Survey. Best Rod In The 150-179 Range. 2025

Teal reply :

I was at a News years eve party with a few of my bass fishing buddy and this was the topic of a very heated debate. In y'all's opinion, what is the best rod for less than 180. I couldn't speak for dobbyns as I have never used one but I thought that the castaway skeleton rods and powell were pretty,much it. What do y'all think. Love the skeletons btw

J Francho reply :

Saint Croix Avid. I have a dozen or more of them, and they just take a beating, are light and sensitive. They come in every length, taper, and power under the sun.

WdyCrankbait reply :

I have some Powell rods, and they are AWESOME! (I cant speak for the other rods, so, I am not going to down play them.)

roadwarrior reply :

Pinnacle Perfecta: http://www.pinnaclefishing.com/shop/p-119-perfecta-dhc5.aspx#page=page-1

St. Croix Avid Series (3 for sale in the Flea Market right now!)

esoxangler reply :

St.Croix Avid.

central.PA.bass reply :

Powell Endurance. You will not find a better rod for the money. I have converted 3 of my fishing buddies over to Powell from both st.croix and kistler

Teal reply :

I have a split between daiwa L&T and Powells and castaway skeleton. I have slowly phasing themlightmand toughs out. I'll say the light and tough series is an great set of rods for the buck

Teal reply :

On 1/1/2013 at 11:57 PM, central.PA.bass said:
Powell Endurance. You will not find a better rod for the money. I have converted 3 of my fishing buddies over to Powell from both st.croix and kistler

I agree. I'm half way there.. Just my two cents

Chris at Tech reply :

Avids are hard to beat

Then again, waiting for a Tackle Warehouse 20% off sale opens up some additional options

38 Super Fan reply :

Look at the Phenix Recons and M1s as well.

QUAKEnSHAKE reply :

My Quantum Smoke rod at the low price of your range holds its own against my Croix rods. My 7M/F is 3.4oz , well balanced with light reels (5.9oz), handles 3/4oz lures. Its microguides though arent for everyone.

basseditor reply :

You might want to check these out:

http://www.kistlerrods.com/c/fishing-rod/Mic-KLX-Fishing-Rods/

*Hootie reply :

In this price range, I'll take the Dobyns Savvy.

Hootie

skeletor6 reply :

My vote goes for the Phenix Recon's and M1's. It's hard to say though the Endurances & Avids are great rods as well.

JCiurej34 reply :

Savvy's and Endurance's are great rods, but I prefer the St. Croix Avid series.

kickerfish1 reply :

Well it might depend on casting or spinning and the intended use for the rod. Assuming we are talking about a 7 MH casting rod give or take you can't go wrong with most of the rod manufacturers listed above. The dobyns savy series is well balanced and a very sharp looking rod. The Powell endurance rods are also nice looking and pretty sensitive. The avid rods are light and sensitive in more of a classic styling feel. The phenix recon is the lightest and most sensitive of the rods in this price range from my experience. They also look like a JDM rod but without the price tag. For bottom contact applications I would pick the recon every time.

BASSclary reply :

For me, Its gotta be the Powell Endurance or the St.Croix Avid rods. However, anything over a 7' MH in St.Croix's avid is just way too tip heavy for me, and i'd opt for the Powell. Under that power and length, I decide based on whether I want a full grip or split grip, and which companies power/taper I want for the given technique.

Teal reply :

Good responses. To clarify to a few folks, I'm not in the market for a rod. I have plenty right now...until tw has more of the stuff on clearance.

Bass Junkie reply :

Of those in this range I have used, it's an easy choice: Duckett Micro Magic .

RyneB reply :

Phenix Recons get my vote.

WRB reply :

ALX Zolo-B series falls in that price range. ALXis a small custom rod maker that is offering a line of off the shelf rods, American made, lifetime warranty, top quality components , check them out.

Alex made a set of jig rods for me that are equal to Loomis NRX for less than 1/2 the price.

Dobyn's rods would be my second choice today, Gary uses some of the same components as Alex, however his rods are made off shore. Gary supports bass fishing and has great customer service.

Tom

roadwarrior reply :

NRX is a proprietary blank. What brand of blank is comparable?

