Sounds like you are talking about gloomis GL2 series, did you try your mates reel on? It can make a huge difference, you can chuck a reel on a $500+ rod, if it does not balances it, you will end up with sore wrists after prolonged casting. and the rod will just feel heavy, hmm fair enough, you have two options as far as the rods are concerned.eslop wrote:Thanks mate. Very helpful. The Daiwa Gen Blacks seem worth a look. I have some Daiwa equipment and am happy with it. But I'll check them all out. The 2k casts a day is why I'm looking for some light gear. It's funny how sore you can feel after a day flinging lures. Maybe that's why I drink.snapperslayer wrote:eslop wrote:Wouldn't want to spend to much more than $150 for something decent. But if there is a good god cheaper I'm all over it. I bought an expensive rod awhile back and I was absolutely disappointed with it. Just don't want to fall into that trap again.snapperslayer wrote:What is your budget mate? There are plenty very good to very crap rods out there.
As long as it's not crap!!!
Which one did you get, just out of curiosity and what was wrong with it? Plenty of options under and upto $150 and they are definitely not crap :D
Pfluger Trion 1-3 kg
Daiwa - Generation Blacks just like Gavin said
Berkly Dropshot 1-3 kg
Best way to do this buddy, is go to the shop, ask them if you can put your reel on, and have a play with couple of them. At the end of the day it comes down to what feels comfortable in your hands, remember you will be casting like 2000 times in a day well more or less so it has to be well balanced.
The more expensive the rod is, the lighter and more sensitive(along with quality reel seat, guides e.t.c) but you would have to play with the cheaper ones first so you can really feel the difference when you get a high end one.
P.S. if you are using hardbodies/vibes, rods with slow tapers are generally good, if sps fast to XXXfast tapers are best imo. Having a quality braid makes a huge difference when it comes to casting distance and sensitivity.
Hope that helps, let us know how you go
The rod I wasn't happy with was a G.Loomis, just found it was very well balanced for me. I have a mate with the same rod and he loves it. We had different reels, but same Fins braid. It's a heavier rod, but I couldn't even tell you the model. Haven't taken out of the shed for 12mths or so. I paid almost $300 for the rod only.
Option 1:
If I were you I would try a borrowed reel from your mate to try it on your loomis, if still you did not like it, sell it and along with your $150 budget you can get a black label or Harrier(bloody beautiful rods) or just buy Gen black and buy jigheads, lures with extra cash.
Option 2:
If the reel swapping works, get a new reel and keep your Loomis.
If transport is not an issue, I would highly recommend buying a single piece rod. They are more sensitive, light and strong as they do not have a joint in the middle.