What are the finest Barra rods - Baitcaster

[banshee]

I'm with Jeremy,I think the value is with your Dropshots, Pinpoints, Raiders etc,I'd be more inclined to sink most of my budget into a reel as well.Your top shelf/custom rods are going to have an edge for sure but considering most are going to be four times as much I very much doubt they would be four times better.

[wheezer]

regarding earlier post re loomis not building their rods to the backbone. it really doesn't matter! when casting, you never cast with the rod aligned a particular way all the time, in fact you generally cast with your wrist rolled sideways for more strength! so backbone is irrelevant. also, try this experiment, load the rod up with line through the guides, and it won't matter where the backbone is, the rod will always want to rotate until the guides are below the blank. again, backbone is irrelevant. making sure the the rod is built to the bone is completely overrated......

[Jeremy87]

I am not disputing that alot of custom rods will perform better. Taking that into consideration i am not answering the question that is the topic of this thread "What are the finest barra rods". I am questioning whether you can justify the price difference with the number of extra fish caught.

Jeremy,

Basing the rods performance solely on its price is the wrong way to look at it. This is the biggest miss conception out their at the moment it’s simply scary. I have lost count the amount of times I have heard people say that a $100 rod will catch as many or as big a fish as a $400 rod, what does this statement mean, how do you clarify this? I have been a professional rod builder for what seems for ever and a day and I’m still lost as to how people still judge the quality and performance of a rod based on price. I could name many rods on the market that are way over priced, does this mean they are better quality? No way mate. I have also seen many cheap rods that are quite good considering where they were made. You simply can’t judge a rods quality and performance until it’s in your hand.

Stuart

What i mean by this statement is while a $400 is probably more pleasurable to use but in the long run the additional refinement is probably no the factor that will catch you the fish. what i am saying is that, are these to rods going to be able to cast, hookset and fight well enough to land the same fish? I would say a significant amount of time yes. Taking into considerating that i'm only a jockeyweight i also find it hard to believe that you can fight a fish properly at a drag setting greater than what i have run over my raider without pulling hooks or being thrown off balance.

Jeremy87,

I must disagree with your comment on the cheaper rods catching the same fish as the more expensive rods.
If you are trolling lures around the basin in Awoonga then your comment is not too far from the mark.However once you consider casting lures into timber then the equation changes completely.We sell as many Raiders as any store in QLD #for barra because that rod fits into the guys heading up once a years budget and for that purpose they are a great fishing rod.
We have proven the difference in the Egrell range (B8-5 in particular)when casting lures into the timber in Faust,Awoonga and Monduran.
The ability to stop a meter fish in it's tracks and then turn it on it's self so that it jumps and then with the same rod belt a lure into the wind with little effort is something that no other rod (Loomis included) can do.

We stand by the comment we have previously said,nothing on the market can do what an Egrell B8-5 can when casting lures at impoundment barra in the sticks.This is because Eric designs the blanks (not just where to put the guides on a blank he knows nothing about like other "rod designers") and he makes them for the purpose of chasing barra in Australia ,this is why they are so good and worth the money spent if you are serious about stopping the big girls with a rod you can cast with.

Sundown Marine.

I am not disputing that custom rods will perform better than your run of the mill mid shelf items. But as banshee so eloquently put it, does a four hundred dollar rod perform four times better than a 100 dollar rod? On my last trip to awoonga my fishing partner Mick turned a 93cm barra against its weight in heavy timber in a similar fashion to which was described with my $30 back up rod after he he snapped his texalium on a snag (texaliums are a classic example of rods not matching their price tag). I will admit that this rod did not cast as well as described but how far do you really need to cast. Though my experience in impoundment barra fishing is limited I have caught many bass from heavy timber and I would suggest that products such as a bow mount electric motor, a good reel with a quality anti backlash system coupled with a half decent rod and good braid would be the major contributors in catching fish.

[StevenM]

Good read and some interesting points.

Now for my two cents worth.

I would suggest the Team Daiwa Model Number TD-AA661HRB. Its a 6 foot 6 inch one piece heavy action with a regular taper rated to 12-25 lb line.

Good value at 200 dollars and has Fuji alconite guides. The guides are of good size to take heavy leaders and associated knots. Real beefy rod.

Have a look at one next time you come across it and get them to load it up for you. I would say you will walk out with it or be looking for a low profile reel to put on it.

