These rods look like a great value at 70.00 . Great bang for the buck I think.

Any opinions or reviews of these rods. I am looking for a decent BC rod on a budget!!!

Thanks

Badog

They are a very good rod for the money.

Yeah you can't go wrong with one of those.

I recently bought a 2 piece 7ft MF Clarus spinning rod for travel purposes.  I have to say it is a very sensitive rod and better than the BPS Bionic Blade I returned (guide broke).  The Clarus line won the best new freshwater rod award in 2008 at ICAST.  Also, with a limited lifetime warranty, it makes it a tough deal to beat where other rods have only 1 or 5 year warranties in that price range.

 Myself, I think you done GOOD...

skillet

I can't really talk about the Clarus without talking about the Compre also. I looked long and hard at the Clarus before going with the Compre in the end instead. The medium powered Clarus rods I thought felt very similar to the Compre while standing in the store. However the medium heavy models were noticeably heavier in hand and felt less refined than the Compre medium heavy models did (I hate that I resorted to using the words less refined because the Clarus really is a good rod for it's price).

In my case I felt that the $30 that separated them in price ($70 vs. $100) was not enough to prevent me from getting the better rod between the two, especially since they would be my first venture into the "better" rod market and I wanted to get the best I could afford. I was on a budget too and really wanted to stay in the $70 range but I went ahead and went up for the Compre anyway and I have to say I could not be happier.

However, if someone were to decide they simply did not want to spend anymore than what the Clarus costs, then I also would have to say there is NO OTHER ROD that I would have BUT a Clarus. The warranty can't be beat, and I do think they are a really good rod in the medium powers. I still feel the medium heavy models are too heavy weight wise, but some may like that.

I guess what I'm trying to say is they are good rods for $70, really they're excellent rods. But for $100, there's another level of performance that's not that far away in terms of price. Check out the Compre rods also if you haven't already.  They are really light weight and very sensitive with the fluorocarbon line I'm using.

Shimano has good value from the Convergence on up, all good rods in their respective price points.  But, like The Rooster said, things get really good starting with the Compre.

The casting rods are awesome acording to this board so I would expect nothing less for the spinning category.

At this price point the Clarus is a tough competitor. I have a 2-piece casting 6'6" rod and it is one of my "trunk" rods. Sufficiently sensitive and I got it for $45 when sportsmans was clearing things out.

I also have a Spinning Compre and a Casting Crucial. The bang for the buck Shimano offers is incredible.

I am going to take a hard look at the compre, b4 buying clarus. Thanks for the help guys all opinions are appreciated!!!!

Badog

I am going to take a hard look at the compre, b4 buying clarus. Thanks for the help guys all opinions are appreciated!!!!

Badog

Given the choice, no doubt the compre. No knock on the clarus, but if both are within your price range, err on the compre.

The Compre is a very good rod. I would've bought one if they carried a 2 piece 7'0" one at Cabelas where I had gift cards. If you are willing to spend $100 and its almost the end of the fishing season, one suggestion is to wait and see if there are any clearance sales. Reeds fishing for several years cleared out St. Croix rods and I picked up a couple of Avids for only $95. I have also seen Carrot Stix (and no, I am not trying to start a debate here about that rod but I do like mine) and Shimano Crucials for around $105-$115 at the end of the season. If you are willing to wait another month or two, I bet you could get a killer deal on a high end rod. Heck, you might even get the Clarus around $60.