How much to spend on a rod???

[Garry2Rs]

A recurring question on most fishing boards is "What should I spend on my next fishing rod?"

 

To find an reasonable answer, let's brake it down to the raw materials.

If we look at a good quality Bass weight spinning rod blank from a non-luxury supplier like Rainforest we will find that the bare blank will run about $50.00 to $60.00 dollars. High end "Carriage Trade" brands like Lamiglas, G.Loomis, St.Croix etc. will be much more, however the price quoted will give us something around an honest IM7 blank.

 

I say honest because there is something akin to the "60's" horse-power race going on with advertised rating on rods at retail. There is no standardization, so the rod ratings you see on rods is basically pure fiction. Beyond the hype, an actual IM8 or higher blank would run about twice or three times as much as an IM7, but in the real world any gains are in fractions of an ounce and would probable be fairly small in any practical sense.

 

The parts for an average spinning rod handle run around $25.00. There is in-fact a worldwide shortage of premium cork. Most of us have noticed that within a few months our cork rod handles develop pits and fissures as the filler that was used to smooth them out simply falls out. Split-grip handles, rubberized cork trim and the switch to foam on rods over $100.00 is proof that quality cork is becoming rare.

 

I believe that the biggest difference between mid-priced rods ($80 to $150) is in the guides. Using Fuji as a well known and respected example, for set of guides for an average 6ft 6in. spinning rod they offer three levels of high quality guide rings, Hardloy ($12.00), Alconite ($20.00), and SiC (Silicon Carbide)rings($48.00). On all popular priced rods the frames of these guides will be stainless steel.

 

Now let's take a mid-range total...Blank $55.00 + Handle $20.00 + Hardware $25.00 and we get $100.00. There are things like Labour, and epoxy, finish and thread etc. but what we have is $100.00 in actual parts.

 

Alright, I know that the factory doesn't pay these prices! However they have to factor in Labour, Overhead, Maintenance, Shipping, Warranty Claims and Profit, so I suggest these numbers are still pretty close.

 

My conclusion is this...A good quality spinning rod is going to cost you $135.00 to $150.00 and it will look a lot like last years Shimano Crucial.

 

If you decide that this is too much, I'm afraid you might be wasting your money. The basic production costs remain the same, whether you use good parts or trash...What is left for parts on a $50.00 rod if that "Overhead" runs $35.00 or $40.00???

 

Save your money until you can buy a rod that has the good stuff!

Garry2R's

[BillM]

I spend enough to get a lifetime warranty. Buy it once.

[kickingfrog]

Interesting information Garry.

 

In general terms I like, and am willing to pay, more for my jiggin' and drop-shot rods. Thats crucials for the most part for me.

 

Lure chuckin'? I am perfectly happy with Compres and the like.

 

Love cork! That's my heart talking.

 

Hate anything that's not cork. That, I know, is going to lead to some soul searching in the future.

[aplumma]

I have found that a fishing rod is something that you need to buy with lots of though behind. I have found that when you buy the rod spend what is needed to get a rod that you love. Don't settle for like and don't chose a price before you find the rod you want. I am not saying not to get value for your money so you will still be shopping around. I have or had many fishing rods in my life some were $5.00 and some were up to $400.00 many of them have been either gifted to friends or are seldom used. Those are the ones that I "settled" for either because of price or in to big of a hurry to buy. I finally figured out that when I am fishing for a type of fish I would grab my favorite 3 or 4 rods for that species of fish and rig them with different baits and they were the ones that got to go fishing with me. I have found that if it was not the perfect combo then it was a waste of my money because I would not take it fishing. The materials of some of the rods I have are as common as fiberglass to some of the newest hybrid materials the other components are chosen for quality and durability with regards to the species I am fishing for. I am sure their are lots of rods that will do the "job" but I prefer to fish with equipment closer to art work than a tool.

 

Art

[Garry2Rs]

If you drop down a rod range, (or God help Sinclair, two!!!)

Aren't you paying the same production cost for all of the rods?

If so, the difference in cost has to be largely in the quality of components.

 

Look at it this way...If it costs $50.00 to build a rod and get it to market, an $80.00 rod has $30.00 left for parts while the $150.00 rod has $100.00. I realize that this isn't a perfect analogy, but follow my line of reasoning...

 

An accountant might point out that, compared to the $80.00 cheapo, the $150.00 model is less than twice as expensive but uses more than three times higher quality components.

Garry2rs

[Sharkbait22]

I prefer quality and lifetime or 5 year depends on the application. Cork only. After building a number of rods I’m pretty careful with them – develop habits to prevent damage. Even sending a rod out for repairs is a drag. I've been told that US based makers are so expensive (SAGE Winston Loomis) because of the wages they must pay their employees while the materials are typically they same as imports (TFO?). Any truth in this?

[coreyhkh]

Until this year I thought people where nuts for paying over $100 for a fishing rod, that is until I got one. I believe if you fish enough then you may as while buy good products that are going to last.

[Garry2Rs]

At this time I think St.Croix SCV rod blanks using NSI, IPC and ART technologies are the state of the art...However that nice average 6'6" spinning rod blank we spoke of would cost you about $150.00 all-by-itself.

Loomis no longer sells blanks to the public, and since Gary Loomis sold the company it's hard to know where they stand with research and development.

[Gerritt]

Spend as much as you can afford, and what you feel is a good value for the money... all the rest is needless details. Buy what feels right to you...

[dhickey]

Spend as much as you can afford, and what you feel is a good value for the money... all the rest is needless details. Buy what feels right to you...

 

 

REALY????????

[Ben_Daniels]

I usually buy higher end rods but you gotta love it when the guy in the back of the boat with an ugly stick is out fishing you lol

[kemper]

I stock up on expensive rods when they go on sale. I tend to break lots of equipment in car doors, trees, falling down banks etc. If I was out $150 bucks every time I broke I rod I would be in financial ruin.

 

Picked up a couple Compre's for something like $60 this summer.