Rod Or Reel Which Is More Important ??

[Sparkle]

Hey guys. I was having a discussion with a friend yesterday about rod and reel combos. He was saying that he uses $350 reels on $100 dollar rods. Where as I match the rod price to the reel price best I can. I asked him his reasoning. He said without a good solid drag and a good reel any setup is useless. Whats your opinion?

[Skywagon]

Sounds like a good question to ask in the ice fishing musky section. 

[OldSailor]

He's on the right track. But you want it on a good rod to make the combo reach it's full potential!!

[badger132]

Depends on what you are after- in some fishing, drag is not important, so you can go cheaper. I would also say that a $10 reel is about as good as you could buy 40 years ago, so we should feel lucky to have the nice stuff we get these days. Ice fishing in general is a lot less demanding than summer fishing, since you don't cast, and often only use a few feet of line in total.

[FishGut]

Neither? I fish for pannies, and I don't think I've let out more than eight or ten feet of line in the last 20 years. My concern is being easily able to detect a bite. Any more that means a visual cue like a spring bobber or neutrally bouyant float like a Venom.

[maddogg]

I agree with FishGut.

[sunniewally]

Depend on what you fish but for majority I agree with fishgut!

[slipperybob]

Rod is more important....it's is about action and power.  Everything into the component of the rod makes or breaks in how I use it.  I put a $10 reel on the $400 rod and the rod is still the rod.  I put a $400 reel on a $400 rod and the rod is still the rod.  Granted I will get a little more enjoyment from that, but my rod is still my rod.

If I put a $400 reel on a $10 rod...I get practically no benefits and will lose probably most of my enjoyment from that as oppose to having a $10 reel on that $10 rod.  I know what I'm working with a $10 rod and $10 reel.

Say if got matched around $100 reel and $100 rod...look again, I still say rod, but it's a real toss up.  If I can't cast with my rod, nor impart the right action, nor have control of fish with my rod...that reel has only so so much to do with it.  Gotta catch the fish first before the reel is put to it's full use.  You get the full use of the rod as it is designed for, regardless of catching any fish or not.  It's designed for using the lure to catch the fish.

If drag is the big deal, one can always thumb the spool to assist with drag.  You can't change a rod much for what it is.  Reach upwards on blank and you've defeat the whole purpose of the rod.  Have to short of a rod, you can't make that longer cast.  Have too long of a rod and you can't maneuver in tight places.  Have to soft a rod and it's all mushy.  Have too stiff of a rod and your broom stick diminishes what you desire. 

Now when applied to bait casting reels, here is where it flips.  The reel becomes more important.  Granted the rod is still the rod and my feelings on it will always favor the rod.  However, I discovered that the importance of the reel in this is far more important.  When casting heavy enough lures, it's not important.  Lure weight of 1/2 oz to 1 oz and it's doesn't matter much on reel.  When casting lures in the 1/4 oz or less like down to 1/8th oz.  The reel by design is very important.  Very important for the whole combo to function.  Ultralight/light combo's for finesse fishing relies a lot on how that reel manages the line.  Small changes has big effect overall.  Short casting distance, the lack of finesse accuracy,  the right light drag resistance.  All of those things begins to make huge differences in very small ways.

[hole_hopper454]

Ice fishing - rod is more important by far. I usually fish 2-7 fow, don't even use a reel.

Open water - I spend more on reels than I do rods. Lately all I buy are Berkley lightning rods, I get them for $25 each. Lots of good rod options for less than $50. I find to get a good reel I am spending $50 - $100.  I can't believe I used to spend over $100 for open water rods. I absolutely love these lightning rods for the price and can't tell a whole lot off difference between those and my other St Croix or Fenwicks.   

[bigstorm]

I spend more on the rod than than the reel for both ice and open water. For me, a more expensive rod will have more feel/sensitivity and generally last longer than many reels.

Plus a lot of higher end rods come with a 15yr or even lifetime warranty. Dont think I have seen a reel with a warranty that comes close

[backwoodswalker]

I am waaaay out of my league here. 90% of my fishing is done with schooley rod and reel setups. Less than 10 bucks. But I use good line. My other 2 rod reel setups for deeper or bigger fish are 25 dollar setups from cabelas. I catch plenty with these setups.   Steve

[FG Steve]

Depends on what you are after

I'm with Badger on this one.  It depends.  I put $60 reels on $40 rods so that's probably a clue for me.  For large trout, I want a rod with good action that will keep me in contact with the fish, providing near-constant pressure while yielding increased resistance via the guides.  I need a reel with reasonable drag or all is lost when a 5 lb fish makes a hard run with my 6-lb mono.

