Looking For Some New Rods

[bucketmouth4]

Well, I'm looking to get a few new rods. Only problem is that I don't have a bunch of money to spend. I was looking at the Allstar ASR, or the new St. Croix Mojo Bass. Any advice on this would be great.

[Jimbo]

This is my opinion, allstar rods lose the guides fast. Fenwick is a great rod and the cost isn't too bad. Also look at the bass pro rods, I have one and love it. $ 50.

[maxfish86]

i've never tried the mojo bass by st. croix but i can tell you that st. croix is one of my favorite rods to use. I've only had one problem with one but its fixed because of the great warranty they have, but i believe the lower end rods don't have a long warranty on them. Good luck on your hunt to find some new equipment. Also if you can find them, the rapala rods are cheap and i used to use them a couple years a go and they met every need i wanted.

[AtitAgain07]

Falcon rods are great mid budget rods. A fish will not break them... I use to do shows for Midwest Rod and Reel and I would point out to guys that were looking for sensitivity for walleye but could handle a northern. I would show them Falcon rods and do the strength test to show that they could use it for northern...Most walked out with a Falcon.

[Nitroman77]

shimano compres are great rods for the money with the over the counter warranty..Prob one of the best rods for the money at that price point..

[walkthedog]

Atitagain07 is right with this one, I use falcons,shimanos and outlaw rods. all three are great rods but the shimano's require being babysat, they break pretty earsy but are awesome for sensativity. You can't go wrong with falcon, they are light weight, durable, have a line of rod for every budget and have a wide variety of lengths and powers. Outlaw rods were introduced to me at the stevens convention center fishing show last winter. teamoutlawrods.com, check them out, they are between falcons and st.croix, I bought three of them and love them all.

[winnebasschamp]

Don't spend your money on all that crap! Go to Bass Pro and get yourself one of their rods. Lifetime garuntee! C'mon! How can you beat that? I've used their rods more than any, and granted the expensive rods are nicer, but IMO I don't need em. I'll catch fish with BP rods as good as someone with a $200 Kistler or Loomis. I've won money in tourneys with my crappy boat, crappy rods, crappy reels and crappy lures. It's all in your head!:p

[maxfish86]

can you please tell me the name of that crappy jig you were throwing at deep lake?

[winnebasschamp]

Jimmy jig;)

[Nitroman77]

Yea your right keep using those broom sticks you call rods..;)
Those $$$ arnt worth a darn even with a lifetime over the counter warranty as some do have. Lighter, more sensitive, better guides/graphite, balance, etc are just not worth the $$$...:rolleyes: Glad those rods are working for ya, but dont get your hands on a BCR GLX or Steez or Legend Elite, Megabass, dobyns Extreme or you might be living out of a cardboard box to feed the need for SICK STIX..:D:p

[Jimbo]

The guy in Palatine or the Salmon stop sells Fenwick rods at a pretty good price. He will usually give a discount if you tell him you heard about him from a great source, "fish the nation ". I bought my last 2 from there.

[maxfish86]

who are you referring to nitro?

[fishing3]

Tommy uses all Extreme Rods from Bass Pro Shops..... THE WARRANTY HAS NOW CHANGED! The warranty is now only ONE YEAR FROM PURCHASE....it used to be that you could bring a damaged/broken rod in at any time, and they would replace. Those days are over. A few months back we had to call a manager down and fought the guy for 5 minutes on this new policy. But for the money----great rods. I used to get extremely incredible deals on these when buying in bulk, if you guys are interested, I will take a look at the costing...let me know.
When swimming a jig, I've moved to St Croix ...as its helped with the hook sets.

[Jimbo]

I could use any one of the rods mentioned. I am fussy about a rod tip feeling heavy, when I buy any rod, I put the reel on it and add weight to the handle until it feels good. I have noticed the bass pro rods are fine off the shelf. I think the only reason I went to Fenwick is because I got one for free and I am trying to keep from having too many different brands, plus I beet the crap out of them and they hold up well. I also feel the lighter the rod the stiffer they feel.

[Nitroman77]

I was messing with winnebasschamp, about this comment..:D;)

[maxfish86]

gotcha nitro... to everyone's remark on rods... as jimbo was saying with the lighter rods,,,..... when i was a kid i started off with cheaper baitcasting rods and they're a lot heavier then the ones today... you also have to look at what you're throwing all day, most of the time with baitcasters you're not throwing something to heavy but for example cranking all day can wear you out if you don't have a lighter rod and reel. All my baitcaster rods are either st croix tournies,premeirs and or avids. I only have 2 other rods and they are back ups. They are from a company online that had a great deal on rods and i'm not sure if they still do it anymore. The company is called acadia and they'll give you 2 rods for 40 bucks. At least that's what i got it for back when i got them. They are both 7 foot heavies and i use one of them for my carolina rig. Also these rods are pretty light weight and i haven't had a problem with them yet. of course the heavies are a little stiffer, but i know they sold a variety of sizes.

for spinning i've used about 3 brands... Just recently i've been stepping up to the shimano rods but i also have daiwas, and i used to use rapalas. They were cheap, light weight rods, and ultra sensitive. The shimanos have special rods like other companies for certain baits. I picked up the drop shot rod by them and its amazing. The weight balance is perfect on it and the extra 5 inches they give you on the rod really helps when you're playing fish. Good luck bucketmouth on your choices

[bucketmouth4]

Thank you all for the responses. They have all been helpfull. I curentlly have, two ASR rods. I have one spinning, and one baitcasting. I love them both. Have not had a problem with either one. I played with a Mojo Bass rod at Cabelas the other day. They just happened to have one on the shelf. It seems really good with a good backbone, and very well made. I would have gotten it, but the price was thirty dollars more than to order it out of the Bass Pro catalog. What's up with that. I talked to a buddy and he told me that they do price match. If that is true, maybe I'll go back and get it. Does anyone know about the price matching thing?