Bankbeater reply :

I only have one in that price range and it's a St. Croix Avid.

Gatorbassman reply :

I believe that all of the best rods fall into that price range. You get the best quality for the money at that price from many different companies. I prefer Dobyns and Duckett Rods at that price.

WRB reply :

On 1/2/2013 at 5:35 AM, roadwarrior said:
NRX is a proprietary blank. What brand of blank is comparable?

Hydra NG blanks are compatible to NRX, I have fished with both. The big difference is a custom rod with a comparable blank for a lot less $$, ,give Alex a call!

Tom

skeletor6 reply :

I highly doubt that its comparable to the NRX. They are the standard for ultra-sensitive rods at the moment. It sounds more like an advertisement to me and anyways if its half the price of an NRX it is out of this threads price range.

ww2farmer reply :

Another vote for the St Croix Avid, those are the only rods I have in that price range at the moment. I have a new St Croix Rage on the way , but it will be a while before I get to use it. Other rods I have owned in that price range were Kistler Magnisums TS's, and Argons. The Mags were decent, I didn't care for the Argon, but they don't even make them anymore so that's probably a moot point. My Mags were the non micro guide versions, but I got rid of them and kept the Avids if that tells you anything. Other rods I have fished, but never owned in that range were some freinds Shimano Cumara's, and Carrot Stix Gold's. But I don't have enough time with either of them to give a well informed opinion.

Fishin24/7 reply :

I have an avid and it's great. The only other rod I have in that range is the savvy series and I don't like it.

BassmanDan reply :

My vote is for the Pinnacle Perfecta, and I have a Powell Endurance, Savvy, and Duckett Micro. It really is a matter of personal preference as all are great rods.

MArnold reply :

The only rod I have in this price range is the Abu Garcia Villian 69mhf. I use it for texas rigged plastics 3/16 oz weights.

The rod is light and sensitive and feels good in my hand. I believe that I was never suprised by a fish since using this rod.

I have the rod strung up with 15# Triline flourocarbon line, and every fish that I have caught on it I knew they were there!!

WRB reply :

On 1/2/2013 at 9:51 AM, skeletor6 said:
I highly doubt that its comparable to the NRX. They are the standard for ultra-sensitive rods at the moment. It sounds more like an advertisement to me and anyways if its half the price of an NRX it is out of this threads price range.

The ALX Zolo-B series is $180, very similar to S Croix Extreme rods.

ALX custom series are the top of his line and approx $260 including shipping.

The past 35 years I have been using both Lamiglas and Loomis jig rods. Gary Loomis is no longer with the company, Shimano owns Loomis and Lamiglas dropped their top quality bass rods. I liked the NRX series, however prefer a 6'10", with a small 2" fore grip in 3, 4 and 5 power rods, not available from Loomis or Lamiglas today. Dobyn's doesn't make the light weight ultra sensitive blanks like the NRX, ALX does. I refuse to buy rods made off shore. Check ALX out or don't, makes no difference to me, just sharing information.

Tom

BassThumb reply :

The St. Croix Avid series are good rods in that price range. I also really like the feel of the Dobyns Savvy, but I have not owned or fished with one. However, I have purchased a handful of used Dobyns Champions in that price range.

Bigwrench reply :

Dobyns savvy ! Can order directly from Richard or Gary . If your a Vet ask about the discount you will be glad you did

jerzeeD reply :

St Croix Avid...But the new Fenwick Aetos series might be worth a look.

Arv reply :

Haven't tried too many in this range, but I do like my M1 and Endurance a lot.

thehooligan reply :

On 1/6/2013 at 2:08 AM, Arv said:
Haven't tried too many in this range, but I do like my M1 and Endurance a lot.

I agree with this, m1 or endurance would be my favorites in that price range...

GOOCHY reply :

I really like my Phenix Recon in this price range. I think the M1s replaced the Recons in their lineup.

upnorthbassin reply :

I'm going to have to go with the St Croix Avid. I have also bought a Dobyns Champion new in that price range that's really nice too but it's not fair to compare them since it normally lists for more money. I am happy with both for what I use them for.

3287

Survey. Best Rod In The 150-179 Range. 2025

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