Good money on a rod

[Justfishin73]

Good morning all.

Stellar weekend, still wish I was out there. Fantastic father’s day---nailed 80 with the boy, 6 doublr headers, just awesome day.

Boy broke a rod on a massive walleye, and I broke one on a huge jack. I typically use $60-100 rods. I primarily fish walleye, some jack, but of course have dedicated rods for each. For walleye, love the feel of the light rod, but they have had a tendency to snap. Getting ready to hopefully not drop more than $200-$250 on a good rod. My question is, is it worth it, will they fare that much better, or I am just better to get a medium –light and give up on the light rods?

Looking at this St Croix---https://www.tackledirect.com/croixps66mlf2.html

$200

[SamSteele]

Originally Posted by Justfishin73

Good morning all.

Stellar weekend, still wish I was out there. Fantastic father’s day---nailed 80 with the boy, 6 doublr headers, just awesome day.

Boy broke a rod on a massive walleye, and I broke one on a huge jack. I typically use $60-100 rods. I primarily fish walleye, some jack, but of course have dedicated rods for each. For walleye, love the feel of the light rod, but they have had a tendency to snap. Getting ready to hopefully not drop more than $200-$250 on a good rod. My question is, is it worth it, will they fare that much better, or I am just better to get a medium –light and give up on the light rods?

Looking at this St Croix---https://www.tackledirect.com/croixps66mlf2.html

$200

Expensive rods will usually give you a large win in sensitivity but not in durability. Cheap glass rods are tougher (which is why they are used for downrigging and trolling often) but don't telegraph the sensitive bites well. Graphite rods with a higher modulus tend to be more sensitive but if you are horsing fish into the boat they may not last you.

That all said, my wife is running that same St Croix Premier in a 7' Medium 1 piece. Its a really nice rod. I probably wouldn't go lighter than a Medium if pike are a possibility.

SS

[EZM]

St.Croix are the best rods for the money.

I haven't had any more or less issues regarding the rods breaking compared to less expensive rods - so I'm not sure I agree with Sam on that observation - but he might be right - I just haven't seen them to be any more fragile compared to cheaper sticks.

The good news is that good quality rods have good quality warranties and St.Croix will exchange your rod with zero questions asked - even if you do something stupid like I did .... lol.

I do agree with Sam that going a "bit heavier" is the way to go like a med/heavy for casting or trolling for pike without sacrificing sensitivity for walleye jigging either.

[Walleyedude]

I've only broken one rod while fishing, and it was my fault, I was casting a lure that was WAY over the rod's rating and I snapped off the tip. In my experience, any decent quality graphite rod from around $80-100 and up should last for years and years. I also haven't noticed any difference whatsoever in the durability of those $80-100 rods compared to the high end $500+ rods.

There's no way that decent quality graphite rods should be breaking like that, no matter how big the fish, and especially not two in a day. I don't see any issues with using a medium light rod for walleye and pike fishing, there's a lot of anglers out there doing that all the time, myself included.

I don't want this to come of as "preachy" or know-it-all like, so please don't take it that way, that's not my intention at all. The first thing I'd suggest is to back off on your drag significantly, especially when using a L or ML rod and/or braid. Let the fish run, especially when they get close to the boat. You don't want to totally wear a fish out, but if your drag is set correctly, a fish should be able to nearly spool you long before it should break a rod.

The second biggest thing is don't "high stick" a fish when fighting it. The closer to straight up and down your rod is (12 o'clock), the more susceptible the tip is to breaking, because you're asking the tip alone to absorb all the shock and bend to 90 degrees or more. Keep your rod tip between 1-4 o'clock when fighting a fish or trying to net it, that way you take full advantage of the butt section of the rod where all the power is and it's far more forgiving. Never lift a fish into the boat with your rod either unless you're using serious MH or H action rod.

Take a look at the G Loomis E6X rods in that price range, they've got some really nice walleye specific actions and they're made at the same factory to the same action/power specs as the rest of the Loomis lineup.

