Best fishing poles.

[LDUBS]

I'm not one to spend big dollars on rods. There are so many non-fishing mishaps that can occur, plus the risks of what can happen while fighting a fish.

For an ultralight rod, my favorite is the Bass Pro Microlite fiberglass rod. Available at (you know where) for $25. Several of my fishing buddies have them, I have two. One guy uses his to troll for walleye, and has fought a muskie who latched on to his walleye while he was bringing it in. I think he's nuts to use an ultralight rod for that, but it's his choice. I caught a 22" walleye with mine a few weeks ago while I was working a school of crappie. It's a great rod, and very nice for panfish. It casts well and you can really work the panfish with it. I've caught catfish, bass, and even some small northern pike on those rods.

If I needed to replace any of my other rods (baitcaster and some spinning rigs), I'd go to Amazon and look at KastKing or Piscifun. They have a wide variety of rods and that's where I'll go for my next rod, whenever that is. I have an Entsport brand rod from Amazon. That rod came with three different tips (med light, med, med heavy). That was real handy once when I had a med light tip on. I hooked a huge turtle and snapped the tip while working to get free of the turtle. I simply put on the medium tip on and went back to fishing.

It would be nice if all rod manufacturers would make extra tips an option when buying the rod. In my case, I wanted another med light tip for my rod set. I contacted Entsport customer service. I told them about the break and how it happened. They sent me a whole new set of three tips. Now I have five for that rod!

I have a Microlite float 'n fly that I use when tossing lures at trout from the bank. I like the rod but don't use it often because I don't fish from the bank often anymore.

 

[Billy H]

I just bought one of the Okuma Avenger AV-3000 reels about a month and half ago and I really like it so far. I have an older Ugly Stix GX2 and didn't realize I had worn a groove in the top metal eyelet and it was fraying my line. I lost several fish and lures before finding the problem. So I'm also looking for a new rod as I have been using an older Synergy which has held up surprisingly well to a couple of bigger fish so far.

You can replace that tip top pretty easily if you’re in love with the rod. Might not be worth the trouble on an old ugly stick though.

 

[LDUBS]

Shoot, I would replace the tip top on just about any rod if that is all that is wrong with it.

I've enjoyed building 3 or four rods back in the old days. It is very rewarding. There was a place in Oakland CA named Siegle's that carried hunting and fishing goods and a decent supply of rod building stuff. One that I built used an UglyStik blank. It was my go to striper rod. One of my sons has it now.

 

[TAB]

I just bought one of the Okuma Avenger AV-3000 reels about a month and half ago and I really like it so far. I have an older Ugly Stix GX2 and didn't realize I had worn a groove in the top metal eyelet and it was fraying my line. I lost several fish and lures before finding the problem. So I'm also looking for a new rod as I have been using an older Synergy which has held up surprisingly well to a couple of bigger fish so far.

I have always loved Berkley . Great sensitivity. Better than fenwick .

 

[Sea Antsy]

Well I'm broken hearted and Devastated...
It's been years since I purchased a new fishing pole.... Was in Walmart the other day and seen a ugly stick (kit) Gx2.... Grabbed it and long story short - brought In a fish the other day and the 2nd to the end shaft snapped off...
I'm not sure I can find my Receipt so I'm taking a loss with it.... this is one of the fish I brought in.... the one that broke the pole was similar in size.

What are some good poles / combs - for 50 to 200$...

Share this info with me and I shall make a post about the best most awsomest fishing bait that Guarantees a catch!


Thanks gentleman !

well a credit card purchase might be proof enough for a return, but if not... buy ANOTHER one.. then you got 3 things in hand.. a good pole, a broken pole and a receipt.... Humm..

 

[Ray Clark]

I broke a decent crappie rod two years ago; it was a store brand rod from the monstrously monstrous outdoor retailer. I have no idea how it happened. Anyway, that's the rod I replaced with the Microlite fiberglass rod.

Instead of just pitching the whole rod, I repurposed the butt end and made a rig for loading line onto my reels.

 

[airshot]

Shoot, I would replace the tip top on just about any rod if that is all that is wrong with it.

I've enjoyed building 3 or four rods back in the old days. It is very rewarding. There was a place in Oakland CA named Siegle's that carried hunting and fishing goods and a decent supply of rod building stuff. One that I built used an UglyStik blank. It was my go to striper rod. One of my sons has it now.

I have a few rods that are just a couple inches short with new tops...the fish don't seem to mind !!

 

[LDUBS]

It has already been said, and I thinkit is true, that most rod breakage happens because of things other than fishing. Car doors, being stepped on, etc.

 

[Billy H]

One nice thing about building your own. No one has one like it. In winter I’ll go nuts and cut and glue all my own cork and turn them down to handles, and add some fancy thread work.

 

[Capt. Dave Bush]

I bought Ugly Sticks in 2004 , 7'+ for striper fishing. used them since, that's 20 years and never had one break with some pretty heavy fish on the hook. They use to have a life time warrantee om them have you tried to get replacements?

 

[airshot]

One nice thing about building your own. No one has one like it. In winter I’ll go nuts and cut and glue all my own cork and turn them down to handles, and add some fancy thread work.
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Very nice work !!! I am afraid I no longer have, or never had to be honest, the patience to do that !! You should be proud of your work, unfortunately I don't think the fish care at all...

 

[Billy H]

Very nice work !!! I am afraid I no longer have, or never had to be honest, the patience to do that !! You should be proud of your work, unfortunately I don't think the fish care at all...

