When I started fishing I was using St. Croix's cheap Pro-graphite
rod and thought at the time it was too expensive and said "you won't
catch me paying hundreds of dollars for a rod..." Well that was
about 10 rods ago, none of which cost less than $100.00 and some much
more (like the Powell LGA 6-7 weight that fell out of the back of my
truck somewhere in Idaho). I'm sure I will spend more big bucks
before I am done...
But let me tell you a story. In addition to the St. Croix I had a
cheap Fenwick fiber glass rod that had been given to my father when
he retired in 1972. He never used it, and I found it in his basement
with a broken tip. I glued on a new tip and actually attempted to
learn to cast with it. I had no luck, so I bought the St. Croix. In
those days, many of my purchases were motivated by the assumption
that if I just had a better rod, I could cast better.
Well, that fiberglass rod sat unused for about five years, and I had
spent hundreds on ever more and better rods, and yes, my casting did
improve. But one day I pulled out the old fiberglass rod, and found
that I could cast it just fine! I could throw a line out with it as
far as I could with any of my other rods. In other words, it wasn't
the rods that were making me a better caster, it was just five years
of practice.
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying premium rods aren't worth the
money. But I am sure I could go to any Sporting goods store and find
a rod that will cast and fish well for under $70.00. The rub is, it
might not be a rod I want to FISH with. After a while a rod becomes
an extension of your body, and some of them simply "feel" better and
"fish" better and it is all related to how you cast and how you
fish. And it is pretty much impossible to tell how much you will
like a rod until you've fished with it.
Right now, my favorites are the old LGA (lost in Idaho, and not made
anymore) a Scott SAS and a Sage XP. I like a stiffer rod because I
nymph fish a lot and need to be able to feel the bottom and sometimes
the strikes.
Anyway, good luck, but if you are like most of us, you will find your
best rod after a lot of trial and error. But the good news, it is a
lot of fun, especially if you can afford luxuries like leaving your
tailgate open...
Tom
On Jan 13, 2006, at 5:33 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Folks: My Rod and Reel combo is a Wal Mart elcheapo that My Kids
gave Me for Fathers day 2004. I want to upgrade ASAP... But talk
about confusion as to WHAT to buy... I see reels from $39.95 to
$700.00. Rods from $59.95 to $900.00, and Combo's from $79.95-
$10000.00. Then, I see cork drags, Teflon drags, stainless steel
drags, and composite graphite drags... My reel don't really even
have a drag system. You flip a button and it either had a silent NO
drag, or a clicking very slight drag. Do these disc drag systems on
the better reels I'm talking about have a drag system work like a
regular bait type reel??? From basically zero drag all the way to
line breaking drag??? And the rods come in 2-3-4-5and I've even
seen 6 piece. Is a lot of pieces just for convenience when
traveling???I know the thickness, or thinness in my case will
dictate the type system I purchase. But how does one know what is
good, what is bad??? etc etc.. Is it like the saying "You get what
you pay for" pretty much, or are there any less expensive combos
that ARE very good??? I'd probably want to buy a "combo" as they
tend to be cheaper than buying separately...Thanks in advance for
any help, Chuck
