High end rods

[Craigums]

I recently bought a St. Croix and thought that it was very expensive... Until I checked out the prices on the G Loomis rods $250+....Whats makes a G loomis $100+ More than the St. Croix I bought? When prices get that high are you really just paying for brand name?

[hoggs222]

I've got 2 loomis for walleye and 3 st croix, bass, panfish and muskie. I like the feel and the balance of the loomis, but I haven't tried the st. croix for walleye.

[Deitz Dittrich]

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When prices get that high are you really just paying for brand name?

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Somewhat... but not really. The higher end Loomis rods and higher end Croix rods(If you would have looked, St.Croix also makes a rod in the $300 range) they put the top of the line components on them. The rod blanks are made to exact tapers and weights that they want. You get a stiffer, more sensitive rod, becuase of the work put into the blank.

Is it worth it to you is the question?

[tunrevir]

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When prices get that high are you really just paying for brand name?

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Somewhat... but not really. The higher end Loomis rods and higher end Croix rods(If you would have looked, St.Croix also makes a rod in the $300 range) they put the top of the line components on them. The rod blanks are made to exact tapers and weights that they want. You get a stiffer, more sensitive rod, becuase of the work put into the blank.

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Is it worth it to you is the question?

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Yeeees!

A better quality rod will put more fish in your boat!

Tunrevir~

[upnorth]

As you climb up the scale you will reach a point of diminishing returns. When you start talking real high end stuff not only the high quality blanks. You start looking SIC guides, higher quality cork etc you start racking up the

$$$ really quick. I think you can spend about 5 or 6 times the price for high end SIC guides than Hardaloy guides.

Is that stuff worth it? It depends. If you are one who figures you deserve the very best, then yes, if you are bargain hunter looking for the best bang for the $$ then no.

[Scott M]

I can't believe no one has said this...lifetime warranty. G. Loomy is guaranteed for life. The last St. Croix I bought had a 3 year warranty on it.

They replace it no questions ask. Tough to beat that. Think of it as purchasing a couple rods for when the first breaks...

[Craigums]

Ive never broken a rod before...And would the warrenty cover accidents like stepping on the rod?? probably not

[blueroof]

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Ive never broken a rod before...And would the warrenty cover accidents like stepping on the rod?? probably not

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For sure. I've slammed my glx in truck topper, had my dog step on the tip, I'm my third one - worth every penny IMO.

LB

[PerchJerker]

I've had a broken G Loomis replaced free under warranty before. The rod tip got shut in a door or storage locker, didn't snap but was damaged. They sent me a new rod, I sent the damaged one back to them, end of story.

[dakotakid31]

no offense to anyone,your money spend how you chose, but if it ever takes a $250 rod for me to catch fish.......i will sell the boat and quit!!! as for the lifetime warrenty-it better come with it for that kind of money.

[The_Duckslayer]

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no offense to anyone,your money spend how you chose, but if it ever takes a $250 rod for me to catch fish.......i will sell the boat and quit!!!

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I concur! Could get a lot of fishing equipment for that money, not just one rod. Take care and N Joy the hunt././Jimbo

[gunflint]

Let's keep things in perspective. How often do you fish? How do you fish? These things make a difference. In the last 3 years I have probably been out fishing about 400 to 450 times you, divide that into the cost of a top end rod and it comes out less expensive then say a $75 rod that's used 10 times a year. Also most of my fishing involves live bait presentations for walleyes. You wouldn't need to spend that kind of money on a rod that's used for trolling cranks or used for slip bobbers as sensitivity isn't the main issue. And of course if your a bass fisherman you can get by with an Ugly Stick.

[Deitz Dittrich]

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And of course if your a bass fisherman you can get by with an Ugly Stick.

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Ouch.. thats going to leave a mark.. LOL

on a side note... there are other rods out there that have lifetime warranties. Shimano has rods as low as like $50 that have a lifetime warrenty.

[hanson]

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As you climb up the scale you will reach a point of diminishing returns.

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I really, really agree with this point.

