Budget Bang for Buck Rods and Reels (spinning and baitcaster)

[bishoptf]

Notice I did not say best on purpose, I am looking for just well made bang for your budget suggestions to look into. Ipurchased a new boat and have more room so you know what that means. I would like to add a few more rods and reels but I am a budget guy so while I like the $$$ stuff I just try to find well made bang for your buck equipment.  Preferences would be to keep cost as reasonable, here is what I have on hand currently and just looking for suggestions to go look up and read more. I have H20 express premier rods, Diawa Laguna Spinning (Like the rod but will not purchase any more, snapped 2 of them on hook set, lol), some really old rods from my teenager years (older team shimano). For reels I tend to be a shimano person for bait casters, citicas, curados and one h2o express mettle. Spinning reals are a mix of shimano sienna and okuma stratus (dicks sporting good house reel, really smooth, the only problem I have had with them is the reel handle coming off and its not repairable, have to find another handle).

 

Anyway I just thought I would get some suggestions for what budget folks have found to be pretty decent and thought I would ask.   

[WRB]

If you know what you are looking for Japan suppliers have some exceptional discounts on both rods and reels. There is threads on BR suggestion reliable suppliers.

The BR Flea Market forum is a good source to find both rods and reels. 
Major Craft offers good quality rods.

Tom

[bishoptf]

3 minutes ago, WRB said:

If you know what you are looking for Japan suppliers have some exceptional discounts on both rods and reels. There is threads on BR suggestion reliable suppliers.

The BR Flea Market forum is a good source to find both rods and reels. 
Major Craft offers good quality rods.

Tom

Where do I find the BR suggestion reliable suppliers thread?

[WRB]

Search Digitaka or Japanese Tackle

Tom

[BrianMDTX]

Aird-X rods are darned good for the price. $49.99. 

[bishoptf]

6 minutes ago, BrianMDTX said:

Aird-X rods are darned good for the price. $49.99. 

Thanks where are they carried or where do you purchase them from, should have stated that in my original thread.

 

Looks to be a Diawa rod, little gun shy since the only rod's I've ever had snap on a hookset were Diawa Laguna but will read up on them...

[MediumMouthBass]

I love budget gear.

 

For reels (spinning)

Shimano Sienna MSRP $30 but can be purchased for $25 on sale.

Excellent spinning reel.

Daiwa Revros MSRP $50-60. It goes on sale alot for either bogo or $30-40.

Fantastic reel, even better than the Sienna.

For reels (casting)

The last gen Abu Black Max or new Max X, they go for around $25-35 dollars (only buy the new one on sale). These are very, very budget priced reels, but for the money they work. And they work well.

Lews Classic Pro Speed Spool, $40-60. Nice reel but overpriced since you can often get the very good Lews LFS MSRP $100 on sale for $60-75.

If just wanting something affordable go with the Abu's, if you want something that will hold up to more stress go with the LFS.

For rods whether its spinning or casting i will give 1 and only 1 suggestion.

The Daiwa Aird X, MSRP $55 but goes on sale sometimes between $30-45.

Absolute fantastic rod, its worth $100-120 to me. I have 14-16 Aird X rods.

I also have rods from Dobyns, Lews, and St Croix varying from $110-275, and ill chose the Aird X 90% of the time.

I am not too kind to my gear, it gets thrown in the back of the car or truck bed, ill then carry 4-6 rods together (sometimes for miles) and then toss them (gently) on the ground onto rocks and wood. Wack them into trees, rocks, walls, ceilings, doors and have only broke 1.

The top guide popped out so ill have to fix it, but it got slammed into the tail gate. Rods still 100% just the top guide got broke.

The rest keep going. My favorite Aird X rod (yes i actually have 1 favorite) has brought it the biggest bass of my life, from 4-10lbs. Its dragged in over 1,000lbs of weeds, vegetation, and lily pads.

Brought in hundreds of pounds of bass too. And has ripped Chatterbaits and lipless cranks out of grass thousands of times more. Thats still going strong, its just a bit more softer in action than it was when new.

