Go to a tackle shop and hold a cheap rod and a higher end rod and you can tell the differnce immediately. You can get a johnny morris rod on clearence and also do the rod trade in. You could get a $200 rod for around $100. I own 2 of them and I like them alot. And as long as you keep the receipt no other company will back up their product better.

If you have been using rods $50 and under maybe a good starting point would be to consider a "step up" to something in the $99 range. There are quite a few quality rods in that price point. This way you can get better gear and adjust to more sensitivity to see if it improves your fishing without killing your budget. The Falcon BuCoo, Veritas, BPS Carbon Light, St. Croix Mojo and quite a few others are all a solid choice depending on your preference. I personally like my gear made in the USA and you will of course get other opinions about brand, etc but let your hands be the guide. It matters how it feels to you, not how much it costs.

Academy is having their Rod Riot right now and BPS starts their Rod trade in on Friday night. Check their websites for the details. It may be a great time to upgrade.

Great, now I want a $200+ rod... Thanks?

There's a lot of great rods to choose from these days. I personally keep them in the $130 to $175 range. I've found those to be quite adequate. Remember, we're only fishing for bass and most of those are under ten pounds.

So far all of mine are under 10... but maybe if I got a more expensive rod... or a more expensive reel... or more expensive baits... or more expensive line... or a more expensive boat...

Oh wait, I almost forgot... electronics and rain gear, etc.

The short answer for me is....Yes! Sensitivity, fish-ability, etc...I have tried to take as much weight out of my rod reels as I can...I find with the newer "pricier" rods and reels you can do that...It makes a difference to me after a day of fishing. Regardless of what you decide, welcome to the Brotherhood!!!

I don't know any different as I rarely spent over $200 on a rod. Whether it is stupidity or just me being stubborn I never bought into the idea. I have had the opportunity recently to do so but bailed last minute and stayed with the mid-level rods. Who knows what I will do next year. I will say that I never go cheap on reels....just no comparison.

kinda like "air jordans"
effen you aint got em , you missen out ....

If I can't have both I would much rather have a top quality rod and a lower end reel than the other way around.

do you still get the sensitivity of braid if you use a leader of mono or something?

I went into a couple of Academy's today for the rod riot. I was looking at rods from 100 to 150 dollars. Comparing them to a H2O express ethos, I couldn't justify paying the difference. This whole post is a good example of why "higher" end rod makers justify charging over $200 bucks for a rod. When we all know, it didn't cost them half that to make. It's like any other name brand product I guess. All of that makes me thrilled when someone offers a high quality rod like the ethos for a 1/4 of the price.

I guess
I'm a tight [censored], 'cause I rarely spend more than $50.00 for a rod. I have too many!

The Dobyns Savvy series which is really good rod starts at 159.00

i think a person truly needs to look at how much they fish and what they are looking for to get out of fishing. If you fish a handful times per year chances are you will not truly appreciate a lighter and more sensitive rod. If you fish a lot or fish for money I would think a guy would want at least middle of the road to high end type stuff. I'd rather buy just once so i tend to stay in the area just below high end. I want quality and performance more than anything else.