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Author:
Michael
Date:
Mar 05, 2014
Subject:
Inexpensive Rods well Worth It
Message:
Thought I'd start a topic similar to what's on another fishing website. After many years of fishing salt and/or fresh, many people like to try new rods and compare them. Some people prefer more expensive top-of-the-line while others try and save money under $100. How many of you have fished with inexpensive rods under $100? Did you get great action with it for the price vs more expensive rods or did it not work out for you? If you got great action with it, which expensive rods would you compare it to even though the more expensive rods have a bit more to them? My newest medium power 6 footer for largemouths, walleye, pickerel, and catfish is a Field & Stream Inferno. Got it at Dick's last year for $31.79 and also paid an extra $6.99 for warranty coverage. If I had to compare it to other rods of much higher price ranges, I'd say I'm getting the action of a St Croix Triumph or Mojo Bass. I compared the Inferno to a 6' Ugly Stik and a 6' Daiwa TriForce. The TriForce started showing wear after a few months of heavy usage and sent it back to Daiwa for exchange before selling what they gave to me in return. The Ugly Stik didn't have the action and backbone feeling like the Inferno does. The only signs of wear that have happened so far is the main guide from the tip fell out, but I'm not finding any shredding done to 8 pound mono line. My basic 5'6" freshwater rod for smaller bass and pickerel, river smallies, panfish, and spring trout fishing is an Eagle Claw Powerlight. Bought it for $27.99 in February 2013 and haven't gotten 1 single piece taken out of it for all the fishing I did with it in 2013, even when I landed a 6 pound 1 ounce largemouth with it. It is an amazing rod that can cast, catch bigger fish, and set the hook. For $27.99, I'm getting the feeling and action of a rod around the $100 mark, such as a ST Croix Premier. 2012 is when I decided to sell 2 older 8'6" St Croix rods I had been using for a long time with surf casting and replace them with modern and lighter 8 footers for heavier lures and 7 and 7 1/2 footers for lighter lures and smaller fish. 3 8 footers that I put to the test were a $19.99 Sea Striker SS800, $74.26 Daiwa Emcast, and $73.25 Star Rods Aerial Surf. The Emcast didn't get much usage. It was a bit on the heavy side and was very stiff like a piece of steal, which I didn't like. The Sea Striker was a good value for the money that gave me a good evening of striper fishing on the Housy. But once I bought the Aerial, I was in love. The Aerial is giving me the feeling of something between a St Croix Triumph and Mojo and something like the Daiwa TD S Surf Classic. I'd go with the Aerial instead of a $125 Tsunami. The first 7 footer I bought was an Okuma Nomad Inshore Travel for $156.39. I enjoyed it throughout the November 2012 schoolie run at Seaside. Then came April 2013 when I compared it to a $52.21 7'6" Okuma SST Salmon and a previous generation $68.53 7' Daiwa Procyon. As I got into the spring schoolies and weakfish and started hitting blues in late May, the SST and Procyon showed action for value vs the Nomad. I stuck with those 2 and stuck with the Procyon because it had that extra $10 action and feeling. Then I ran into issues with the Procyon in July. I was landing a basic sea robin and the tip broke. I shipped it to Daiwa and they gave me the last of that generation Procyon they had. I had already sold the SST so that's when I decided to buy a backup, which was a 7' Okuma Tarvos. Finally got tired of the upper half of the newer Procyon slipping in the water every 10 casts or so, so I shipped it to Daiwa as I hung onto the Tarvos. Daiwa gave me another Procyon but it was the newest generation. Found the newest generation to not be comfy on the hands due to it having a blank area behind the reel seat. Sold it and hung onto the Okuma, which gave me great action throughout the rest of October and into November. The only issue I've had with the Okuma was the first one broke in half when I went to cast a 3/8 ounce Rapala. All I had to do was put a piece of the broken part in an envelope to Okuma and they replaced it. The new Tarvos has been hanging in there longer than the Procyons. As I became happy with the freshwater 6' F&S Inferno after selling the Procyon, I decided to pick up a 2 piece 7'6" version of it for $37.09 plus the warranty service charge. For the money, this rod I find to have better action than the Procyon and feels like a 2 piece version of a 7' ML St Croix Mojo. The Inferno is a great value if you need a 2 piece ML surf rod. Okuma makes a 1 piece 7'6" version of the Tarvos, which would be another great value, unless you need a 2 piece. This year I will be comparing 2 7'6" 1 piece saltwater surf rods. 1 is under $100 while the other has a value more like $175, even though I paid $50 for it. They will be for when I get out with other people in a vehicle.
Author:
fishfinder
Date:
Mar 05, 2014
Message:
Have you used the Tsunami trophy seriss Mike as I seen you say youd buy 1 rod before that.
Author:
PECo
Date:
Mar 05, 2014
Message:
Buy a good rod with a good warranty from a good company. I've had good warranty service and replacements from St. Croix and Shimano. I think Shimano's lifetime rod warranty starts at the $80 price point with its Clarus rods. They're well worth the cost, in my experience.
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