Went to the Indianapolis boat sport and travel show today. I needed a couple new rods and a fish finder. The deals just weren’t there for a fish finder. But I scored what seems to be an amazing rod. I handled every rod there was from all the big name companies. Finally one of the stand owners handed me one and said try this one. It was without a doubt the best feeling rod Ive ever held. It was a Diawa Tatula Rebellion. I know absolutely nothing about these rods but I had to have it so I brought it home with me. So, what are y’all’s experiences with this rod? 
on a side note, I was standing there in the boat isle a d happen to look over and about 10 feet away stands Brantley Gilbert with a couple other dudes. No big group of body guards or anything else, he’s just checking stuff out like any other dude. My sister snd my girlfriend start getting all excited and walk up to and ask if they could snap a pic with him and he happily did. He seemed so relaxed snd normal. Unfortunately, a few minutes later we came across him again snd he was being mobbed by people. Pretty cool dude he was….

1 hour ago, SuperDuty said:

Went to the Indianapolis boat sport and travel show today. I needed a couple new rods and a fish finder. The deals just weren’t there for a fish finder. But I scored what seems to be an amazing rod. I handled every rod there was from all the big name companies. Finally one of the stand owners handed me one and said try this one. It was without a doubt the best feeling rod Ive ever held. It was a Diawa Tatula Rebellion. I know absolutely nothing about these rods but I had to have it so I brought it home with me. So, what are y’all’s experiences with this rod? 
on a side note, I was standing there in the boat isle a d happen to look over and about 10 feet away stands Brantley Gilbert with a couple other dudes. No big group of body guards or anything else, he’s just checking stuff out like any other dude. My sister snd my girlfriend start getting all excited and walk up to and ask if they could snap a pic with him and he happily did. He seemed so relaxed snd normal. Unfortunately, a few minutes later we came across him again snd he was being mobbed by people. Pretty cool dude he was….

I assume you mean Rebellion rods, not Tatula? What model did you get? I've handled a couple of them and own the 7'4" Heavy Glass rod. It is by far the best 1/2oz+ chatterbait rod I've ever used. It's super light for glass and has just the right amount of power. My buddy has a couple and really likes them. They seemed really light and crisp when I held them. Daiwa and Shimano both make excellent rods.

I have the 7'4 H Glass, 7'3 MH Glass, 7 M Glass, 7 ML casting, 7'3 H/Fast casting and 7 M/Fast spin. 

 

I think they are incredible rods and will probably buy the whole line just for collector's ocd. I hope you enjoy whichever model you picked up. All the models I have are light, clean and seem to have good QC. I feel they excel at all things I've thrown at them. The casting grip is thinner and shorter than others (took some time to adjust versus my customs and Combat Sticks) but I have no issues with pure performance.

Should note - I'm referring to Rebellion line ( black blanks / black Eva grips).

12 minutes ago, Jrob78 said:

I assume you mean Rebellion rods, not Tatula? What model did you get? I've handled a couple of them and own the 7'4" Heavy Glass rod. It is by far the best 1/2oz+ chatterbait rod I've ever used. It's super light for glass and has just the right amount of power. My buddy has a couple and really likes them. They seemed really light and crisp when I held them. Daiwa and Shimano both make excellent rods.

It’s a Rebellion model 701MLRB. It feels amazing but I was seriously disappointed when I got home and read “Made in China” on it. 

Kevhead, you’ve got a nice arsenal there! Glad to hear good things about them. 

7 minutes ago, SuperDuty said:

It’s a Rebellion model 701MLRB. It feels amazing but I was seriously disappointed when I got home and read “Made in China” on it. 

I assume that rod is based on the OG Tatula cranking rod Randy Howell used to win the Classic. The Daiwa graphite Regular action rods I've used are super versatile.

Most JDM rods and I'm sure most US rods are made in China, it doesn't mean poor quality.

26 minutes ago, SuperDuty said:

It’s a Rebellion model 701MLRB. It feels amazing but I was seriously disappointed when I got home and read “Made in China” on it. 

Kevhead, you’ve got a nice arsenal there! Glad to hear good things about them. 

Thank you!

 

I'm not a big fan of cork and this line has checked many boxes with the grip styling. I have a mixture of the EVA gripped rods in this price bracket: Rebellions, Evergreen Combat Sticks and one Zodias for good measure. I'm not sure why EVA is my preference but this hobby of ours surely has an exact rod for every taste under the sun. The Rebellions are rarely discussed and I don't believe "pushed" too much for US market. I pick them up as sales or used come along to complete the collection.

