bps compared to other rods

[rocknfish9001]

I have a bps bionic blade for my baitcaster, and a bps extreme on my spinning setup. I am quite impressed with these rods, especially for the price range. Now in your opinion, how would a bps extreme or bionic blade compare to a high priced loomis or other big name rod. I have a friend that has a loomis mossy back rod, and i cant really tell a reson to spend $200 on this rod since i notice almost no difference between this rod and mine. I did tell him to get the bronzeback, but he wouldnt listen since its a "smallmouth" rod and he is largemouth fishing, and he really isnt one to reason with things like this. Anyways, i heard that bps rods like the extreme and bionic blade would be in the $150-$200+  price range if made by other companies, is this true? Just wondering and trying to prove a point that my friends $200 rod isnt 2x as good as my $100 rod.

[KYbass1276]

I like the quality that loomis puts into there rods. Quality means alot to me and Loomis has a great reputation

[New 2 Bass]

I have 3 Extremes.  I'd tell you to wait till they go on sale.  $70 is pretty good for the Extreme rod.  They go on sale a few time a year.

I wouldn't begin to compare the two rods.  I just think $70 is not bad for that rod.

Al

[Grey Wolf]

Have you ever fished a high end rod ?

[rocknfish9001]

Ive used some g-loomis rods before. None are mine. They were a little lighter, but i didnt notice a difference in performance otherwise. At least not 100 dollar's worth

[Grey Wolf]

Then your mind is made up.

[ww2farmer]

I fish BPS rods almost exclusivly (cranking sticks, bionic blades, and extremes) and they are great rods for the $$. But lets get real here.........they are not as good as St Croix Avids or above.......or G Loomis's GL3's or above. I have 2 new St Croix's, a Premier and a Triumph(had bought 2 premire's but returned one when I noticed the warrenty card missing, they would only exchange it even up for a Triumph) that I just got, with out fishing them yet, they look and feel as if the will fish in the same class as the BPS rods. I know that I am buying a good $100 rod when I buy an extreme.........and thats as far as it goes.......any one whos says there extreme's are as good as GLX's are only fooling them selves. Same goes the opposite way too, I don't think it's nessacary for high end rod/reel users to crap on those of us who use lower cost stuff. But.........back to the point.........are there more expensive rods that the Bionic blades and extreme's are better than ? Probably, I once had a GL2 Loomis rod, and honestly that rod did not impress me, was it because I expected more out of a rod in that price range? Or was it that the GL2 was over priced........probably a little of both. I think the BPS rods are just what they are.........good rods at there respective prices, but I don't think they are worth more than what BPS sells them for. I have no dillusions thinking my extremes are GLX's........ I will still buy BPS rods, I like them. There lower cost allows me to have multiple combo's for different technques, and I keep the bank account, and more importantly the wife happy by sticking to my promise that I would keep my rod/reel combo's under $200.

[dodgeguy]

the johnny morris signature series are as good as ANY ROD MADE!!!

[Bass XL]

I would rather buy the bps rods, They are great rods for the price, and, you can put the balancing kit in.

[FishTank]

I have a 7' M Johnny Morris Signature Series casting rod, it is a fine rod and a good value but it pales in comparison to my G. Loomis rods. Yes, it does have an excelent reel seat and maybe the best guides out there but it is no were near close to the sensitivity of a Loomis GLX or IMX. The action is totally different. It is more of a moderate-fast rod. I find that this rod does well with lighter crank baits but not so well with jigs and senko type baits.

I have tried buddy's extreme and tourney special and I thought they were also good rods for the money. It would be hard to find a rod of the same quality at the same price but I would not compare them to higher dollar rods.

Bottom line, I guess, is one needs to fish both and find what fits that persons fishing style, comfort level, and wallet.

[cart7t]

I could go out today and buy a new Ford Mustang GT for around $35k and have a helluva sports car.  Will it perform like a $120K Porsche 911 Turbo?  Of course not.  Then again, in what real life driving situation could I ever expect to be able to use the full capacities of the 911 anyway? In fact, unless I was in a racing situation (in which case even the 911 would still have to be modified), the Mustang could just as easily perform as well as the 911 for day to day driving.  

IMO, once you're spending over $120-140 on a rod, you really start to see a diminished return on the cost.  For those on a budget,  the increased sensitivity and lighter weight of the high end rods are offset by their fragility and cost.  The BPS rods, and the lower price point rods made by other manufacturers are just fine.  Listening to some, it's amazing how anyone caught any fish at all just 10, 15 or 20 years ago when rod technology was in the stone age.   ;D

[Bud]

       the johnny morris signature series are as good as ANY ROD MADE          

someone is dreaming ;D ;D

[roadwarrior]

rocknfish9001,

Although rods compare SIGNIFICANLY different at various pricing points, there are dimishing returns for higher priced equipment. If your primary consideration is "value", I think the "best" is a combination around $150 on sale from one of the major retailers. This equates to around $250 retail if purchased seperately. I also think that for the majority of fishermen, rod and reel combinations at this pricing point will be a pleasure to fish and a significant improvement over the gear they are curently using. You will notice a difference, big time.  