[Nitroman77]

Mojo Bass: Mojo whaaat? Mojo Bass... this is St. Croix's new series of quality yet affordable series bass rods. According to Jeff Schluter, St. Croix's Vice President of Sales and Marketing, the Mojo Bass rods are developed for the younger, aspiring bass anglers that are thinking of turning professional one day. Sold for only $90 to $120 a piece any angler will be able to fill their rod lockers like a pro angler.:D

[bucketmouth4]

And that is what I be. An aspiring bass angler hoping to do good in some tournaments. Will be fishing my first tourney series this spring. Hope to do decent in the Anglers Choice series on the Chain with a buddy of mine.

[winnebasschamp]

I was messing with winnebasschamp, about this comment..:D;)

It's all good, I'm just poor!

[maxfish86]

we're all poor when it comes to wanting the right tackle, but at the same time ryan you're a really good fisherman.. so i think it evens out

[Nitroman77]

Not all...Ill have to get off and take some pics of my gear...:D:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

[maxfish86]

i'm just trying to be nice to ryan.. i have 2 calais 4 chronarchs and 1 elite st,croix 2 avids and to many other rods that are expensive as well including your dobyns.. but still you can get by with the cheaper gear as well. But when it comes to wind and other variables that take part in casting my calias will succeed!!!

[CatchinBigBass]

Hey guys, just a thought here...
Do you think a top of the line, extremely sensitive rod is necessary for every technique? I throw a lot of top water baits and can't imagine spending a ton of money on a rod for that. How about crank bait rods. Some of the best crank bait fishermen I know use bass pro's crankin rod. It's only $59.
I agree the lighter rods are nice to avoid physical stress, especially for a weak old guy like me.
My thought has always been to spend my money on high end rods for finese and jig rods so that I can feel the light bites and the bottom. Although I think a good line watcher can smoke a guy trying to feel the bites in some cases.

I would send a pic of my gear but Jimbo might show that pic to my wife :(

[Jimbo]

You don't need all that fancy gear. If you can cast with it you can catch with it. Sometimes I think guys pay way to much for fishing rods to make up for small peckers, just a thought !!!

[Nitroman77]

nope you dont need a super sensitive rod for tops or cranks for the most part. Cranks I like to have a sensitive enough rod to feel the ticks of grass if im using a Trap style bait and or bumping off rocks then to a sandy bottom. For vertical presentation I think sensitivity is key. My buddy fishes with some old Fenwick rods and kept asking me why I had such high end rods, then I let him fish one of my loomis GLXs for the day and he didnt want to put the rod down after the trip so I let him have the rod. After that hes no dummy and knew what the major deal was. For Me I love HIGH END gear and can afford it and I must say its sweet!
BUT not everyone needs or wants it and can get away with less Pricier gear which is cool, but As the topic states Im trying to find him the BEST rod for the money he wants to spend and the Shimano COMPRE and or Crucials are the BEST rods in that given price range. ;) They make the TC4 crank sticks which are very nice rods.

[bucketmouth4]

If you are giving away GLX's you can throw some my way!

[CatchinBigBass]

Hey Nitroman, thanks for the info but I had two Shimano compre rods and both broke on medium sized bass. Not one of my favorites.:(
I have a GLX flipping rod and like it alot, however I have probably caught just as many fish with my $100 flipping rod.
Do you think your fish numbers go up with a better rod or are you just more physically comfortable with the high end rods?

[Nitroman77]

LOL I haven't fished a loomis in sometime and hes been a buddy of mine for a long time and he deserved a sweet stick.

[Nitroman77]

Hey Nitroman, thanks for the info but I had two Shimano compre rods and both broke on medium sized bass. Not one of my favorites.:(
I have a GLX flipping rod and like it alot, however I have probably caught just as many fish with my $100 flipping rod.
Do you think your fish numbers go up with a better rod or are you just more physically comfortable with the high end rods?

Now for flipping I prefer balance over anything else as your really not needing direct feel since those fish peg the bait, but with a drop shot rod or shakey heads and such I prefer sensitivity. My numbers go up as I can feel everything on the bottom period, and I fish a TON..Im a tackle nut/junkie/enthusiast as ive got a bunch of 500$ reels or more and have all the bells and whistles. I flat out love fishing and the gear that goes along with it.
I do prefer lighter combos as Ive got combos that weight less then 10zs total..:eek:
All my reels but 2 weight less then 6ozs. Its what gives me confidence.

what TECH.. were you using when the rods broke and how old were they?

[Big Bass Lee]

I love my Bass Pro Shop rods. Every spring they have a sale. I buy 8 Crankin sticks every year for 25 bucks a piece. I use them for spinnerbaits, crankbaits, small swimbaits, and chatterbaits. I bought 4 johnny morris elite series rods for $240 on ebay last year. One of them was broken. I brought it into bass pro and they told me to pick a new one off the shelf. People don't realize how awesome bass pro rods are.

For finesse fishing I go to the good stuff like G.Looomis GLX drop shot. Shimano Cumara is awesome. The Setyr rods are a lot like G.Loomis. I've got a Dobyns Swimbait rod.

[Jimbo]

Jimmy jig;)
I just caught that winnepoop, if you really did, I would be proud. Have you seen the cost of those lately? An arm and a leg !!