Rods/reels - what do you consider expensive?

[pikergolf]

As EMZ alluded to earlier in a different thread, there is a sweet spot. 150 bucks should get you a heck of a reel if you leave off the bells and whistles. The AG C3 casting reels are a heck of a reel for the money and I dare say if your spending more on something else, your paying to much, most of it in unnecessary bearings and fluff. Rods are the same, the tried and true can be had for a decent price compared to the newest, coolest. New models cost in ads and development, and sell offs of older stock can be a heck of a deal. A good parallel would be golf clubs, a new driver 500 bucks, two year old tech. 100 bucks at a clearance house, maybe fishing isn't quit as bad, but you get the pic.

[CanadianBadass]

Originally Posted by Alberta Bigbore

do you mean Baitcaster?

Sorry meant Spinning reel , Not SPincast , Open Face !

[CanadianBadass]

Originally Posted by THERICARDO

Agreed! My last 4 setups have all been in the $300-800 range, AS much as I love my old setups and caught a ton of fish with them I just believe my new gear is superior and gives me more confidence in general..


Great Thread by the way, this should get interesting

I totally agree with Confidence Thing 100% ,

[Wild&Free]

This one day I head down to the local steelhead run behind the sawmills back home. It's a drive up spot, long run, lots of room so the two vehicles parked there didn't give me a pause. I walk down the little trail to the bank and low and behold there's 14 fly rods setup all with reels and line ranging in length from 9' to 17', plus the group of 7 Euro tourists in the water up to their nipples standing on the fish each with fly rods in their hands, most in the 10-12' range. Aside from standing on the fish they were a good group of guys and despite the language barrier I helped them pick some flies to get them into some coho along with the steelhead. I estimate there must have been over 25'000$ worth of rods/reels and line sitting on the bank. Crazy expensive.

I had a 80$ omni forester 9.5' ultra light spincast with a 50$ 1000 series shimano reel. I landed 6 steelhead in between those flea flickers, watched them land 2.

I don't think I've ever spent more then $250 with taxes on a rod and reel. I'm with Beeguy on this, most of my 'expensive' gear I pickup second hand. The new rods I have bought, Trophy XL for springs, Shimano Convergence for steelhead/coho, Fenwick walleye series ML, all cost less then $150 each and have proven to be some of the best equipment I've had. A $400 St.Croix or G. Loomis might feel a little better, or have a slightly more sensitive tip, but for the extra few hundred dollars, not a worthwhile investment imo. That's gas money to the coast. I miss that UL omni rod though... for $80 I've never owned a rod more sensitive, though I did learn not to walk with my rod tip forward.

[Kokanee9]

After $85 - $150 for a spinning rod, the difference in quality goes up slowly compared to the price. A $300 rod does not mean it will be twice as good as a $150 rod, whereas a $90 rod may very easily be at least twice as good as a $45 rod. Competition between rod makers is fairly fierce in the $50 - $120 price range

I imagine you already know this Geezle because you have fished enough and probably bought enough rods also.

I was wondering when you were going to chime in. At what point do you believe quality starts to go up slowly compared to price?

[BeeGuy]

Picked up an unused Abu 5600 yesterday for $20.

[MtnGiant]

Originally Posted by BeeGuy

Picked up an unused Abu 5600 yesterday for $20.

We know.....you already said that yesterday....remember?????

Nice find....if the condition is good enough

[Fishnafterwork]

Originally Posted by Alberta Bigbore

$400 on a ... spincast?

Shimano Stella .... 800$


A guy can dream

[Fishnafterwork]

Starting fishing with cheaper gear... Upgraded as I could... I spent a ton of dough ( thanks to EZM) on some good quality top of line gear for sturgeon and I can say I'll NEVER look back ... It's all in what u want and for me the 2 sturgeon I lost ( 1 in Fraser and other here in AB) like Wayne said was 2 too many
Since getting the good gear haven't lost a set yet

Sturgeon, coast, fly setup >1000
Medium dink fish gear <300
with a few go to's >500


But to awnser the original question for me the most expensive gear is the cheap gear that fails....

[MtnGiant]

[QUOTE=Fishnafterwork;2011163]Starting fishing with cheaper gear... Upgraded as I could... I spent a ton of dough ( thanks to EZM) on some good quality top of line gear for sturgeon and I can say I'll NEVER look back ... It's all in what u want and for me the 2 sturgeon I lost ( 1 in Fraser and other here in AB) like Wayne said was 2 too many
Since getting the good gear haven't lost a set yet

Sturgeon, coast, fly setup >1000
Medium dink fish gear <300
with a few go to's >500


But to awnser the original question for me the most expensive gear is the cheap gear that fails....[/QUOTE]

Words of Wisdom......and so true

[BeeGuy]

Originally Posted by MtnGiant

We know.....you already said that yesterday....remember?????

