Finding the One...

[BigBassin144]

It's a shame we can't start a thread for every good topic that comes up in the Chatroom, but here's one that I've always found interesting.

With all the different rod and reel brands out there, how do you go about finding the one? And have you found you're One? By the One, I mean the one brand of rod, and one brand of reel that you like the best.

For some, this is not an issue, as they are perfectly content fishing a mixed bag, but for the majority of us, we want to find that one brand we like the best. The one that we think performs better than all the others. The one we could see ourselves fishing exclusively.

One aspect that goes along with this is trying different brands. My first BC reel was a Daiwa. But I couldn't bring myself to buy all Daiwa's without trying at least some of the other options out there. Now I see people buy a reel, and then only buy that brand, claiming they like it the best. I personally can't do that. If my first reel was a Revo, I couldn't just make my next 5 or 6 reels all Revos, cause what if I'm missing out on something better?

However, rods are a different story. Much more often do I see people fishing one brand of reels exclusively. Rods don't seem to follow this trend as much because companies don't all produce the same rod. You may really like a company, but another may make a rod the company you like doesn't that would be perfect for a certain application for you.

So, have you found you're One? If not, how's the search going? And how are you searching for the One if you are.

Please note, this post isn't meant to start brand wars (another common occurrence on the chat room ). While it may be fun to argue for the brands you like and do a bit of mudslinging, these Ford vs Chevy discussions are mostly pointless.

BB

[BigBassin144]

Ok, I didn't want to include my own opinions in the original post, so here they are.

My search for the one has led to me fishing a mixed bag of rods and reels, not surprising as I've only been at it a couple years.

Like I said in the first post, I'm not the kind of person who can buy a reel, then adamantly stick to that brand. My first reel was a Daiwa. And ever since I got it, I was wondering if I would like shimano reels better, or Abu reels, or Pflueger reels, or quantum reels. The same goes for rods. Even when I bought a G Loomis, supposedly the pinnacle of fishing rods, I still wonder if I'd like a Shimano Cumara, or Falcon Cara, or Dobyns Champion better than the IMX. I just think this is mostly human nature to want to find the best.

My search for the one BC reel has landed with me a majority of Daiwa reels, with an Abu, a Shimano, and a BPS reel thrown in. (I consider the BPS reel to be the contender for Pflueger). I can confidently say now, that most of my future purchases will be Daiwa's and Abu's.

And if I thought that was a mixed bag, my rods are even worse! A couple BPS rods (my first couple, can't beat the prices when they're on sale), a Shimano, a Loomis, an Abu Garcia, a couple customs, and a Cabela's rod later, I've still got quite a few on my "Want to Try" list. Including Dobyns, Falcon, Kistler, Daiwa, Shimano (different one than the one I have), and Phenix.

So my search for the one is drawing near it's end in the reel category, at least until some of the companies come out with something new, and my search for the one rod is still far from over.

BB

[Jrob78]

I have fished a somewhat mixed bag of rods and reels. I currently have a few Daiwas and a few Shimanos. The Shimanos are okay and I don't hate them, I don't particular love them either though. The Daiwas on the other hand are great. The last reel I bought was a cranking reel and I had every intention of buying a Revo Winch, I handled it and it just wasn't right, I ended up with a Curado. I'm not apposed to other brands, never owned a Pflueger or a Quantum and I don't really have any desire to. With the way I palm a reel Daiwas fit my hands perfectly. I also am a fan of magnetic braking. I can't rule out another Shimano and I would still love to try a Revo but in reality Daiwa is "it" for me.

Rods are a little different story. I used to be a big fan of All Star rods, i still have a few made in the USA All Stars that I love. The new crop of Chinese All Stars aren't the same though. I also have a Powell Max rod that is amazing, if I had to pick one factory rod of all that I own, Powell would be it. Unfortunately it isn't that simple. Add rod building to the mix and the choices become almost infinite. There are many factory rods that I still want to try and many blanks that I still want to build on. I can say this, if you haven't fished a custom rod built just the way you want it, you are missing out. It's gonna be hard for me to go back to factory rods with traditional guides. I guess I'm gonna have to try to find the blank that is "it" for me, I think I'm up for the challenge though.