[esox_xtm]

Lotsa land mines here...

OK, you gotta $450 dollar reel, a matched rod and you don't know enough to spool your superline properly (as in securing it to the reel arbor via backing, tape, etc.). Might have the best drag in the world and you'd never know it. Did it, seen it.

Gotta $450 reel and (just say) a $450 rod and spool up that expensive reel on that expensive moderate action rod with some stretchy line. I didn't have the high end reel OR rod but went through a whole season of musky fishing and hooked only 2 of over 40 fish that struck my lure on that combo. Switched to superline and the problem went away. Did this.

Gotta $450 reel and a $150 rod and try to launch a Pounder Bull Dawg on a rod rated for only 8 oz. of lure. This is a train wreck, trust me.

Gotta $450 reel and a $150 rod matched to the weight of the lures I am going to present (Double Cowgirls). Reel has a great drag and plenty of line capacity with a blazing gear ratio of 7.2:1. I'll make it about 45 minutes of cranking that Double Cow in before I tire out from cranking. Seen that...

I've caught tons of fish for decades with sub $100 reels and sub $100 rods. Balance the combos and match their capabilities to their uses and you'll be fine. Rods/reels are more tools for presentation than they are for actual fish landing. Saltwater trolling changes that a bit but you get the idea.

A few years ago I upgraded all my old round ABU musky reels to the Daiwa Lexa line. Still under $200 but the fit, feel, drag and maintenance are all heads above my old standbys I fished almost forever.

Is a $450 reel a true game changer? You tell me... 

[Seamonkey84]

Depends on what your fishing for and with. Smaller fish/lighter lures, the rods are more important. With bigger fish, the reel (the drag specifically) is more important. In both cases, as long as they don’t break, you’re fine lol.

[Fishrmn]

You can catch fish without a reel, using just a rod and some line.  Have you ever tried to catch fish without a rod?





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[hunts2long]

Have you ever tried to catch fish without a rod?





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Most of us have, if you have ever ice fished using "tip-ups"...lol..I think you forgot what site you were on.

But to answer you question, yes, I had a rod break just about the reel seat. The rod went down the line and all I had was the baitcaster and handle. The fish got off....h2l

[hnd]

are we talking about ice fishing?  because if so, ask the pros.  where money is on the line.   many of them use schooley reels on much nicer rods. 

if we are talking open water i would still argue rods are still more important than the reel.   for my way of open water fishing, feel is everything.  load up is everything.  that can only really be attained with the rod.   there are difference is reel construction, casting ability, and drag smoothness for sure but for me the real difference between a cheap one and a really nice one is weight and longevity of use.   

its more likely that a very nice stratic will last me longer than a sienna but it will only be very subtle differences if i use them side by side (i actually do and its not somethign i think about when fishing) as opposed to my rods.  i can very much tell the difference from my ugly sticks vs my avids. 

[gorf37]

Everyone's sayin' it but I'll say it too: it depends.  Seamonkey has it about nailed.  On light line & lures an expensive rod makes a huge difference, more in the hooking than the fighting, but the fighting too.  On heavy lures and big fish, a good reel will catch you more fish especially by avoiding those painful break-offs at the hole.  All depends what you're up to.

A good chance to plug carbon drag washer upgrades.  I paid $10 CAD including shipping to upgrade a Sonora, and it made a $50 reel feel like a $150 reel.  Best part is it went from being highly sensitive to cold weather (and thus totally unsuitable for dead-sticking) to being pretty much unaffected by temperature.

[HWeber]

As mentioned by esox, you need the tool for the job. You don't pound a nail in with a screwdriver. I'd take rod as more important but you can easily ruin that with the wrong reel

[Rebelss]

I'd actually have to agree with all. Lots of good info there. My personal take: Properly paired reel with rod and line for conditions usually = success. 

[Sylvanboat]

Depends on what your fishing for and with. Smaller fish/lighter lures, the rods are more important. With bigger fish, the reel (the drag specifically) is more important. In both cases, as long as they don’t break, you’re fine lol.

I have to agree 100%