Bought all my gear using these guides in the past couple of years using this and the $200 price point videos and links. At least 10 rods and reels combined. Haven’t needed to buy anything b/c ALL are still working. Watch these videos, hit your price range and buy. This is what I tell others. You will not be let down. 👍
Thank you, Matt and Tim. I'm just amazed by the quality of gear that's available at this price point. Looking forward to the rest of the Buyers' Guides. Good luck to those heading out to have a go at the bass today, and have a great Friday, everyone!
I just wanted to say thank you for what you guys do. You guys are so good at presenting information in an easily understandable way. I appreciate how good you guys are at what you do. I think you guys are the best non-professional anglers on RUclips by far. And it's super cool that you guys used to be Northern California. I live just outside the Sacramento area.
That Daiwa Aird-X is a killer rod. Surprisingly light and sensitive for the price. I paired mine with a Lews Tournament MP. It was amazing. I ended up trading it and another combo toward a curado 70 and 6th sense unicorn.
I bought an Aird Rod years ago and one of the line guides popped out about a week after, and the action was a bit stiff but it was a decent rod overall in comfort and feel.
Right on guys. My PB was on the 8 ft heavy Defy black Swimbait rod with your bait. The first generation, all the guides fell out and I actually emailed 13 fishing. I ended up getting their second version which was night and day better. I like it just as much as my 806 Fury for heavier wakes.
Ah yes its Christmas, so the season of TB breaking the budget on buyers guides🤣🤣🤣 on a serious note these are easily the best videos for people to go to if they want good advice on gear thank you guys for that👊🏻
I know it’s alil irrelevant atm but one of my favorite $100 combos I own is 13 fishing was selling their blackout rods (7’3” mhf) for $20 a couple months ago and paired it with caius b
I swear it would change fishing itself if I got to reel in even a decent bass on each of your favorite most expensive set ups …. Jus to be able to feel… what your explaining … awsome awsome job boyz
I caught my PB on the Aird X Spinning! 😂 Unbelievable out of all my more expensive rods. 🤦🏻♂️😁 Guess that just proves you don’t need to spend alot to catch fish! Great rod for the price. Little side note though, at one point I figured I’d grab a casting version as well, and had to return 2 of them because the tip guide was shredding my line. So just watch out for that. Could have just been bad luck. I’ve had zero problems with the spinning rod. 🤙🏽
I really look forward to these budget videos. Now that my son is more serious about bass fishing, I'm having to equip him with better and more gear, so I've had to cut back on how much I spend on my gear also. With the budget gear now, I just don't find myself all that disappointed in performance for my money
I love the 13 blackout and defey rods. But lews 50-80$ reels, in my experience are junk! The laser, sliver and red , is 80$ at academy. I got one three years ago and I no longer have it. It didn’t last a whole year😢 I’m basically done with lews reels. That’s why I broke down and went with shimano , and I’m so happy I did! Money well spent. I can’t buy another brand, shimano is just hands down awesome! I really really need to buy a few halo rods for sure! Thanks Gentlemen!
Thank you guys, just starting to play around with fishing. Can I ask two follow up questions? 1) is there a telescoping or 2 piece rod you reccomend? 2) I'm in WA state, it would mainly be a fish from a dock/bank situation and mainly smaller fish but once a year there's a salmon run by my house that a bunch of folks fish for. Maybe this means two reels but what reel size(s) do you recommend. There's some great deals on a quantum reliance 65 on eBay right now which I think may be great for the salmon but I'm wondering if it's to big for most other types of fishing?
I have a question? How do you know when to change fluorocarbons? And is there another knot besides the f g knot that’s easier to tie when joining lines that you could recommend ? Thanks Thanks
Remember on The Wedding Singer when Adam Sandler said thank you that information would have been helpful yesterday I wish I knew that tape trick 20 years ago!😅😅😅
Great contents as always, really appreciated it! Have you guys ever tested any rods or reels from Kastking or Piscifun? There's another comment that mentioned these two. They're are more budget--friendly for a pond hopper like myself but I'm moving up the ladder $lowly. 😅 Keep up the great work!
There are drastic differences (in places you can't see from the outside) between these reels and the industry leaders. That said, we've put time into them and there are a couple BFS options in Kast Kings line that function well.
Love the buyers guides and the time and thoughtfulness you both put into all your content. The only thing is the holiday guides should be flipped with most high-end first because those are usually the items sold out first. Nobody is looking for a deal on $100 rod to $75... Do you know if TW is still doing their discounts manually adjusted for those with MAAP brands or are they just doing away with it entirely?
The sales are still there, just like normal. You're good to go 👍 Sorry for the slow reply, was on the water all day yesterday. While I agree with your sentiment in some ways (because we're high end guys too) there are a TON of people looking for sales on less expensive gear. If you have specific questions DM us on any platform and we'll try to help any way we can... otherwise what you're looking for will be here in a couple more days 😎
I like the sellus but I have had to many guide inserts fallout. 1 may of been from me being a little rough but I’ve had two or 3 fall out just respooling..