I will not knowingly buy anything made in China!

It’s isn’t easy as all lithium batteries are made in China.

Lots of rods are made in S. Korea in lieu of China, just do your   research.

Some Shimano rods are made in China and clearly labeled.

Don’t know about Daiwa rods, some reels are made in Taiwan. 

St. Croix, Edge, Lamiglas, G. Loomis, ALX and Kistler are USA rod builders. 

ALX offers some excellent rods at various price points.

Tom

 

         

Rebellions are really underrated and not talked about as much as they should. Better than the Tatula elites for not much more (until elites went on sale everywhere before the new updated version comes out). They are on par with the Zodias for a little cheaper. Definitely a good deal

Only Rebellion I have is the 7' ML spinning. I use it mostly for ned rigs and it's great. If you handed somebody a Rebellion without them knowing the price I bet most would guess it's over $200.

I have the 7’3” heavy casting rod for jigs and the 7’ spinning ml spinning rod for finesse. Both are very sensitive and lightweight. Love them both. I think they are better than the tatula elites. I agree with pbbrandon and northernbasser comments.

 

I did have to get a replacement spinning rod (warrantee freebie) because it broke near the top at a guide that had a sharp glob of epoxy. I was fighting a 1.5 lb bass when it broke. Replacement rod has been fine. 

Thanks for all the info guys. This was one of the largest stands at the show yesterday and the guy was super knowledgeable. He told me about the new diawa models coming out and he was offering me deals on the ones he had in stock. He was knocking 30% off the tatula elites and Rebellions. I should have bought more but I am really wanting to try out different rods to find what I like. 
I still need to pickup one or two more. any suggestions on what to look at in the. 1-200 range? 

I have the 7’3” MH Fast. Pretty sweet rod. 
 

Id kick my girlfriend to the curb if she was getting all Gaga over another dude though. 

2 hours ago, SuperDuty said:

Thanks for all the info guys. This was one of the largest stands at the show yesterday and the guy was super knowledgeable. He told me about the new diawa models coming out and he was offering me deals on the ones he had in stock. He was knocking 30% off the tatula elites and Rebellions. I should have bought more but I am really wanting to try out different rods to find what I like. 
I still need to pickup one or two more. any suggestions on what to look at in the. 1-200 range? 

Might as well pick up a Tatula Elite too while they are on sale. Can get them for 130-140 at TW and I’ve seen them for cheaper on other sites. They are great rods as well and Daiwa has a thing where you get a free hoodie or something if you buy a Tatula

1 hour ago, PBBrandon said:

. . . and Daiwa has a thing where you get a free hoodie or something if you buy a Tatula

 

5 hours ago, SuperDuty said:

Thanks for all the info guys. This was one of the largest stands at the show yesterday and the guy was super knowledgeable. He told me about the new diawa models coming out and he was offering me deals on the ones he had in stock. He was knocking 30% off the tatula elites and Rebellions. I should have bought more but I am really wanting to try out different rods to find what I like. 
I still need to pickup one or two more. any suggestions on what to look at in the. 1-200 range? 

AND one of the few stands at the show. I was disappointed in the lack of availability of rods and reels. There were only a few vendors that had much of anything to offer. I was hoping to see some offerings of rods like Okuma, Ark, and other rods getting some attention lately, but didn't really happen. 

 

That stand you mentioned by far had the best selection to see though, and they DID seem very helpful. We saw Billy McDonald there talking to some people for a while.

9 hours ago, Cbump said:

I have the 7’3” MH Fast. Pretty sweet rod. 
 

Id kick my girlfriend to the curb if she was getting all Gaga over another dude though. 

Nah, I don’t get jealous. My gal has had a thing for me for 26 years. I couldn’t get rid of her if I wanted to. 

6 hours ago, FrnkNsteen said:

AND one of the few stands at the show. I was disappointed in the lack of availability of rods and reels. There were only a few vendors that had much of anything to offer. I was hoping to see some offerings of rods like Okuma, Ark, and other rods getting some attention lately, but didn't really happen. 

 

That stand you mentioned by far had the best selection to see though, and they DID seem very helpful. We saw Billy McDonald there talking to some people for a while.

