Open water is HERE.
Well, at least for me up here in Wisconsin. All you folks down south get to fish year around… I’m jealous.
Overall, the winter was fairly mild here in the Cheese State, but we did have a solid 6 weeks of ice here in the southern portion of the state. Way more than last year. But with the warming temps this week, the ice is finally opening up, and I should be on the open water at some point this weekend.
I’m geared up and ready to go with a number of my favorite March baits already tied on. Not gonna lie, I spooled up my reels with fresh line weeks ago…
But it got me thinking about my arsenal of rods… which ones always seem to find their way into my hand, which ones I wouldn’t mind an upgrade on, and which ones I would love 10 more of. I’ve revealed some of my favorite budget rods and reels, ones that you will run you about $100 bucks a piece, but this list is all about the bang for the buck… where you get an exceptionally great rod, at a price point that isn’t insane? And for me personally, this is where I like to live. I don’t own very many rods in the upper echelons… the Daiwa Steez line, the Shimano Poison Ultima, many of the G. Loomis and Megabass rods… we’re talking about rods that will cost you more than $500 a piece. And as someone who is not a professional angler, it’s just hard to justify that kind of spend for me… I know many of you agree.
Of course, budget is all relative, shoot me an email if you want and I’ll steer you in the right direction for your budget. But that being said, here’s a few of my favorite rods that won’t exactly break the bank, and are still insanely good rods that pros use all the time.
Daiwa Tatula Elite – $189.99
I love the Tatula Elite line from Daiwa, and if the price tag is a little too much for you, even just the regular Tatula line is fantastic. But the Tatula Elite Rods are crafted with input from elite Daiwa pros like Seth Feider, Takahiro Omori, Patrick Walters, Chris and Cory Johnston, Brent Ehrler and more. These rods are optimized for various bass fishing techniques, such as flipping, cranking, and various finesse applications.
And at less than $200 bucks a rod, that’s a really solid price point. Personally, I have the Randy Howell dock skipping/swim jig rod ready to go at all times, but the Feider jerkbait rod is also solid, and the Brent Ehrler multi-purpose and Chatterbait rods are tough to beat.
St Croix Victory – $190.00 -$275.00
As a Wisconsin resident, I’m fairly partial to St. Croix, and use a number of rods across various lines. The Bass X is a great entry-level line, The Mojo Bass line is super popular, but to me, the Victory line is where you really get that bang for the buck.
These rods are all made in the United States, right here in Wisconsin, and offer exceptional craftsmanship at a reasonable price. And with nearly 30 different models across casting, spinning and cranking, there’s plenty of options to tackle every technique with extreme precision. My go-to jerkbait rod is the 6’8″ M X-Fast, affectionally named “The Jerk,” but their Rip N Chatter model is great, their flippin’ stick, and they have a nice long hair jig rod in the spinning lineup
Fenwick Elite – $229.95 – $269.95
I’ve become a HUGE Fenwick fan in the past year, and find myself regularly picking one up. They have undertaken a comprehensive redesign of their entire rod lineup (with a former G. Loomis builder if I’m not mistaken), introducing four distinct series: Eagle, HMG, Elite, and the flagship World Class. I own them all, use them all, but the Elite class is just phenomenal at the price point, and even if you’re not fishing for bass, they have a rod for you. They also just looks SO clean.
When I’m dobbin’ a Texas rig, flipping a jig, or punching a mat, it’s a Fenwick Elite in my hand.
Shimano Expride B – $279.99 – $319.99
And finally, the Shimano Expride B line, which is the most expensive of the group, but still comes in below $300 for most of the rods. Lightweight, extremely sensitive, highly versatile, the Expride is highly-regarded as one of the best in the business. The jerkbait rods are one of the best in the business, their spinning lineup has great options for minnow shaking, drop shotting and other finesse tactics, even their bait finesse options are top tier.
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