rod and reel study

[mayracing]

man i always like the nicer rod. a reel helps but i like to be able to feel my bites

[zx150]

I like the nicer rod. If you are using it for a cranking rod than I would go with the cheaper rod. I like glass rods for all my cranking. But, for a worm or jig rod I would get the best that is in your budget. Ryan

[Stevens]

i never go too cheap on reels but you can still get some really good reels in $100 range. with expensive rods you get life time warranty and they hardly ever have problems so id go with the rod

[findingem]

A no brainer, go with the rod. I have to be able to feel the fish. Sooner or later I will find a decent reel to put on it.

[Fishin is life]

Depends on what techniques you will fish most frequently....if you throw a lot of moving baits.....spinnerbaits,crankbaits,etc....id go with a more expensive reel.....if youre fishing deep structure with a worm or jig where that "feel" is imperitive id go with the rod....and the one thing overlooked is what fits your hand the best....everybody has their favorites and you just have to figure out what yours is

[Shimano4Life]

GET THE BEST ROD!!!!!!!! You can have the best, most expensive reel on the planet but if you don't have a good rod to match it, it's not serving its purpose. Besides, you feel more through the rod anyway. As long as the rod is good quality, you can put a decent reel on it and be just fine.

Also, there are plenty of great rods out there that are easy on the wallet. You could find a quality rod that is sensitive, high modulus graphite and spend just as much on a reel to match. There are all kinds of combinations you could make.

[Todd2]

[QUOTE=Fishin is life;357096]Depends on what techniques you will fish most frequently....if you throw a lot of moving baits.....spinnerbaits,crankbaits,etc....id go with a more expensive reel.....if youre fishing deep structure with a worm or jig where that "feel" is imperitive id go with the rod....and the one thing overlooked is what fits your hand the best....everybody has their favorites and you just have to figure out what yours is[/QUOTE

What he said...

[elnutsmalljaws]

More money in the rod first reel second. The rod will help you feel more bites, better casting accuracy and better fighting potential of the fish.

[Grumpy]

Get s good rod and a good reel at the same time. Both Cabelas and Bass Pro Shop over many Combos, in a variety of styles, sizes, speeds, etc and in a wide range of prices. If you can't find a good rod and reel combo in one of the stores or catalogs, you have a porblem.

Grumpy

[00SKEETER]

My opinion go with the more expensive reel and cheaper rod. You can still get great sensitivity out of a cheap rod as long as you use a good flurocarbon line and that's a fact.

[kygorski]

This may hurt some folks, but consider the way you handle your stuff.When mu son graduated college, one of the things I got him was a very pricey good rod and reel.A couple of years later, I noticed he was using the rel, where is the rod? He slammed a car door on it. When I moved here from ind, I had a one piece 9 ft loomis steelhead rod, it cost an arm and a leg to get that blank.Yep was a casualty in the moving truck, son in law stepped on the case, and rolled a furniture dolly over it next. Slipped and fell wading, guess what I landed on? Over 80 bucks.But i'm not that big a klutz, got a one piece 8 ft st croix glass rod, that I have had for 25 years, just needed to refinish it, and change a few eyes. Got another rod almost as old, and still use it foer trolling, its glass, and handles stikes with braided lines much better than graphite.A spinning reel if you bait fish, is just a place to keep your line, if your bait casting, then opt for a good reel, your after ageressive fish most of the time.Besides, consider your economic status, will your kid dowith out dental care because yopu need fishing tackle? A lot of things to consider.

[offdtop]

I don't know what expensive is anymore! 10 yrs ago paying $50 on a rod was absurd now it seem ok that we spend $100-$250 on a rod. I was buying reels that were $50 and was tickled because they had "instant" anti reverse.

Personally myself and other have been trained to spend equal amounts on both, this theory seems fine to me - and yet I bought a carrot stix for $149 and only spent $100 for a Symetre reel. I don't know if i will actually "catch" more using the carrot stix but the warranty is what sold me the rod. I have been a big fan for many years of the lightning rods due to durability and overall good rods for the money. Allstar is another, but guys when we recommend to someone where to put their money the question has to be asked ... how much do you fish? I don't care how good the rod is, if the mechanical components aren't up to the task you could be sitting with a pretty, shiny, high modules, glass/graphite....... cane pole. Nothing worse than to have bearings seizing, drag slipping, reel seat breaking, no antireverse having, handles not spinning backlash machine attached to a rod worth 5X more than what the reel costs.

Keep it close to even. JMHO