Cadence CR5 Spinning Rod Review

The Cadence Fishing CR5 Spinning Rod demonstrates a dedication to quality tackle with high-performance premium features perfect for freshwater fish.

This approach shows itself most prominently in the high-quality components and expensive materials as well as rod blanks that boast tons of sensitivity.

To top it all off, Cadence fishing poles provide all of this impressive performance at an affordable price in the sub-100 dollar range.

That’s why this review breaks down the exceptional quality rod, using reliable sources to help you make an informed decision about whether or not a more expensive product would be worth the cost. 

Contents

Pros

  • Uses SiC guides
  • Has an affordable price
  • Wide range of spec configs

Cons

  • Not the best reel seat
  • Questionable quality assurance
  • Uncommon handle grips

Review

Construction (craftsmanship, make quality)

The Cadence CR5 30-ton carbon casting spin rod employs a carbon matrix graphite blank to provide a more durable choice than you likely expect at its price point.

The carbon fiber blank features a carbon veil with a three-directional construction, providing six different directions to absorb the various types of stress and strain the carbon fiber blank endures during a fishing trip.

This design quality allows the rod’s blank to not only handle rigorous fights with medium size fish but to provide fantastic sensitivity too.

The carbon rod also comes as both a one-piece rod or in two-piece models, matching the two-piece design models with appropriate power ratings to ensure the durable graphite build remains that way.

Moving on, the stainless steel guides with SiC inserts are notable in their own right but are even more impressive when you consider their design.

Both the frames and the rings feature an angled design that further protects your fishing line from additional strain and lets the awesome guides enhance your casting ability even further.

The continuous cork handle with a foam piece at the foregrip and rear grip makes for a comfortable handle and is one of the more uncommon design features on the Cadence.

However, this spinning pole also features a split grip handle for select models, giving an angler superior touch making it a deadly combo for crappie.

The inclusion of a hook holder is almost a unanimous customer favorite feature that comes with this rod, even if its current price might be on the low end for when you would expect it.

That said, this isn’t a fancy hook keeper like a Kigan Master, but it doesn’t seem to suffer from any manufacturing issues and keeps your tackle snag-free all the same.

Material

This spinning rod comes with a 30-ton carbon blank that offers a bit more stiffness than the 24-ton graphite carbon fiber you would expect to find at this current price.

That said, a 30-ton graphite carbon construction is still in the range of IM6 and should not be seen as comparable with something like a composite construction.

At its current price, you would likely expect the Cadence CR5 to come equipped with rings made of stainless steel with aluminum oxide inserts.

Instead, this spin caster provides stainless steel frames with SiC ceramic guides, providing one of the more durable guide systems that you can get– especially in this price range.

While a cork grip or EVA foam grip is what you would expect to find on a pole at this current price, the Cadence surprises by using a variety of materials.

The fore grip and rear grip employ EVA foam while the mid grip is premium-grade cork, all combined offer an incredibly comfortable grip that might feel a bit odd if you’re not used to it.

The handle butt uses compressed cork for both comfort and durability when applying force for leverage.

Action

While most fishing poles at this current price come as only a fast action rod, the CR5 spinning pole has multiple action models that venture into the moderate range.

Keep in mind that moderate and moderate fast action models will reduce some of the Cadence’s otherwise fantastic sensitivity and reduce your casting accuracy a bit.

However, the fast action design will miss out on some of the additional casting distance those slower tapers afford– even if it gains both accuracy and distance.

On top of that, the moderate and moderate-fast action design makes this an excellent crappie rod, suitable for both light line finesse techniques and the softer mouths of the medium size fish.

Power

This is another area where the Cadence CR5 really surprises with a wide spectrum of different powers to choose from with the two-piece rod options mostly limited to lighter rod power ratings.

Regardless, this series of rods offers rod power ratings of ultralight, light, medium-light, medium, and medium-heavy with only the heavier powers missing.

This means you can pick a light or ultralight model to serve as an excellent crappie rod while opting for the medium or medium-heavy models for larger-sized fish.

Even better, this spin casting rod pairs the different rod power ratings with the actions so well that you can fine-tune the pole you choose to target whatever sized fish live in your local waters.

Rod Guides

When talking about this spinning rod’s awesome guides, you have to start with its stainless steel guides with SiC inserts.

At the pole’s current price, you would generally expect to find something like stainless steel with aluminum oxide inserts– which would be more than enough to handle everything from medium size fish all the way up to larger fish.

Still, you wouldn’t necessarily expect to find superior components like SiC inserts which further contribute to the pole’s fantastic sensitivity.

However, these nice features also contribute to more accurate casting as well by reducing the amount the line slaps against the rod’s blank while also being strong enough to handle braided fishing lines in even the grittiest waters.

Handle (material, shape, etc)

This spinning rod comes with a hybrid premium-grade cork and EVA foam split grip handle which not only increases its ergonomic comfort but contributes to the rod’s fantastic sensitivity as well.

However, the use of both EVA foam and cork is not common but will likely become a customer favorite as more models employ the design.

It’s also worth mentioning that this spin casting pole’s handle comes with a compressed cork butt to provide plenty of leverage for fighting decent fish out of the brush.

On shorter two-piece models and the heavier one-piece rod options, the Cadence CR5 comes with a full grip– though it still retains the hybrid design.

Uses (Who is this good for)

The Cadence Fishing CR5 Spinning Rod is a perfect choice with excellent sensitivity for an experienced angler who needs to feel light strikes from a crappie rod with the cushioned hooksets to handle softer mothers.

However, while this spinning rod is a great combo for crappie and other medium-size fish, it can accommodate a wide variety of fishing styles and fishing conditions.

Whether weightless presentations to fishing holes or power fishing for when larger fish bite, this spinning rod is a perfect choice for small-mouth bass fishing and can handle hard-fighting fish.

Though, while this spinning rod for bass fishing can catch plenty of nice fish at your local favorite fishing spot, it’s not made for any inshore species of game fish.

Even better, you get a premium rod performance at a budget-friendly price making it a popular spinning rod for beginners and avid anglers alike.

It also doesn’t hurt that this spinning fishing rod includes ergonomic design features for a high-end design quality that allows your next all-day fishing experience to be free from hand fatigue– all at a sub-100 dollar range.

Reel and Real Seat Compatibility

Generally, when considering a bargain fishing rod, you expect the reduced cost to show up somewhere, and for this option, it appears in the reel seat.

This is a bit surprising, however, as the spin casting rod’s reel seat is made of otherwise durable Graphite, but there seems to be a design flaw that leads to the seats breaking more often than you might expect.

Granted, the Fuji graphite reel seat is also part of where this fishing pole gets some of its fantastic sensitivity while also being ergonomic and providing a secure base for your spinning reel.

However, the number of people who have complained about the reel seat is far too many to ignore or brush off as a fluke occurrence.

Conclusion (Wrap Up)

Cadence Fishing CR5 Spinning Rod is an excellent product that shows a dedication to quality tackle with premium components like awesome guides and an excellent blank.

If ever there were sleeper rods, this spinning rod fits the bill, offering excellent sensitivity to feel a light fish bite for a crappie rod as well as the strength necessary to handle anything from a medium-size fish up to larger fish.

The Cadence CR5 30-ton carbon casting spinning rod also offers plenty of different options in both one-piece models as well as in a two-piece rod for easy transportation.

With a current price suitable even for beginners, this spin casting rod provides virtually any angler superior performance at a budget-friendly cost.

Other places to consider:

CR5 Spinning Rod