As a guy who fishes NRX and Steeze for my bottom contact stuff I'd love to say they are a game changer but they aren't.  I dig 'em and its not taking food off my table by buying them so what the heck.

I'm sure I will hook just as many on my Tatula elite's  or Falcons . 

Now you can't compare a NRX to a $ 50 dollar rod but there is without question a point of diminishing returns.

This one's been hashed over a few times. 

I like quality gear.

However I believe I can get that in a rod with something sort of 'middle of the road'

or perhaps just a bit more depending on manufacturer, 

if you smell what I'm cooking.

I sold LTB & Victory rods and replaced them all with the new Avids,

because I Like Them.

Either way, none of my sticks regardless of $$

have ever helped me locate bass or tell me when or where to cast.

It's not the arrow . . . . . 

A-Jay

Do quality rods make a difference? In some form or another, of course they do. Or else there wouldn't be a market for them. But for me personally, I start seeing very diminished returns when I go over my typical rod budget of $200. I have found I can get almost equal responsiveness and light-weightedness (pretty sure that ain't a word), for around $200 than I can for $300. I know this price point isn't what some would consider high-end but its relative. My $200 rods are in a different league than my $60-$70-$100 rods, but can stand toe-to-toe with the $300 rods. This is my experience anyway.

When you from a 120$ rod to a 180 you typically don't see a great increase of performance.  You might get better guides or a slightly lighter blank, but don't expect it to blow you away. 

If youre used to 100$ price point rods, you don't feel too much difference until you get a little over 200$, but there are exceptions. 

 

Victory feels great in hand, like a 300$ rod, but beware of the ML spinning rods.  They made the tips so soft it dampens a lot of that feedback, which really hurts felt sensitivity.  Mine has become a JB and shad rap rod.  The M power Vics don't have a super glassy tip, so they don't suffer like the MLs. 

Zodias is a great buy.  Like the Victory, its very light in hand and the components are pretty solid.

Levante is another really good value.  They aren't the lightest rods, but the balance is good.  The actions and powers make them really versatile as well.

DSG had 1 13 Oath a few weeks ago.  I cant speak to the rest of the lineup, but the 7'3 MH F felt really good for a 100$ rod.  The last gen Muse Black @180$ has some great models in the lineup, very light, balanced and sensitive.  The new Muse upgraded to a 40t blank.  If the current gen Muse is like the older model with an improved blank, it should be a great rod.  The problem is no one carries them around here, so i would have to buy one to get my hands on one.  

I

 

 

 

I have 18 rods and reels.

If all of them were $1000+ combos, I'd be working part-time instead of retired.

Logic tells me that this would put less fish in the boat. 😁

For bottom contact,  not much like the others say. But with reaction baits, I feel like it's a huge jump. When you go from a dead in your hand $80 composite rod to a nice 200 rod you can feel so many more bites. Not all fish hook themselves and stop you mid retrieve. Some come up, tap tap, swim with the bait, then swim off. 

I bought Abu Garcia Veritas rods when I got back into fishing in '14.  They were great $99 rods. A few years later I discovered Kistler rods.  Kistler's list price is often high, but they have frequent sales that get them in the $200-ish range.  I found them much lighter and more sensitive with exceptional build quality.  I also own St. Croix, FX Customs, and Douglass rods in the same price points.  Kistler and FX Customs rods are hand made here in the USA, which is a big plus for me.  They all have the same positives as the Kistlers with different 'feels' to them.  You might call them mid-high end.  My overall favorites are my Kistlers.  They just feel right in my hand and their actions fit my fishing style well.  I've never ventured into the $300+ market.  I don't see the need.

 

I would say my mid-high end rods are more sensitive, especially for bottom contact baits.  The only difference I've found with my crankbait rods is weight and comfort.  

 

Lastly, I'd recommend handling as many rods on your list as you can.  You'll know quickly which rod is for you.

 

Best of luck.

