rod. Other than that I couldnt care less. 

[Mike L]

NO

I don’t think I’ve ever bought anything fishing related because it was pretty. 

The color of a rod or reel is the last consideration I give to buying it or not. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

 

 

 

 

[bulldog1935]

I could probably change my name to Hiroyuki.  I totally understand the Japanese (not the language).  

 

I still have my Browning/Lew's from 1985 that fished the salt until just the last decade.  

My salt guide buddy fished through one of these in a year, simply because he was in the mode of being on the water every day, and leaning the rigged rod in a corner of the garage without ever thinking about giving it a rinse.  

When you live on the water, the gestalt thing has no value - the value is getting that record fish or putting someone else on it. 

 

When fishing is an expedition for you, limited time, big effort to plan and get there, the gear itself becomes part of the experience.  The Japanese don't own a lot of gear, don't have a lot of time to fish, and ride a train when they do fish.  They want every part of it to be just right.  

[Mobasser]

When I started, I had red ABU 5000. The red reel looked good with most all rods. Next was an ABU 5500c. The aluminum color looked nice also. If your worried, get a black reel. It will go with anything.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

22 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

I could probably change my name to Hiroyuki.  I totally understand the Japanese (not the language).  

 

I still have my Browning/Lew's from 1985 that fished the salt until just the last decade.  

My salt guide buddy fished through one of these in a year, simply because he was in the mode of being on the water every day, and leaning the rigged rod in a corner of the garage without ever thinking about giving it a rinse.  

When you live on the water, the gestalt thing has no value - the value is getting that record fish or putting someone else on it. 

 

When fishing is an expedition for you, limited time, big effort to plan and get there, the gear itself becomes part of the experience.  The Japanese don't own a lot of gear, don't have a lot of time to fish, and ride a train when they do fish.  They want every part of it to be just right.  

I love all things Japanese when it comes to Bass fishing, they get it in a way nobody else does.   Their quality control, incredibly intricate yet robust designs, and topical to this thread, their aesthetic is second to none imho.  I'd be just fine only buying JDM outside of rods.   

 

Shimano and Daiwa reels are not only the best, but they are also the most beautiful imho.  

[Eric 26]

Although I’m no fashion expert just ask my wife and kids?I was raised by a father who always tried to look put together and somehow managed to never get grease on his favorite pair of Levi’s working on the car,appliances and so on  a trait that I didn’t inherit. As I’ve grown older one thing that does appeal to me is matching my rods and reels with the hardest for me being my Daiwa CA80, I found it’s match in the  Lews Hank Parker rod. I’m also kind of OCD about matching price points with my gear?.  Maybe I should be seeing a shrink ?

[Catt]

30 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

When I started, I had red ABU 5000. The red reel looked good with most all rods.

 

Everything after this is lagniappe!

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

1 minute ago, Eric 26 said:

Although I’m no fashion expert just ask my wife and kids?I was raised by a father who always tried to look put together and somehow managed to never get grease on his favorite pair of Levi’s working on the car,appliances and so on  a trait that I didn’t inherit. As I’ve grown older one thing that does appeal to me is matching my rods and reels with the hardest for me being my Daiwa CA80, I found it’s match in the  Lews Hank Parker rod. I’m also kind of OCD about matching price points with my gear?.  Maybe I should be seeing a shrink ?

That's a great analogy for how I treat my reels.    I fish them super hard, but some knock on wood don't have a noticeable scratch.

 

You can fish reels hard and still have them looking mint.   

[bulldog1935]

This is a really nice and photogenic buck with a noteworthy story (photographed again 3 mo later by another friend), but the rod is prewar Heddon Folsom Arms, and the reel is prewar JW Young that a Scot fisherman had a jeweler tastefully engrave his monogram.  

Did the cane rod and click pawl reel improve the fishing?  It Made it.  

I would have quit 10 years earlier if all I had was a disc drag.  

[msgf91]

Aesthetics are important to me but won't deter me from using something. You could slap a reel seat and a set of guides on a blank right out of the oven after it's been sanded and trimmed and I would use it...... Actually after watching some of the how's it made videos I think it would look cool bare 

[dodgeguy]

Grey or black reels on grey rods no varnish. No bling . Prefer cork handles. Use rod and reel covers. 

[WIGuide]

I'm not as fanatical about the looks of my combos as some, but at the same time, if I'm paying a considerable amount of money for something I want it to look better than a polished turd. 

[Tatulatard]

1 hour ago, Eric 26 said:

Although I’m no fashion expert just ask my wife and kids?I was raised by a father who always tried to look put together and somehow managed to never get grease on his favorite pair of Levi’s working on the car,appliances and so on  a trait that I didn’t inherit. As I’ve grown older one thing that does appeal to me is matching my rods and reels with the hardest for me being my Daiwa CA80, I found it’s match in the  Lews Hank Parker rod. I’m also kind of OCD about matching price points with my gear?.  Maybe I should be seeing a shrink ?

That bottom rod is my definition of minimal acceptable build quality.  Orange aside, it has anodized and machined winding checks, no exposed reel seat threads. paint finish, thread work, split grips, split grip portion is used for a graphic and rod information and acceptable grips with a mix of eva and rubberized cork.  Too many rods fail at this and just glue grips to a stick and call it a day. You got to at least match this $39 walmart rod if you want into my boat.

[mrpao]

I believe the way a item looks play a big part in if we purchase it on not. Why do you think we have 20 colors of the same crankbait. That's why most soft plastic companies have a  thousand different colors of the same worm. These things get our attention. We find them aesthetic pleasing. We like shiny glittery stuff.

None of us would purchase a truck or boat if we didn't find it pleasing to the eye. We wouldn't date an ugly girl just because she had a good personality. We want our thing to look good and perform good.

The same with my fishing gear. I pay good money for it so I want it to match and look good. It must also perform like a champ. This makes up for my shortcomings as a sucky fishermen.

[Cbump]

2 hours ago, Mobasser said:

When I started, I had red ABU 5000. The red reel looked good with most all rods. Next was an ABU 5500c. The aluminum color looked nice also. If your worried, get a black reel. It will go with anything.

I stand corrected. The red Abu round reels look good.