I agree, the pickens was slim! I can remember when I started going there 35 years ago with my dad, tackle town was enormous. 
that stand was the best one there and had a good selection. 
I was at Dicks Sporting goods today after the lake snd they had Okuma and Ark rods there. 

11 hours ago, FrnkNsteen said:

AND one of the few stands at the show. I was disappointed in the lack of availability of rods and reels. There were only a few vendors that had much of anything to offer. I was hoping to see some offerings of rods like Okuma, Ark, and other rods getting some attention lately, but didn't really happen. 

 

That stand you mentioned by far had the best selection to see though, and they DID seem very helpful. We saw Billy McDonald there talking to some people for a while.

 

5 hours ago, SuperDuty said:

I agree, the pickens was slim! I can remember when I started going there 35 years ago with my dad, tackle town was enormous. 
that stand was the best one there and had a good selection. 
I was at Dicks Sporting goods today after the lake snd they had Okuma and Ark rods there. 

 

I am going this upcoming weekend. Last year was pretty good but not great. I was able to find two rods, a few baits, a battery for my kayak, and a spare lifejacket.  All were at pretty good prices. Only one booth had any sales on reels but nothing I wanted.

 

There was an Okuma booth last year. If you blinked, you would miss it. They had a single stand of reels and one stand of rods. I talked to them for a few and it was not going well. Both their rods and reels had issues but they were all demos just for show. The rods had grips that were loose and not glued and some of the reels would not turn. They told me, based on feedback at the show, they probably would not be back. I sort of felt bad for them.

 

Also last year Lowrance had a reps at one big booth. They had deals on all of their stuff. The biggest one was a Ghost trolling motor, two 12in displays, Active Target and all the hook ups for about half price.  There was also a deal on getting it installed but can't remember what it was. 

 

I hope to find something worthwhile this year. 

 

I bought both the 6'8" ML-F spinning and 6'10" MH-R casting rods, both 2 piece. Very impressive rods. Great value for the money. So versatile with the two rods, it is exactly what I was looking for.

Tatula Elite rods are on sale on MidwayUSA right now; some models are 50% off. And you can still get the rebate shirt.

i'm gonna try a Glass model next year for cranks.  i heard they punch way above it's weight class.  the Made in China thing is the reason it is $200.  that same rod built where you want it would be way more.

 

i can only afford Vietnamese made MegaBass rods.  and i am not mad about it.  i know my finanicial limits.

 

i went to buy lawn furniture for a party, and everything was thou$ands of dollars, until i found Made in China....$400.  i toss that one in my truck.  i am not a rich man.  but i stay out of Walmart.  ahhahahahha..

On 2/18/2023 at 9:43 PM, SuperDuty said:

I was seriously disappointed when I got home and read “Made in China” on it. 

I bought a Shimano Expride-A jerkbait rod and returned it because of such. I have a Kistler 6’9” KLX M/MF and love it. Kistlers are USA made.

On 2/19/2023 at 11:36 AM, FrnkNsteen said:

AND one of the few stands at the show. I was disappointed in the lack of availability of rods and reels. There were only a few vendors that had much of anything to offer. I was hoping to see some offerings of rods like Okuma, Ark, and other rods getting some attention lately, but didn't really happen. 

 

That stand you mentioned by far had the best selection to see though, and they DID seem very helpful. We saw Billy McDonald there talking to some people for a while.

I’m glad and sad to hear it’s not just my local show that’s gone in the crapper.

 

On 2/19/2023 at 5:35 PM, SuperDuty said:

Nah, I don’t get jealous. My gal has had a thing for me for 26 years. I couldn’t get rid of her if I wanted to. 

I agree, the pickens was slim! I can remember when I started going there 35 years ago with my dad, tackle town was enormous. 
that stand was the best one there and had a good selection. 
I was at Dicks Sporting goods today after the lake snd they had Okuma and Ark rods there. 

Congratulations on the 26 years. I will say I hope your local  DSG doesn’t down size the way mine has, the fishing department has shrunk to I think 4 maybe 5 aisles and nothing even good at that.

8 hours ago, Eric 26 said:

I’m glad and sad to hear it’s not just my local show that’s gone in the crapper.

 

Congratulations on the 26 years. I will say I hope your local  DSG doesn’t down size the way mine has, the fishing department has shrunk to I think 4 maybe 5 aisles and nothing even good at that.

It has shrunk. It’s one of those stores I will avoid at any cost if possible. After the stance they took on guns, I changed how I felt about doing business with them.