There is usually a point on the quality/price scale where the return on your investment drops off bigtime. I like to purchase a lot of my products right at that mark, and that decision is usually based on a lot of feedback and comments from other users of that equipment here on FM.

Money doesn't grow on trees but that doesn't mean I'm going to be cheap either. I'm looking for something that is going to give me extreme value.

With rods, I really feel that $75-125 depending on rod manufacturer "usually" gives you one heck of a rod for the price. $300 for a fishing rod, not for this guy.

[Chris Haley]

I have 28 St Croix Avids and Tournament Legends. I just got two back yesterday that clients stepped on and broke. I paid $20 shipping and I have $400 worth of brand new rods. No questions.

My investment is worth every penny. People don't pay me to take them out for a boat ride and use $30 wal mart rods. They want to catch fish and enjoy that fight on a $300 - $400 rod and reel combo. As well they should expect that.

[DinkADunk]

You tend to get what you pay for, but you need to decide if it's worth it to you. I build my own rods and have complete control on the components that go into making them. G. Loomis blanks are fairly similar in price to other mid-high blanks from other makers, but blank price is only part of the equation. Recently I built a couple of trolling rods where the blank's were around $60 (telescoping which is a little more expensive), the handles and reel seat were mid price and the guides were fairly inexpensive ($20 for the set IIRC). Total cost around $100 per rod which was fairly good. Contrast that with a Shaky Head rod that I recently made where the blank was fairly reasonable (G Loomis $94), the cork wasn't too expensive, reel seat hardware was cheap, but the guides were very expensive because I needed to maximize tip sensitivity and you do that by reducing weight. The guide closest to the reel was $30 on its own with the set costing around $150. The cost of the guides, plus the large amount of work making a hiden reel seat (reel seat hardware encapsulated in cork so that the reel seems to float in the grip) for this rod would make this a $400-$500 rod if it was for sale. Although expensive, it was a successful build in that you don't feel the weight of the guides so that the rod transmits everthing that is going on at the end of the line (floro) - very sensitive. It might be expensive to do, but the performance is inline with the cost. I don't need to make every rod that way but for some situations it's justified.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Contrary to what my teenaged boys think, I don't have money falling out of my wallet. However, would I like to have an arsenal of high end rods??? Um....ya. Who wouldn't? I've used some dandies in the past and yes, it's definately different than the 20 dollar Zebco 202 package with the spiderman bobber.

I guess it all boils down to your own situation. What do YOU want, what can YOU afford, why do YOU want it. I can easily see a guide or a tourney pro wanting the best gear. I'm a boilermaker and I don't go cheap with my tools. Most mechanics I know have spent more on tools than I have on my house. Then again, I know regular Joes that have a roll out full of high end wrenches. To each their own.

I do own a couple of high end rods. One of which was a gift and I LOVE it. The other one I haven't had much of a chance to use yet, but will hopefully soon. Will I buy custom rods in the future??? I surely hope so.

[Scott K]

I think a rod in the $80-$140 range will be more then enough quality for most people. I have several rods in this range. I have several st croix rods, a few top end guide series rods in this range. I had a gloomis, but it got stolen. It was a $140 pole, and I liked my st. croix that was $120 much better. And my guide series at $120 is hard to beat! I am sure if I would go all out on the gloomis rod I would notice the better quality, but in the same price range, I think the st croix and the guide series were better! But that is just my opinion.

[Stratosman]

What cracks me up is when I see the guy with the handful of $400.00 set-ups and has 40K boat that he can't even back down the launch. I think some guys think that having the G's or the Croixs is a status symbol.

On the other hand, for the the guys that put alot of time in the game, a high end rod can be worth it's weight in gold (and sometimes is). I have rods ranging from $70-$120 bucks, not too outrageous, but I don't have to hide the reciepts....and I can tell the difference especially in live bait presentations.

[chaffmj]

If you have money to burn or you fish a lot go for the high end stuff. I get out fishing 10 times a year and even though I have some cash I can't justify spending that much. I buy good equipment that I can rely on but until I fish more a hundred dollar rod and reel combo works for me.