Rod Questions

[chrisjam007]

Kistler vs Fenwick ????
If fenwick..Elite Tech or Techna AV
I like to power fish, But am looking for high end all around rod
What do you guys think ???

[Cooch]

I have switched over to the new Fenwick Elite Tech series of rods and have also joined their Pro staff. The craftmenship of these rods is awesome, and brings the expected attributes provided by Fenwick over the years. I love the sensativity and power of this line of rods, a great way to go from this boat chair!!!

[big bass beckstrom]

You might want to check out some of the powells a good all around rod would be a 703 or 704, unless you want 7'3" rods then a 733 or 734.

thats my .02

[201Pro]

Kistler vs Fenwick ????
If fenwick..Elite Tech or Techna AV
I like to power fish, But am looking for high end all around rod
What do you guys think ???

I've been thinking about Kistler Helium II flipping stick. But ... I have a concern on the warranty with Kistler. From their website on warranty:

"... Most warranty failures occur during the first few uses as a result of defective materials or workmanship. If you have a problem after the 90 days yet less than one year of fishing, Kistler Rods will offer you a No Hassle replacement for a $35.00 deductible plus the $15 to cover return postage. After one year of ownership of your rod, if you ever have a problem, take advantage of our pro-rated warranty program. We will age your rod and let you know your replacement cost in order to outfit you again with a new Kistler Rod..."

Now for a $350+ rod, I would expect a lifetime warranty. But this pro-rated business have me uncomfortable.

On the Fenwick front, I've not tried their new Elite Tech rods. But have been fishing with their Techna AV series for years. I LOVE their medium action rods. Their MH rods are a little on the heavy (both on the action and weight wise) for my taste. Their Techna AV rods tend to be a touch heavy on the action side. But I would say that they are some of the most sensitive graphite around. For their price (high $100's if you shop around) they're really competitive in terms of price also. I also have their flipping stick and a few of their spinning rods. I crank with the 7'M (AVC70ML) rod and absolutely love it.

[BigBoy]

I have switched over to the new Fenwick Elite Tech series of rods and have also joined their Pro staff. The craftmenship of these rods is awesome, and brings the expected attributes provided by Fenwick over the years. I love the sensativity and power of this line of rods, a great way to go from this boat chair!!!

Which rods do you particular use and would recommend if you were not on the pro staff?

[Popper]

Chris,

Take a look at Rogue Rods line of power rods in various ratings to fit the techniques that suits your style. They offer rods classified as Magnum Bass Rods (MBH), Swim Baits (SB), and Casting (C) for the power fisherman enthusiast. These are rods are versatile in a range of power fishing techniques, and are built with the finest components. All of their rods are "BUILT IN THE USA"
You can also special order any of these rods with a graphite handle or have the Alconite guides replaced with Recoil guides. They are high quality fishing rods, and will provide you with years of enjoyment and satisfaction knowing you are using an high quality American made product. With a lifetime guarantee!


Ed

http://www.roguerods.com

[Cooch]

Which rods do you particular use and would recommend if you were not on the pro staff?

201PRO hit on something that i can't emphasize enough, he talked about sensativity of the Techna AV series, this new Elite Tech series is far more sensative than the Technas, and way more sensative than any other rod I've used for jigs and worm fishing the past 5 years! The two Dropshot rods, take the sensativity level up a notch with the titanium guides!!

Right now I'm using the 7'6" Flippen stik, the 6'9" Pitching stik and the 7'2" Froggin rod(this will be put to better use when the frog bite comes around later) as jig rods. All Fast or X-Fast tips with a lot of upper range strength and outstanding midrange backbone. This is something I feal is a must when power fishing with jigs. Few rod makers give ya all three aspects in one rod. Most rod manufactures have way to light a tip and lack strength 2 feet down from the tip. Ya git too much barabolic bend, hence my constant reference to "noodle rods" made for jiggin'. The Flippen stik, as has been the norm with Fenwick, is on the heavy side(weight wise), yet it comes with removable weighted rings on the butt so you can adjust it to your liking.

The Riggin-Stiks have this same feature of removable weights in the butt. I personally am very comfortable with both the Flippen Stik and these Riggin-Stiks with the weight distribution as it is, but I have yet to start tossing plastics like the Senko and Iovinno Spades where I think it'll be more comfy with less weight.

I'm also using the Spinnerbait/Target rod, this is a 60/40 Graphite/fiberglass rod, exccelent give in the tip for blades, great backbone on the graphite bottom end. The Crankin rod is very simular and is a 50/50 composition. I really like the extra length provided on the handle as well as the two very unique butt ends that allow ya ta use a second hand on the end that does not slip when two handed casting. Makes for great distance and presentation accuracy when ya can comfortabley use both hands. Both these rods have a great feal. I've yet ta catch a fish on either one, but I sure am enjoying the casting practice! HAR!

I've also got the 7'9" swimbait rod, which matches up really well with the black Dog Weed Slingers and Big Hammers I'm tossing right now. Really light rod with a great castability. I'm don't git near as fatigued with this particular rod as I have had with some swimbaits. I've yet to try tossing Slammers, Punkers and Hudd like baits on it yet, that report will have to come later in the Spring when those baits become more dominant for me.

Those are the rods I selected prior to joing the Fenwick staff, I have 10 of the 20 rods available and would highly recommend the jig rods. Since I've been tossing a lot of jigs the past 2.5 months, I've spent a lot of time on the water with them and they, in my opinion, are superior to any jig rod put out by a non-custom jig rod available to anglers right now. They are everything I expect in a jig rod and have performed very well during the past 2 months and have effectively aided in some of my recent catches out on the River. The others are very nice rods too, I just have not had enough experience with them yet, to give a fair and honest opinion of them.

Although I can say, that Dropshotting is something special, I have put it in the hands of some very experienced anglers and it's kinda cool to watch their eyes light up just grabbing and handling that rod!

[MIKE TREMONT]

I agree with 201 Pro. My friend just had a warranty issue and the rod did not get replaced.
I've had a Tech AV replaced for shipping only after years of use.
Now this is why I read most of the threads on this site, the new rod is more sensitive than a Tech AV, Cooch? I can feel a fish fart with this rod, may be with the new ones I can feel their tummies rumble when they're hungry ?

[BigBoy]

Cooch, thanks for the detailed reply. Next time I'm in the local store, I'll check them out.

[aNNieNsaLTIE]

my friend bought a few kistlers. great feeling rods. as far as warrenty goes, i was told if you buy them from cabela's and ship cabela's your warrenty issues it would produce better outcomes.

saLTIE-