Nice find....if the condition is good enough

Don't remember but still stoked.

Brand new conditions hahaha

I feel like a baller now with my utilitarian $100 reel.

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by MtnGiant

And my latest aquisition is a $2000 Willow and Cane bamboo fly rod.

See, that's a whole 'nother kettle of fish. You're more like a collector than a sportsman there (beautiful item/piece of art, but not more effective as a fishing implement than a modern rod half that price).

[Geezle]

Originally Posted by Kokanee9

After $85 - $150 for a spinning rod, the difference in quality goes up slowly compared to the price. A $300 rod does not mean it will be twice as good as a $150 rod, whereas a $90 rod may very easily be at least twice as good as a $45 rod. Competition between rod makers is fairly fierce in the $50 - $120 price range

I imagine you already know this Geezle because you have fished enough and probably bought enough rods also.

I was wondering when you were going to chime in. At what point do you believe quality starts to go up slowly compared to price?

Oops...I got busy and kinda forgot about this thread

For me and my situation, I consider an entry level rod to be in the sub $50 area...at that price range I have a couple Shimano Sojourn rods that were about $30 that I like and still use.

Mid range I'd put in the $50-$120 area. I have a couple rods in this price range too, and they're definitely nicer to use than the $30 ones.

I'd consider rods in the $120-$200 range to be expensive, and anything above $200 to be very expensive. I don't have anything in this price range.

Reels are a little different. For spinnin reels I'd consider $50-$80 to be entry level. I've found a number of decent reliable reels in this price range, though I find if you go below the $50 mark quality drops drastically. For baitcasters I've concluded that for the most part they don't get decent until you hit around the $80 mark.

The rest I find similar to the rods...mid level $80-120, expensive $120-200, and crazy expensive $200+

The gear that I use most often is in that mid range...reels are on average about $100-140 depending on the application, and rods are in the $90-120 range. I started out on a very limited budget a couple years ago with entry level gear, and it absolutely did work...and some items, like those Shimano Sojourn rods will likely be around for a long time, but as I spend more time fishing things get upgraded a little, and I have somewhat nicer gear. It's kind of an evolution I suppose. Had I not started off with the entry level stuff I probably wouldn't have the appreciation that I do now for the gear I currently have, and I absolutely do notice the difference between my Compre and my Rhino rods.

Now, as for the debate as to whether more should be spent on the rod or the reel...I vote the reel. At least for the fishing that I do. I'm typically found bait fishing from shore on the NSR or chucking hardware for pike somewhere, so I don't need a *SUPER* sensitive rod like some of the hardcore walleye guys...I'd rather put a little more into a nice smooth, reliable reel with a decent drag system. That having been said, most of my rods/reels are matched fairly closely price wise.

[Master_Baitcaster]

Originally Posted by Geezle

Oops...I got busy and kinda forgot about this thread

For me and my situation, I consider an entry level rod to be in the sub $50 area...at that price range I have a couple Shimano Sojourn rods that were about $30 that I like and still use.

Mid range I'd put in the $50-$120 area. I have a couple rods in this price range too, and they're definitely nicer to use than the $30 ones.

I'd consider rods in the $120-$200 range to be expensive, and anything above $200 to be very expensive. I don't have anything in this price range.

Reels are a little different. For spinnin reels I'd consider $50-$80 to be entry level. I've found a number of decent reliable reels in this price range, though I find if you go below the $50 mark quality drops drastically. For baitcasters I've concluded that for the most part they don't get decent until you hit around the $80 mark.

The rest I find similar to the rods...mid level $80-120, expensive $120-200, and crazy expensive $200+

The gear that I use most often is in that mid range...reels are on average about $100-140 depending on the application, and rods are in the $90-120 range. I started out on a very limited budget a couple years ago with entry level gear, and it absolutely did work...and some items, like those Shimano Sojourn rods will likely be around for a long time, but as I spend more time fishing things get upgraded a little, and I have somewhat nicer gear. It's kind of an evolution I suppose. Had I not started off with the entry level stuff I probably wouldn't have the appreciation that I do now for the gear I currently have, and I absolutely do notice the difference between my Compre and my Rhino rods.

x2 same for me forsure!!


Now, as for the debate as to whether more should be spent on the rod or the reel...I vote the reel. At least for the fishing that I do. I'm typically found bait fishing from shore on the NSR or chucking hardware for pike somewhere, so I don't need a *SUPER* sensitive rod like some of the hardcore walleye guys...I'd rather put a little more into a nice smooth, reliable reel with a decent drag system. That having been said, most of my rods/reels are matched fairly closely price wise.

Again id have to agree, i opt for anicer reel any day, even though like you mentioned, most of my setups are similar in pricing. I have, however, become somewhat of a gear addict. lol