Cabelas brand rods?? 2024

Are they worth a look im a st croix guy but open to cheaper alternitives.Wondering if these are a good choice to look into?

I have the zx Cranking rod. 7'5 mh. I am pleased with my purchase. I believe I bought mine for around 70 bucks when they went on sale. The winn grips are a huge plus. 

I have two Pro Guide spinning rods that feel at least as good as my Shimano Zodias.  They've been durable workhorses and cost under $40.00.

I am a St Croix guy and all my back ups are Cabelas Tourney ZX or Arachnid.  Wait for them to go on sale and pick a couple.

I think you would do better to look at a Dobyns Fury series rod instead. They will fish more like your St Croix.  In fact I am replacing my ST Croixs with Dobyns Sierras and Champion XPs.

I have the Cabelas Tourney Trail 6'6" mh/mf Casting Rod that I used for chatterbaits. I love that rod and I have no problems horsing fish in. All cabelas rods have a lifetime warranty. I have nothing bad to say about my rod, I actually recommend them guys that fish on a budget like me.

There Tournament ZX are great rods, even better for the price. I had a St. Croix Mojo Bass and sold it for a Tournament ZX topwater baitcasting, difference was night and day. While the St. Croix seemed stiff, heavy, and like a broomstick the Tournament ZX felt like a medium light compared to it and has tackled all bass and northerns thrown at it. The spinning rods are the same. All of my newer rods are Cabelas Tournament ZX. However, I did just buy a Dobyn's Fury casting rod on sale to change things up. 

I did a review here. The only negative on the rods is that the butt sometimes comes unglued. Not sure if they've fixed that problem yet. I haven't bought a new one in awhile. They are a great rod at $100 and a steal at $69 which they often go on sale for. I would wait and buy them at $69. 

I know that they also won Outdoor Life's best bang for the buck a few years ago.

  On 7/9/2017 at 8:08 AM, fishnkamp said:

I think you would do better to look at a Dobyns Fury series rod instead. They will fish more like your St Croix.  In fact I am replacing my ST Croixs with Dobyns Sierras and Champion XPs.

So, you've fished all the Cabela's rods? 

I really like the ZX as well great grip, blank and reel seat! they also state what technique is best on each rod, and cover all the different lures in their models.

Jeff H I have only fished 4 Cabelas rods, so no not all of them. I still fish 2 Tourney Trail IM7 rods when I troll for white perch. Those, along with the Daiwa Accu Depth line counter reels, make a very nice weapon to troll with. They do really well on walleye, and white perch.  The other Cabela rods belonged to a couple of anglers I took out on my boat for some bass and striper fishing.  After fishing many brands I have come to really like most of the Dobyns, Powells, and Irods. I believe they give a very good value for their price range. My Dobyns are in their higher Sierra and Champion lines.  I do have a friend fishing 4 Dobyns Fury rods and I have fished with 2 out of the four, and cast the other 2. I have nothing against the Cabelas rods, just like I still fish a few Bass Pro extremes.

However I have seen the Fury rods fish very well and thought I would express that opinion. 

Who makes the Cabelas rods for them? Daiwa? Because I'm pretty sure Daiwa makes their reels. 

The Cabelas guy told me that their Cabelas brand reels are just Daiwa and that you actually get a better price than if you buy the Daiwa model. 

  On 7/13/2017 at 10:03 AM, tcbass said:

Who makes the Cabelas rods for them? Daiwa? Because I'm pretty sure Daiwa makes their reels. 

 

The Cabelas guy told me that their Cabelas brand reels are just Daiwa and that you actually get a better price than if you buy the Daiwa model. 

OWN the old Fish Eagle II casting rod >> excellent rod >> med. fast action 6 ft. >> OWN the Pro Guide casting med 6' 6" fast action broke from my actions >> Called Cabela's >> sent another one. Great rod for the price. Bought both when on sale.  

Really like the way the palm swell reel seat on spinning rods fits in my hand. Theres alot of spinning rods on the market that just dont naturally fit the way your hand grips something, mainly the minimalist designs.

I own 3 pro guide Cabelas rods and think that for a inexpensive rod you can't beat them. My first one was a med/light trout rod. My other rods are a 6'6" med/heavy and a 7'2" med/heavy. 

  On 7/13/2017 at 11:17 AM, craww said:

Really like the way the palm swell reel seat on spinning rods fits in my hand. Theres alot of spinning rods on the market that just dont naturally fit the way your hand grips something, mainly the minimalist designs.