[lubina]

I have an Extreme 6.0 M that I like a lot, relatively light and a very confortable handle, I use it primarily for shore fishing. I also have a similar Pro-Qualifier that I think is HORRIBLE!!!!!, completely different from the Extreme and more expensive.

[senko_77]

I have an Extreme 6.0 M that I like a lot, relatively light and a very confortable handle, I use it primarily for shore fishing. I also have a similar Pro-Qualifier that I think is HORRIBLE!!!!!, completely different from the Extreme and more expensive.

Lubina, I will take the pro-qaulifier off your hands.  The Pro-Qualifier is my favorite rod in the bass pro series, and is by far the best deal.  The extremes are nice, but are to heavy.  The bionic blade is ok but I hate the guides, and dont even get me started on the piece of junk we all call the johnny morris.  When I worked at bps, there were bins full of snapped morris's in the warehouse. The graphite content in them is sooooooo high, that even a small ding against the side of your truck will snap it on your next hard hookset.  There pieces of junk IMO, and everyday they had to replace them on the rack as they would snap like a twig from customers playin around with them.  

Now they Pro-Qaulifier rod is the BOMB!!!!  That thing is super sensitive, failry prices, and is beautiful when the sun hits it.  Great guides, nice reel seat, and great balance.  I've had a few g-loomis's and I have a st. croix avid.  The only BPS rod that can even begin to compare to them is the pro-qaulifier.  

Another great bass pro rod is the prolite finesse.  It's so light and real sensitive.  I use it for throwing my Eakins jigs.

[Hawgin]

I used to think exactly like you guys, and went out and bought $50-60 reels, and $50-60 rods.  I was happy with them, and then a funny thing happened.  A friend offered to sell me a high quality Fenwick Techna AV for a great price.  I bought it and used it.  Then the next thing I knew I was using it for most applications, and finally I just started carrying one rod with me most of the time.  Now?  I have a pile of cheap rods sitting in a corner of my garage unused, and I have a rod rack full of Fenwick rods, with Shimano reels sitting on them.  

I'm not saying that lower price point rods won't work, because they will and they will catch fish.  If you are comfortable with that, then that's what you should use.  But for me, now that I've used high end equipment I will pay the extra cost for the guaranteed quality.  

[sal669]

I don't whanna ruffle any feathers here, I just whant to point out some issues:

1- the high price of a high end rod doesn't derive only from the quality; a LOT of that money goes to advertising, company profits and customer satisfaction ( design, warranty, 24 hour customer service, and so on).Yes, there is extra quality too, but the proportion is not lineal : for 3x the price you will get 10-20% more quality (for example)

2-You have to compare rods designed for the same tipe of application (or multiple applications) I bet a Loomis drop shot rod would suck for carolina rigging, even though it's a high quality rod.

3-You have to ballance out the outfit. For example lets take drop shotting at 40-60 feet depth: there is no reaso spending $350 on a Loomis rod and pair it with an averege reel spooled with 6# trileneXL (soft line with a lot of strech).You would have a lot more sensitivity using an average rod paired with braided line on a very good reel ( you need excellent drag with braids, if you don't whanna ripp the hook out of the fishes mouth when getting close to the boat)

4- Look for the bargains( sales, model close-outs, year end clearance, etc.)You could end up with a quality tacke at moderate price.

Finaly, "high quality" will NOT get my money. When I'm going fishing, I'm not going to show off my tackle, I'm going to catch fish and I can accomplish that without going bankrupt. Did you ever wander if  all those pro's on the tour are using top of the line rods and reels?They don't !!! And if by any chanse they do , the manufacturer is sponsoring the fisherman and gave him the product free. Just watch the tourney shows, not the shows where the pro gets paid to advertise, telling you how great a certain rod /reel/bait/etc. is.

Just my 2 cents

[Alpster]

Then your mind is made up.

Perfect answer Bass Brat. This thread should be over. Some guys that fish with a $50 rod think those that those who fish with $300 rods are stupid and don't have a clue. On the other hand, some guys that fish with a $300 rod think those that fish with $50 rods are stupid and don't have a clue. This argument has been repeated on a 1000 threads, and never seems to get old. It's a good thing everyone doesn't think alike. To each his own. JMHO

Ronnie

[FishTank]

I have one thing to add to this thread and that is I do believe that advertising adds alot to the price.