Cheers

Steven

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

Quoted from an above post.........."I have lost count the amount of times I have heard people say that a $100 rod will catch as many or as big a fish as a $400 rod, what does this statement mean, how do you clarify this?"

I reply as such with my thoughts on clarifying this-
A rod is a tool, as a chisel is a tool. A more expensive chisel may hold its edge longer, or may be easier to use or grip. But most forms of angling, barra fishing especially can be bought back to basics. You can make fishing as scientific as you want it to be, or in the same sentence, bring it back down to its rawest form. A simple chiseling job can be performed with the simplest of chisels, a sharpened, ground file will produce the same result if it is all you have in your posession.
That $100 off the shelf rod that carries the necessary requirements that make it acceptable as a fishing tool for casting, hooking and landing barra will land the same numbers and quality barra as a top shelf well made rod. The top shelf rod matched to your reel will not automatically turn you into a whizz angler, nor will it make every strike stick, nor will it stop a hard running fish from pulling line from your reel. Successful angling goes beyond the tools at hand!
I'll happily barra fish with my choice of $100 rod beside any angler with a top shelf rod for equal results!
But yes, it is nice to drive a flash car on the freeway, much nicer than my old ute, but either way, both cars make it to their final destination.
Regards,
Johnny M

[Jonli]

I was hoping a comparison to golf sticks rather than car .

JonLi .

[StevenM]

Johnny M,

With you all the way.

I tend to choose the middle of the road type gear that feels better than the cheaper stuff and usually better quality. I can not justify the high dollar type of gear. The Mark up margin may be the same but the end dollar value tends to be alot more.

Cheers

Steven

[stuart]

Certainly some good points made above. Tools are always my pointy of explaining the differences on this topic. How many of us have purchased Chinees made “copied” tools that have snapped or broken with in 2 weeks of purchase? Then you go out and by the good quality tools because you have more faith in them. The cheap tools are more than likely cast and won’t last the test of time, however the good quality tools are normally cold forged and it’s these differences that you will finally pay for. It comes down to what you don’t see in a tool that makes it good or bad, most all anglers don’t see or even know what has gone into that expensive rod blank, design hours and so on. I know of many companies that have had many blanks shipped to China to be copied “not many of their own” may I add. Just because you have purchased a Barra rod for $100 doesn’t mean you are at a less advantage than the nut job standing next to you with a $1000 bait caster.

If the nut job can’t use his tool to its full potential then he is only as good as his own ability lets him be. On the other hand, the guy with the $100 rod that has been catching these fish for years is at a far greater advantage than that of the nut with the $1000 rod. However, give the $1000 rod to the guru and watch out, no one will go near him. Again, it’s what you don’t see in the wall of the blank that counts, yes there are some unscrupulous dealers out their that should be run out of this country for selling rods as one thing but in fact they are some thing completely different. Unfortunately Fisherman have been feed bullshit for so long in this country that when the real deal comes along they compare the great to the cheap. It happens all too often, at the end of the day you sit back and ask your self; is it worth the headaches, is it worth having to justify to every customer that your product is in fact better quality than that made in China. Apparently Australian designed and made doesn’t stand for much these days, the mighty dollar rules above all else. Just my thoughts.

Stuart

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

The guru with the $1000 rod will still not catch anymore fish than he would if using his $100 rod. The point of this whole conversation is that there are suitable cheaper rods on the market that are strong, sensitive enough and have the attributes or characteristics that can and do bring the same results as highly priced rods. Sensitivity may be increased with a top notch rod, weight may be reduced with a top notch rod. At the end of the day, how much sensitivity is required to 'feel' what goes on underwater, and any weight difference between rods of varying price tags is not detrimental to being able to cast, work lures, hook fish and land barra. The guru with the $100 rod is equal to himself as when using a $1000 version, as is it equal to a beginner in the same situation.
'Fine barra rods' exist at both ends of the spectrum, but again it all comes back down to ability and knowledge of the game of angling, plus incorporating personal tastes as to what one wishes to own. The same fish get caught on all types of rods.
Johnny

[Redhead]

There's some great rods around but at the moment i can't go past the Daiwa Battler "Flanker". 7ft long, weighs 125 grams, Fuji Titanium Sic guides and power to burn. This might be a big call but i firmly believe that they are the best value for money rods.

Warning: do not put a Daiwa Battler Flanker in your hand because you will walk out with it as i did. Best $300 i have spent on tackle by far. Good luck with your shopping mate

Cheers
Redhead