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I like it, Abu Garcia is going to cause me to go broke

Looks like manufacturers have recognized that that is the price range to shoot for. With the insurgence of Japanese tackle I've seen pricing go through the roof. Even looked like companies have been testing how far they can go (think Steez). Now that our wallets have been stretched, it appears the horizon has been fathomed. Couple this with the present economy, and "value" appears to matter to more anglers.

I've seen the first graphites hit the market and watched prices drop on the older technology, making really good fishing rods available to the masses. IM6 beats glass hands down in so many ways. And of late, I've watched the Loomis edge fade, as new rods have appeared that begin to compare, for half the cost.

As interest in high performance rods continues, production has boomed. There are SO MANY good rods out there. I'm looking to see production techniques and sales volume continue to meet the interests of anglers -high performance sticks for less money.

With the BPS Carbonlite hitting the racks this winter, I expect to see more. I'm certainly willing to look at them.

As to the Veritas, I love the white -very cool. But...I'm not going to own one bc of the type of fishing I do a lot of -clear shallow pressured water, where bass turn inside out at the flash of line, much less a white rod. I had always thought if the Carrot Sticks end up being that light and sensitive and a good deal, I'd buy one and spray paint it black. My rods are for use, not show.

Hmm...

Seems similar to the argument for camouflage clothing
as opposed to bright colors. Although I prefer greys,
khaki, and greens, the pros find a way to snag a few
wearing bright yellows, red and even white with
audacious patches!

I don't think it makes a bit of difference what you
wear or the color of a rod. The fish don't care.

I thought that was a combo? The total was
less than the cost of the reel and the rod
was basically free.

roadwarrior.. wrote on Feb 9^th, 2010 at 1:57pm:



I was referring to the color of the rod in the OP.

Not long ago, there was a big rush to find an orange or black reel to pair up with the Carrot Stix.

Now, other than the old stradics, where have you seen a production white reel?

SPEEDBEAD. wrote on Feb 9^th, 2010 at 2:02pm:


Put one of these on it....

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Again I say, at least they had the sense to use foam instead of cork

SWMIBASSER wrote on Feb 9^th, 2010 at 1:16pm:

That's only if it's against the sky.  But there's MUCH more to it than that for me.

When sight fishing for bass in very clear water, mono lines flashing in the air can turn fish inside out. It's not as big as line landing on the water, bc sun angle varies. But, I've seen it, and have gone to braid for sight fishing, which doesn't flash, and even more importantly, it lands like cotton thread. Rod motion scares fish too –I’ve seen this. Rod color probably matters depending on sun angle and background. I fish from shore a lot and a white rod is gonna stand out against shorelines. If you are able to stand directly over a shallow fish  (like a spawner who isn’t going anywhere) then the issue is already moot. But I’ve seen more than enough to make me realize that bass CAN see us, and respond adversely.

Some examples:
Line flash scares shallow fish. I came to this first in fly-fishing. Fly-lines are brightly colored to aid in casting. I found they absolutely freaked shallow fish out. So I began dying my fly-lines dark and the difference is HUGE. I’ve seen it with trout, bass, stripers, and false albacore.

Shallow bass CAN see you, and it can make a BIG difference. I know this from a bunch of experiences. The most telling are during my spring spawn checks when I re-visit the same bass every other day for the duration of the spawn. They can see me very well. They can see my subtle movements, and they react to my presence in a particular way, which ended up interesting, but altered their behavior. I took to wearing drab clothing. The few times I went in a bright white or bright yellow shirt, they spied me way too quickly. With drab clothes I could use shoreline cover or topography to approach much more closely undetected. Bass can see VERY well when they are in shallow clear water, and they can see out of the water too.

Casting motion can scare or put fish off. When I’m casting to a sighted fish close up under bright conditions I have found that side-arm casting can make or break a given fish. Some fish, and I'm not talking about spawners locked on a bed, if they see the rod motion, will bolt from the shallows. As to rod color, I don’t really know, all my rods are carbon gray or brown. But from what I’ve seen, I’m not going to buy a white or yellow rod that flashes in the sun on a cast (thinking about my experiences with fly-lines in this), or one that stands out against shadows, trees, or steep shorelines.

If a bass sees you but doesn’t bolt, will it care? They sure can. One day several years ago, I spotted four large LMs holding along a shoreline of a large pond. This was late June –well past the spawn. A couple other anglers said they wouldn’t bite anything. I approached quietly, but somewhat visibly, and tried several things including 4” wacky’d finesse worms, plastic craws, and a swimming worm, to no avail. I noticed though that when I approached, the bass would react to my presence, but subtly. Their erect fins would sag a bit, and they’d drop a bit lower in the water column –they “sulked”. They saw me, and appeared to “care”. So…I rotated back through each fish and approached low to the water’s edge and kept hidden behind shoreline brush. Casting was difficult from behind bushes but the bass did not see me, and did not sulk. And I caught three of the four bass. Two tipped up for the swimming worm on the first cast like a trout coming up for a dry fly. Number three took the worm on the second cast. She was interested but turned away on the first. And took the worm killed and twitched on the second. The fourth had moved and spotted me on my attempted approach, and she vacated. The bass I lipped were two 19s” and a 20” –top fish in this water.

Quote:

If KVD is already standing up tall in a 20ft bright yellow bass boat –you are probably right, clothing, or rod color, won’t matter much. He’s also lucky he’s got all those logos to break up his jersey LOL. But I also know, under bright clear conditions, he touts LOOOONNG casts and has been described as one of the longest casters on the tour. My guess is he does pay attention to stealth, where needed. Sight fishing under bright sun in shallow clear water with a solid white shirt is not the best of ideas, IME.

BTW: As far as camo clothing when hunting deer, bright clothing is only “bright” to humans. Deer are colorblind. “Bright” Hawaiian shirts are popular amongst bowhunters for deer, bc of the broken patterning –the color has nothing to do with it. Now, wear a Hawaiian shirt in a duck blind and your buddies will boot you out!