Best fishing poles.

[Rebel.R]

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 !

 

[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 “*****” charge, but think that was $60 too. Each time I end up with a newer version of the same action rod.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

I'm not really a fisherman, I bought my jon boat to use as a floating blind. I do own some gear my current favorite is a Shakespeare 7' outcast that I bought in 2012 for $7.50. One day in the near future I will put the Okuma Avenger on it that I bought maybe 6 years ago at Cabela's for under $20.00. I bought some line last year. I should be trying out my favorite rod any year now.

 

[airshot]

Catfish can be very tough fighters, spinning rods are generally not tough enough for catfish. Fishing rods are designed for different purposes...can be difficult choosing the correct one for the job at hand.

 

[Lost But Happy]

I love St Croix rods. I have 6. LOL

 

[FuzzyGrub]

I love St Croix rods. I have 6. LOL

You don't want to know how many we have!

 

[flatheadsteve]

I love St Croix rods. I have 6. LOL

This...for bass/panfish/walleye rods that's all that's on my boat . Can get some really good deals on them at times. This winter I picked up a couple of the legend tournement bass series at sportsmans guide for 50% off. Have a couple of the mojo bass and a premiere too. Catfish rods are all mad katz.

 

[Lost But Happy]

You don't want to know how man we have!

Ah, I am but only one man though

This...for bass/panfish/walleye rods that's all that's on my boat . Can get some really good deals on them at times. This winter I picked up a couple of the legend tournement bass series at sportsmans guide for 50% off. Have a couple of the mojo bass and a premiere too. Catfish rods are all mad katz.

Yep, you can get some killer deals when they retire the old style and introduce the ones.

@Rebel.R
If you are so inclined sign up for the emails from St Croix, they will let you know when the new styles come out.

Now that we have given our opine, make with the secret bait. LOL

 

[Panzon]

Check out the Daiwa BG combos

We have several of the 4000 combos and they have landed some impressive fish

We also use BG 14000’s for stand up. They are tough

 

[Sinkingfast]

Well...I was gonna say build one. When ya find out how they actually work and build one ya will fall in love with it. You might even take it to bed with ya...but you fellas will just break it somehow and be heartbrokin...dont ask me how i know...

 

[Basstrackertx17]

I’ve got 3 of them. No problems…
Sometimes you get a bad one.
I would still try to return it..

 

[LDUBS]

Broke an UglyStik, holy cow! Those things used to be indestructible. I wonder if they are made differently now days. I still have one of the early UglyStiks. I use Kokanee rods trolling for trout (Lamiglas & Eagle Claw). Not much good for anything else. I use a Lamiglas surf rod for surf fishing (go figure, haha).

 

[surfsidenick]

I have a number of Ugly sticks and have never broke one. I have seen that the GX2 series are a problem.

 

[thill]

They used to have a lifetime warranty against breaking

 

[monzster]

I got all my Ugly Sticks back in the 80s and still use them to this day. Not sure about now but they use to have a lifetime warranty. Ill never forget the first time I bought mine I went to the store asked the clerk where they were he showed me and I picked one up and bent it end to end. He freaked out asked me what the Hell I was doing. Told him well if its gona break I want it to do it in the store that way I know I got a good one. Never had any issues with them. Of course just like everything else in the world quality may have gone down over the decades.

 

[Billy H]

Well...I was gonna say build one. When ya find out how they actually work and build one ya will fall in love with it. You might even take it to bed with ya...but you fellas will just break it somehow and be heartbrokin...dont ask me how i know...

This! I build all my own rods. I’m fortunate to have a wholesale rod building supply house not too far away. But you might find that building your own is not your cup of tea. I Used to teach a class on rod building every year. I’d say less than 25% continued to build their own rods. Nothing more satisfying than hauling in fish on a rod you built. There is a website called “Mudhole” that sells rod building kits with everything you need to do a rod. It’s best if you get someone experienced to help you along.

 

[Sinkingfast]

Yep..thats where I got my stuff..built 3 poles so far from them. When one finds out the right way to place guides and such it is an eye opener. ..new guide concept and other ways is interesting. Built mine using 2 large 2 prone forks and my workmate table

 

[Billy H]

Yep..thats where I got my stuff..built 3 poles so far from them. When one finds out the right way to place guides and such it is an eye opener. ..new guide concept and other ways is interesting. Built mine using 2 large 2 prone forks and my workmate table

I go to this place. https://secure.versitex.com/main.asp

Website is very confusing. I drive over and go in to the place. He has big barrels filled with brand new blanks that have little blems. Can get them super cheap. He also has literally 1000,s of new blanks from every manufacturer from Aftco to StCroix, you name it. Every component manufacturer on earth. For everything else from grips to guides to real seats,, everything.

When I taught. The fee included a simple rod wrapper that I made for them.

 

[Ray Clark]

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!

 

[JL8Jeff]

I'm not really a fisherman, I bought my jon boat to use as a floating blind. I do own some gear my current favorite is a Shakespeare 7' outcast that I bought in 2012 for $7.50. One day in the near future I will put the Okuma Avenger on it that I bought maybe 6 years ago at Cabela's for under $20.00. I bought some line last year. I should be trying out my favorite rod any year now.

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.