recommend a high end rod please

cabalot · Post by **cabalot** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 1:56 am

my 7' sensilite one piece had an unfortunate accident last weekend and is now a two piece.

i have a st croix imperial fly rod and love it. i am considering buying a st croix spinning rod for fresh water lakes and rivers in NJ, PA, and NY. I fish mostly for large mouth and will be exploring striper hybrids in the deleware river. i also fish for trout if present. i fish with live bait sometimes but mostly rubber worms and lures,floating rapalas,rooster tails, etc.

i am planning to spend around $125 - $175
i have a shimano symetre 2000 reel

i am interested to know what the pro's use

thanks guys,
Tight lines!
Mike

darkybass · Post by **darkybass** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 11:40 am

There are many great rods out there... I do not make tons of money so I buy rods in your price range. I love a Fenwick or a Warrior. I think All-Star and Falcon are too great rods. A buddy of mine has been use a Browning and it too seems to be pretty awesome. I think over time and use you will begin to develop you own taste for rods. I cant afford a Loomis or a StCroix, so I cant compare to them, but I know what I like. I also know the rods mentioned above can HOIST some fish!!

Roger Spaulding · Post by **Roger Spaulding** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 1:51 pm

Cabalot - check out one of my sponsers.
www.americanrodsmiths.com

Some big name pro's are using them and I have had good luck with them also. See what you think.

Roger

Scott · Post by **Scott** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 4:32 pm

Then are some nice rods. Is there any way that you can get us a discount? I need 3 of them.

I am wanting to get 3 good rods to go with my Curados. I am thinking one for jig, 1 for spinner/buzz bait, and one for utility.

What do you reccomend?

Scott

cabalot · Post by **cabalot** » Wed Sep 08, 2004 9:53 pm

well thanks for the input everyone.

i decided on and ordered the St Croix Avid series spinning 7' 6" med light, fast action 2 piece with case. some say i should get the 1 piece but i never had problems with 2 piece and they fit in the car better. i had a 7' 1 piece and noticed no advantage over the 2 piece.

MMT · Post by **MMT** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 1:59 am

I have to recommend Kistler's Helium LTA. I've recently switched over to them. They are the lightest rods I've ever used and they are sensitive and strong. Retail is about 239.00 to 269.00. I now own 7 of them. I flip with a 7ft Med casting rod and I can't seem to put it down. LTA means lighter than air. Really good rods.

BASS-CRAFT · Post by **BASS-CRAFT** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 2:52 am

Dude, MMT knows his stuff.
Kistler helium LTA's are the most addictive rod I have ever fished.

It just kills me that they are SOOOooooo good. I bought one, and havent been able to keep my mind off fishing with it.

And thats saying something coming from me.

See, I have a fortunate situation. I work in the tackle industry and get incredible deals on this stuff.

Its a bad thing, cause you end up spending a ton o cash on this stuff. Cant pass up the deal.

Anyways, back to the rods, in the $200.00 range, I can tell you from what I own, you are looking at some of the......

loomis stuff like the bronzeback. Its a good rod. Not one of my all time favorites, but its got some power to move fish, and has a fast enough action to be sensitive, but soft enough to not loose many fish.

St Croix stuff. Either avid series rods wich are no doubt one of the best rods made for the price. Extremely light, ultra sensitive, amazing accuracy on the cast, just a very very nice rod.
or, the new legend tournament series from st croix. They are a nice rod too. Softer than the avids, and a tad heavier, but a good solid rod with some *****.

The all star titaniums. Not one that is going to get a recomendation from me. These things are bricks. I have a hard time fishing mine all day. Just too heavy. But I will say one thing for the all star titanium, its got more sheer power than any rod I own. The rod alone will wear fish out. I now use mine as a flippin stick to rip fish out of the heaviest cover I fish.
It would be a great rod if the trimmed about 300 lbs off that thing.

Fenwick techna av. Nice rod. A bit on the brittle side. Stiff as a board over most of the rod. But it has a decent tip on it. Extremely sensitive, and a great caster, but I always worry about breaking it.

Kistler helium LTA's oh man. cant say enough. SOOOooooooooooo Sooooooo light weight, sensitivity you have to feel to believe. Actually they take a bit of getting used to. You get a lot more feel than you think you are going to so you end up second-guessing yourself. They are just in a leage of thier own.
Amazingly durable. These rods will bend with the best of them, handle big fish, cast like a dream, and still be as feel'y as ever. truly an amazing rod.

If oyu want to srop down in price and go with a decent rod, the falcon line has some decent stuff. Fenwick HMG's are great rods.

If you just fall in love with high end rods, the kistler is impossible to beat, but the st croix lengend elite is so very incredible. Just a killer rod. The new loomis jig and worm rods with the flex ring guides are sweet.

Thats just my opinion. I like to think that I keep an open mind, and try everything. Sometimes thats good, sometimes the wife takes a look in the basement and wonders what the heck I am thinking, but there is so much stuff out there, and too many guys get hung up on one brand and miss out on some of the best stuff.

If I would have stayed with fenwick or st croix only, I never would have found my love for kistler. If I stay with only kislter, I may miss out on another miracle rod, I bet you I would be very happy, But who knows what might be next.

MMT, congrats on finding one heck of a killer rod. Those LTA's are the envy of all the rods in my rod locker.

MMT · Post by **MMT** » Fri Aug 05, 2005 2:02 pm

BassCraft, I hear you. I went out and got sponsored by Kistler just after making that first post, they are awesome rods. I've been with them for a year now and I like them more each day. I own about 20 of them now. If you liked the LTA, wait few months for the LTX Helium II. This one will be about 1/2oz lighter with split rear grip.