Thanks , true the fish don’t care if you make them look nice. Most of my everyday rods are plain Jane these days, and my nice looking ones are getting beat to death. I don’t put the time into making every rod nice looking. There are many things you CAN do to make your rod superior to store bought.

 

[LDUBS]

One nice thing about building your own. No one has one like it. In winter I’ll go nuts and cut and glue all my own cork and turn them down to handles, and add some fancy thread work.

Awesome. How is turning cork? I assume you glue together rings then use a mandrel?

I mentioned earlier I found building the few I tried to be very rewarding. That would have been 40+ years ago, so I suspect the components are superior these days. Everyone I built had a foam handle. I had no real equipment. Some finishing nails hammered into scrap wood in a "V" shape for the rod cradle. Tensioned the thread by running it through a thick book. I did manage some not so decent and some decent results but there were a lot of "do-overs". Haha.

 

[Billy H]

Awesome. How is turning cork? I assume you glue together rings then use a mandrel?

Yes glue together rings. To get the checkered effect you need to cut triangular pieces and glue them together to make a ring. I turn them on a drill press. Just run a bolt through the rings with a nut and washer. Put that in the jaws of the drill press and work it down with sandpaper. Easy to shape.

 

[MrGiggles]

I'm really partial to Berkley Lightning Rods. About $50, some Walmarts have them. The 6' 6" medium spinning is a great all purpose rod, goes well with a 25 or 30 size Pflueger President.

 

[FuzzyGrub]

If you bought it on a card, should not need a receipt.

I snapped my favorite rod this spring. Your heart just sinks when it happens. Probably more my fault lifting a smallie into the boat. It was also my most expensive rod. A St Croix Legend Tournament Bass rod. While it was under $200 on sale when I purchased, years ago, they are well over it now. St Croix is covering under warranty with a $60 charge for shipping, handling, and processing. They had none in stock, but should be coming out of production in July, well in time for fall fishing.

This will be my third rod from the initial purchase. The first one got smashed at the butt end, closing the suv hatch. I had to pay the “idiot” charge, but think that was $60 too. Each time I end up with a newer version of the same action rod.

FWIW: I did receive my new rod in plenty of time for fall fishing. It might be even lighter than my older version.

 

[flatheadsteve]

FWIW: I did receive my new rod in plenty of time for fall fishing. It might be even lighter than my older version.

Love those rods..which did you get I have the 7'3" med xf in spinning , a 7'3" mh fast casting a 6'8" ml xf casting and the 7'2" crankbait rod.... my son was using the spinning rod the other day now he doesn't wanna give it back lol

 

[FuzzyGrub]

The St Croix 6' 8" MXF has been my favorite St Croix action. It s a great all-around action for smallies. Tubing, jigging, plastics, etc, And between my son and myself, have just about every action in spinning. A fair number of casting rods, too. He got me hooked when he worked at Gander Mountain with quite the discount back then.

That 7' 3" MXF wasn't available back then. I have been eyeing it for a possble Black Friday Xmas present for myself.

 

[flatheadsteve]

The St Croix 6' 8" MXF has been my favorite St Croix action. It s a great all-around action for smallies. Tubing, jigging, plastics, etc, And between my son and myself, have just about every action in spinning. A fair number of casting rods, too. He got me hooked when he worked at Gander Mountain with quite the discount back then.

That 7' 3" MXF wasn't available back then. I have been eyeing it for a possble Black Friday Xmas present for myself.

It's an awesome rod for smallmouth. Tubes, Ned's, weightless senkos you'll like it

 

[thill]

One nice thing about building your own. No one has one like it. In winter I’ll go nuts and cut and glue all my own cork and turn them down to handles, and add some fancy thread work.

Thanks , true the fish don’t care if you make them look nice. Most of my everyday rods are plain Jane these days, and my nice looking ones are getting beat to death. I don’t put the time into making every rod nice looking. There are many things you CAN do to make your rod superior to store bought.

It's funny... I guess growing up in the city, I learned at a young age that if your stuff looks fancy, it tends to catch the eye of thieves and you won't have it for long.

So when I got into rodbuilding, I made almost all of my rods VERY plain. No fancy wraps, nothing to distinguish it from a junk rod until you picked it up and then, Aaaaahhhh... The balance, the crisp sensitivity, the power, the action... They sing in your hands. I am very partial to G. Loomis GL3 and GLX blanks, and those things are special. I still have a couple I've been hiding for a special day.

The are awesome in the hand but I generally make them look really boring. A sharp eye might notice the handle and seat design, and on a few rods I have a single wrap of silver or gold under each guide that you barely notice. In 20 years, I have left the rods on the boat at the dock while running to grab lunch or whatever many, many times, and I've never had a rod go missing.

I learned this from my Mom when a little kid. She had a $$$ pearl Fuji racing bike and I remember a guy trying to steal it off the bike rack on the car while at a red light with all of us in the car. 1970's equivalent to car-jacking , I guess. Fortunately, it was well secured, and we pulled off fast as soon as the light turned, and he didn't get it off, but that's when Mom realized that beautifully crafted machine was really tempting.

So, she took modeling paint and painted what looked like rust and scale all over the bike. It looked TERRIBLE, like it was going to fall apart, and no one ever tried to steal it again. Someone got Dad's Raliegh, but the police recovered it, and then mom did her thing on his bike, too. We had those "ugly" bikes for many years after that.

I've done this same thing to tools on the job. Stuff tends to disappear on a big jobsite if you don't keep an eye on it, which is impossible to do all the time. A little spray paint "vandalism" makes them much less appealing! Plus, if a guy is seen walking away with something that distinctive, someone is going to point the finger, so they don't bother.

Sorry to digress and hijack the thread!