IMHO, Bass Pro Shop advertises more than any other company.  I get about 8 catalogs a year (I cherish all of them), numerous emails, and they sponsor everything from a Nascar team to every boat on the water.  Just something to think about when you purchase some of their branded equipment.  Again, this is just an opinion.

[Hawgin]

Did you ever wander if all those pro's on the tour are using top of the line rods and reels?They don't !!!

I should really let this go, but that's just not the type of person I am.  I decided to round up the last two years worth of Bassmaster magazine's where they give tourney results and the tackle those pros used to win with.  Let me just hit a few of the winners:

Ish Monroe - Busch Shoot Out:  Team Diawi Steez 7'1" MH baitcast, 6'6" M Steez spinning rod, Steez reels.

Todd Faircloth-Table Rock Lake: 6'8" M Castaway rod, Shimano reel

Mike McClelland-Sooner Run: Falcon rods, Quantum Tour Edition reels

Peter T-The Memorial: 7'6" American Rodsmith, Okuma Nemisis reels

Ike-Guntersville: Daiwa Light and Tough Rods, Diawa Advantage reels

Ish-Amistad: Daiwa Celio rods, Daiwa Fuego reels

Ben Matsubu-Wildcard: Powell rods, Shimano Curado reel

Scott Rook-The Legends: St. Croix Legend rod, Abu Garcia Revo reel

I could go on, but I think I've made the point I wanted.  Of course a lot of them are free to the anglers, because they have earned those sponsorships through hard work, and they obviously approve of the quality of the sponsors equipment.  I don't see any Bionic Blades or Extremes on those lists.

[dodgeguy]

Ike-Guntersville: Daiwa Light and Tough Rods, Diawa Advantage reels  = no better than a bass pro johnny morris.it's im6 graphite and regular fuji aluminum oxide guides.

Todd Faircloth-Table Rock Lake: 6'8" M Castaway rod, Shimano reel

Mike McClelland-Sooner Run: Falcon rods, Quantum Tour Edition reels

Peter T-The Memorial: 7'6" American Rodsmith, Okuma Nemisis reels

all 3 of these are on par with a top of the line bass pro combo pricewise .

the only setup that's really out there is ish monroes.

[Hawgin]

Dodgeguy-

 I don't disagree with your assesment that those are comparable to the Johnny Morris line, but the JM line also falls in a pricing point similar to a lot of high end equipment.  The Johnny Morris rods run in the same pricing category as Fenwick Techna AV's, Team All Star, St. Croix Avid, Kistler Magnesium, and the top end Quantums, Shimanos, etc.  I consider JM rods to be a high quality product, and it is priced accordingly.  GLoomis is a whole different story on it's own, and I even am of the opinion that they are overpriced for what they are.  I think the Fenwick, St. Croix, and Kistler are very competitive with Loomis at a more reasonable price, however I won't come on here and try to tell anyone that fishes with Loomis that there is no difference between a GLX and and BPS Extreme.

[Captain Chaos II]

The debate continues....I have quite a few BPS rods and getting a bionic blade for a spinning outfit this year.  Luv them for their purposes.

BUT.....I'm also gonna get a higher end rod this year to experience what a quality rod is all about.  If you go to BPS pick up an extreme rod for example, then go over and feel a higher end Loomis.  You will notice the change in weight right off the bat.  That doesn't even account for other differences in components.

Either way, you can catch a bass.  They don't know if you are fishing with BPS gear, Walmart gear or a Loomis.  It is personal preference on how you wanna fish.....

[dodgeguy]

Dodgeguy-

I don't disagree with your assesment that those are comparable to the Johnny Morris line, but the JM line also falls in a pricing point similar to a lot of high end equipment. The Johnny Morris rods run in the same pricing category as Fenwick Techna AV's, Team All Star, St. Croix Avid, Kistler Magnesium, and the top end Quantums, Shimanos, etc. I consider JM rods to be a high quality product, and it is priced accordingly. GLoomis is a whole different story on it's own, and I even am of the opinion that they are overpriced for what they are. I think the Fenwick, St. Croix, and Kistler are very competitive with Loomis at a more reasonable price, however I won't come on here and try to tell anyone that fishes with Loomis that there is no difference between a GLX and and BPS Extreme.

agree %100!!! ;D

[hitormiss]

I could go out today and buy a new Ford Mustang GT for around $35k and have a helluva sports car.  Will it perform like a $120K Porsche 911 Turbo?  Of course not.   ;D

It depends a lot on who's driving. Same with fishing equipment. You can't buy fishing skill just like you can't buy a good golf swing. The fish have no clue what you are holding in your hand, just how you presented what is in front of them. Just my $.02.