Do what you do. I love fishing. I’ve always found it was more about the experience than the pole in my hand. Use what you like and I’ll use ehat I like. Fair enough? Tight lines and good fishing! Steve. 
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If you want to be a cheapskate and can get massive enjoyment out of a 10 dollar rod–go for it. But, don’t rip on the guy who wants to buy a 400 dollar G. Loomis or Croix due to his level of fishing being where he can benefit from the increased sensitivity.
It’s always the same in our society these days–the have nots tearing down the people who have. Go ahead and use your canepole, or 10 dollar snoopy pole if you want–but to say that people are “wrong” for having nice equipment is just pure jealousy.
Next thing you know, people will be posting that the only wrench needed to ever work on a vehicle is a cresent.
Nobody said anybody was wrong.
BTW, if you can’t fix a car with a channel locks and a roll of duct tape maybe you need to walk. 
the trouble with electronic’s the day of pliers and wire to fix a car is gone!over the years I have slowly up graded my equipment as I could afford it and I’m still only at midrange equipment and I still am a better than average fisherman,some of it is all in the little things you do,not the $$$’s in equipment.I cashed a lot of checks out of a 16″ bassboat w a 60hp motor,a 5000 garcia reel and a 40$ rod!
Stan 
Oh come on soft water
Interesting to read all of this. I think the pricing in general on most sporting equipment (regardless of sport)is getting out of wack to most incomes. But, when products pass through the market, the manufacture places a profit margin, the distribution makes a profit, and the retail stores need to make a profit.
Ironic that in the 80’s, I could buy a Loomis IM6 blank (top of the line…way back then) and custom build a rod for less than half of buying a finished rod. Now, the savings are no longer there.
For myself, I am personally glad to see many people buying top of the line stuff. Part of the cost in buying top end stuff, is funding research and development. If it wasn’t for Skyline, Loomis, Sage,…paving the way, you wouldn’t have $20.00 IM6 rods at Walwart. That “new” technology gets passed down as a new standard. Doesn’t matter if your talking rods, reels, locators, bows, rifles, scopes, golf clubs….. Someone needs to invent new technologies and the research needs to be paid for.
As for reels, I’m hard on them. I’ve burned up more reels than anyone else that I personally know. Since I made the step into higher end reels, my equipment lasts and is always dependable.
Another reason some of the rods are $250 + has to do with the warranty your also getting. 
There are also different options to own quality stuff.
I am usually keeping an eye out for closeouts on old year models, clearance items, etc. A couple years ago at a local summer sidewalk sale I found nib 3 reels that retailed at $69.99, $149.99 & $184.99 (just looked at the boxes) marked down to $20, $40, & $50.
As far as rods I took a class on making custom rods. That can lead to a really expensive hobby but, with some networking and a little self discipline, it doesn’t have to. Keeping an eye out for good deals you can make a Avid quality rod for much less than you think. The last black Friday featured a web deal on cork for $1 vs regular price of $12-14. There are companies that only make quality components that are every bit the equal of Fuji, St. Croix and Loomis, etc. Those component companies don’t need to invest near as much in marketing which significantly lowers the price.
And if you don’t think you have the skill to make a custom rod (as I did for 20 years) you’re probably wrong. BTW they also make real nice gifts for friends and family.
Poor old rat can’t seem to get a guy’s opinion on the percentage vs. value question! 
In anything I do, for fun or whatever, that has a goal in mind, I want the best I CAN AFFORD in tools and techniques to maximize my percentage of having a successful outcome.
In your experience old rat, I would suggest it’s possible that you’ve so strongly developed your techniques and “go-to” times and locations that when comparing the higher end gear, you’re not really noticing how much of a difference it might make for someone else…….possibly. In other words, if I know the fish are “right here” and “this” is how I’m going to get them, my need for that extra technology is a bit diminished, isn’t it?
I can’t recall ever seeing St. Croix or Loomis advertising a percentage of increased sensitivity so I have no clue what the percentage vs. price point would be but let me share a little tale:
My dad is an awesome fisherman……at what he knows how/when/where to do. I’ve seen him take a fiberglass rod he’s had for years and reel ’em in. But one day, I put a $10 IM6 Renegade UL rod in his hands and he was pretty enthused about the sensitivity improvement and how it increased his experience. Since that first day, he’d now include that he’s caught even more fish, thanks to a cheap upgrade. We went “shopping” soon after this initial experience and said, “How does anyone pay more than $100 for a rod….just a rod!?!?!?” To us, it felt nice in the store but what’s the real difference? To us, this was ridiculous.
Fast forward 10 years and we’re now at a point that $300 rods are our preferred choices in the rods we use. I would buy, try, and then hand over to dad to see what he thought and next thing we knew, I was constantly upgrading us to something more expensive. But dad, was no longer “feeling” the difference between an IM8 Gander rod or a St. Croix Avid or a Loomis IMX. A cheaper, mid-range rod had become his price point…..and still is. However, he’s not using his own gear much these days……
5 years ago, he was heading out on a walleye trip. Lindy rigs were the plan, 6 or 8lb. Trilene XL on the reel. I showed up just before the trip with a brand new Legend Elite 6’8″ extra fast medium and a $110.00 spinning reel. I told him, “this is the best set up I have and one I believe to be about as good as a guy can get. Use this on your trip and have a good time.”