3 hours ago, bishoptf said:

Thanks where are they carried or where do you purchase them from, should have stated that in my original thread.

Tackle Warehouse, Academy, Midway, Omnia, Bait WRX. along with countless other retailers.

Stay away from ordering rods from Amazon.

[softwateronly]

I agree with Tom, here’s a major craft rod I’ve been very happy with from a reputable jdm website. $126 is a steal for the quality in my opinion. 
 

https://www.digitaka.com/item/29/6/5/4573236260310

 

scott

[bishoptf]

13 minutes ago, MediumMouthBass said:

I love budget gear.

 

For reels (spinning)

Shimano Sienna MSRP $30 but can be purchased for $25 on sale.

Excellent spinning reel.

Daiwa Revros MSRP $50-60. It goes on sale alot for either bogo or $30-40.

Fantastic reel, even better than the Sienna.

For reels (casting)

The last gen Abu Black Max or new Max X, they go for around $25-35 dollars (only buy the new one on sale). These are very, very budget priced reels, but for the money they work. And they work well.

Lews Classic Pro Speed Spool, $40-60. Nice reel but overpriced since you can often get the very good Lews LFS MSRP $100 on sale for $60-75.

If just wanting something affordable go with the Abu's, if you want something that will hold up to more stress go with the LFS.

For rods whether its spinning or casting i will give 1 and only 1 suggestion.

The Daiwa Aird X, MSRP $55 but goes on sale sometimes between $30-45.

Absolute fantastic rod, its worth $100-120 to me. I have 14-16 Aird X rods.

I also have rods from Dobyns, Lews, and St Croix varying from $110-275, and ill chose the Aird X 90% of the time.

I am not too kind to my gear, it gets thrown in the back of the car or truck bed, ill then carry 4-6 rods together (sometimes for miles) and then toss them (gently) on the ground onto rocks and wood. Wack them into trees, rocks, walls, ceilings, doors and have only broke 1.

The top guide popped out so ill have to fix it, but it got slammed into the tail gate. Rods still 100% just the top guide got broke.

The rest keep going. My favorite Aird X rod (yes i actually have 1 favorite) has brought it the biggest bass of my life, from 4-10lbs. Its dragged in over 1,000lbs of weeds, vegetation, and lily pads.

Brought in hundreds of pounds of bass too. And has ripped Chatterbaits and lipless cranks out of grass thousands of times more. Thats still going strong, its just a bit more softer in action than it was when new.

Tackle Warehouse, Academy, Midway, Omnia, Bait WRX. along with countless other retailers.

Stay away from ordering rods from Amazon.

Great input what I was looking for....did a quick look at the Arid X, I see a lot of 2 piece rods, hate 2 piece rods I assume they can be found in one piece also?

 

nevermind I went to the mfg page and see both listed...thanks.

[MediumMouthBass]

3 hours ago, bishoptf said:

Great input what I was looking for....did a quick look at the Arid X, I see a lot of 2 piece rods, hate 2 piece rods I assume they can be found in one piece also?

 

nevermind I went to the mfg page and see both listed...thanks.

I have 2 of their 2 piece rods, i cant stand them either. They cast poorly and have no sensitivity.

The 1 pieces however are truly amazing.

[Reel]

The whole series of Shimano SLX rods and reels gives you a lot for your buck.

[casts_by_fly]

Budget means different things to different people. There are a couple threads for ‘best rod for $x’.  There are a lot of really good rods at the $100 +/- $25 range on the market. But to a lot of people I don’t think that’s considered a ‘budget’ rod.  
 

what price bracket do you have in mind?

[bishoptf]

24 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

Budget means different things to different people. There are a couple threads for ‘best rod for $x’.  There are a lot of really good rods at the $100 +/- $25 range on the market. But to a lot of people I don’t think that’s considered a ‘budget’ rod.  
 

what price bracket do you have in mind?

Understand and why I did not use best since thats subjective. I listed what I currently use and I do not have any rods over $100 all are much less. Why I used bang for buck, I hate to use the word cheap but trying to find decent rods in that sub $100 price range that really perform better than their price.  I guess if I had to list a price it would be sub $50-100, but again not about being cheap but ones that perform almost as good as the pricier rods.