[Fishwhere]

Originally Posted by Walleyedude

I've only broken one rod while fishing, and it was my fault, I was casting a lure that was WAY over the rod's rating and I snapped off the tip. In my experience, any decent quality graphite rod from around $80-100 and up should last for years and years. I also haven't noticed any difference whatsoever in the durability of those $80-100 rods compared to the high end $500+ rods.

There's no way that decent quality graphite rods should be breaking like that, no matter how big the fish, and especially not two in a day. I don't see any issues with using a medium light rod for walleye and pike fishing, there's a lot of anglers out there doing that all the time, myself included.

I don't want this to come of as "preachy" or know-it-all like, so please don't take it that way, that's not my intention at all. The first thing I'd suggest is to back off on your drag significantly, especially when using a L or ML rod and/or braid. Let the fish run, especially when they get close to the boat. You don't want to totally wear a fish out, but if your drag is set correctly, a fish should be able to nearly spool you long before it should break a rod.

The second biggest thing is don't "high stick" a fish when fighting it. The closer to straight up and down your rod is (12 o'clock), the more susceptible the tip is to breaking, because you're asking the tip alone to absorb all the shock and bend to 90 degrees or more. Keep your rod tip between 1-4 o'clock when fighting a fish or trying to net it, that way you take full advantage of the butt section of the rod where all the power is and it's far more forgiving. Never lift a fish into the boat with your rod either unless you're using serious MH or H action rod.

Take a look at the G Loomis E6X rods in that price range, they've got some really nice walleye specific actions and they're made at the same factory to the same action/power specs as the rest of the Loomis lineup.

What he said

[lastlatvian]

I fly fish with a St.Croix it was a little north of the neighborhood of your rod's price tag and I couldn't be happier with it. I don't need a mortgage payment rod to have the tip snapped off when my SO slams the car door but a higher end product last and goes a long way. Quality not quantity.

[SamSteele]

Originally Posted by EZM

.



I haven't had any more or less issues regarding the rods breaking compared to less expensive rods - so I'm not sure I agree with Sam on that observation - but he might be right - I just haven't seen them to be any more fragile compared to cheaper

I had a Shimano Compre, Crucial, and Cumara break on me over the years. I have since switched to St Croix and have had no more issues, so it’s likely that it’s the manufacturer more than the material itself but it still sticks in my mind. My pre-Shimano G Loomis and St Croix rods have been outstanding.

[cube]

Originally Posted by Justfishin73

Good morning all.

Stellar weekend, still wish I was out there. Fantastic father’s day---nailed 80 with the boy, 6 doublr headers, just awesome day.

Boy broke a rod on a massive walleye, and I broke one on a huge jack. I typically use $60-100 rods. I primarily fish walleye, some jack, but of course have dedicated rods for each. For walleye, love the feel of the light rod, but they have had a tendency to snap. Getting ready to hopefully not drop more than $200-$250 on a good rod. My question is, is it worth it, will they fare that much better, or I am just better to get a medium –light and give up on the light rods?

Looking at this St Croix---https://www.tackledirect.com/croixps66mlf2.html

$200

I think hi end graphite rods are probably less durable. You need to take care of them so they don't get scratched as they can break, like glass, on the score. They are much more sensitive though. I always put my graphite rods into rod gloves or rod bags but never do for my ugly sticks.

Like Walleyedude said "high tipping" is one good way to break any rod. One should try and keep the line at 90 degrees or so to the rod when fighting a fish. The other way I have seen rods break is by having the drag set to tight and and when the fish pulls down or goes under the boat the fisherman lowers the rod to the outside gunnel of the boat causing it to breakoff there. Certainly need to lower the drag pressure and get you hands outside of the boat. Take a look at your rod, most good rods have a line pound rating and one always takes a risk when exceeding it. Not saying you can't put 30 pound braid on a 4 pound line weighted light rod but you will have to set drag and fishing style accordingly.

Personally I use Med to MH for walleye and MH to Heavy and above for pike. Seems to work very well and I don't have to over play the fish and release them exhausted.

[walleyechaser]

One of the best rods in the price range is the bass pro carbonlite. Prefer it over the st croix

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