has anyone here

[glasseyes]

My rule is that you never talk about how much your toys cost!

im starting to agree with this, no matter what you try to explain, everyone is different and looks at their own wants and likes differently. to each his own. I do know as the older i get things do seem to take on a different meaning when it comes to a want or a need. Hard to explain to someone when it comes to things like this but anyway all fun.

[BuckeyeFishing]

I never tell people how to spend their money. I might not agree with how they spend it but it's none of my business, it's not my money. I don't own a rod that expensive but I have numerous rods over $100. I have a couple cheap rods also, and there is a definite difference in weight and feel between a quality rod and a cheap rod. My cheap rods are usually what I take camping and let other people use. A quality rod typically has better materials and better warranties. I have St. Croix rods that are 20 years old and are still as good as the day I bought them. Some of the cheaper rods I have bought didn't last a season and I take good care of my gear. To each their own.

[matt1991]

im not trying to tell someone how to spend there money thats there business i just dont see how someone could value a fishing rod at such a high cost it couldnt cost them even half of what they are charging

[matt1991]

i find it weird people always talk about having there rods break i must say iv never had a rod break ever in my life i guess the rods that are breaking is cause they are using super ultra light rods to get a much better feel of the fish is that right?

[glasseyes]

rods break for many number of reasons, accidents are my main cause. and accidents do happen. carelessness , being in a hurry, etc. believe me it happens. if you live long enough it happens. personally i think just about everyone i know has had something happen over the years. of course im talking of us baby boomer crowd.

[Fastdrop]

im not trying to tell someone how to spend there money thats there business i just dont see how someone could value a fishing rod at such a high cost it couldnt cost them even half of what they are charging

I tend to agree with you. I have read the entire thread and have not seen where anybody can tell you what the difference is in the fishing experience between using a high cost pole and a medium priced one. I am thinking that like most things there isn't one.

[deathb4disco]

... what the difference is in the fishing experience between using a high cost pole and a medium priced one.

Better rods tend to be lighter and more sensitive. I inherited a Loomis UL rod from my dad. It's close to forty years old, but it's still better than 90% of what Bass Pro/Cabelas sell today.

As with anything, the "law of diminishing returns" applies to fishing rods. There's probably more difference between a $100 rod and a $20 rod than there is between a $200 rod and a $100 rod -- but there is a difference. It's up to the fisherman to decide if the difference is worth it.

[wicklundrh]

You really have to look at the reason "why" the rod is so much money.

In the custom rod world, people pay to get exactly what they want. There are simply too many components out there and you wouldn't possibly be able to create enough combinations to please everyone. Of course, when you start going this way, you are having a rod built usually for one specific purpose. So here is an example:

I have a customer that wants a 6'3" MLXF rod. He is ONLY going to be using it for jigging 1/2oz to 3/4oz jigs in a verticle fashion. He wants a foregrip 5 inches as he jigs hand forward of the reel seat. He wants a 6 inch rear grip and he wants the rod to balance in front of the reel seat so he can fish with it all day long. He wants it to be the lightest thing out there and he has a very specific reel he wants to use. I purchase the blank, special guide eyes that will NOT break or bend, and match the reel seat and cork accordingly. The materials cost right at $235.00. Is this too much? Well, when you look at a normal COTS (commercial off the shelf rod) the majority of the eyes used cost around 35 cents. The eyes in this particular rod are up to 25 bucks. The difference, lightweight, last forwever, cannot break or bend. I sell the rod for $400.00. Of that, $235 is materials, and 10 dollars goes to pay the federal excise tax that is required by law! So, I make $155.00 on that rod. It took just over 15 hours to complete. That ends up being $10.34 cents per hour. I don't know about you, but I don't work for $10.34 an hour BUT, I cannot justify charging anymore for this rod. This is ONE reason why rods are expensive.

Here is another thought:
St. Croix makes rod everyone can buy. A lot of people see them as the gold standard in terms of what they are willing to spend. The upper thresh hold so to speak. Now, they also sell blanks for the custom builder. I can buy a blank, build it the exact same way as the above mentioned rod and guess what? The rod is still sold for $400 bucks. The difference you ask? The rod is the same BUT, the builder offers something that St. Croix cannot offer. WHich is the ability to customize a rod.

So, to answer the question in general: I would NEVER purchase a COTS rod for even close to that amount of money. But, I would build a purpose driven rod for whatever it takes to get exactly what I want.

