Fenwick Rods

[ryanmitchell]

There was just a post about which rod is the best. I will mostly be lindy rigging, occasionally bottom bouncing. I know some swear by the loomis rods, $240. I saw them, and was unimpressed personally. I saw this new Elitetech rod and was impressed, $150. Anyone fish this rod yet. This is the 7'2" rigging model.

http://www.fenwickfishing.com/prod.php?k=128021&sk=128017&p=PUREWS72M-F%20(1139449)

[SledNeck]

I use a $70 guide series rod from gander mountain and I never have trouble hammering the walleyes

[Flooringuy]

I bought an Elitetech not to long ago the bottom bouncer 7' 120.00.

I mainly have and use loomis, but was impressed by the elitetech.

I like it alot.

[NCLaker]

I have three of the Fenwick Walleye Elite series rods: 7'2 & 6'6 ML and the 6'2 M. I use the 7'2 for rigging and very happy with it. The other two I use for jigging. Very light, sensitive. I upgraded from Shimano Compre's. Lifetime warrenty is a nice plus. Paired with a Pflueger Supreme reel and you have a pretty sweet setup for around $250 - very light combo.

[rodmaker]

Check out the Loomis Walleye Series or the St. Croix Legend Elites. Or Tournament series (blue blanks).

[Northlander]

The Elitetechs are nice rods. Rodmaker also listed some other nice rod options.

Another rod that I have been using a lot lately is the Rapala XLT series. Im impressed with them. Light, sensitive and have been durable. Try the 7' med/lt spinning for rigging. I have 2 of the 6'6" med for jigging and they are as nice as some of my higher priced rods.

[ryanmitchell]

I will do that. That elite tech has a new grip material that felt really nice. I would think for $240 loomis would put a little something on the end of the rod, it looked like a $20 Walmart special. It may be just me, but I like the little emblem on the butt of the reel. Just a little something unique that gives me a confidence boost, and makes it easy to idenify when my rods are bunched up horizontally in my boat.

My brother caught a 30" in Canada this year, what is the biggest you guys have ever caught?

[rodmaker]

I agree , while the Loomis blanks are great, the components they use on the factory rods are terrible.

That's why I build my own.

Check out the Cabela's XML series also.

[fisherdog19]

I picked up a 7'2" ML rigging one that I use for tossing light jigs at crappies. It is great for that and I'm sure will work equally well when rigging for walleyes. The tip isn't as fast as my St. Croix Avid 7'6" MLXF and it bends further down the blank which makes it very forgiving and a good choice for using super lines instead of mono. I really like it and will use it for throwing jigs with live bait and have the Croix ready with plastic.

[NCLaker]

Fisherdog, I agree with your comments on how quickly it loads up and using Fireline. I think it is more like a Med to Med-Fast action than the published fast action IMO. Since it does load up a little slower, I prefer fireline so I am not fighting the the amount or stretch of the Mono and the slower load, also the rod design helps you get away with it as you mentioned.

Because it loads a bit slower, I prefer not to use the 7'2 for jigging - I think the 6'9" or 6'6" ML would be a better choice for tossing jigs IMO.

[SM1]

I have a 6'6" M elitetech "jigging" rod and really like it. The handle material is nice and seems very durable. It is one of my main jigging rods and gets used a bunch. I would like to have a good reason to buy another one, but my "golf bag" of rods is fairly complete.

[ryanmitchell]

After reading a bunch of posts in this walleye forum, it seems like a lot of you use Fireline. Without a big spool, I think that stuff casts kinda crapy, and for walleye fishing would hinder the action of the presentations, especially live bait. Since discovering flouro, that is all I seem to use, except for one reel that has mono for bass topwater, and my muskie rigs which of course have braid. I normally use 8-10 flouro for all other applications.

I have a few rods at home that could suffice, but like to have a couple of quality setups. Early in the summer I bought a Shimano symmetre reel and paired it with a Berkley medium heavy 7' rod. I have caught a lot of fish on that combo, and really enjoy it. That combo cost close to $200 with tax. My new target is a Pflueger Supreme with the 7'2" medium fast rigging fenwick. My brother says we can get away with the cheap Shakepeare rods, but I think we can do better. The dream combo would cost over $250, but the reel should last forever and the rod has a lifetime warranty. I could feel the bites farily well with my medium heavy power rod, but I am confident that I would be able to feel the ticks of a bite, and the contours of the bottom better with a medium/fast rod. I guess it does not have to cost $150, but I like to fish with quality.

[NCLaker]

Your brother is right, you can pretty much catch anything with a cheaper rod, softer the rod tip the easier it is to detect the bite. It boils down to budget, personal preference and what you have confidence in IMO. Biggest difference IMO is for those super light bites & feeling bottom better, You'll typically do better with a higher end rod - usally they are more sensitive and lighter weight.

Pflueger 30 size reel is a good general purpose size, especially if using fireline or braids. If you are switching off a MH rod, you will definitely notice a difference going to your new setup. You will have fewer occurances of missing live bait, while never feeling anything hitting it (happened to my son-in-law all the time until he stopped using a MH for jigging/rigging). I even go ML 7'2 for my dededicate rigging rod, but if you want yours for more multipurpose, then the M rod will be more versitile.

Only draw back to moving to higher end rods, is that you will never be happy going back to cheaper rods ... there'll be no turning back , but as long as you can afford it, it's all good.

Let us know how you like your new setup ... you will not be disappointed.

[mozy]

Another rod to check out is the St. Croix Avid 6'8" MXF. I have the same rod in the Legend Tournament series paired with a Supreme XT and it is by far my favorite spinning setup. It is an excellent vertical jigging rod and does great pitching jigs as well. It is a little short for my liking for a rigging rod, but it definitely has the sensitivity. Also crosses over for a weightless plastics bass rod.

[Jim Hudson]

Ryan,

I have fished a few different models of the EliteTech walleye series.. Great rods man.. And I think the handle might be syncork? I kinda like the feel it has..

Rods are definately well balanced and light enough to hold all day for a jigging or rigging approach..

[Mike Walerak]

I have that same action rod 6'8" MXF but in the Legend Elite Extreme. I don't care for it at all for rigging. I think the XF tip actually hinders me. The rod is hands down the best jerk/slash bait rod I have used.

For rigging I use the Limit Creek 6'9" "Smoothie" I also have two of the 8'3" Limit Creeks that work great with lighter sinker weights.

All rods have there time and place.

Fenwicks are about the only rod brand I don't own so I can't give insight to the actual rod.