Fishing Rod reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 152 Reddit reviews across 19 subreddits and 51 posts to rank the best Fishing Rod brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/Fishing_Gear, r/FishingForBeginners, r/Fishing, r/catfishing, r/fishingUK. Top-rated brands include Ugly Stik (4.4/5), Daiwa (4.3/5), Zebco (4.3/5).
Stats
Reviews152
Subreddits19
Posts51
Brands59
Products77
152 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Ugly Stik
4.4
(42)
"I’ll second an Ugly Stik GX2."
"Ugly Stick GX2 is a great inexpensive fishing rod. Extremely durable and more than capable of handing pretty much any fish you’ll catch."
"For a lot, I recommend the uglystik gx2. It's the one I used for a while and caught anything from minnows to mid 20lb salmon."
"I'm a huge fan of the Ugly Stik Catfish Special."
"I’d get a dock runner or dock demon."
"I really love my Ugly Stick catfish specials."
"I recommend the ugly stick."
"The answer to entry level rod will always be an ugly stik"
"I got mine the ugly sticks with Shakespeare spin casters."
"Light action GX2 Ugly Stik spinning rod with a Trion SP20 or Lews Laser Lite spinning reel."
#2
Daiwa
4.3
(12)
"Daiwa Tatula XT was recently on sale at 99$ CAD in my area. I grabbed two of them. If you can find them at that price, it's a hell of a deal for an amazing rod."
"Daiwa Tatula XT rods. Best $100 rods going."
"Daiwa d shock combo you’ll get for around 40-50 pounds and it’s a great combo for the price"
"The original case took up very little space and protected everything quite well."
"Daiwa Mobile Pack or Crossbeat if you're willing to ship from Japan."
"My 4 year old has a 7'3 Medium/fast Tatula XT rod with a Daiwa Fuego lt on it."
"I'd recommend a 4-5 piece Diawa rod."
"I like my daiwa regal with lw ugly stik."
"Has a few ultra light versions."
"Another vote for the diawa presso."
#3
Zebco
4.3
(7)
"I have used my zcast and zebco33 (40 bux) for two years now... I outfish everyone around me"
"Dock Demon is the GOAT."
"Go to Walmart get a child’s zebco set up. Right size, right price."
"Got one for my son when he was 4, still uses it at 8."
"I use a zebco dock demon with an abu garcia ike baitcaster reel."
"Zebco dock demon baby"
"Zebco Dock Demon, or Ugly Stik Dock runner."
#4
St Croix
4.8
(5)
"I really like the takedown St Croix Triumph 4-piece travel rods."
"I like St. Croix rods, and routinely use several in the 7’ to 7’6” range."
"I have a 6’ St Croix Avid and love it."
"I have a 5ft ultralight moderate action St Croix Triumph purchased in 2011 and to this day I use it all the time."
"St croix triumphs are great budget rods."
#5
Shimano
4.4
(5)
"Try a Shimano Sedona 2500 reel with a St. Croix Triumph Youth rod."
"Take a look at the Shimano Expride B 7’2” 7-21g."
"I've heard good things about the Shimano surf telescopic. Haven't tried it myself tho."
"Alternative, more $ but lighter and room for growth."
"Id recommend 6000-8000 size shimano bait runners."
#6
Dock Demon
5.0
(4)
"Add another vote for dock demon. Affordable, well made, and perfect for small kids."
"Can't go wrong."
"Both are great for kids."
"Another vote for the dock demon still use it after 10 years bought it when my son was 5."
#7
St. Croix
4.5
(4)
"St. Croix Triumph or Daiwa Ardito TR"
"I have a 2 piece St. Croix triumph rod."
"St Croix triumph if you find a sale."
"The St. Croix ones are quite good."
#8
Echo
4.5
(4)
"I have the Echo Carbon XL 4wt 8’6 and it’s really nice."
"I have the river glass in a 3wt and I love it."
"Echo boost 3wt is good."
"Echo rods cast good and have a rock solid warranty."
#9
Abu Garcia
4.0
(4)
"Aldi had some fishing rods/reel combos & tackle (Abu Garcia) in the middle aisle a little while back."
"I recently upgraded from a 5'10" ugly stik to a 7ft abu garcia."
"You can get a abu Garcia rod for 29$."
"The fleet farms up there still have a few of these left."
#10
Shakespeare
4.7
(3)
"I’ve been super happy with my Shakespeare Dock Runner, and I can see it being a dope little ice fishing rod."
"I caught a 9lb bass at a course north of Houston in 2014 on a Shakespeare Micro Spin combo from Walmart."
"A favorite for most beginners, as they are reasonably priced."
#11
Okuma
4.3
(3)
"The Okuma SST is a good rod for this."
"Okuma seems to have them on their website for $140. I don’t think you can do much better, I got lucky when I got mine around 2018 for $80 a piece lol."
"It's pretty great."
#12
Dobyns
4.0
(3)
"He's about to sell all of his Phenix's and switch them all to Dobyns because at least Dobyns are still made well after being bought out"
"Some solid rods that I like if you like a lifetime warranty are dobyns and G Loomis."
"I would imagine a Medium Heavy or a Heavy is what you want for Salmon fishing."
#13
Bass Pro
5.0
(2)
"I have a basspro series rod, great with the warranty, break it no hassle free exchange."
"I really like the Bass Pro Carbonlite rods. They light, strong, sensitive, and won’t break the bank."
#14
G Loomis
4.5
(2)
"G Loomis GLX or NRX is about as nice as it gets ($500-650). They come with a limited lifetime warranty and can do both fresh and saltwater."