[MN Fisher]

1 hour ago, bishoptf said:

Looks to be a Diawa rod, little gun shy since the only rod's I've ever had snap on a hookset were Diawa Laguna but will read up on them...

The Aird-X is head-and-shoulders better than the Laguna...I know, I've owned both. Dumped the Laguna soon as I could, but still have 2 Aird-X rods in my arsenal despite having Mojo Bass and Victorys in there.

 

 

[bishoptf]

3 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

The Aird-X is head-and-shoulders better than the Laguna...I know, I've owned both. Dumped the Laguna soon as I could, but still have 2 Aird-X rods in my arsenal despite having Mojo Bass and Victorys in there.

 

 

I actually liked the Laguna but when it snapped on a hook set I was a little surprised and then it happened again...so no more of them. Not a big guy, wife calls me scrawny but I tend to set the hook and I dunno maybe it was something I did, lol...I have Arid X on the list along with shimano SLX. Going to look at the Abu Max and the Lews LFS classic speed.

 

Keep the suggestions coming...good stuff.

[WRB]

ALF (American Legacy/Fishing) has sales on rods & reels offering discount to new buyers.

Dobyns offers sakes pricing for refurbished rods. Reels are a lot easier to ship then rods.

I would avoid anything Abu Garcia offers in the budget price range.

Also suggest you up your budget and buy fewer rods and reels, your time on the water is priceless. 

Tom

[bishoptf]

13 minutes ago, WRB said:

ALF (American Legacy/Fishing) has sales on rods & reels offering discount to new buyers.

Dobyns offers sakes pricing for refurbished rods. Reels are a lot easier to ship then rods.

I would avoid anything Abu Garcia offers in the budget price range.

Also suggest you up your budget and buy fewer rods and reels, your time on the water is priceless. 

Tom

Understand, for the most part my budget stuff has held up good enough, maybe not the lightest etc but I'm not tournament fishing and really outside of the laguna rods and the reel handle not many other issues. I'd rather spend money on tackle etc, why I stated the title was bang for buck, I think there is some decent stuff that won't break the bank. Just thought I would see what other folks are using and have had good luck with.

[BrianMDTX]

@MediumMouthBass I have two Revros and a Sienna as my spinning rigs. I like them all but I’d take the Revros hands down. I also have two Black Max’s. While I prefer my Fuegos and Tatula, the fact is, neither of them can cast as far as the Black Max. Both are paired on Aird-X rods (a MF and a MHF). I still use them both. 

[Rockhopper]

To me budget is sub $150 rods and sub $150 reels.  I am absolutely not hung up on any one brand, but I have more than several of the non trigon mojo bass rods for this very reason.  I think they are (were) one of the best budget rods on the market outside of a couple in the series.  I don't buy budget reels, but if I were to I would take a long hard look at Shimano SLX series.

 

Spinning gear budget setup for me is a Fenwick HMX with a Shimano Nasci.  That's my "travel" rod that I beat around with and don't care if it gets to beat up.

[LCG]

I have two aird x rods, both MH-F and both 2 piece. Absolutely love them, mostly for moving baits but I have and will fish bottom contact with them. I find the sensitivity to be perfectly fine and love the feel and action (more of a moderate fast).

 

I have also grown partial to the lew's lfs speed spool baitcasting reels. Have one in 6 speed and another in 8 speed. No complaints at all.

 

For line I am set on yo zuri hybrid, big game mono, and suffix 832 braid. Just depends on the technique.

[Catt]

Lew's LFS $74.95

Academy H2O XPRESS Ethos Nano $79

 

Handle anything you want!

