Joe Boss

All Star Select from Dick's is a great rod in that price range. I am really impressed with the baitcasting rod I bought. Quality at a fantastic price.

Thats a nice looking reel! My dad has a similar looking old baitacsting reel made by Pflueger.

I have a 7' medium action IM6 model. Its not a bad rod for the money I paid (a little over $20, if I remember correctly) It is definately sturdier than my Berkley Cherrywood. The only issue I had was there was a little bit of glue on one of the guides that was messing up my casts. I gently scraped it off and have not had any problems casting with it since. The IM6 models have stainless steel guides and the IM7 have fuji guides. I don't think I will purchase this brand of rod again though since Dick's runs specials from time to time and gives them away for free. First time was buy a Daiwa Megaforce Plus spinning reel and get a IM6 F&S rod for free. Second time was buy a reel for $39.99 and above and get a free IM6 F&S rod

That rod looks like it would be a perfect match for a Daiwa Fuego.

What color is the element? I understand your being ticked, I would be also if I thought I was getting a President and got a Purist clone instead. I have had my hands on a President baitcaster and it was long enough to know that will be my next baitcaster. I love the cast control knob, it clicks!

The Purist with a paint job sold through Dick's is called the Pflueger Intensity. I have this reel and it is what you are paying for a graphite baitcaster with 7 bearing drive. I have no complaints with mine. I assume the Element you got is some other companies Purist with a paint job sold exclusively for them.

My list of things to do this year was much like yours except for #3 (I always fish clear water) and #7 (Senkos are an addiction I can't shake) 1) I practiced with my baitcaster this spring in my backyard and got pretty good at casting. I have purchased a second baitcaster I enjoyed it so much. 2) I have been on a boat three times this year and two of those times I did almost exclusive jigging. I would say both outtings were productive. 4) Lost an expesive crank on a submerged tree and gave this up for the rest of the year. 5) My biggest success this summer was teaching my 4 year old son how to fish. He caught his first fish this summer it was a pumkinseed sunfish. He also caught his first Carp (a first for both of us) and first Largemouth Bass. Now all he needs to learn is patience, after a few minutes he was more interested in throwing rocks into the water. 6) I had a lot of success with soft plastics this year. I caught almost as many on plastic as live bait. #6 was more about getting away from live bait for me and fishing more artificial.

Namath Kelly Simms Elway Montana and recently added to the list: Manning, Eli not Peyton.

My spinning and casting rods are different brands. I only have 2 casting rods and they are from All-Star and Northeast outfitters. I like to try different brands to compare them and find my favorites which right now are St. Croix and All-Star. If I get a new baitcaster anytime soon I think I will buy a St. Croix to pair it with. I know the next spinning rod I buy will be an All-Star since their casting rod has seriously impressed me. So I might have some matching casting and spinning rods soon.

I do not like Berkley Vanish. It was my first Flurocarbon experience and luckily I tried Yozuri Hybrid later on or the Vanish would have soured me to flurocarbon. I had problems with knots and breaks with Vanish. Stay away from it there are a lot better lines out there. They even cost less.

X2 I have the exact same Triumph but when I drop shot I use my ML Fast action Premier. My Triumph is still my favorite all around rod. Its expensive enough to know your fishing quality but cheap enough not to worry about abusing it. Rooster if all the rods you own are around the $40 range you are a lot like I was a few years ago. I promise you that you will notice the difference when you fish with a St. Croix rod for the first time. My first experience was with a Triumph and it became my favorite rod very fast. I liked so much I eventually purchased a Premier and then an Avid. Take the plunge, you won't regret it.

Yes I like Pflueger reels. Great reels, great price. I was using a Pflueger baitcaster/All Star rod combo on my most successful day of fishing to date. I landed over 50 smallmouth bass that day. Pflueger will always have a place in my heart for that. I also like Daiwa and Shimano not that you were asking that

I still have a Berkley Cherrywood from the 80's that is in great condition. I pull it out of retirement every once in a while and pair it with an antique Garcia Mitchell 300 reel to fish. Love the clicking sound that reel makes.