 

7 minutes ago, DogBone_384 said:

I bought Abu Garcia Veritas rods when I got back into fishing in '14.  They were great $99 rods. A few years later I discovered Kistler rods.  Kistler's list price is often high, but they have frequent sales that get them in the $200-ish range.  I found them much lighter and more sensitive with exceptional build quality.  I also own St. Croix, FX Customs, and Douglass rods in the same price points.  They all have the same positives as the Kistlers with different 'feels' to them.  You might call them mid-high end.  My overall favorites are my Kistlers.  They just feel right in my hand and their actions fit my fishing style well.  I've never ventured into the $300+ market.  I don't see the need.

 

I would say my mid-high end rods are more sensitive, especially for bottom contact baits.  The only difference I've found with my crankbait rods is weight and comfort.  

 

Lastly, I'd recommend handling as many rods on your list as you can.  You'll know quickly which rod is for you.

 

Best of luck.

 

Your last point of handling rods is tricky for me. I live in trout country. Bass are considered invasive here and many people akin them to the spawn of Satan. 
There is really only one shop within a few hours of me that carries any amount of bass type rods. 
I’m basically limited to online shopping or maybe testing out a buddy’s if I’m real lucky.

9 minutes ago, C.Tucks said:

I’m basically limited to online shopping or maybe testing out a buddy’s if I’m real lucky.

 

If that's the case, Tackle Warehouse is your friend.  Based on my experience, as long as you keep all the packaging, they'll take almost anything back.

I have dobyns rods for my moving bait rods, all champion's, and then I have Loomis rods for every thing else. GL 3 to Conquest. While I do love my conquest rods I would probably not buy them again if I had to start over. I AM a Loomis fan, but if that were to happen I would probably limit myself to the IMX Pro line for everything. I would not buy Dobyns again just because of Gary saleing the company.  

Having fished the top end Loomis rods , the price and better sensitivity does not help me catch that many more fish.

Give me a stick, some line and a hook found on the side of the river and I’ll catch fish. That is literally how we fished when I was a kid. Now that I’m older and have a little scratch, I sure do enjoy the higher end.

3 hours ago, Blacktail 8541 said:

I have dobyns rods for my moving bait rods, all champion's, and then I have Loomis rods for every thing else. GL 3 to Conquest. While I do love my conquest rods I would probably not buy them again if I had to start over. I AM a Loomis fan, but if that were to happen I would probably limit myself to the IMX Pro line for everything. I would not buy Dobyns again just because of Gary saleing the company.  

Having fished the top end Loomis rods , the price and better sensitivity does not help me catch that many more fish.

Why would you boycott Dobyns and not G Loomis?  Gary Loomis sold his company to Shimano decades ago.

How much does a higher end rod ‘help’?

 

Depends on what your hands are capable of feeling. 

Depends on what your brain is capable of interpreting.

 

I disagree with the thought Pro use what they're paid to use. Ya really think KVD can't get sponsored by anyone but Diawa or Lew's? Or Jason Christie can't do any better than Falcon?

 

I know, but he survived and went on work with a few different companies.  Pretty sure he's still Edge, why not use those instead of Loomis?

1 hour ago, GetFishorDieTryin said:

I know, but he survived and went on work with a few different companies.  Pretty sure he's still Edge, why not use those instead of Loomis?

I've only owned one edge. It was nice but personally I'd go with Loomis. But of course it's your money.

NFC/Edge is not known for good customer service.

 

On 4/10/2025 at 6:00 PM, Blacktail 8541 said:

I AM a Loomis fan, but if that were to happen I would probably limit myself to the IMX Pro line for everything.

I have two imx pro rods and love them. I have the MBR 903 and the SJR901. 

 

But I dream of fishing with a GLX or NRX to see what the next two levels feel like lol 

 

I went from a 2015 model E6X to the imx pro and the imx pro made the E6X feel like an Ugly Stik lol big noticeable upgrade there lol 

6 hours ago, rangerjockey said:

I've only owned one edge. It was nice but personally I'd go with Loomis. But of course it's your money.

NFC/Edge is not known for good customer service.

 

I buy a rod because I like the rod, the designer or owner of the company is secondary if it's important at all. 