He called me 5 days later and when I answered “hello”, his first words were, “Man….what a rod!” Not reel, ROD.
For the first time in his life, he realized how many fish he’s missed over the years because of bites he knew he’d have never felt on his mid-range or economy equipment. No, he can’t afford one at full price but he’s got mine to use, every summer, and most of his stuff is now collecting dust.
On another trip, just last year, he was using the same rod for trolling #9 floating raps for walleyes and a fairly well-to-do person asked him about the value of that rod. You know, is it really worth it? Dad went on to explain how he can now feel the difference between bumping weeds and sand or muck or rocks or grass…..and just then he pointed to the rod tip and he said, “See that wiggle? I can see exactly what my lure is doing”. The man acknowledged the wiggle and then dad says, “It’s the wrong wiggle. I’ve got a small blade of grass at the nose.” He reeled up and sure enough, it was exactly as he described. That fellow was mighty impressed by that and told dad he was going to have to run out and get one of those before his next trip, no matter the price.
He told the man he’ll likely never own one but believes the high end rods have dramatically improved his awareness, alerting him to necessary adjustments. This comes from a man who almost always fishes the same places the same ways and he’s a believer in the new technology.
Now, about the affordability, dad CAN afford to buy one if he wanted to. He’s good with his money and I’ve seen him drop between $500 – $3000 on a whim………he just knows that he wouldn’t stop at one and so long as he has mine to use, he doesn’t need to buy any. It’s almost like it’d be insulting his old fishing gear or something but I put a clearence opportunity in his lap last winter where he could get his own Elite for $140.00. We’d just past Christmas and he’d spent over $2000 on just “toys” for he and mom so he declined. Had it not been for that, he was SOLD! It’s not that he can’t afford it so much as he’s typically frugal and doesn’t want to pay that much. But he is sold on the performance difference and that is why he reaches for my Elites before my Loomis, Avid, or Techna rods.
Yes, I shop smart if I can too. If I don’t have to pay full price, I won’t but I’ve also been known to wheel-n-deal other things until I had enough extra money built up to go get what I really wanted.
For me, I know Snoopy can catch fish too, but you’ll never know how many bites you’re missing until you have a tool that will demonstrate something you’re not accustomed to. Is that barrier only a 10% increase? 5%? 1%? The number doesn’t matter so much as that it puts you over the hump to a new advantage level, thus changing the level of one’s experience and most likely, overall success. I mean, who doesn’t want to maximize their experience? Everyone does but the dollar figure attached most often determines the experience one is willing to settle for and what we tell ourselves after that is how we go have a good time. Honestly, if you had money to burn would you still use a cane pole for yourself? Everyone needs to draw their own lines but I do keep reading a recurring theme here….. “I do the best with what I can afford”. We can all have the things we want….it’s just a matter of making a plan and executing the plan all the way through. Plan the work, work the plan. BTW, I bought 2 Legend Elites on a Fleet Farm wage……..it can be done if the excuses get eliminated.
Now…..If I could just apply this ideology to my electronics…… 
I clearly want to say that there are no wrong or right answers in this thread.. every one is right 100%.. with the exception that not knowing that Lay and Logan Martin are actually river systems.. but if you haven’t been there, how would you know..
and I have clearly stated that, maybe, Maybe.. MAYBE, the industry and its PRICE POINT.. and that’s what I am speaking about.. Price point, has passed me by..
I want to thank you all for the good discussion.. no one was berated.. no one was put down.. it was a fair and open discussion , one that should make all a bit smarter and more informed.
It was the perfect discussion of rods and reels and price points for the end of January..
thank you all for your imput and free flow of ideas..
I wish you all well.
There you go again Rat!
I feel berated, put down and a little less smarter. 
But that would have happened without this thread.
Nothing beats a soup can, some line, and a heavy sinker flinging over your head, 
Gosh those were the days.
Then along came the cheap $20 combo and I retired my soup cans. Then along came the $50 combo after the failed $20 combo and it was like night and day fishing in terms of sensitivity. Still those didn’t do as nearly of a good job at working artificial lures. Then along came the individual $100 a piece rod and and reel. My first Stradic and first St. Croix Premier. That was the cream of the crop for me. The icing on the cake. For once, I outfish my fishing buddys. It was the equipment that made the difference. That started me down the road to serious look at better equipment. So eventually I own a $300 St.Croix Legend Elite rod and a $500 Shimano Stella. Short term fishing, I thought it was so much better. Long term fishing, it’s still wonderful, but that old St.Croix Premier and Stradic was still the benchmark of most quality, performance for price. If I had to put a percentage of more sensitivity I thought it was twice the amount of sensitivity at first, but now it’s more like only 25 percent more sensitivity. However the more I use each, the less I think about the cost or sensitivity. The more I think about the enjoyment and pure ability to work lures with each rod’s performance merits. That $250 reel is better price point for performance over that $500-600 reel. I still enjoy using my cheap combos, makes me appreciate my more expensive ones even more.