I would advise that you break down your 2 piece rods after using them. Leaving it assembled can't be good for the rod (The little book I got with my St. Croix rod says so) I have 2 piece rods for travel purposes but I have starting buying 1 piece now that I live closer to a lake. I enjoy the 1 piece much better. I find that they are more sensitive but I could not tell you the science behind why/if they are.

My favorite is mono is Stren. I tried Trilene XL and have lost some fish from line breaks. Trilene XT is better but it is a little stiff for me. I find Original Stren is the perfect balance between toughness and castability. It was the first line I used when I started fishing and after many years of trying new lines I have gone back to it.

I have fished with a lot of brand names since I like to try new stuff from time to time. A few brands have earned my trust from my experience with their products over a few decades. Daiwa and Shimano come to mind and even Mitchell and Berkley. I have had few if any problems with products from those companies. Right now St. Croix and Pflueger are close to being on my list but I have only discovered them over the past year or two.

I like Bill's show but this is the reason I couldn't vote for him. My vote went to Roland Martin for a few reasons. First is you can really tell he loves fishing. Every fish he catches (and he must have caught a million by now) seems like its his first. I love his excitement and energy. Second is he really will fish anywhere. I love the fact that one week he will be fishing for Bass and the next he will be in the ocean fishing for Grouper. Living on the Northeast coast I can relate to that. I have had times where I fished for smallies one weekend then went downstate and took a trip with my father-in-law off Long Island for Fluke and Blackfish. I would love to know how many states he has fished. Third is he fishes for lots of different species. As above one week his show will be about Bass fishing, next week will be about Redfish, etc. I like the variety.

X2 Oscar's are great pets. Not very expensive to buy as babies and then you have the pleasure of watching them grow. I bought a baby albino tiger Oscar years ago. Started him out in a 55 gallon tank and fed him flakes, then guppies, then feeder goldfish. He outgrew the 55 gallon tank pretty fast.

That does suck. What is worse than that is Shimano was one of the better brands when it came to spare spools. My Shimano Sedona came with a spare spool that is an exact copy of the one on the reel. I have other more expensive reels like my Daiwa Capricorn and Pflueger President that came with spare spools that were different. They both lacked the drilled holes for weight reduction that the orginal spools have. Little cost cutting things like that really bother me about some brand names. I would rather have no spare spool than the graphite spare spools that come with some lower end reels.

Good combo. I fish a Shimano Sedona with the same exact Convergence you have. I wish I would have spent the extra bucks and got the Sahara. You should enjoy fishing with that set up, good luck.

My favorite rod for under $50 is my Shimano Convergence.

That's the reason I resurrected this thread. I'm looking for a 6'6"-7'0" MH spinning rod to use for frogs/toads. The price is right and the specs are decent, but that same $69 would buy a BPS Extreme which I know would be decent... :-/ If you are looking for a IM7 rod with Fuji guides for an even better price than the Rowland Martin rod then check out the Field and Stream IM7 rods at Dick's. They have Fuji guides and run for about $40.

This is the combo I bought: http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3027634 Its not a copy of the echelon since it doesn't have the magnetic brakes. I am positive its a Purist body. The rod is an Instinct but renamed "Select" for Dick's.

I have the Pflueger Intensity, a Dick's exclusive which is nothing more than a Purist with a red paintjob and different name. I like it and have had no problems with mine yet. I find it smooth and quiet and have caught over 50 smallmouth on it so far. $80.00 is a bit much though. My Intensity came in a combo with an All-Star rod for $90. I think I like the rod better than the reel, it was a great surprise and really sold me on the All-Star line of rods.

IM7 Graphite with Fuji guides and on sale at Bass Pro Shops for $59.99 - $69.99 They are advertising a $20 mail in rebate for these rods. I stay away from the Gimmicky stuff Roland endorses after being suckered by the Helicopter Lure but he endorses other stuff that I swear by, like Gary Yamamoto baits.