I have 2 Sellus's, one is a 2 piece spinning rod, and one is a Heavy casting 7'6" for the freestyle magdraft. I use braid on the spinning and mono on the Heavy. They're still in working order, but I don't use them all the time. I just needed a cheap travel rod and same for a dedicated soft Swimbait rod.
Matt and Tim, With A-rig do you go straight braid like with a frog, or braid to leader? The reason I ask is because my first time trying an A-rig with braid to FC leader, it broke off as I casted it. Very sad 😢
That sounds like you had the head wrapped. With a Rig, you need to check on every cast that it didn't tumble and wrap in the air. If it wraps, your next backlash or hook set will guarantee a break off.
I'm so glad you commented... we're about to blow your mind 🤯 EVERY rod is on sale, it just can't be listed because of MAP pricing requirements. You'll have to complete the sale to see the discount on your final receipt but that 15% off applies to all of them 👍
Dude I have Walmart lews combos I leave them in the rain the 100 degree days outside in the back of my truck and pic them up and still catch fish and they last
I love your guys channel. I've learned so much from you, and I'm thankful for your videos. However, I really feel like TW screwed up their Black Friday/Christmas sales this year. I've already spent too much money 😂 and you haven't even gotten to the high end rods yet! Not to mention at this pace, they won't ship in time for Christmas. Also no sales on Shimano or G Loomis rods??? What the heck?
Hey Kevin! We appreciate the support and I'm so glad you left this comment or we couldn't have helped. Here's the deal... all the high end brands are protected by MAP pricing requirements ( you can't say they're on sale) but if you complete your purchase... low and behold they're ALL included in the sale. It's always been this way and a lot of people miss the savings. Also, they will make it time for Christmas, although on the final video you may have to select their 2nd day option. We timed it intentionally to wait for the rod sale and still make it for Christmas. 🎣
@@tacticalbassin thanks for taking time to reply. How do you know what percentage you get off? The website says 20-65%. It also has Shimano and G Loomis listed in the excluded items section. When I add an expride to my cart, I get all the way to the place order button, and it still says it's going to charge my card full price. I'm not interested in agreeing to pay over $300 and hoping that some undisclosed amount will be deducted. I know for sure I have bought exprides with advertised discounts in the past.
@kevinlavery6194 It's been this way for many years. TW hasn't advertised a discount on them but you may have seen it on the PayPal side when you went to check out. But rest assured, this is how the sale works. We've been buying everything unlisted for nearly a decade.
Biggest durability issues that ive noticed with cheaper rods is in the guides. Every time i buy a cheaper rod the tip guide ends up getting nicked and then fraying/braking my line.
They were about a week and 1/2 ago. I don't know if they still are. TW split up their sales this year. Different things were on sale at different times.
The sale was divided, that's why we started the entire buyer's guide series with reel videos (during that sale). Now its just rods... but we're still doing combos because those are our favorite videos too 🙂
There was a whole reel sale already, that's why we took the time to start the Buyer's Guide series with two dedicated videos to reels when they were on sale. We did everything we could to help people prepare before they ended up here without their reels. Sorry if it slipped by you! This was a more difficult structure for sure... we've had to adapt to it as well, including a ton more behind the scenes work just to make sure our videos got to you at the appropriate times. We'll see what the future holds but TW will always have our support... Those are real anglers doing everything they can to improve this sport. We may not agree with every decision but we'll always support them.
@@tacticalbassin Sorry, i was just explaining my interpretation of the other guys post. I see all your videos, so saw the reel ones and even caught some terminal week 1. However, I do not like TW new website or new sale structure. I still use them, but they actually got less money from me under this structure and I got less of the stuff I was hoping for. It seems like more work for you guys too, though I certainly wont complain about getting more buyers guides. Happy Holidays.
@danielhedrick9917 You're definitely not alone in those sentiments, we've heard it a lot. Speaking for myself (Matt) I have grown to love the new site. It was rough when it launched but they've made a ton of improvements in recent weeks. My sticking point was on the rods and now that it's fixed, it's amazing! Less intuitive than it used to be but there is way more information at your fingertips than ever before once you figure out how to navigate it. Pick any rod length and action then click "specifications" and you get more info than you bargained for. I know we're ahead of most because I'm on there almost every day but it's won me over. The sales weren't my favorite but we're just a couple anglers and I'd imagine they had to slow test the new site and probably wanted to give that poor Warehouse crew a little break from the Black Friday madness that creates such chaos for them every year. Time will tell, I'd love to see something more traditional next year. 🤞
The Sellus is ridiculous. I have more expensive rods, by a lot, and I can't tell any difference. And they are durable as hell. I've had a few 13 Fishing rods and they fall apart like they are made of glass, by comparison.
Idk how you make this list and not use Abu Garcia Black Max reel. Those reels last forever and feel $50 more expensive than they are. This channel acts like you can't buy products from Walmart and Amazon. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate the teaching videos. But I don't see you guys doing a Walmart challenge ever.
They have a close relationship with Tackle Warehouse. Which is totally. But the Black Max really isn't significantly aless expensive these days than most of what they're showing here. But I get where you're coming from.
