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Favorite Rods and Reels At Various Price Points?

Posted: May 17th, 2018, 10:58 am
by big bend gyrene
CRAZY busy year of outdoor AND chair-force work and still haven't found time to get Marine's Dream wet... so with that said, have rather enjoyed the few recent threads on equipment.

Thought I'd start a thread that let's folks speak to their favorite rods / reels at VARIOUS defined price points. So without further ado, for anyone willing to play list favorite rods AND / OR reels at the following price points:

$50

$100

$200

$300

Unlimited price - looking to burn money :wink:

Re: Favorite Rods and Reels At Various Price Points?

Posted: May 17th, 2018, 11:00 am
by big bend gyrene
Here's my .02 for whatever it may or may not be worth

≈ $50 - love Ugly Stik big water series rods, though what I find online today look a bit different than ones I bought few years back and still use. Strong enough to haul big fish in but with enough flex to keep it fun while fighting the fish. Use med / heavy spinning for cobes and casting for hauling big bass out of thick lily pad cover.

≈ $100 - Shimano Symetre reel, though have read they discontinued for 2018 to push Nasci and Ultegra models. As for rods, really like Shimano teramars.

≈ $200 - Shimano baitrunner

≈ $300 - Shimano thunnus. Love them. If I weren't a tightwad by nature I'd buy a couple of more.

Re: Favorite Rods and 4eels At Various Price Points?

Posted: May 17th, 2018, 11:53 am
by Williamsdad
Pfleuger President combo, all we ever use, thanks Luc!

Even for the big boys in LA.

Re: Favorite Rods and Reels At Various Price Points?

Posted: May 17th, 2018, 12:06 pm
by Salty Gator
For a little over a hundred bucks, you can get a new Daiwa black gold. I don’t think you can get a reel close to the same quality for that price. Also a big fan of thunnus, have 2, may put one on my ( soon to be built) new southern custom tarpon rod. I’m also a fan of the shimano trevalla line of jigging rods from $110-160. I have 5 in different sizes, from a light snappper set up to an xx heavy that I use for bottom fishing. Good rod for the money.

Re: Favorite Rods and Reels At Various Price Points?

Posted: May 17th, 2018, 1:49 pm
by silverking
Already commented on the best spinning reel thread but have a couple additions here:

$100+ Tsunami Shield reel and Carbon Shield rod for less than $120 each. Heavier than some but good action and solid water-resistant integrity. The St. Croix Mojo Inshore are less than $130 depending on model and have great action and split cork butts.

$200: Loomis E6X Inshore. Full range of action and power in spin and bait casting rods for less than two bills.

$300+: Unfortunately discontinued and hard to find, the St. Croix Legend Inshore are my favorite rods. Super sensitive, light and Kigan guides that shed braid wind knots. Have fished some of the next generation rods but they're just not the same.

Fly: Haven't christened either yet but found an Orvis large arbor Battenkill 6-wt fly reel, brand new, on eBay for $150 and matched it with a Loomis Shorestalker rod for $200. Looking forward to tossing some bugs at trout/reds soon.

$ No Object: Tibor Signature series fly reels. The Everglades is perfect for the flats and is one of those heritage items you'll pass on to your kids. The Riptide is ideal for cobia and permit while the Gulfstream will whip any big shiner out there.

Re: Favorite Rods and Reels At Various Price Points?

Posted: May 17th, 2018, 1:59 pm
by FishWithChris

$50
- Ummm, UglyStick? I guess my TigerLite Jigging Stick aka Snapper Slapper... Got it for around 59$ from Crums years ago. XXHeavy.

$100
- Falcon. 100% Their inshore and BuCoo series are just incredible in this price range.

$200
- BullBayRods Assault and Stealth Sniper Rods. Sensitive, ton of backbone, light, and great warranty

Unlimited price - looking to burn money :wink:
- YOUR MOM

Re: Favorite Rods and Reels At Various Price Points?

Posted: May 17th, 2018, 2:12 pm
by THOMAS CITY CURVE
Old school chrome spool 4/0 senator is still the go to bottom fishing reel. 7 ft. heavy star rod with the stainless guides. I dont go without my Trevalla spinning rod med. heavy with a bait runner either. All have worked very well.

Re: Favorite Rods and Reels At Various Price Points?

Posted: May 17th, 2018, 6:48 pm
by DKwakulla
FishWithChris wrote:
$50
- Ummm, UglyStick? I guess my TigerLite Jigging Stick aka Snapper Slapper... Got it for around 59$ from Crums years ago. XXHeavy.

$100
- Falcon. 100% Their inshore and BuCoo series are just incredible in this price range.