Some of the Black Widows seem nice, but for a little more $ I would rather get Century or Zenaq blank custom built with light components. 

I can understand shying away from a company when the founder steps down, and the product and or customer service suffers. 

I think Gary Dobyns is still involved at some capacity, unlike Loomis who has little to nothing to do with his former company.  I was at DSG and they had a Dobyns Frenzy, which is like a DSG exclusive I guess because they don't seem to exist anywhere else.  IMO the 703 Frenzy felt much better than the 703 Fury.  I'm sure it's just a Colt or some other existing blank with different cosmetics and a full cork handle.

Most of the rods I own are in the $100 to $200 range - when I started out I did so with low end/yard sale rods - the two differences I have found between the low end/yard sale rods and these middle tier rods I have are:

-My shoulders and elbows don't scream at me and ache like they did from using the lower end rods

-Once hooked, my getting the fish into the boat ratio has jumped quite a bit with the middle tier rods (so technically I am catching more fish with them - or probably better to say landing those fish)

I do not have any higher end rods right now, but my guess is, like many have said, there is a point where there is a diminishing return once you get above a certain level of rod/price -- some people enjoy the luxury of driving a top of the line Lexus, while others get to the same destination in a well worn 25 year old base model Corolla 

Here are the three high end rods I have. I bought these from the guy who own speed spools. He was selling a few of these on the side at the last fishing show I went to. What I know about custom rods could fill up a thimble but I do know these are by far my favorite rods to use. My cranking rod I have coupled with an Abu Revo Premier 8.1:1 and I can't wait to grab that rod out of the box every time I go. 

On 4/10/2025 at 12:47 PM, A-Jay said:

I sold LTB & Victory rods and replaced them all with the new Avids,

because I Like Them.

What do you like better about the Avid Sticks? Thoughts on using the 7’ ML spinning for drop shots? What is your current Jerkbait Rod? 
 

Adding a couple of spinning rods to the arsenal soon

The bass don't care what kind of rod you fish with, but you do.  If you enjoy fishing with a move expensive rod, than buy a more expensive rod.  Go to a store, find a rod in your price range you think you will like, buy it, fish with it, and if you like it buy more.  Eventually you will find the sweet spot between, sensitivity and divorce.

3 hours ago, king fisher said:

The bass don't care what kind of rod you fish with, but you do.  If you enjoy fishing with a move expensive rod, than buy a more expensive rod.  Go to a store, find a rod in your price range you think you will like, buy it, fish with it, and if you like it buy more.  Eventually you will find the sweet spot between, sensitivity and divorce.

well said. It's a thin line we walk.

To answer the question of why I would not re buy Dobyns rods after the sale, well it goes like this for me. Gary was local to me when I first bought his rods and I could go into his shop, then the move to SS came about. His customer service remained exceptional. The reason for me to continue my purchases ended with his team being let go. I will not comment in the future on this post.

From experience this is what I've found.

You move up in price range from a $50 rod to a $200 rod there's a significant difference in build quality.....and feel.

 

The gap starts to close as you move up the food chain, not saying quality isn't seen are felt but it's less drastic.

 

One of my favorite rods is SC Mojo Bass and looking at specs for the next rod up, minimal component changes.

$300 and up, I ain't even going to look at them, to old and frugal.

 

My PB came on a Berkley Lightning Rod - a very early model LOL. Over the years I have wanted to try some of the higher end rods but the accountant in me says no way. So I took a Mudhole class and started building my own rods. The first few were built with budget components so the satisfaction was catching something with a rod that I built, not that it performed any better. So then I thought I would build a spinning rod with higher end components - Loomis blank, Fuji Titanium Torzite guides and carbon fiber grips. I bought all of the components on Ebay and saved quite a bit over retail. Long story short, the rod was incredibly light and very sensitive. I thought I had the ultimate rod. Then last month I was in Phoenix and went to The Hook Up Tackle. They had the JDM Daiwa Kage spinning rod and I fell in love with it - for $200. This rod puts my custom build to shame IMHO. So as been said here, there are a lot of quality rods in the sub $200 category that will be excellent performers.