what would you prefer?

[love2fish93]

I am in the market for a new rod and Was looking for oppinions from someone other than the gut selling them to me (no offense to those who own stores). the rod would be for general use but mostly for crankbait casting. I was looking at baitcast combos but am not opposed to spinning(what I use now). what is a reputable rod that you guys have some experience with?

thanks,

Pat

[DE82]

I like Ugly Sticks myself but for a Med. Action they are a bit on the heavy side. Can't go wrong with a Guides Series rod though - Bryon

[The_Don]

I like Ugly Sticks myself but for a Med. Action they are a bit on the heavy side. Can't go wrong with a Guides Series rod though - Bryon

i had a guide series rod with spinning reel, but broke the tip off in the door. So now the reel is resting on the ugly stick.

[DE82]

i had a guide series rod with spinning reel, but broke the tip off in the door. So now the reel is resting on the ugly stick.
All you have to do is take the Guide Series rod back to Gander and they'll replace it no questions asked.

[FishermanJohn]

For the money, you can't beat Gander Mountain's Guide series rods. I am very happy with the three that I own. If you want to spend a little more, then St. Croix is the way to go. Either of the two are going to be way lighter and more sensitive than ugly sticks.

[Mark Sylvester]

I love the Ugly sticks for a great all purpose rod. Great feel for when a small fish bites off more than he could chew, and lots of spine for the toothy critters!
Mark

[Canuck136]

For the money, you can't beat Gander Mountain's Guide series rods. I am very happy with the three that I own. If you want to spend a little more, then St. Croix is the way to go. Either of the two are going to be way lighter and more sensitive than ugly sticks.

I second that. GS has the same blank as a St. Croix.

[Fly Fishing Bob]

Quantum makes great rods and reels. I have a medium heavy Kevin VanDam baitcasting combo, and I love it.

[yossarian]

BPS, wait for the sales.

[j1musser]

Ugly stick lites r nice a little less weight. I liked all my guide series but have had bad luck accidents, like dropping in 70 fow:rant:. Owned a few st croix and i tell ya what u really get what ya pay for. sweet rods for jigging and such but maybe too pricey for chuckin plastics IMO.:fish:

[sal669]

I voted other because my believe is that one should buy a rod based on the POWER and ACTION of the rod relative to the intended use.
"Power" reffers to the ability of the rod to handle weight (lure to be casted and fish to be brought in).You will find rods marked ultra light, light, medium, medium-heavy, heavy, extra-heavy.Power ratings are tipical for certain styles of fishing. For example a medium rod for bass fishing will be different from a medium rod designed for deep sea fishing.Chose the power based on the weight of your lures and the weight of the fish you hope to catch.
Action caracterises the BEND of the rod, mainly how much from the tip of the rod will bend under a certain weight.You will find rods marked as XF=extra-fast, F=fast; MF=moderatly fast; M=moderate and soft or parabolic. The XF rod bends motly for about 1-1.5 ft from the tip, the rest of the rod bends very little under the intended weight. On the oposite side, the parabolic will bend all the way to the handle of the rod.
One should chose a rod based on the main intended use. If you plan on using your rod mostly for jigging (where you need the most sensitive rod you can get) you should go for XF action. If the main use will be crankbaiting, you should go for a moderate or moderate-fast action. If you want a rod exclusively for crankbaits, some would recomand soft/parabolic action.
Unfortunately lots of low end rod manufacturers are confusing the 2 notions or will not even mention it on their rods, or you will see something like :"medium action" wich is in fact medium power .
I think it would be usefull to you to go to BPS ,Cabelas, Gander Mountain or some other store that carries higher end rods and "play" a little with some rods designed for crankbaits (moderate or mod.-fast)and compare them with the same brand, same power rods in Fast or Extrafast action. Take them in your hand and gently touch the tip to the floor, than put pressure on the rod to see how it bends. It easyer to do this with Very popular rods like a Shimano Crucial or Compre, St. Croix Premier or Avid, Quantum KVD Series or a Loomis because its easy to find the same rod with those ratings. Now that you see the difference you can go and look for something with similar ACTION, but wiyh lower price tag.
For general crankbait fishing I'd chose a Medium power, Moderate action rod.The MANUFACTURER is not as important !!!
Hope I didn't confuse you and this info helped you out.

[love2fish93]

I may need that slowed down a bit but I have the basic concept. thanks for the replies.

[Crusher]

I love Ugly Sticks I have several different ones. My favorite
is 5 1/2' ultra light caught tons bass, some decent pike and
perch thefight is awesome!!!