Sorry Feather stix guys.

[TommyH]

You guys keep buying your 200 dollar rods and parading around in your shiny waders and fancy fanny packs.  I'll keep my 60 dollar, 15 year old quantum rod and my 1980's 1310, egg crusted vest with old wood shavings from shrimp cartons in it and we will see who catches more fish 

Lets meet up and see how it goes!!  Any fishing trip sounds like a good time! But i dont have any shiny waders, or a fancy fanny pack. I will be the guy in the red FORD!!!

[Dhoey07]

You guys keep buying your 200 dollar rods and parading around in your shiny waders and fancy fanny packs.  I'll keep my 60 dollar, 15 year old quantum rod and my 1980's 1310, egg crusted vest with old wood shavings from shrimp cartons in it and we will see who catches more fish 

Lets meet up and see how it goes!!  Any fishing trip sounds like a good time! But i dont have any shiny waders, or a fancy fanny pack. I will be the guy in the red FORD!!!

Haha, I'll be the guy in the gray GMC lol.  Are you a eastsider or a webfooter?

[teal101]

Once again, as in anything it isn't as much the equipment but the person using it.

Having the best tools for the job doesn't hurt

[teal101]

There are plenty of custom blanks out there that are better than the Loomis, Lamiglass, and FethaSticks. Plenty of other rod blanks out there that can be custom built to perform circles around these guys, but getting consistancy and warranty is usually the issue with the small custom rod guys.

That and you're generally looking at a higher price tag.  There really arent many blanks yet that can compete at the G.Loomis NRX, Lamiglas Si, St.Croix Legend Extreme level.  The new 3M graphite that just came out is quite sensitive.  Those Lamiglas Si's felt amazing!

[TommyH]

Once again, as in anything it isn't as much the equipment but the person using it.

Having the best tools for the job doesn't hurt

 

[TommyH]

eastside!

[sirmissalot]

I own several high end rods, but to say a nicer rod will catch more fish is like saying a brand new bow will kill more bulls...

Except you aren't hunting bulls by feel... so its actually not the same at all.

Its not even about catching more fish with a better quality rod, its that you can actually feel whats on the end of the line. I have fished with plenty of noodle like rods, most fiberglass rods made for downriggers have a great parabolic bend to them... but no backbone. When downrigger fishing you obviously don't need to feel the bite, but I would much rather enjoy fighting a fish with a good graphite/fiberglass blended rod than a cheapo fiberglass rod. I know I'm off topic now but... same goes for fishing rivers, sure you can float a bobber through a hole and hook a fish with an ugly stik, to each their own I guess, just not something I would prefer.

[Button Nubbs]

If you NEED a super duper fancy rod to feel what your bait, lure, bite Is doing I suggest spending a little more time out there. I just caught the biggest hatchery steelhead I have caught in a while, I was using a cheap junker all star rod drift fishing. It picked up the bait just like any other steelhead I've ever caught. I had no problem feeling the bite or what by bait was doing just before the fish bit. I suppose I woulda "caught her better" had I had one of my imx's.

But hey, if using a top of the line rod makes you think you'll catch more fish then by all means keep buying them. Confidence is everything, if you don't have it you won't catch em.

I'm still with polar bear on this one...

[cohoho]

I am going to have to cancel all remaining fishing trips for the year, cause my boat rods suck... Somehow, I just can't believe all the fish I have missed.  Once I get a complete stash of nothing but $400 rods, I will begin again and then it will be game on for sure.....   

[PolarBear]

My cousins and I have caught more steelhead plunking with an old ugly stick downrigger rod and a $60 Okuma 9 1/2' spinning rod than most folks will catch in a life time.     I have several friends who fish every single weekend for either steelhead or salmon.  These guys catch literally hundreds of fish per year and their favorite rods?...................  Cheap Okuma's!

[TommyH]

No one said you couldnt catch fish on cheap rods, Most all of the fish i have caught in WA/ID have been with my ugly stick. But once i realized how much better you can feel fish/bottom with a nicer rod, i wanted to get a nicer rod. I dont get to go fishing near as much as i would like to so when i do go, i want to be able to make the most of it. Im not real close to steelhead/salmon fishing areas when i do pony up the cash and go i dont want to miss a bite as it may be the only bite for the  whole trip.

[sirmissalot]

My cousins and I have caught more steelhead plunking with an old ugly stick downrigger rod and a $60 Okuma 9 1/2' spinning rod than most folks will catch in a life time.     I have several friends who fish every single weekend for either steelhead or salmon.  These guys catch literally hundreds of fish per year and their favorite rods?...................  Cheap Okuma's!

 

You and your cousins are the masterbaiters   

[Button Nubbs]

My cousins and I have caught more steelhead plunking with an old ugly stick downrigger rod and a $60 Okuma 9 1/2' spinning rod than most folks will catch in a life time.     I have several friends who fish every single weekend for either steelhead or salmon.  These guys catch literally hundreds of fish per year and their favorite rods?...................  Cheap Okuma's!

how did people ever catch steelhead and salmon in the 60's and 70's? i mean that was before float fishing and before super fancy rods.

[sirmissalot]

My cousins and I have caught more steelhead plunking with an old ugly stick downrigger rod and a $60 Okuma 9 1/2' spinning rod than most folks will catch in a life time.     I have several friends who fish every single weekend for either steelhead or salmon.  These guys catch literally hundreds of fish per year and their favorite rods?...................  Cheap Okuma's!

how did people ever catch steelhead and salmon in the 60's and 70's? i mean that was before float fishing and before super fancy rods.

You two are the only ones saying you need fancy rods to catch salmon and steelhead. I simply said what brands I prefer. I also prefer Ford over Chevy and Dodge, but all three will work.

[Holg3107]

       No ones saying that you cant catch fish with inexpensive equipment. All that people are saying is that you can have a better experience with better gear. If you have never used some of the gear that's been mentioned you don't know the difference and therefore the point is mute. You can golf with a $30 set of clubs from Goodwill and shoot a 90 if you've never held another golf club or used anything different then those clubs are fine until you grab a set of Callaways and go out and shoot an 85. Yea its only a 5 shot difference and in the end who cares, but you may have a better time doing it and feel more confident in what you are doing. Will ugly stix catch fish? OF COURSE THEY WILL! A god damned pool cue with some line on the end will as well. Everyone has their preferences.
       For me I found the best bang for your buck is St. Croix. For around $100-$150 I get a rod that I have the utmost confidence will get the job done the way I want to get the job done. For many its a $30 dollar Ugly Stick, for others its a $350 IMX Loomis. No reason to trash either of them! as long as everyones having a good time and stands behind the gear and techniques they are using it really doesn't matter.