I've had a full spring summer and some fall experience to report back with cheap fishing rods. When it comes to rods, I just don't like spending a ton of money. I'll spend money on a reel but I try and find good values with my rods. This summer I used 3 different rods. (I'm an inshore saltwater guy). My grade is a sliding scale of performance vs price. Obviously a $250 rod is probably better than a $60 rod. I'm judging not in relation to high-end rods.
H20 Express Ethos Inshore 7' M ($60)
I bought this one with Christmas gift cards but didn't get around to using it until spring. Put a shimano sahara FE 3000 reel and 20lb braid on this setup. I like the stiffness vs flexibility of this rod. It's literally the perfect do-everything rod. I used it with jigs, popping corks, and carolina rigs for trout and redfish mainly. It can do everything pretty well. It's fairly lightweight and has a good feel to it. My only gripe with this rod is the screw fitting to where you connect the rod. It feels a little cheap. It's lightweight plastic and feels like it is coming loose, even when it's not (and never has). I'm not sure if I'm just paranoid but I check that part a few times a day when I'm fishing and its never loose. Kind of hard to explain and may be in my head. That said, after a bunch of trout, drum, flounder, and brute redfish, its performance has been great. It's holding up great and I'm pleased with this rod.
Grade: B+
Daiwa Crossfire 6'6 M ($30)
Came across the rod on complete accident. Was going on a trip with a buddy where we would be staying by water. I went to academy for a 2-piece rod to put in his trunk so I could sneak out and wade fish (trip wasn't a fishing trip). I bought this rod with expectations of it being complete garbage because of the price. It was so light, I put my shimano stradic fj 3000 on it and 20lb braid. I figured I'd give it a try as a trout setup. First thing, for a M saltwater rod, this thing is not stiff at all. I was worried about it not having a backbone for bigger fish. I was also worried about it just breaking because of price. That said, it's a good looking rod that looks much better made than others in it's class. First trip on the coast I probably caught 50 trout on it at Cat Island. Held up great. This setup became my go-to jig steup. Over the course of the summer I caught a ton of trout, spanish mackeral, bluefish, and even a few bull reds. It never failed a single time. Obviously, if you hook a big bull red, it's not the ideal rod but it's not going to just snap on you. I had a capt w/shore thing with us handle this setup when he was with us and want to know what kind of rod it was because it felt so good. I laughed and said it's the cheapest rod I own. I would highly recommend this rod to anyone that wants a solid inshore rod for cheap. I literally love everything about this rod and cannot believe it's so cheap.
Grade: A
Daiwa Crossfire 7 MH ($30)
My accidental experience with the other Daiwa was so pleasant, I bought another one for a new shimano sahara FE setup. I decided to buy the MH strength since the M was a little less stiff than other Ms. I would compare the MH to the M of a Abu Vendetta. Just as the other Daiwa, this one has been great. I mainly rig this one with popping corks since it's stiffer. Would also be great with carolina rigs. It would be a little too stiff for ideal jig/soft plastic application but if the bite was on that and this was all I had, I'd make it work. I've caught trout, drum, and redfish with this rig and no issues as all. The added strength the Daiwa MH has over the M gives me a little more confidence when I'm battling a redfish. I can control him a little better.
Grade: A
Final Verdict:
I think all these dirt cheap rods are quality. They caught plenty of fish this year and will be going strong into year 2. Even though the Daiwa are literally dirt cheap, they have a better constructed feel than the H20 and for that reason, it's all I'll buy for the foreseeable future. I feel like it's a decent rod for a weekend warrior regardless of price. Being that I'm a little tight anyway, I could stomach worse case scenario on a $30 rod way better than I could on a high-end GLoomis or St Croix. When I go out I usually have my H20 setup rigged for whatever live bait application we may use (cork or carolina), my 6'6 Daiwa with a jig head, and my 7' diawa set for popping cork artificial. It's worked well.
