St. Croix is an ambitious brand that seems to compete primarily by providing novel solutions to perpetual problems in fishing, focusing on innovation to lead the way. However, these days, there are shrinkingly few major issues that fishing manufacturers need to address with the only real drive of the industry to improve. St Croix has … Read more

Abu Garcia resonates in the fishing market as a name of quality, but the company tends to get more notice for its reels than anything else. However, the Abu Garcia V-Series, which includes both the Vendetta and Vengeance lines, launched about a decade ago and continues to be the company’s entry point for their rods. … Read more

Ugly Stik is one of the more consistently high-rated brands that also comes from the Pure Fishing family line of products with a particular focus. Harkening back to when Ugly Stik was owned by Shakespeare Fishing, this rod, and the brand more broadly aim at providing exceptionally durable products. With the Ugly Stik GX2 casting … Read more

13 Fishing might’ve started as a specialized ice fishing brand, but their expansion into salt and freshwater yields excellent results. The 13 Fishing Omen green casting rod is more of a mid-tier product that skirts a lot of lines without really landing in one place, but that turns out to be an advantage. By making … Read more

Quantum Fishing is a reasonably well-known fishing rod and reel brand that’s been around for almost four decades but also got its start specializing in baitcasting products. Whether rod or reel, Quantum Fishing understands where the primary value of any of their products lies, focusing broadly on every segment. The Quantum Smoke S3 casting rod … Read more

Daiwa is one of the more synonymous names in fishing with quality, though the company tends to favor top-tier reels over rods. That said, Daiwa still has an impressive resume with a focus on innovation and development– specifically with materials when it comes to their rods. On top of that, Daiwa also makes it a … Read more

As traditionally a componentry manufacturer, the “Shimano” name brings a certain kind of expectation to virtually every product it graces. Specifically, you expect an, at least, decent base product with exceptional componentry and materials, merging into something that is ultimately greater than the sum of its parts. With the Shimano Clarus casting rod, it’s safe … Read more

Shimano is known for being a high-end maker of quality fishing rods– whether casting or spinning, but things can get a bit dicier when you start looking at budget-friendly options. In order to achieve a good balance of build quality to price ratio, most budget-friendly rods need to make some hard choices. This is the … Read more

Fenwick is one of many brands under the Pure Fishing umbrella company that handles numerous fishing products of every type at every level. This is a benefit for Fenwick in some ways as it allows the company to take some risks it otherwise might not be able to afford without a bigger backing. On the … Read more

Duckett is an interesting company in that a quick glance might give you the impression that it’s a fly-by-night company given that it was founded less than a decade ago. However, Duckett Fishing is the company started by world-renowned professional angler Boyd Duckett following his explosive appearance on the Major League Fishing tour. On top … Read more