6 hours ago, GreenTrout said:

The Bass doesn't care what you spend on a rod. I've seen many a bass landed with a Shakespeare rod.

Good Fishing

 

Back in the day I used to love to Pike fish.

 

I think my first big Pike came on my very first spinning combo I got in middle school for my birthday. It came from K-Mart.

 

Caught some big Pike in Quetico Park on a spinning combo I bought from a pawn shop back in high school.

 

Boy have times changed.

 

Now I feel like I "need" super expensive gear.

 

IDK, it is kinda fun though. LOL

IDK, it’s pretty hard to break a rod these days unless it’s human error like slamming a car door on it or ,if you’re like me, forget the ceiling fan is on in the room.  

 

I’d put the $$ in the reel. And even then I don’t pull equity out of the house to buy them. 

 

7 minutes ago, Jigfishn10 said:

or ,if you’re like me, forget the ceiling fan is on in the room.  

 

NUMBER ONE rule in my house, when it comes to fishing.

 

Ceiling fan is OFF before any rod gets touched.

 

No I'm not kidding.   

 

I learned from my dad. He lost the tip from his favorite rod to a ceiling fan and I never forgot it.

 

My preferred method of breaking rods?

 

Backing over all of my gear in a 1985 two toned blue Mercury Lynx station wagon back in high school.

 

Broke poles, tackle box, etc.

 

Sad day for me.

@HawkeyeSmallie I remember that station wagon like it was yesterday  

 

Good tip with the ceiling fan 🙏

The Daiwa Aird X is a great value rod. Own 2 of them in MH casting. They check a lot of boxes in qualities i want in a rod. 

19 hours ago, Bazoo said:

I haven't gotten the Aird-X that I purchased yet, but after checking them out in the store again, I do like the feel of them.

 

For that matter I still like the feel of the Laguna series. It doesn't appear to be cheap or junk, as it's been said that they are. I come very close to buying one yesterday, but held off. 

I’ve had 2 Lagunas as well, both spinnings rods. They decent as well but not quite as nice as the Aird-X. I’ve got a 7 ft M I’ve been using for 2+ yrs for shakey heads & Ned rigs with no issues. Had a 6’6” M that broke this summer after about 2 yrs of use. Might’ve been my fault. I’ve been using these mostly as my bank fishing setups - they get thrown into my truck bed a lot & occasionally I’ll throw em in my buddies bass boat in a hurry as an extra set up. 
 

Mine are/were the older Lagunas. Looks like Daiwa has recently reworked these with a slightly different design, look & color scheme. To me, they’re decent rods for $40. And if I break one (like I did) doesn’t bother me too much. For $40 I just could go buy another.

 

I should add I’ve been using all my Aird-X and both the Lagunas with straight braid. I’m not a fan of mono & I’ve got other set ups with fluoro that I use strictly for cranking, jerkbaits, etc. I don’t use leaders either, not a fan & too lazy to tie leaders. Both both rod series have performed well with straight braid. 

The Shimano Sellus crankbait rod is super duper.