"Some solid rods that I like if you like a lifetime warranty are dobyns and G Loomis."
#15
TFO
4.5
(2)
"Get the 6’6’’ 2-piece UL."
"TFO."
#16
Phenix
2.7
(3)
"Phenix elixer."
"I wasn’t saying that St Croix is bad just that Phenix is a lot better."
"Phenix is our rental rods. they are awful."
#17
Hellcat
4.0
(2)
"These come bioluminescent, Hell cat series rod."
"If you're not specifically targeting big cats and don't need to throw 2-10 oz of weight, then you should look at normal casting rods."
#18
Jarvis Walker
4.0
(2)
"I take my nephew fishing and he uses a 6ft rod and reel combo from big W."
"Squid is what you want, nice and simple. I go Jarvis Walker gear - good on a budget."
#19
Mad Katz
4.0
(2)
"Most of your “catfish” rods that are bright colored are the same blank for the most part."
"It's more expensive than the Walmart special, but worth it in my opinion."
#20
Kmart
3.5
(2)
"Nothing wrong with Kmart rod for first rod."
"Cheap one from K Mart. Good chance you’ll do something silly and don’t need to waste money on a good one to damage it."
#21
13 Fishing
5.0
(1)
"13 fishing lineup are great."
#22
Atomic
5.0
(1)
"Atomic Arrowz 7ft UL Estuary rod with a 2500 Shimano Nasci. An absolute workhorse."
#23
Halo
5.0
(1)
"Also had a halo 3xd which has been great, little more pricy though"
#24
Evergreen
5.0
(1)
"There is probably no other rod on the planet as perfect as that one."
#25
Yamaga
5.0
(1)
"By far the best answer is yamaga blanks tz nano 6’7."
#26
Matagi
5.0
(1)
"Their rod blanks are top tier."
#27
Arctic
5.0
(1)
"Arctic rod babyyyy"
#28
Ozark Trail
5.0
(1)
"Walmart also has an Ozark Trail 7 foot medium rod OTX IM7 for about 30-40."
#29
Schoolys
5.0
(1)
"If you can find a an Schoolys rod, that is an ideal beginner setup for ice fishing, especially for panfish in shallow water."
#30
Cabela's
5.0
(1)
"They have a 7’ medium light spinning rod, and I absolutely love it, it is a fantastic rod for the price."
#31
Artisan Fishing Pole
5.0
(1)
"For legendary fish I use artisans fishing pole since size doesn't matter."
#32
Uncle Flathead
5.0
(1)
"I bought the $125 rod and reel combo."
#33
Falcon
5.0
(1)
"They are excellent rods and they've always had the best customer service."
#34
KastKing
5.0
(1)
"Havent had one break yet but have been great with their bait runner reels."
#35
Sowbelly
5.0
(1)
"GREAT customer service and an outstanding product."
#36
Terez
5.0
(1)
"My favorite setup for the boat is a 6000 saragosa with 30# braid on a Terez rod."
#37
Penn
5.0
(1)
"Penn international rod and reel combo."
#38
Sougayliang
4.0
(1)
"Best value will be a Sougayliang or Kastking from Temu."
#39
Roland Hocking, Blackjack
4.0
(1)
"Roland Hocking Black Diamond with JM2000 $195, or Blackjack 6'6" with GK2000 for $114."
#40
FCT Pro
4.0
(1)
"FCT Pro 8'6" - replacement tips are readily available through Fred's"
#41
Piscifun
4.0
(1)
"Reels....lots of folks using Piscifun 300 and 400 series reels now."
#42
Ripple Fisher
4.0
(1)
"The high high end brands i would look at would be: ripple fisher/yamaga blanks."
#43
Boyes
4.0
(1)
"Have a quick look in Boyes they do some smaller cheap rods that would be ideal."
#44
Ugly Stick
4.0
(1)
"I’d rock a smaller ugly stick with a small almost jig sized reel."
#45
Barbie
4.0
(1)
"My buddies say they are ideal ice rods."
#46
Takedown
4.0
(1)
"Get a takedown rod instead"
#47
Amazon
4.0
(1)
"I got mine 2 piece amazon deal with a med and a med heavy top section."
#48
Shimano Sedona 5000
4.0
(1)
"Assuming you don’t want to break the bank but still want some measure of quality…"
#49
Daiwa BG 4000
4.0
(1)
"Neither are designed for saltwater, but both hold up to it well."
#50
Okuma SST
4.0
(1)
"Okuma SST and C-30 reel"
#51
Tsunami
4.0
(1)
"Tsunami Airwave lite 8'6 and a Shimano Stradic 5k will cover 85% of your bases."
#52
Drennan
4.0
(1)
"I got the Drennan Vertex with a pre-tied rig. It's quality, use it myself."
#53
Discover
4.0
(1)
"Have a look at the discover range of stuff in angling direct. It's cheap and does the job for beginners."
#54
Abu
4.0
(1)
"Thinking an Abu 506 closed face reel once she knows the basics."
#55
Tsurinoya
4.0
(1)
"Everything over 160cm will work, check out tsurinoya."
#56
Zenaq Naked
4.0
(1)
"Either a Dock Demon or a Zenaq Naked."
#57
Daiwa Fuego
4.0
(1)
"For my spinning setup I have stuck with the Daiwa Fuego's, for example, which tends to run around $100."
#58
Lews
4.0
(1)
"They sure do great for me and cheap."
#59
Lew's
4.0
(1)
"I recommend a 3000 series reel."
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