Variety is the spice of life and to me half the fun is trying new gear and trying to pick the "one" for you.

[Rebbasser]

I found the One. Met her coming out of an office I was going into. Marrying her was the best thing I ever did. (Sorry, couldn't resist)

OK, back to the original question:

For reels I was given it by Lancer6. I was having all kinds of backlash problems throwing a buzzbait. Lancer6 gave me a Team Daiwa 153HST reel. I was able to throw that buzzbait into a strong wind with it. So, I upgraded most of my reels to these. I still have a couple BPS Extremes and several Quantum Accurists but the 153HST is my go-to reel.

Rods-like Jrob I was an AllStar guy but then bought a Falcon Lowrider. Now all but a couple of my rods are Lowriders with a couple of Caras.

So I have found both my rods and reels.

[Bubba_Bruiser]

Is this a trick question? By my new given nickname, I am a Shimano fan. I have tried older Diawas and newer Abus, but I have not liked them enough to replace my current Curado collection. But I have to say that I have not used any of the newer Diawas, but I know a Revo wouldn't take their place. And like BB said, this isn't a brand war, it's just my personal preference. I would love to have the chance to fish with a Chronarch and Core to see if it is justifiable to start upgrading to those. I think the Calais is just a little far for my reach though.

As for rods, I have been fishing with the same ole US made Castaway rods since '94. I remember I got my first one right after I graduated from high school. Like Jrob said, I did buy a China or Japan model a few years ago though, but it just feels cheaper than the old ones from TX. And I have an American Rodsmith in the mix too. My cream of the crop has to be my custom TigeRod though. Not because of the price, but because it is the most sensitive and comfortable rod I have. but I still think there are other fish in the sea, mind the pun. I have been trying my knack at building my first rod now though, and it is what I want. I feel like the other rod builders now though. I just want to try different blanks and set ups until I find that perfect match. But I really don't have any desire to pull one from the shelf right now.

[islandbass]

I can't do that, with neither rods nor reels. I think that is too limiting. Maybe for a set of golf clubs, but not rods or reel. No way. I can see the plausibility of the logic, but it is flawed.

Take for example the Gloomis rods. Definitely excellent, right? I am sure you've heard that there have been a few folks out there that have been very displeased with one Frog rod. If I were sold only on Loomis rods and found out that I didn't like that frog rod, will I still adhere to and blindly follow this brand loyalty tenet? I most certainly would not. What if I wanted my drop shot rod to be 7' long but my "company" only offered it as a 6'8" or 7'2" rod? Darn! I'm SOL now because by sticking to a single company mentality, I would be forced to settle for what I didn't want.

This is why I will not stay completely loyal to one brand. As good as a company might be, they might not be able to fill a niche for me. It doesn't mean they're terrible, or that I don't like them, far be it from the truth. It would mean that I might need to look elsewhere.

There is no way one company is going to be a panacea for either. I like my shimano rods and reels, abu and pfluger reels, and my lamiglas rods, and others. I just haven't gotten around to trying Daiwa reels or rods and other maker's items, simply because they are not readily available in my area and I strongly prefer to personally hold every rod or reel. Buying such items site unseen is not to my liking.

I sure hope my first Daiwa casting reel is a Pixy, which I will redub Pixellette. You can have your stinkin' pixillas.

So my hopefully someday list:

Damiki Rod (perhaps the first rod I might have to buy sight unseen!)
Daiwa Pixy
Shimano Conquest 51
Lamiglas XMG

BTW, BB, this is a great subject if not one of the best ones in a long time.

[carolina-rig-01]

I have without a doubt found my "one". I have used a lot of different rods and reels in the past and for a long time I had a mixed bag of both. I felt that there was a need for me to find the best reel and the best rod for me. The funny thing about this is that the rod or reel that one guy loves another guy may just not feel comfortable with, however when you get to a certain level of quality I think that gap closes a bit.