I am thankful I have choices 
I have yet to be forced to spend more on a rod or reel… than I actually wanted too
So I would like to know how people know they have been “missing” bites with inferior gear??
It’s like a a guy a fish with that always says, “OH MAN, I almost had a bite there”
Mid-price always gives you the best bang for your buck and contrary to popular belief, you don’t need St Croix rods to catch catfish
Nice rods? Sure, great rods. Not the holy grail though.
If you want a sweet rod, check out Wizzzard Styx.
I always thought you get what you pay for when it comes to reels.I still have all my original Mitchell reels,and Shimano Stradics.29.99 for a new Mitchell 410 back in 1976.I think Zebco Cardinals were top of the line back then???
My cutoff point is StCroix Legend Tourny/Avids and Stradics.
Hummm..I remember buying my first REAL rod and reel….
Saved up 1/2 my allowance,mowed a few lawns,and scrounged some pop bottles to buy a new Zebco Combo…..
Cost me $4.95 (before tax)….A long,long time ago…..
I was one happy camper
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So I would like to know how people know they have been “missing” bites with inferior gear??
We all know that if fish are slamming baits, it’s hard not to catch a few. But having the right gear for your application makes a huge difference. My first flyrod was an Ugly Stick 7wt. I had a miserable time trying to lay a long cast, very hard time roll casting up stream, and lost so many fish just after hook set. One of best friends Scott hunter handed me his flyrod to use. I don’t remember if it was a Loomis or Sage, but I do remember the WOW factor. Casts were effortless, and hook sets were HOOK SETs. As soon as I could afford it, I invested in building a Loomis IM6 9×9. Still use that rod to this very day for bass, musky, chinook, trout…
I wanted an ultralight for perch’n along the rocks on lake MI. Needed something in the 8′-6″ to 10′, up to 4# test, fast tip, BUT enough give in the backbone(form) to give while lifting perch up 10 to 15 feet over the rocks. Looked at every manufacture that was available around by me (Pre-Internet) Ended up buying a Sage RP-II 4wt blank and worked on the guide spacing to get exactly what I wanted. Bust offs, hook sets, detecting bites….all improved by a huge margin. I didn’t have to spend the money I did, but it did improve performance and that was worth it to me.
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I still have all my original Mitchell reels,and Shimano Stradics.29.99 for a new Mitchell 410 back in 1976.I think Zebco Cardinals were top of the line back then???
Scott, you were with me when I burned up a couple of them old cardinals. I still have that 408 I bought off of Dave when he went Flies only. Years of hard ice fishing use and it still functions fine. 
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I still have all my original Mitchell reels,and Shimano Stradics.29.99 for a new Mitchell 410 back in 1976.I think Zebco Cardinals were top of the line back then???
Scott, you were with me when I burned up a couple of them old cardinals. I still have that 408 I bought off of Dave when he went Flies only. Years of hard ice fishing use and it still functions fine.
Hey,that handle looks familiar.That plus the spool came off a late 70s 308.I sold it to Dave after swapping some parts.Bet you would not get that use from a Walmart reel 
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I still have the fly rod blank made into a spinning rod,it was a Loomis IM6 blank.
That reminds me of a thing I seen about 15 years ago at a local lake. I was fishing off shore near a boat ramp at a local lake waiting for the night catfish bite. A guy came in with his ranger and had 4 or 5 nice rods laying up against the side of the boat, he seemed like a nice guy. He was putting his trailer in the water for his boat and a young guy maybe 23 came in with a beatup v-bottom and a small 5 horse motor. The guy with the bass boat got his boat on the trailer and asked the young guy if he did any good. He picked up his stringer and he had 4 or 5-5 pound bass on it and he asked if the guy with the ranger if he did any good, the guy with the ranger haden’t caught anything but a few small ones. He asked the young guy where he caught his fish at and the young guy said down the lake shore a ways. I think whats going on is the companies are making nicer rods and reels but thier priceing them to take advantage of the guys who they know will buy them, because they feel like thier not getting the best if they don’t buy that equipment so they pay those prices. Sure they would like to be able to buy thier equipment cheaper but the companies know that so they charge that price knowing that theres guys who will pay it. Are they sensitive rods and good reels, yes. Are they worth it? or are the companies priceing taking advanage of the known buyers. I know priceing like that is narrowing thier market but maybe that works too. Is all that finely made equipment worth the price being charged or over charged and are the companies takeing advantage of a good thing, knowing guys will buy them. I guess a guys got to weight that for himself on what extent he will go to get that equipment. Are they over priced and narrowing thier markets, I think so but a guy can buy what he wants and still pat himself on the back for doing so. The buy-sell market has always been like it is, its just does a guy want to pay the price to get what he wants, the companies know that most guys will.
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