I dont know if any of you have ever used the cabelas fish eagle II rods but i really like them. IMHO they are the best rods in the $100 range. Cabelas has them on sale for $40!!! I just got 3 of the 7'6 heavy action guys. They also have a 6'2 jerkbait rod and a 7ft as well. They are nice rods with fuji seats and guides. They are a light, sensitive blank and defintly worth a look at!
Throw in a 5500 abu from ebay and you have one helluva setup for under $100!
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hemi, if your looking for a casting rig, hop on to ebay and pick up a abu-garcia 5500c3 or 5000c. The diference is two bearings, but i have many 5000s i have converted for just a couple of dollars. In fact i have been known to turn them into C5s without the magnentic brakes. If your crafty you can get them for around $30 bucks. They are imho the best reels on the market and i am by no means alone in that reguard.
Hemi,
If you are going to get a casting rig you will want to ask a couple of questions:
1-What size rod are you going to use and how will the reel balance?
2-What are you going to throw?
3-What ratio do you want?
4-Is it a easy reel to work for a novice?
I would recommend that you try out some other guys reels and try to make it to the next event and see if you find a type of reel that "fits" you. The first casting reel I got was not for me and it really made my learning curve harder than it needed to be. I would also make sure you get a reel from a place that will allow you to return it if you do not like it. Good luck!
The rod is probably a decent rod like the Gander Rods and Bass Pro (PM) Rods. For $40 you probably can't go wrong because most of the big box stores will stand behind any product with their name on it.
Good advice on trying out someone elses stuff to see what you like especially with a reel. Reel size (5000/6000/7000 or 200/400/700) makes a HUGE difference in how it performs with various lures. Trying different sizes as well as various manufacturers if at all possible is a great idea.
"hemichemi" said:
*S*I*G*H*OK; everyone send me their rods and reels and I'll let you know which one I like best…
Ovid outing during lunch would be a great time to try out some stuff. My guess is we'll have reels from Okuma, Gander, Bass Pro, Abu, Shimano, etc. and probably a number of sizes from each mfg. I would be happy to let you fish with one of my 8' St Croix's w/ a Gander reel that day if you want to try it out.
I am planning to be at Ovid and if you want to start a bad habit I can let you try my 8'6" Big Dawg St. Croix rod with a Shimano 401TE reel. The issue with my stuff is it is left handed and expensive…but you get what you pay for. In hindsight, I would have learned on a right handed reel because you have much better options in the future. Good luck!
Side note: I just love the 8'6" St. Croix rod that I got this winter and when I was out with Mike Hulbert he let me try some of his 9' rods. The longer rods really make the figure 8's a lot easier and once you get used to them they are pretty nice.
"Will Schultz" said:
[quote="hemichemi"]*S*I*G*H*OK; everyone send me their rods and reels and I'll let you know which one I like best…
Ovid outing during lunch would be a great time to try out some stuff. My guess is we'll have reels from Okuma, Gander, Bass Pro, Abu, Shimano, etc. and probably a number of sizes from each mfg. I would be happy to let you fish with one of my 8' St Croix's w/ a Gander reel that day if you want to try it out.
Aw, do I have to wait until THEN? 🙄
I guess I'll keep using my Zebco Dora the Explorer rig… [smilie=attention.gif]
"Steve S" said:
Fishing partner had one of these rod, set the hook and snapped in half. Took it back to Cabels's and they wouldn't replace it, he now has St. Croix and no problems.Steve
Really? That surprises me. Good lesson for all of us though. It is worth confirming the warranty when buying a rod from anyone. As mentioned before the big box stores usually replace their branded rods/reels no questions asked as long as the item wasn't driven over by a car or mistreated.
Cabelas stands behind all of their products with a lifetime guarantee. I have broken 2 fish eagles in the past, both in doors. Both replaced at the store no questions asked. As far as their quality, they are built on loomis blanks or at least were last year. I have some st. croix rods and love them. But they are not better than the fish eagle rods in my humble opinion.
If its any conselation, at one point i used a 7ft fast action med hvy bass rods to throw bucktails with and landed a couple of mid 30 skis on it with no problem and that rod was a FEII.
As to why the rod previously mentioned wasnt replaced…i have no idea, i guess like anything else its a crap shoot.
Whether or not the rod gets replaced seems to be dependant on which customer service and manager combo you happen to get at the store. I had a real loser combined with a mega-dork and they wouldn't replace my broken Pete Maina rod at Bass Pro. I then took the wife to lunch, came back and noticed a new crew working. Back to the truck, grabbed the rod and they replaced it no questions asked.
With Cabelas, sending it back through the mail with a note always seems to work if the over-the-counter attempt fails. Likewise, Maina reels that they wouldn't swap out at the store have always been replaced or repaired for free if I send them in with a note.
$40 for an IM6 graphite musky rod is a steal! Stupid newbie, I would snag a few of those!!!
From Cabela's website:
Compare the craftsmanship, quality and price of our Fish Eagle® II casting rods with those of other manufacturers, and you'll find there's no better value. They boast top-notch components, including high-grade Portuguese cork handles with new screw-down fore grips, Fuji® Hardloy® guides and the highest quality CX2 38-million modulus IM6 blanks. The actions really set these rods apart. Each was custom designed by members of our staff with input from some of the world's most knowledgeable professional anglers. These lightweight, easy-handling rods offer excellent strength and they feature our new Mag Touch® reel seat for increased sensitivity. Limited two-year warranty on the rod.
While it is possible that Loomis is manufacturing these rods for Cabela's, they are designed by Cabela's and NOT Loomis blanks. From my experience with these rods, they will not stand up to prolonged use with the larger baits, although I have caught fish with them and have had no problem with smaller stuff. I also personally feel that if you broke rods in doors and replaced them under warranty, you are abusing Cabela's excellant customer service. I was in one of there store's in Nebraska one time and watched a guy return a pair of goretex boots because they leaked. This pair of boots looked like they had several years and many miles on them, I would have been embarrassed to even try to return them. This kind of abuse of warranties and customer service will eventually ruin it for everyone, in my opinion.
Ken
2 year warranty? That's sweet. Though if they don't stand up to big baits over long times, that would worry me. The Maina ones (which should be practically identicle) do stand up extremely well. Pretty sure Bass Pro only has a 1 year limited warranty though. I've heard Gander has a lifetime warranty, but not sure if that's written down anywhere, or just their practiced policy. Breaking a rod when shutting in a door is one thing, but having it happen when setting the hook…that just aint right. Unless it was like 20 degrees.
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