Fishing on budget? Look no further…
Up here in Wisconsin, it’s almost time to retire the bass rods and bust out the ice fishing gear, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still do a little shopping for next spring. Of course, many of you in warmer climates are still out on the water (lucky…), and with Black Friday right around the corner, there’s no better time to stock up on some new rods.
Plus, Tackle Warehouse is in the midst of a big Black Friday sale… you’re welcome.
Truth be told, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to figure out where to begin if you’re new to bass fishing. When I got started getting really serious about bass fishing, there was a lot of trial and error, and most importantly, wasted money. Unless you really know what you’re doing, you’re probably going to wind up with some gear you don’t need, or gear that really isn’t designed for technique you’re throwing. Or maybe you know what you need to add to the arsenal, but you just don’t want to break the bank doing it.
So all that being said, here’s a few of my favorite, affordable, quality rods that I still have rigged up just about every single day of the fishing season. Every single one, owned or tested by me personally. Let’s go…
Daiwa Aird X – $59.99
At less than 60 bucks a rod, you really can’t beat the Daiwa Aird X when we’re talking about entry level rods. With a handful of both spinning and casting options, you can really set yourself with a few good rods to cover all of your bass fishing needs, and for an extremely reasonable price. These workhorse rods can handle just about every technique you can throw at them, and if you pair them up with the Daiwa Aird 80 Casting reel ($99.99), and you have yourself a rock solid combo that will outperform its very low price tag.
For the spinning model, pair it up with the Daiwa Revros ($59.99) and you have a fantastic spinning setup that won’t break the bank. This combo is my absolute cheapest, and it’s one that I still use all the time.
Abu Garcia Vengeance – $74.99
If you have a few extra dollars to spend, an Abu Garcia Vengeance is the ticket. With handful of different models available, you can pretty much cover all the bases for less than $100 bucks a rod. I have a 7′ MH Fast that I use pretty often with heavy soft plastics like the Yamamoto Yamatanuki or the Geecrack Imo Kemushi. Abu also makes some pretty affordable reels to go with it such as the Max Pro.
Shimano SLX A – $99.99
The Shimano SLX line is arguably the pinnacle of where affordability meets quality in the bass fishing world. Their SLX A 150 casting reel is also arguably the pinnacle of baitcasting reels at the $115 price tag, but we’ll save reel talk for another day. For $100 bucks, you’re getting a fantastic rod that can hang with rods well above its price point. The 7′ MH Fast SLX A is a go-to for me, and I also have a 7′ ML Extra Fast SLX A spinning rod rigged up at all times. It’s TOUGH to beat.
The SLX A also has a glass crankbait line and a swimbait line to supplement their standard spinning and casting gear.
Daiwa Tatula XT – $99.99
I’m admittedly a BIG Tatula guy. I love the Tatula Elite rods, I love the regular ol’ Tatula line, I have a few different Tatula reels that I’m using at all times… but I’ll tell you what, the budget-friendly Tatula XT always seems to find its way into my hand. I primarily utilize their spinning rods for throwing swimbaits and minnow-style baits, but the Tatula XT line has a great budget friendly frog rod, solid jig rod… I just really love this lineup at the $100 price point. If you’re looking to get into bass fishing on a budget, you just can’t go wrong with the Daiwa Tatula XT. They just look so clean too… if that matters to you at all (let’s face it, nobody wants to fish an ugly rod).
Pair it up with a Daiwa Regal LT for a killer spinning combo ($79.99).
They also offer a BFS rod and a glass cranking rod in the Tatula XT Family.
Fenwick Eagle – $119.95
Fenwick completely overhauled everything in their lineup in the past couple years, the the result is phenomenal. The Eagle is their most affordable line of rods, and with 19 different models, you can easily cover all the bases… and then some. I personally use the 7’5″ Heavy as my flipping stick, and specifically for light punching. Caught my PB on it this past summer. They look great, they feel great… they fish great.
*This post contains links through the Tackle Warehouse Affiliate Program. While all products are independently selected by our expert Riff Outdoors team, if you use these links to make a purchase, we may earn a commission.
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