Anyone have suggestions? I was looking for something to put my Citica on this morning at Academy but couldn't decide. The American Rodsmith looked pretty good. Falcon HD looked ok. The Shimano Volteaus looked nice. The Berkley lightining rods were only $40 and looked good too. Castaways were $70 but there were too many models for me to even sort through. People talk about the Allstars but I wasn't too impressed. I'm thinking a 7 foot Medium should match well to the Citica for bass fishing for most conditions (I have a separate crankin stick).

I have a 6'6" Signature series from TFO, Temple Fork Outfitters, it is a great rod and runs right at $100.
10 guides and split handle.


http://www.tforods.com/gary-loomis-freshwater-rods.html

I have my citica on a all star platinum 6'6". The trick with all stars is to find the ones tagged made in Houston. Hold one up to a new all star and the difference is night and day. They still have them around a lot of the academys. I also use castaways with my revos, and in my opinion you can't beat their 45 dollar pro series rods, absolutely bang for your buck. All castaways are great rods with a great warranty and customer service. And american rodsmiths are great rods also! The titanium with the splitg grips is a solid rod.Wow, I'm sure this post doesn't help at all lol. I personally don't like shimanos and berkleys, but plenty of people will disagree. Oh and being a texas fan, I can't buy a falcon based out of oklahoma.

I agree 1000% about the All Stars. Look at the Team All Stars and the All Star platinums. If they say Houston Tx and IM10 on them they are made in the US. The quality is head and shoulders above the Chinese All Stars. Academys normally still have them, as do Dicks. A U.S made Platinum is on par with rods costing twice as much, IMO! The Team series are nice too. Definitely worth looking for.

I'll go take a look to see if the ones I saw were made in Houston or not. They didn't look that great but maybe they were the cheaper quality ones.

Best rod for the money hands down for me is a Quantum Energy PT. 109$ at Tackle Warehouse and even cheaper off E-bay, Super sensitive and light with a split grip as well. St Croix Mojo's are also super rods for around 100 dollars.

Under $100 I'd go with the Abu Garcia Vendetta. Looks and feels like a more expensive rod. Light and good sensitivity. They're $80 for most...$90 for bigger ones.

Falcon Bucoo

Need to give CastAways new "GO 2 ROD" a look see, a fantastic rod, at a fantastic value <$100. Built on the same blanks as there Skeleton series.

"GO 2 ROD"

I have 2 of these and love them, 1-7 ft MH and 1 -6' 6" M they both have a Revo sx on them. You can purchase these at Southwest reel on Mockingbird in Dallas. The TFO rods are well worth the price.

I'd go with a Berkley Lightning Rod cuz they are great for the money, a Abu Garcia Vendetta if you sensitivity, and a Falcon Bucoo if you do a lot of flipping and jigging.

Vendetta

You mentioned that they ''looked good'' but how did they feel in your hands?..Take the reel with you and palm a few rods with it on.See how they balance together.
Theres a ton of good,quality rods around that price range....You'll find it!

A rod should never cost more than the reel that goes on it....

I love TFO's, i have to agree. their fly rods are great too

Those Berkley Cherrywood rods are hard to beat in the $50 price range.


Another good one is the Berkley Lightning Shock rods in the $50 range for braid.

The new BPS Carbonlite rods are nice in the $100 range.

Good Luck!

i only use shimano and ugly stick coastal series, both at around $39.99-49.99 range.

I went and looked at a bunch of rods. I stood one aile over from the rods and had a buddy bring them to me one at a time without looking at cost at all and had my eyes closed. I was going to just buy myself something that felt good. Maybe I am the biggest amateur in the world but I had all kinds of rods from Falcons, Loomis, Shimanos and more. The absolute best feeling rod in my hands was beleive it or not......American Rodsmith Titanium series. I got the MP7. I could barely feel the thing in my hands. The one I picked up was a Medium 7 footer but it feels a little sturdy. I am going to pick up a Med Light as well when I go back. This rod feels awesome and I couldn't wait to see how much it costed. Damn if it wasn't $49. I think I'll get a couple more for different applications. Are these rods any good or am I just crazy?

I have to disagree, as far as it relates to fishing. I think the rod is the most important piece of equipment for fishing you can have. The reel is just a means of getting your bait out and retrieving it in, most $50-$100 reels will do that. The rod controls alot of your ability to cast with accuracy and distance, plus plays a way bigger part in detecting bites and hook sets. I would much rather have a mid-level $75 reel on a quality/sensitive $200 rod than a $200 reel on a $75 rod. I think the first combo increases my chances of catching a fish way more than the 2nd combo. Just my $.02

Abu Garcia Vendetta for under 100. as far as under 50 i wouldnt bother.

Can't beat the price and warranty for a Gary Loomis designed rod.

http://www.tforods.com/limited-lifetime-warranty/warranty.html

Crucial Tackle carries them.

http://www.crucialtackle.com/catalog/item/6064294/7599979.htm

If you have a Gander Mountain near you check out the new Gander Mountain GSX Titanium. AWESOME ROD! It's right at $100. I have the 7' Medium and features include split cork handle, 10 Fuji Alconite eyes, Fuji reel seat and titanium strips to reinforce the rods backbone. I have mine with at Citica on it balances great and has awesome action for most anything I wanna do with it. The new Gander Mountain rods are made by a company called GLV International who also makes the rods for another major rod company but due to a confidentiality contract I can't find out who. Believe it's St Croix but don't know. Either way it's a great rod

Do they have the same life time warranty as the G-Loomis?