That was a big selling point for me.  When I picked it up it fit like an old shoe.  Take a lot of stress off your wrist. Skeletal seats feel like fishing with a dowel rod.

I own 4 XML rods and they are my absolote favorites. I have a Fish Eagle also and for the money it's a great rod.

Those XML rods are really good rods. The ones i have--split grip-- have never gave me an issue. They came with a 25year warranty card, no questions or money to exchange.

They are much better made than xmls today also.

For $69 bucks you will not find a better rod than the Zx... most people that fish them say they are better than any $100 rod on the market... the best part about them is the lifetime warranty.. I brought back 3 of them no questions asked and they gave me a new one..Insert came out.. stepped on one.. and closed my rod box lid on one! 

  On 7/14/2017 at 8:55 PM, SwampLife said:

For $69 bucks you will not find a better rod than the Zx... most people that fish them say they are better than any $100 rod on the market... the best part about them is the lifetime warranty.. I brought back 3 of them no questions asked and they gave me a new one..Insert came out.. stepped on one.. and closed my rod box lid on one! 

Did you tell them how you broke the last two? 

I just picked up 2 Cabelas Arachnid rods for $49.99 each.  These are great rods and a steal at that price!

  On 7/23/2017 at 5:34 AM, Fishin Dad said:

I just picked up 2 Cabelas Arachnid rods for $49.99 each.  These are great rods and a steal at that price!

Were they Bargain Cave deals, or did it look like they marked them all down?  I might have to go check out my Cabela's.

  On 7/23/2017 at 6:31 AM, nstec said:

Were they Bargain Cave deals, or did it look like they marked them all down?  I might have to go check out my Cabela's.

I've never seen them marked that low! In any case $50 for an Arachnid is a steal!

They were in the racks on the show floor.   Still marked $199.99.   I had seen them on sale online, so I grabbed one and price checked it on the scanner thing in-store.  It said $49.99.   I held that one and sent my daughter back to the scanner with other rods.   Some rang up $79.99 or $99.99.   I found 2 that rang up $49.99 and bought both.   The sales guy asked if there were more left ( he said he wanted to get one for that price).  The checker lady also questioned me.   She looked at the $199.99 tag and acted like I was cheating them or something.   I was happy.   They are camouflaged well with no mark down tags or signage anywhere.   Good luck!!!

That's a steal...I have 3 of the salt Stryker Winn grip rods when they went on clearance.  Great great rods.  I also have a zx cranking rod and it's my go to for squarebills, chatterbaits and spinnerbaits 

I love it when someone get a bargain price  

Great Job ! 

I love my Cabelas mag touch rod to death. I don't think they make this line anymore so that part won't help, but IMHO, I think whatever the model, you are getting bang for the buck, especially when they're on sale.  I have caught bass, salmon, trout,you name it and sensitivity is very good even though mine is a 2 piece rod by necessity.  

I bought a casting Tournament ZX rod and liked it so much I bought another and plan to buy another for a spinning reel I recently purchased.

They have a lifetime warranty. When I went to buy the second rod they only had one in the action/length I wanted. After looking it over I found a flaw in the blank. I took the rod to the service desk and asked if they had some in the back. A sales associate went and found a couple to choose from. He said "ok the service desk has your old rod, you're all set" thinking I was swapping out my old rod. I laughed and said no, I'm buying another. He was ready to let me walk out the door with the rod lol. They dont seem to care why you're swapping the rod apparently.

On sale for $70 it is IMO an unbeatable value. 

I think Cabela's brand rods are really good. I fished a whole season on Lake Erie in 2017 with a Prodigy Walleye 2-piece, 7'0", Medium, Fast tip, and it took everything the lake could dish out. It feels similar to a Fenwick Elite Tech or St. Croix Premier. 

I used a Cabela's Arachnid spinning reel (which is a Daiwa, the D logo is in the handle) on it, and 10+ pound Sheephead and similar Catfish were handled with ease while being super sensitive and feeling those light Walleye bites I was looking for. 

The quality of both the rod and reel have caused me to add another Arachnid reel and a Cabela's Fish Eagle, MH, spinning rod to my arsenal and I'm watching for a similar casting rod in a 2-piece to go on sale. 

Cabela's rods will always get a look from me if I'm in the market in the future, assuming the merger with Bass Pro Shops doesn't cause any quality control issues. 

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