9 minutes ago, CaughtMeABiggun said:

Spot on about the KastKing reels.

I picked up a Spartacus II Plus off AZ for about $40 last year....I was shockingly impressed...it's going on my Aird-X H/F for frogs/toads this year.

1 hour ago, MN Fisher said:

I picked up a Spartacus II Plus off AZ for about $40 last year....I was shockingly impressed...it's going on my Aird-X H/F for frogs/toads this year.

How do you like the aird-x

3 minutes ago, Joedodge said:

How do you like the aird-x

I actually have four of them

Casting

7'0" H/F
7'0" MH/F
6'6" M/F

Spinning

6'6" M/F

The shorter rods I keep in the car and use for 'opportunity' fishing....running a mundane errand, have a little extra time on my hands...stop someplace to toss lures for 1/2 hour or so.

The H/F and the MH/F have never left my rotation despite having Victorys and Mojos.

They definitely perform above their price point, and I'd favorably compare them to SLXs or Tatula XTs - I'd pick them above Colts or Mavericks....and yes, I've handled all four of those lines.

7 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

I actually have four of them

Casting

7'0" H/F
7'0" MH/F
6'6" M/F

Spinning

6'6" M/F

The shorter rods I keep in the car and use for 'opportunity' fishing....running a mundane errand, have a little extra time on my hands...stop someplace to toss lures for 1/2 hour or so.

The H/F and the MH/F have never left my rotation despite having Victorys and Mojos.

They definitely perform above their price point, and I'd favorably compare them to SLXs or Tatula XTs - I'd pick them above Colts or Mavericks....and yes, I've handled all four of those lines.

No kidding wow. That impressive for a $59 rod. Are they fairly sensitive? I mean for a $59 rod I don’t expect much

3 minutes ago, Joedodge said:

No kidding wow. That impressive for a $59 rod. Are they fairly sensitive? I mean for a $59 rod I don’t expect much

Tossing spinnerbaits and chatterbaits on the MH/F, I can feel the vibration of the blades. Personally I'd rate them as Mod-Fast to Fast rather than true fast...and the MH/F has been my spinner/chatter rod for 7 years now and will be again this coming season.

2 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Tossing spinnerbaits and chatterbaits on the MH/F, I can feel the vibration of the blades. Personally I'd rate them as Mod-Fast to Fast rather than true fast...and the MH/F has been my spinner/chatter rod for 7 years now and will be again this coming season.

Definitely gonna have to snag one of those then.

I haven't tried any of the KK rods yet. If they match the reels, should be very good.

$200ish for rods. I have a Legend Tournament Extreme for jigs but I prefer my Daiwa Tatula's. I had a Megabass destroyer for jigs and broke 2 of them when I first got them- one on the second cast broke into 3 pieces, the replacement broke into 3 pieces on the first hookset. I sold the 3rd one I got... I have a leviathan swimbait rod thats a $400 dollar rod - can't stand it and use my Tatula's and 6th sense rods that are sub $200.

Reels - depends on the technique I guess but anything from $150-300. But I do have a daiwa zillion crazy cranker for deep cranking that I love.

1 hour ago, JediAmoeba said:

$200ish for rods. I have a Legend Tournament Extreme for jigs but I prefer my Daiwa Tatula's. I had a Megabass destroyer for jigs and broke 2 of them when I first got them- one on the second cast broke into 3 pieces, the replacement broke into 3 pieces on the first hookset. I sold the 3rd one I got... I have a leviathan swimbait rod thats a $400 dollar rod - can't stand it and use my Tatula's and 6th sense rods that are sub $200.

Reels - depends on the technique I guess but anything from $150-300. But I do have a daiwa zillion crazy cranker for deep cranking that I love.

Which Leviathan?

12 minutes ago, Rockhopper said:

Which Leviathan?

An Omega XH. Don't get me wrong, it's a great rod, but I don't prefer it.

3 minutes ago, JediAmoeba said:

An Omega XH. Don't get me wrong, it's a great rod, but I don't prefer it.

If you are interested in selling, send me a pm.

On 3/11/2026 at 8:45 AM, A-Jay said:

So I thought for the longest time for me it was something like $250 on rods

and then perhaps $350 on reels. But a couple of weeks ago, something happened.

Threw my monetary calibration meter all out of whack !

🤓

A-Jay

Just now reading this, but I have to assume MB just gave that to you since you throw the so often 😂😂

3 minutes ago, Smirak said:

Just now reading this, but I have to assume MB just gave that to you since you throw the so often 😂😂

Yup—just needed to trade a few Benjamin Franklins for the setup.

Totally fair.

A-Jay

I'd say about $250 or less for reels. Spinning reels I use a Shimano Stradic or Vanford on all my setups. Baitcast reels I found that the Daiwa Zillion SV TW is just amazing for doing everything. I bought all mine from Japan for around $190 each, which is the reason I have 7 of them.

I think baitcast reels around $180 are all solid options these days--I have 6 Daiwa Tatula 80s that I picked up for around $110 each from various retailers blowing them out. These are my hard use saltwater reels when chasing striper during the spring run.

For a fishing rod--I think anything around $300 is reasonable for some kind of reaction bait. My bottom contact rods that I want the most sensitivity out of are all NRX+ or Steez AGS rods.

I have never tried the truly high end so this may be more cope than opinion, but it seems that whatever amazing feature the top end rod has will trickle down to the $200-250 range the next year. So that's where I live. I also don't see much reason to go beyond a Curado or a Tatula SV. Please let me live in my affordable ignorance 🤣