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Fishing Rods?

Think it was John Holden who once wrote an article on cheaper V expensive rods, like he said, the difference between the sub £50 and the middle ground rods is huge as the mid rods have the DNA of the Tourny rods built into them, once you get up to the £150/£200 mk for a rod, the gap between them and the top of the range is negligible, fixtures and fittings are the same, performance is similar, maybe the top end may have a tad tiny bit more, but nothing the average angler would notice, think he also stated it would be better for the majority of anglers to go for the mid range and couple it with a decent reel than to pay out for expensive rods that won't bend,
 
Grimleyfiendish said:
Think it was John Holden who once wrote an article on cheaper V expensive rods, like he said, the difference between the sub £50 and the middle ground rods is huge as the mid rods have the DNA of the Tourny rods built into them, once you get up to the £150/£200 mk for a rod, the gap between them and the top of the range is negligible, fixtures and fittings are the same, performance is similar, maybe the top end may have a tad tiny bit more, but nothing the average angler would notice, think he also stated it would be better for the majority of anglers to go for the mid range and couple it with a decent reel than to pay out for expensive rods that won't bend,
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Got to agree with that,in the "60`s" when i started it was with an old split cane rod used off the beach and local pier which landed a lot of good sized fish then i had bought for my thirteenth birthday a new milbro fibreglass rod that cost a fair packet,used it twice didn`t like it much,didn`t catch many fish therefore left in the shed.I tried to get a refund on it but the tackle shop had become a hotel 30 years later...Alan
 
Neilos said:
Its like anything in life....a Fiat will get you from a to b and back as will a Rolls Royce....just in a different way. I reckon its the same with fishing rods. A cheap one will get you fish of course. But it may be heavier to use, not such good bite detection and may not last as long as an expensive one. I've oy ever ry used cheap rods until very recently....the more expensive ones I have now(not top of the range!) are certainly more comfortable to use. But do they catch more fish? I doubt it. Horses for courses.
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Tortoise and the Hare comes to mind.
 
A similar'ish parallel can be drawn with shotguns for target shooting. A good shot will be able to hit a target with nigh on any shotgun but you rarely see a top shot using a cheap gun, although some do. I am not a great shot not bad but not great. I still use a great gun though because it is lovely to use and own... although expensive a Perazzi will last the buyer a lifetime... cartridges only go bang once and are the most costly and essential item in shooting even cheap ones. I am sure there must be similar items in fishing gear.
 
Thrasher said:
No, but they both will get you to the supermarket and back, which is the point. All rods will catch fish if you know what you are doing some are just more enjoyable to use and will perform better if you can get that performance out of them.
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Well I am gonna do it in style!
And another point ...... my choice is that my money will support UK businesses, and certainly not the Chinese.
 
chesilpete said:
Well I am gonna do it in style!
And another point ...... my choice is that my money will support UK businesses, and certainly not the Chinese.
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It will be interesting to know where your fishing rods (blanks) and reels are actually made.
 
stan m said:
Will not catch more but may be better engineered so more able to do the job and less chance of breakage.
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I have never had a fishing rod break on me in 50+ years.
 
Beach said:
I have never had a fishing rod break on me in 50+ years.
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Never suggested you had. I on the other hand have seen hundreds of rods either snapped or badly deteriorated and most but not all from the cheaper end of the market.
 
Grimleyfiendish said:
Think it was John Holden who once wrote an article on cheaper V expensive rods, like he said, the difference between the sub £50 and the middle ground rods is huge as the mid rods have the DNA of the Tourny rods built into them, once you get up to the £150/£200 mk for a rod, the gap between them and the top of the range is negligible, fixtures and fittings are the same, performance is similar, maybe the top end may have a tad tiny bit more, but nothing the average angler would notice, think he also stated it would be better for the majority of anglers to go for the mid range and couple it with a decent reel than to pay out for expensive rods that won't bend,
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Couldn't agree more with this post!

A mid range rod is vastly different from a 30 to 40 quid cheapy, and the difference can often be seen and noticed in many ways, such as weight, casting distance, comfort, thickness, look, durability and consistency, but the difference between a mid range rod and a high end rod is very small and will probably only be noticed by the elite caster.

Rods don't catch fish, anglers do, but the angler makes choices on what type of tackle they want to use to do it. If someone chooses and can afford the best, I don't have a problem with it, just the same as someone using a handline and a brick as a weight is also fine with me.


P.S. John Holden = Legend and super nice guy!
 
Radio R that's got nothing to do with his gear, that's bad angling if he's chucking past the fish.

Are all expensive rods stiff, I don't think so?
 
When was doing my Photography There is a Saying. In Good light any Lens will take a Good Picture. But it's in Bad Light that only a Good Lens will Take a Good Picture.

It's when the going get's tough that the tough get going.
When you get out in bad/rough weather/seas that you find your cheap rod lacking as to make up for somethings it's thicker with heavier rings so catches the Wind making casting hard and causes it to wobbly and nod around in the rest as also many are just not progressive in action to prevent that as also they compromise on things so can be stiff but at the detriment to action and feel or softer so fold up.
There is only so much you can do with limited amount of carbon and resins and fittings for the price!
Found a lot of these China sourced rods go soft after a while yet many old Conoflex/Zziplex/Century's can still get it on when needed and still resell for good prices.
 
My decision making was based on reasonable cost in relation to perceived quality and how much they would get used.
My stable consists of 2 x Imax FR Match Plus, bought at reduced price as they were being discontinued. 2 x Vercelli Enygma Unabomber same being reduced as discontinued. On a bit of a whim I bought 2 Shakespeare Agility Surf 4oz. I also have a shakespeare agility bass rod and a Leeda Rogue 12ft 3lb test carp rod that had so far done flatties but may also be a float rod.
It would be nice to have the top end stuff but I don't get out enough to justify it and I have two rods for the price of the cheapest century, all four for the price of one Tip Tornado Supermatch being discussed elsewhere.
 
I fell into the trap of rod envy many years ago, I learnt to pendulum using an Abu 484, fibreglass and good enough for the top casters of the day ( I dont include myself in that category ?)
Graduated to a Super Flicktip ,via a Flicktip and a Silstar tournament rod which I still have and use , then to one of the original Zziplex Bullets .
I managed to snap the tip of the Bullet when casting , never touched a zziplex since .
I have lots of beach rods , one of my favourites is still the 484. But put alongside my AFAW’s and Contis it is a heavy old thing.
I think these days , spending £70-100 on a rod will get you a rod that will perform well , last if looked after and do anything you want it to if used on the ground its designed for , look at the Ron Thompson Axe, a beast of a rod that is equal in performance to any rough ground rod five times the price.

Dave
 
chesilpete said:
Mine are from Newcastle, Scotland or a couple from Italy...... yours??
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Mine are made in Denmark, England, Scotland, Sweden, USA and Thailand.
 
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Caught many fish on a pair of £15 beachcaster back in the day,A lot of people forget the need for decent line,swivels,hooks and more importantly the freshest best bait you can get! You can have the best rod and reel but if you scrimp on the rest then why bother.
 

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