$200
- BullBayRods Assault and Stealth Sniper Rods. Sensitive, ton of backbone, light, and great warranty

Unlimited price - looking to burn money :wink:
- YOUR MOM
Seconding Falcon. I have a 7'6" spinner and a 8' casting rod and they are AWESOME.

50$
Shimano Sedona

100$
Penn Battle II

I don't own anything more expensive than that outside of an international 965 baitcaster.

Re: Favorite Rods and Reels At Various Price Points?

Posted: May 17th, 2018, 8:31 pm
by GaryDroze
I second the $50 Shimano Sedona, and in general get a kick out of using the cheapest tackle that gets the job done. My biggest largemouth bass - 10.3lbs - succumbed to a crappy Zebco 808 spincast reel. Of course, it helped that the business end of that 20lb test rig was a really agitated half-pound golden shiner.

That said, I'm learning that cheapo saltwater reels mostly let you down when the drag quickly goes from smooth to not so smooth, resulting in redfish snapoffs. Again, Shimano and Okuma reels seem to hold up best at low price points.

Re: Favorite Rods and Reels At Various Price Points?

Posted: May 17th, 2018, 10:44 pm
by jsaunders
≈ $50 Penn Fierce / Berkley Inshore Rod

≈ $100 Penn Battle II / St Croix Mojo Inshore

≈ $200 Penn Clash / St Croix Avid Series (Anything above this and you're getting minimal gains for your money IMO)

≈ $300 Wouldn't know

Yes, I'm a Penn and St Croix fanboy :lol:

Re: Favorite Rods and Reels At Various Price Points?

Posted: May 17th, 2018, 10:58 pm
by craSSh
I really like my Stradic ci4's. Super lightweight and great drags. I have them on G Loomis and Star rods

Re: Favorite Rods and Reels At Various Price Points?

Posted: May 17th, 2018, 11:32 pm
by Apalachee Inshore
silverking wrote:Already commented on the best spinning reel thread but have a couple additions here:

$100+ Tsunami Shield reel and Carbon Shield rod for less than $120 each. Heavier than some but good action and solid water-resistant integrity. The St. Croix Mojo Inshore are less than $130 depending on model and have great action and split cork butts.

$200: Loomis E6X Inshore. Full range of action and power in spin and bait casting rods for less than two bills.

$300+: Unfortunately discontinued and hard to find, the St. Croix Legend Inshore are my favorite rods. Super sensitive, light and Kigan guides that shed braid wind knots. Have fished some of the next generation rods but they're just not the same.

Fly: Haven't christened either yet but found an Orvis large arbor Battenkill 6-wt fly reel, brand new, on eBay for $150 and matched it with a Loomis Shorestalker rod for $200. Looking forward to tossing some bugs at trout/reds soon.

$ No Object: Tibor Signature series fly reels. The Everglades is perfect for the flats and is one of those heritage items you'll pass on to your kids. The Riptide is ideal for cobia and permit while the Gulfstream will whip any big shiner out there.
Second on the Tsunami rig at $100, I have a few.

Re: Favorite Rods and Reels At Various Price Points?

Posted: May 18th, 2018, 7:22 am
by dombern34
≈ $50
- Sedona /13 fishing reels and some sort of lew's rod. not a fan of lews but they have a lot to offer in that price range

≈ $100
- Sedona /13 fishing reels i'm gonna have to agree, even tho I only use one brand I will say the falcon line up is a DECENT rod for the money, but I've seen the construction on the Cara series at that (even have a picture) and it put a bad taste in my mouth.

≈ $200
- Sedona /13 fishing reels and the options are endless here. in this price range you should be able to get an awesome rod. paying more than 200-240 you're not paying for a brand. there's no reason for those Nrx loomis rods should be 500-650 dollars. I would go custom at this price range of 200, but if you need a label company rod. I'd go with Phenix rods

≈ Unlimited price - looking to burn money :wink:
- I'll just over charge my rods and let you pair it with a stella or Van staal

Re: Favorite Rods and Reels At Various Price Points?

Posted: May 18th, 2018, 9:16 am
by Apalachee Inshore
If you are looking for a good combo in the $150 range I would suggest the Tsunami Arma 3000 paired with a Tsunami Air Wave Coastal Series rod. It’s a handsome combo, I’ve been using it as my pinfish rig for the last couple of months and have caught many >20 inch trout along with occasional shark, Mac and Big sailcat. Very smooth retrieve and drag and that’s considering my gear is lucky if it gets sprayed off after a trip. It’s really worth a look at that price point, I have been pleasantly surprised. Now I’m going to attempt to post a picture, wish me luck.

Re: Favorite Rods and Reels At Various Price Points?

Posted: May 19th, 2018, 3:05 pm
by DKwakulla
I just put an 8' falcon Coastal on my bait caster :D That oughta reach out and touch someone

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