 

 

[Eric 26]

I’m going to offer my .02 cents for what it’s worth. I’m all over the map with my gear both rods and reels and if you’re patient and don’t mind surfing the web as many others have pointed out there are definitely deals to be found especially during holidays, I have a Favorite Soleus I bought for $50.00 pre tax a handful of years ago on Black Friday on DSG’s website and a Daiwa BG from Midway for $67.00 last year, both were extremely good sales that I was happy to find. In terms of brand new if you’re comfortable with non name brand reels I have recommended and use 3 Piscifun Carbon X spinning reels in both 1000 & 2000 size and absolutely love them, currently $59.99 on Amazon. As far as bait casters I don’t think you can beat either the Daiwa CA80 at $99.99 although for $20.00 more you can get a Fuego which has a much better braking system or and I don’t think I have to sell you on it the Shimano SLX is a great value imho, although I don’t own a Fuego and I sold my SLX I currently have a SLM MGL after having sellers remorse from selling the SLX. As far as rods I love my BPS panfish series spinning rods which although I realize you’re probably looking for bass rods I bring these up as I for one think they have some nicely made rods in the $100.00 range including their walleye prodigy series rods that you can use for bass at $99.00 currently but they do run sales throughout the year, I also think the BPS pro qualifier for $99.99 both casting and spinning models are nice especially when on sale. But my favorite bargain casting rod is my Wright & McGill/Eagle Claw “Pro Insight Advantage” 7’-0” medium powered rod for $52.00 I purchased from Wal Mart, although my local Wal Mart no longer carries them I have found them at another Wal Mart in stock 34 minutes from my house. I just saw BPS is offering their “Fish Eagle” casting rods for $49.98 which brings me to my earlier point of surfing the web for deals.

[bishoptf]

12 minutes ago, Eric 26 said:

I’m going to offer my .02 cents for what it’s worth. I’m all over the map with my gear both rods and reels and if you’re patient and don’t mind surfing the web as many others have pointed out there are definitely deals to be found especially during holidays, I have a Favorite Soleus I bought for $50.00 pre tax a handful of years ago on Black Friday on DSG’s website and a Daiwa BG from Midway for $67.00 last year, both were extremely good sales that I was happy to find. In terms of brand new if you’re comfortable with non name brand reels I have recommended and use 3 Piscifun Carbon X spinning reels in both 1000 & 2000 size and absolutely love them, currently $59.99 on Amazon. As far as bait casters I don’t think you can beat either the Daiwa CA80 at $99.99 although for $20.00 more you can get a Fuego which has a much better braking system or and I don’t think I have to sell you on it the Shimano SLX is a great value imho, although I don’t own a Fuego and I sold my SLX I currently have a SLM MGL after having sellers remorse from selling the SLX. As far as rods I love my BPS panfish series spinning rods which although I realize you’re probably looking for bass rods I bring these up as I for one think they have some nicely made rods in the $100.00 range including their walleye prodigy series rods that you can use for bass at $99.00 currently but they do run sales throughout the year, I also think the BPS pro qualifier for $99.99 both casting and spinning models are nice especially when on sale. But my favorite bargain casting rod is my Wright & McGill/Eagle Claw “Pro Insight Advantage” 7’-0” medium powered rod for $52.00 I purchased from Wal Mart, although my local Wal Mart no longer carries them I have found them at another Wal Mart in stock 34 minutes from my house. I just saw BPS is offering their “Fish Eagle” casting rods for $49.98 which brings me to my earlier point of surfing the web for deals.

ALF just had the Shimano SLX MGL 70 for $99 (out of stock now), wish I had known since I would have picked up a couple, they sound like a really nice real.

 

Appreciate all the input, keep them coming!

3 hours ago, Catt said:

Lew's LFS $74.95

Academy H2O XPRESS Ethos Nano $79

 

Handle anything you want!

 

 

Since I am freshwater only what kind of fish is that?

[PBBrandon]

The Aird-X is a great rod, if you can find a deal on a Tatula they are great as well. I got mine for 70 bucks a while back.

 

as for reels, the Daiwa Regal and Pflueger President are good choices. Daiwa and Pflueger dominate in the budget range. Shimanos get really good too when you approach about 75-100 bucks. 
 

the Lews LFS is my favorite budget bait caster, the Fuego and SLX are good as well

[T.J.]

Shimano Siena already mentioned. I like the Siena combo at $50-55. The 6’6” Mediums I have are one piece. The cork grip is a smaller diameter than most so that could be a deal breaker.