Rods

[BeastMan]

I've decided to go ahead and get the Shimano Stradic reel and now I have to decide on a rod. Honestly, part of me wants to just grab an inshore ugly stick ($50) but it almost feels like if I'm getting a premium reel, I need to get a premium rod. Any suggestions on a good inshore rod in the $100 range? I've been eyeing Lews rods some.

[State82]

For the money it's hard to beat Falcon products. They have 2 lines of saltwater rods. The Coastal XG & Lowrider Salt series. Plenty of models to choose from in either series (casting and spinning). Plus they are made in the good 'ol USA. Good choice on that Stradic. Hard to beat that one too.

[SpeckleDawg]

I always tell myself that I am going to buy an expensive rod when I get an academy/BP gift card, but I never do. I always end up back to the All Star rods. I really think they are hard to beat at ~$50 and I even have them paired with my "high end" reels. With that said, I picked up an Abu Garcia Veritas rod (with the micro guides) the other day and it felt awesome.

[BeastMan]

I do the same thing Speck. Those Falcons looks nice State82. I'm looking at all of those and now am thinking of just going all Shimano with a Shimano Convergence inshore rod. It's $69.99 at BP.

[Barking 13]

Don't know about the inshore stuff, but I have several Falcons, a couple All Stars, Duckett, Carrot, and several lower end products like Quantum, Pinnacle, and some BPS stuff.. all of them are ok. Falcon makes some good rods. I like the Veritas, Vendettas, and Vengance line of Abu rods, but haven't pulled the trigger on any, yet. Hammer makes some good ones (MS product).

Apparently Shimano makes some good stuff too.. just not a big Shimano guy, some swear by them, but I'm an Abu guy.. Got a bunch of Revos and love them

Yeah, I know, I ain't much help....

[BeastMan]

Don't know about the inshore stuff, but I have several Falcons, a couple All Stars, Duckett, Carrot, and several lower end products like Quantum, Pinnacle, and some BPS stuff.. all of them are ok. Falcon makes some good rods. I like the Veritas, Vendettas, and Vengance line of Abu rods, but haven't pulled the trigger on any, yet. Hammer makes some good ones (MS product).

Apparently Shimano makes some good stuff too.. just not a big Shimano guy, some swear by them, but I'm an Abu guy.. Got a bunch of Revos and love them

Yeah, I know, I ain't much help....

You always bring good insight. One thing I know for fact is if you are a good bass fisherman, you can be good at catching anything. I like to consider myself a decent inshore fisherman but I'll openly admit that I am very below average when it comes to bass.

[Barking 13]

I ain't much of one, but I give it a helluva try (for the last 30 or so years anyway)

[WeWillScrewItUp]

I mainly bass and crappie fish so I can't bring a lot of insight into your inshore equipment but I will say my rod box in my bass boat is a mix matched with high end and low end rods and reels. I usually go to bass pro and play with them until I find one that I like.

[Pescador]

I recently got a 13 Fishing Omen Black casting rod and have been blown away. It's on par with some higher end rods. They've also got spinning rods and the green series is for saltwater. I've got mine paired with a Lew's BB1 pro and its easily my favorite setup. I plan on slowly buying more of these rods.

Btw, I like the outdoor board y'all have going here.

[BeastMan]

Thanks for joining the conversation pescador. I'm going to google the rods you suggest. You don't by chance have a pescador kayak do you?

[Pescador]

No kayak for me. I fish out of a bass boat. The user name is my Spanish coming out.

[BeastMan]

No kayak for me. I fish out of a bass boat. The user name is my Spanish coming out.

Nice. Welcome aboard

[Barking 13]

I recently got a 13 Fishing Omen Black casting rod and have been blown away. It's on par with some higher end rods. They've also got spinning rods and the green series is for saltwater. I've got mine paired with a Lew's BB1 pro and its easily my favorite setup. I plan on slowly buying more of these rods.

Btw, I like the outdoor board y'all have going here.

NICE setup! I tried to win one of the Omen rods on Wired2Fish.. the new Lews reels are really nice too

[Pescador]

Thanks. Yeah, I should mention that 13 fishing does weekly giveaways that I believe you can enter by email or Facebook. I'm sure the details are on their website. They are coming out with some low profile reels this spring. I really like the quality of their rods and if I'm not mistaken they own the company that makes all of their components.

[Offshore Dawg]

Bottom line in Saltwater NEVER LESS THAN 7 ft long.

[Barking 13]

Thanks. Yeah, I should mention that 13 fishing does weekly giveaways that I believe you can enter by email or Facebook. I'm sure the details are on their website. They are coming out with some low profile reels this spring. I really like the quality of their rods and if I'm not mistaken they own the company that makes all of their components.

I believe you're right, and I'll check it out...

[FISHDAWG]

can't go wrong with Lew's

[BeastMan]

Just to update here, I went with the shimano stradic FJ 3000 paired with a h20 express ethos 7 foot inshore rod (medium/medium fast). There were some great rod selections in this thread that I will have bookmarked but I was handcuffed to what Academy carried (gift cards). It came down to the rod I got versus a St. Croix. I know the St.Croix is legit but I did a lot of research on the H20 Ethos series and there isn't a bad review on the net. They've gotten flying colors by virtually everyone so I decided to give it a try. At $59.99 it's very reasonable. I'll give a review on it this summer once it's had it's chance to catch some fish.

[Barking 13]

I forgot about the H2O rods.. I looked at them when they first came out a couple years ago.... they look pretty good to me. And a Flippin stick with an $80 price tag sure got me to looking pretty hard at one...

[SpeckleDawg]

Sounds like a good deal. I'll be interested to hear your review. I've heard a lot of good things about the h2o rods/reels for their price, but haven't picked any of them up yet.