More Important: Rod or Reel

[Rusty Shackleford]

Saw something about this in another thread and this newbie was wondering everyone's opinion. Would you rather have a more expensive rod and an average reel or vice versa? Thanks.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Depends on the situation.

To me, the rod is most important with contact baits (jigs, soft plastics, drop shot/shakey, etc).

Spinnerbaits, I don't really care as long as I am not backlashing all day.

[MattinOK]

  I believe the rod is really more important. Not to say you can put a $20 reel on a $300 rod and it work well. I usually like to spend twice on the rod as I do on a reel. a Steez reel will not do any good if you cannot feel the bite to begin with. A Citica/Sahara on a say a good $150ish rod will have the best of both worlds. 

[roadwarrior]

Rods are probably more important for "bottom contact"

fishing, but reels make fishing fun!

8-)

[Red Bear]

i would rather have an average rod and a good reel. eventually youll learn the difference of feel of an average rod to a high end rod, i cant say that about the reel. plus because the reel is made with moving parts and such, id rather that be quality...

[Flip4Braid]

I agree on the moving parts comment.  Therefore I say reel by a nose.

[Grey Wolf]

Rod.

[SirSnookalot]

ROD, without a doubt !  The rod supplies the casting distance, gives the backbone to handle larger fish and furnishes the sensitivity.

On a side note I purchased a new rod last week 

( caught a 30# Jack with an old reel I had).  Went into Bass Pro this morning to buy a new reel for it and got my ego stroked even more when the staff was ooing an ahing over this rod.  Tsunami airwave inshore split handle  8' med 8/17 rod and light as a feather with a solid backbone.

[Georgia Jeff]

The rod for sure.  I fish mostly texas rigged and weightless plastics so therefore "feel" is very important. 

[Boogey Man]

Rod.

[Bass Tracker 20]

Well Put Road Warrior  ;D 

[tracker01]

Rod by a mile. First you have to feel the "tap", then you need a good rod to set the hook, then last on the chain is the reel. You can look at the reel two different ways. Way #1, it's there to winch the fish in. Way #2, it's the funest part of the outfit, it's neat to shop for, it has moving parts, and it looks cool on that expensive rod you just bought.

[bigfruits]

as long as theyre both good quality, i dont mind fishing a setup where either is more expensive than the other.

ill pair my avid with a core

ill pair my glx with curado

that being said, i tend to spend more on rods as i do alot of bottom bait fishing.

[flippin and pitchin]

Bass fishing professional Skeet Reese:  Revo Skeet Reese model $229.99, W & M Tessara $89.99,  royalty checks: priceless

[BassThumb]

I'd have to say the rod is more important to me.  My rods all cost more than my reels.  I just couldn't see myself being as comfortable or as effective with a $300 reel on a $150 rod as I would be with a $150 reel on a $300 rod.

[RWSCHMITZ]

I have to say the REEL, I use braid 100%, braid will make any ROD have good feel, casting and the power to bring in a deep driving cranks is the ticket for me.

[backpain...]

Rod by a long shot. It doesn't matter how smooth the reel is, or how long of a cast it makes. If you don't feel the bites you might as well be casting in the parking lot, because you aren't going to catch the fish.

I have heard all of the woes and warnings about getting cheap bait casters because they will be torture. I learned to throw a bait caster on a $20 wally world special. Even now, I think the "best" bait caster I own is a Quantum PT. Am I missing out on smoothness and casting distance? Maybe.... but I would sacrifice that for feeling the bites and getting the fish in the boat any day of the week.

IMHO a sensitive rod is a necessity, a nice reel is a luxury. I said sensitive on purpose, because you can get some pretty sensitive rods for a good price.

[Joe Boss]

Rod.

[zerofivenismo]

Rod takes precedence over reel.  Lifetime warranty on the rod doesn't hurt either. 

[J Francho]

I'll say that for most fishing, the rod is more important than the reel. However, in reality I often spend more on the reel. You can get a very nice stick in the sub $200 range. A good reel often runs over that figure.

[NBR]

Rod!

[northern basser]

Agree with bigfruits!

[K_Mac]

Rod by a long shot. It doesn't matter how smooth the reel is, or how long of a cast it makes. If you don't feel the bites you might as well be casting in the parking lot, because you aren't going to catch the fish.

I have heard all of the woes and warnings about getting cheap bait casters because they will be torture. I learned to throw a bait caster on a $20 wally world special. Even now, I think the "best" bait caster I own is a Quantum PT. Am I missing out on smoothness and casting distance? Maybe.... but I would sacrifice that for feeling the bites and getting the fish in the boat any day of the week.

IMHO a sensitive rod is a necessity, a nice reel is a luxury. I said sensitive on purpose, because you can get some pretty sensitive rods for a good price.

I agree with you. The rod is much more important IMHO.

I will say while I also learned to cast with junk, I don't recommend it. For ~$100 you can buy a quality reel that will make fishing more enjoyable. I agree with RW that a good reel makes fishing more fun; we would likely disagree on the definition of a "good" reel. 8-)

[steezy]

Rod by far but a good reel does make fishing more enjoyable.

[RoLo]

For me, it's all about the "rod" because I use canepoles ;D

Roger