02-18-2005, 09:53 PM
I used to be a huge Fenwick fan. I'm 36 years old, and I can remember using Fenwick 6' 6" light- to medium-action rods all through my twenties and early thirties. However, last year I purchased two new Fenwick Eagle 7' rods, and both of them snapped in two in the very same location, a couple of inches up from the cork, on two separate trips to Pelican Lake.
In both cases I was wacky fishing some senkos with 8-pound test, reeling in slowly, when I felt bites. After dropping the points of the rods and reeling in the slack, I set the hooks in the same manner both times, not too forcefully, but enough to set the hooks. I certainly didn't think in either case that I was being too rough on the rods. Anyway, it certainly didn't put a
on my face to have a nice largie on the line both times with broken rods. Needless to say, I'll never buy Fenwick again.
If I had loads of money, I'd probably look into G.Loomis. I've handled their rods at Sportsman's, and they are very fine. If I decided to buy one right now, however, I'm sure that my wife, after seeing that I'd paid over $250 on one fishing rod, would take said rod and begin to whip me with it.
For now, I must say that I've been very pleased with the Shakespeare Ugly Stik Lite rods. After my Fenwick fiascos, I purchased a 7' medium-action Shakespeare Ugly Stik Lite rod, and everything from its workmanship to its sensitivity is impressive. It's definitely a workhorse and is nearly indestructable.
I also like St. Croix a lot. I have an ultra-light Premier 5' 6" St. Croix rod that is extremely fun to fish mountain streams with. I tie a spinner on the end of some 6-pound line connected to that ultra-sensitive little gem, and I'll tell you, every fish even down to the pan-sized ones feels like a monster. There have been a few times that I've hooked into a decent sized brown or two up Sp. Fork Canyon and I've passed the little St. Croix to one of my sons, and even after they've wailed on it, smacking it into tree limbs, dropping in on river rocks, etc. it's still very strong and reliable.
St. Croix's Web site [url "http://www.stcroixrods.com"]www.stcroixrods.com[/url] is great in that it explains the differences between extra fast, fast, moderate, and slow tips on rods. It also has a rod-selector feature that is helpful, even if you don't end up buying a St. Croix.
Hope all of this helps.
PF
[signature]
In both cases I was wacky fishing some senkos with 8-pound test, reeling in slowly, when I felt bites. After dropping the points of the rods and reeling in the slack, I set the hooks in the same manner both times, not too forcefully, but enough to set the hooks. I certainly didn't think in either case that I was being too rough on the rods. Anyway, it certainly didn't put a
on my face to have a nice largie on the line both times with broken rods. Needless to say, I'll never buy Fenwick again. If I had loads of money, I'd probably look into G.Loomis. I've handled their rods at Sportsman's, and they are very fine. If I decided to buy one right now, however, I'm sure that my wife, after seeing that I'd paid over $250 on one fishing rod, would take said rod and begin to whip me with it.
For now, I must say that I've been very pleased with the Shakespeare Ugly Stik Lite rods. After my Fenwick fiascos, I purchased a 7' medium-action Shakespeare Ugly Stik Lite rod, and everything from its workmanship to its sensitivity is impressive. It's definitely a workhorse and is nearly indestructable.
I also like St. Croix a lot. I have an ultra-light Premier 5' 6" St. Croix rod that is extremely fun to fish mountain streams with. I tie a spinner on the end of some 6-pound line connected to that ultra-sensitive little gem, and I'll tell you, every fish even down to the pan-sized ones feels like a monster. There have been a few times that I've hooked into a decent sized brown or two up Sp. Fork Canyon and I've passed the little St. Croix to one of my sons, and even after they've wailed on it, smacking it into tree limbs, dropping in on river rocks, etc. it's still very strong and reliable.
St. Croix's Web site [url "http://www.stcroixrods.com"]www.stcroixrods.com[/url] is great in that it explains the differences between extra fast, fast, moderate, and slow tips on rods. It also has a rod-selector feature that is helpful, even if you don't end up buying a St. Croix.
Hope all of this helps.
PF
[signature]