Reels: I have tried just about every brand out there, most brands I have tried several reels in their lineups. There was a time when I really had a thing for Diawas and that has come to pass. Not that Diawa makes a bad product, in fact Diawa makes some of the best reels out there. However from the first time I used a Revo it was all over. I really think that you would be hard pressed to find a better reel than a Revo. My choice is the Revo Winch for crankbaits, I have several of these and they will sling crankbaits a country mile and with the 5.4:1 grear ratio they will not kill your arms when dragging deep diving crankbaits all day long. For anything outside of crankbaits all I use is the Revo SX. I have a ton of these reels and they are flat out amazing. I have used Revo's ranging from the Premier to the Revo S and the Revo SX just works best for me. There is nothing wrong with any of the other Revos but I just like the SX the best.

Rods: I strongly believe that there is a real benefit to having all of your rods from the same company. Mainly because they will tend to all feel the same and you don't have that akward time when you pick up different rod. When I had a mixed bag of rods I would use a rod for a while and when I would pick up a different brand of rod even though I have owned it for years it would feel like I have never used it before until I got used to it again, and I hated that. So at that time the best rod brand on the market in my opinion was Falcon. I was a huge fan of the Falcon Cara's and built me an entire arsenal of these rods with a frew originals mixed in as well (never cared much for the Lowriders, they just didn't feel right in my hands). I was lucky enough to eventually get to know Tim at Tigerodz and was added to his prostaff and haven't once missed using my Falcons. Falcon still makes a great stick but there is one big thing that to me is really important and you can't get it from big companies, custom rods. When people hear you talk about a custom rod they usually think of getting to pick out the colors of the wraps or having their name on the rod but while that stuff is cool it isn't what really matters in the long run. When you deal with a custom rod builder you can get a rod taylor made for you. Specific power or action, a certain length of blank, a certain type of grip or reel seat are all things that you can work with the builder to get a rod that is exactly what you are after. This may not be practical for begining anglers or even avid anglers on a tight budget but there is no question about a rod that is built to fit you improving your angling ability.A lot more casting accuracy and a lot less fatigue are just a few of the many benefits that come from having rods that fit you perfect. We are all different sizes so it stands to reason that for a rod to fit you perfect it probably won't come off of the same shelf that a guy 6" taller or 100lbs heavier than you is buying his rods off of. I guess I took the long way around saying that yes I found my "one" rod as well with Tigerodz and urge people to shop around with some custom rod builders if at all possible before you go and buy a box stock rod.

This is a great thread Anthony! It doesn't matter if you have 3 rods or 15 rods on the deck of your boat, if the rods and reels all feel the same and they are all rods and reels you are comfortable with you will benefit from it greatly. But don't get caught up in the name game. Just because Curado likes Crurados, Anthony likes Diawas, Bryce and I like Revos, and your fishing buddy is all about Ardents doesn't mean that you have to keep up with the Jones', find the best reel in your budget that feels best to you and go with that. The same could be said about rods as well.

[PaulT]

For me, 'the one' is usually the last one I bought. It's definitely THE ONE, it's new all over, casts nice, has nice action. Oh yeah, it's undeniably THE ONE.


until the next one

[bassboogieman]