The Gander X-Factor ($150) rods have a lifetime warranty and the GSX Titanium ($100) rods have a 5 year warranty. The really good thing about Gander warranty is that if something happens with one on 'em you just take it to the store and get another one - no waiting and no shipping. And also, I haven't ever seen a G-Loomis for under $100... If they make one I'd love to know, seriously.

even putting apples to apples, I'd rather have a GSX Titanium rod than a GL2...those rods are not impressive at all...

My GSX Titanium 7'6" MH flipping stick is as light as some of my 6'6" rods, and is absolute money. I love it.

guessing you prefer hooksetting lures over moving baits...because I have the exact opposite mindset and I fish mostly moving lures like cranks, spinnerbaits, and topwaters. Give me a nice reel and any graphite rod will do.

$100- Abu Garcia Vendetta
Skeet reese
Mojo bass?

$50- Berkely Lightning Shock Rod.
Acadamy has the American Rodsmiths Apex Titanium 7'MH for 50.

skeet reese rods best buy for the money 89.00 at BPS

Watch out on the Cast Aways. I have some the the "American Made" rods and I purchased a "Chinese made" rod the other day. Not the same product. I hate to see that Cast Away has outsourced to China. Skeet Reese Rods are a darn good deal for under $100.

There are several good rods around $100. I love the Falcon BuCoo and have several. I have friends that really like the Temple Fork Rods. I believe St Croix and All Star have comparable rods as well. I have used the Abu Garcia Rods that a guide had and they where pretty good. If you can get a guide or 2 and use his gear and see what you like. At the end of the day it is what fits in your hand and feels right that will work best.

was reading this thread without looking at dates...

that aggiegolfer guy said everything I would...(holy $%&$ I actually still own that GSX Titanium flipping stick too...that's a record for my lineup).

I like the ABU Garcia Vendetta's I believe they like 80 bucks. Very sensitive.

Uhg....I love finding this [censored] out after the fact. Oh well, I guess better late than never. I just snapped my All Star Rod a few weeks ago and went and bought another. After reading this post, I then take a look....of course I bought a China one to replace my Houston one!! ...Uhg, STUPID!

Anyway, lesson learned. Thanks fellas for the info!

ALL STAR 2 NEW CASTING ROD FOR SALE
Jean Scurtu
Outdoorsman

Registered: 10/13/08
Posts: 207
Loc: Houston.Texas New casting rods built in HOUSTON(not China!!!)before SHAKESPEARE distroy ALL STAR company :

-ALL STAR BCM-6,lenght 6',line 10-20lb.,lure wt.1/4-5/8oz.JAPAN VERSION

-ALL STAR BCM-6,lenght 6',line 10-20lb.,lure wt. 1/4-5/8 oz.

Cork handel.

I fish just with spinning long rods(over 9')and for these reason i sale the rods.

$20 each rod pick up in Houston or pay $18 S&H

First, let me put on my vest and helmet.

Ok.

I have grown to really like the Bass Pro rods that are IM6 with cork handles. Affordable at about 30$, light, easy to carry and to cast.....and they look good to. I still use heavy old Ugly Sticks for my bait rigs, but for casting artificials all day, I love that light weight rod.

just my 2 cents

No rods under 100 , save up with another 100 .

I can't believe this post came back after the years have gone by. I also can't believe how little I knew back then. I learned my lesson and so should everyone else. Cheap rods are cheap for a reason and really expensive rods are really expensive for reasons only God himself could explain. Find the lightest rod you can for a price you are willing to pay. My current line up still includes those American Rodsmith Titanium rods ($49 each) but only for using on my kayak as I won't care if they fall out with the cheaper Shimano Sienna reels on them. I use better stuff on land and when on boats. I am feeling more confident on not losing anything from the kayak (one year yakking and no loss yet) and am starting to take out nicer stuff. I own a couple Carrot stix (Salty type), Falcon XG Coastals and am looking to purchase the TFO HOW line up soon. I guess your stuff just gets nicer the more confident you feel. Who knows, maybe one day I'll own a reel or rod that I pay over $100 for(thank God for the internet and finding huge deals) but I know I'll never own cheap [censored] again as that stuff has found it's way into the garbage or donated to people who have nothing. Reel game has stepped up to Curados and Stradics as well.

I've switched from Carrot Stix, to Falcon, to Kistler since I've read this post. They are all great rods, it's just what you're willing to compromise price for. Are rods priced higher because they are better? Sure, if you're willing to fork over the money to prove it to yourself. My next upgrade will probably be to Duckett or Dobyns, but since I can't afford them; my Kistlers will be my favorite rods.

I agree that the best rod is going to be the one that you feel comfortable spending the money on, period. I have used everythig from the old Berkley Stinger to Quantum Tour, BPS, G. Loomis, American All-Star, and the list goes on.....
My favorites of all of them is a good old fashioned Lightning Rod or the new BPS Bionic Blad or Tourney Special. Not because they were necessarily better than a Loomis but for the fact that they never failed me and for $50 or less why would I spend money that has been proven needless to spend? I would love to hear about any first hand experience with the new Berkley Lightning Rod Shock if anyone can comment.