Ok, so I fish mostly spinning reel set ups and I usually bring with me a few 3000 size reels and rods in different sizes from 6'6" to 7'6". I have a couple of Ugly Sticks and some Penn wally world specials and recently I spent $100 on a Shimano. $100 is about my limit of what I want to spend on a rod. My favorite set up is a Browning 6'6" High Power Harry Stiles signature rod (bought for bass fishing when I was a kid) combined with an Okuma Trio 30. The rod has always felt like it has the best sensitivity, balance and quality of anything I have tried. I have landed 30" plus reds on it and always felt confident with it. I have a TFO casting rod that is really nice, still doesn't give the same sensitivity, and I had a Shimano Compre that seemed way over priced and lacked sensitivity and quality.
As I look to replace it, is there a difference in the way this rod was built say roughly 20 years ago than rods built today?? I want to say I spent maybe 40 or 50 dollars on this rod, and it feels 10x better than the rods I spent $100 on. Is there some difference I am missing?
-Joe H.
Twenty years of technology advances make a tremendous difference. Think of cars of the 90's and compare them to the 2020 and '21 models. Different metals/materials, different engines, turbos on Grandma's Civic, safety, navigation, comfort, and so on. Same for rods and reels. Each manufacturer has their fancy new models, and some for us non-fancy folks, all made better with better materials than what they sold years ago. Case in point: I'm a Shakespeare Ugly Stik kind of guy, as its darn near impossible to break them. They did that by making every part of them heavy-duty with thick sticks, great flexibility, and heavy weights using fiber technology to allow you to step on them, or jam them into corners of the boat/closet/garage/pickup truck without busting the tip or shattering the shaft. You could bend them full circle, stick them in a suitcase and let them spring against the insides for travel by air to Mexico/Canada/anywhere, with no chance of breakage. Been here, done that. Also reduces the chance of lightfingered baggage handlers gaining access to your favorite rods and sending your empty rod tubes on to your fishing lodge. Anyway, a few years ago Ugly Stiks were built thinner, lighter and stronger, keeping the action you choose and the unbreakability, but making a long fishing day less tiring. Now comes the Ugly Stik Elete, even more so. I still have a few of the old ones, which I use often, but they are usually fifth or sixth in the line on the deck with different lures tied on them. The Eletes are what I put my go-to lures of for the day, and the difference when in hand between old and new is striking. I also have Browning, Fenwick, and other well-known brands in the rod rack. Each has its advantages, but for $50 rods, you can't beat the Eletes. And no, I don't work for Shakespeare, but if they want hire me, I'd go.....