Finding "the one" doesn't happen in a season. I agree with Carolina-rig-01 concerning the rods/reels being of one brand for the most part. Finding the rod brand for me took 3 years and it WASN'T a cheap search once I decided I wanted to go with a "high end" rod. Reels similiar, but I hit a reel brand I really was happy with the second season, so that was easier.
I was somewhat lucky, in that I was a member of a bass club and borrowed a few rods to fish with, in addition to buying rods of the three brands I narrowed my selection to for direct comparison and actually fishing with them. Before actually investing my own money, I visited a lot of bass websites, asked a lot of questions and did a lot of on line investigation as well as visiting tackle shops to check out various brands there before buying and trying them on the water.
After making up my mind which three brands would actually get "field tested" I bought one of each in the same length & action, paired with the same reel and line. Anal, I know, but that's how I started. My first rods were worm rods in 7'0" MH, as that was a technique I really liked, and would give me a good feel for the rods sensitivity and castability (both weighted T-rig and weightless Senko). My other favorite bait was a spinnerbait, so the logical next test (for me) was 3 more rods in 6'6" M. Those comparisons helped me decide on a brand of rod. The other rods were sold, getting some of my investment back, and the investment began.
I've been using my brand of rod for 6 years now - different models within the same brand, as each model offered better rods for a specific presentation, but the quality and performance were very similiar across the models, and I still think they are the best rods I've ever come across, and am perfectly happy with the rods, and finished searching for something better [basically because for me there isn't anything better, but certainly others will disagree]. Similiar with the reels.
Some of you may have seen my posting about my "new" rods - this winter I replaced most of my rods (funny, but as mentioned above one that was not my FROG rod, the others being my crankbait rods, as another model suited that technique better). I did not change brand, but went with their (then) top of the line. Same thing with a lot of my reels - same brand but moved up to their top offering. This will likely be my "FINAL ANSWER" in my fishing rod/reels (for this season anyway). This move solidified my selection of rods mostly being of the same model, as with the reels.
This method may not be best for everyone - keeping with the same brand of rod or reel. I only have one "odd ball" reel, that's because my preferred brand does not make a reel that comes anywhere close to that reel (Shimano Quickfire/Castaic) for a specific task (pitchin' jigs/plastics). So I can also see the argument for using the "best" rod or reel for the task. But for me, it's more important to have the consistancy in feel and performance in my equipment. And regardless of the brand, once you've decided, the consistancy will be there and that's what was most important for me.

[screwballl]

I use what I thinks works well for me of course... so far in my experience Pflueger (and their Shakespeare counterpart reels) has done very well for me. I have not had the time or money to put into the Abu Garcia or higher dollar equipment but maybe some day... like when I retire in 40 years at age 72

[Cavs1123]

I love the BPS rods and reels. they perform great and are very smooth.

[screwballl]

agreed, I have a cheaper BPS spinning reel/rod combo that works well for small bass and panfish

[Jim80]

I know their customer service sucks but I love my carrot sticks ( i think it has to do with being a red head ) but other than that I have no problem fishing a mixed bag .


Jim

[BigBassin144]

Thanks guys, I've always found this topic interesting.

Great responses guys, keep em coming!

BB

[WTL]

I only buy abu garcia now. I was told many years ago by a man who would know that the swedish hired a shaman from northern mongolia who blesses each and every product with the swedish crest, and this results in much good fortune in terms of numbers and size of bass caught. In fact, I would go so far to say that your fishing prospects don't depend on lure, line, boat or knowledge - they depend on buying the proper brand that is backed by the appropriate combination of voodoo spirits for the task at hand.

Edit: I also was told that the shaman drived a 1977 chevy monza wagon. So if you want to avoid any car problems, such as sticking gas pedals and exploding rear collisions, I would recomend staying with chevrolet automobiles of that same era. Just for your sake.

[Bender]

I guess I haven't found the "one" and probably won't and that doesn't bother me, for rods anyway. I have currently 17 different brands of rods with multiples in the ones I like. I will say that price does weigh on my rod decisions so my criteria may be different than some people's. For me I can't see spending tons of money on a light crankbait rod. For one I don't use it much and the other reason is where I use them I don't think I need great sensitivity. Conversely for drop shot, shaky head, etc. I won't hesitate to spend the cash for a great top of the line rod. In those applications I believe that sensitivity is key and weight is an issue since I use them a lot. Because of that you will find some very inexpensive rods to some of the most expensive in my boat.

Reels are another story. Let me get spinning out of the way by saying that a lighter weight reel with good drag is enough for me right now. I haven't found a reason to go crazy with these. Baitcasters are another story. I found the reel that I like the most and Shimano quit making it, the Chronarch Mg50/51. I haven't made the leap to its replacement since they made me mad by having it cost ~$150 more. I also have a lot of different reel brands and have tried most. Price is a bit of a factor here too and from my experience I will probably get more Curados. The main factors are that they work, cast well, not too heavy, and not too expensive (comparatively speaking). Another reason it is harder for me to choose "one" casting reel is because of the performance gains with upgraded bearings/drag available.

I do think it is funny how some reels people hate while others love. And of course my opinions might change if I had unlimited funds.