The above reasons is one of the main reasons I got out of building rods and selling them. In order to make an hourly rate that is worthwhile, you sometimes have to charge prices that you simply cannot justify! In the end, I don't really care what people use or don't use. I don't care what they buy or don't buy. It's your money, do what you want with it. I won't judge you if you have an 8 dollar rod or a 300 dollar rod. But there is a difference. Average joe fisherman probably doesn't even get the maximum out of their 40 dollar rod. Those of us that use them daily and, in some regards, make a living (guides, fishing professionals, tournament anglers) do see the difference in these rods.

[wicklundrh]

I tend to agree with you. I have read the entire thread and have not seen where anybody can tell you what the difference is in the fishing experience between using a high cost pole and a medium priced one. I am thinking that like most things there isn't one.

So, what exactly is the difference:

I'll try to explain using the St Croix example I used above:
They sell a COTS rod with a specific set of guide eyes (cheap). The rod has a split grip (a lot of us hate them), and it is only sold with EVA foam. Many of us in the northern climate prefer cork. So, you are either stuck with this particual rod as it is and purchase a reel that will balance it, you find something else, OR you have one built.

This rod comes with 7 guide eyes. Yes, they are probably ok however you are going to be using this rod for jigging. 7 eyes doesn't follow the rod bend as much as you would like and creates a "pinch point" in the rod. This usually results in broken rods at the pinch point. As a custom builder, you see this and you put in (9) guide eyes. This eliminates the pinch point, puts a lower profile on the line running from the reel to the tip, and in turn makes the rod better.

The COTS rod reel seat usually have masking tape built up underneith them to make up the gap between the blank and the reel seat. This tape has been known in some instances (when not applied correctly) to deaden the feel of the rod. A good builder (or company) will utilizing carbon reel seat arbors, graphite arbors, OR, they will apply the tape correctly, sealing it with the appropriate level of appoxy which extends the sensativity of the rod through the blank and into the reel seat. THIS is one of the major differences between a 20 dollar rod and a 250 dollar rod. As stated above, FEEL. I could build two identicle rods with two different reel seat arbors and you WOULD be able to tell the difference immediately!

COTS rods will only balance certain reels. You may have to go larger (say a 2500 series instead of a 1500 series reel) in order for the rod to balance. This results in the take off of the line leaving the bail to be different or larger than the 1500 reel. Custom builders use a formula to specifically place the first guide eye (known as the stripper guide). This is done so the line is not deflected which results in longer casting, less friction on retrieves, and little to no eye wear.

Take notice when you look at a lot of rods. Chances are they are using a 25mm or 30mm stripper eye. The reason for this is that they cannot be for certain which reel you are going to use so, the bigger the eye in a basic or generic placement helps cover bases. As you go up in price, you will notice guide eyes getting smaller, there are more of them, and their profiles are much different. As I said previously, you can pay 35 cents for one guide eye or 25 bucks. There is a huge difference.

Weight is another issue. The same I can build the same St. Croix blank built at the factory and reduce the overall weight by 1/3rd. It doesn't sound like much to sum, but that is a huge diffence to others. Especially when you use it for 8 to 12 hours per day.

Then you have materials. You have all glass, all composit, glass composit, graphite, high modulus graphite, different resins and different techniques to apply it all. Each componant has its advantages for one or several applications. Purchasing an ATV rod for all purposes usuallys ends with the user having a rod that isn't specifically great at any one task but does ok at several.

Lightweight, sensativity of feel, sensativity of the materials, castability, form, fit, function all play a role in the overall difference. I can try and answer specific questions if you ask but know that there is a difference. Oftentimes, the difference between a higher dollar rod and a lower dollar one has nothing to do with the blank itself but more the componants that go in to building it.

Ever seen a 10 dollar eagle claw blank that is YELLOW! Lots of us have. Heck, I own a few of them. Would you be surprised if I told you that that exact same blank is built from a different company and is sold for 80 bucks? You guys probably own them! The difference between the rods (besides the yellow color) is the materials and componants that went in to making the rod. One of them probably took someone 20 minutes to make, the other took them two hours to make. In the end, there is a difference between the two rods in terms of feel. I've cut many rods apart just to see what is under a reel seat. Trust me, the above holds true most of the time when dealing with cheap rods and tape arbors!

I can go on for days on differences in materials, componants, propriatary blends, and so on. In the end you can choose to try one or not try one.

[huntinslabs]

I buy the upper end of what I am comfortable paying for whether it's rods,reels,guns, trucks, boats or shoes. Finances change so pricing changes. If I was comfortable paying that I would. But there is a time when you hit a line where you no longer get an advantage for $$. Just have not hit that point yet. But whatever anyone uses I don't judge, if it's nice I admire, if it is all someone can afford, I admire it. Go fish in with what ya have and enjoy it.

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