I’ve been beating the living hell out of gear I got from Amazon and it’s holding up and performing so, so well for me. Granted, I’ve only had it for a few months, but I normally fish 3-5 times a week at least for a couple hours, sometimes 8-11 hours. I guess kastking has a bad reputation but I honestly couldn’t be happier with the gear I’ve tried of theirs. I tried a baitcaster, I think the verus assassin? So light, so comfortable, so smooth, and I love that the spool tension knob clicks when you tighten/loosen it. Loved it so much I bought 2 more (at around $40, unreal) and then branched out to a rod and spinning reel from them and also couldn’t be happier. For the price point it seems unbeatable. I consistently find myself reaching for that $50 rod and $30 reel over my $250 combos more often than I’d like to admit.
Bought all my gear using these guides in the past couple of years using this and the $200 price point videos and links. At least 10 rods and reels combined. Haven’t needed to buy anything b/c ALL are still working. Watch these videos, hit your price range and buy. This is what I tell others. You will not be let down. 👍
This is absolutely my favorite Buyer's Guide of them all!
Thanks man! Merry Christmas!!
Thank you, Matt and Tim. I'm just amazed by the quality of gear that's available at this price point. Looking forward to the rest of the Buyers' Guides. Good luck to those heading out to have a go at the bass today, and have a great Friday, everyone!
I absolutely love the Revros. Solid reel!
I look forward to Matt somehow going over budget on the “unlimited budget” video again this year. 😜
Bwahahahaha
I just wanted to say thank you for what you guys do. You guys are so good at presenting information in an easily understandable way. I appreciate how good you guys are at what you do. I think you guys are the best non-professional anglers on RUclips by far. And it's super cool that you guys used to be Northern California. I live just outside the Sacramento area.
Thank you so much! That's awesome! We all grew up in the greater Sacramento area as well.
That Daiwa Aird-X is a killer rod. Surprisingly light and sensitive for the price. I paired mine with a Lews Tournament MP. It was amazing. I ended up trading it and another combo toward a curado 70 and 6th sense unicorn.
I bought an Aird Rod years ago and one of the line guides popped out about a week after, and the action was a bit stiff but it was a decent rod overall in comfort and feel.
Is it a one piece rod?
@@Enjoylife-2000 yeah it is
Thanks for putting in the time to save us money
Right on guys. My PB was on the 8 ft heavy Defy black Swimbait rod with your bait. The first generation, all the guides fell out and I actually emailed 13 fishing. I ended up getting their second version which was night and day better. I like it just as much as my 806 Fury for heavier wakes.
That's awesome!! We've only used the 2nd gen and have been very impressed.
Ah yes its Christmas, so the season of TB breaking the budget on buyers guides🤣🤣🤣 on a serious note these are easily the best videos for people to go to if they want good advice on gear thank you guys for that👊🏻
My favorite part of these videos is watching Tim while Matt is talking
Look squirrel LoL
😂😂😂
I know it’s alil irrelevant atm but one of my favorite $100 combos I own is 13 fishing was selling their blackout rods (7’3” mhf) for $20 a couple months ago and paired it with caius b
I own several of the Defy Silver spinning and a few Fate Black casting rods. They're excellent rods for the price.
I knew you guy's would come through. Thank's for all the great content videos in-between and all the hard work you've done to bring it to us.
We're happy to do it! Sorry for the delay, we hope you enjoy the rest of the guides 😀
Got the aird-x 7’ heavy for frogging. Hopefully it holds up, if not I’ll be getting that halo rave
thanks guys! Just getting into fishing and this video really helped me get an idea of how to move forward
The Sellus is a great beginner rod. I took y’all’s recommendation and have loved it so far. Thanks for the videos
I swear it would change fishing itself if I got to reel in even a decent bass on each of your favorite most expensive set ups …. Jus to be able to feel… what your explaining … awsome awsome job boyz
Called in to work today, gonna chill and watch some TB!!
Awesome! We hope you enjoyed!
Yes, finally the waiting was killing me!! Been looking forward to these for two months!
I've got the Sellus, Reveros, and CC80. Holding up fine.
My first combo I ever put together from tackle warehouse was the Daiwa Aird X rod with the Daiwa Legalis reel (3000).....and it didn't break the bank
I caught my PB on the Aird X Spinning! 😂 Unbelievable out of all my more expensive rods. 🤦🏻♂️😁 Guess that just proves you don’t need to spend alot to catch fish! Great rod for the price. Little side note though, at one point I figured I’d grab a casting version as well, and had to return 2 of them because the tip guide was shredding my line. So just watch out for that. Could have just been bad luck. I’ve had zero problems with the spinning rod. 🤙🏽
I really look forward to these budget videos. Now that my son is more serious about bass fishing, I'm having to equip him with better and more gear, so I've had to cut back on how much I spend on my gear also. With the budget gear now, I just don't find myself all that disappointed in performance for my money
I have a med light arid x spinning rod and the quality and feel for the price blow my mind I absolutely love the rod
Thanks for putting in the time for this, but which spinning combo should I buy.
No dobyns colt or maverick? Hoping to see more dobyns in tomorrow’s video, need to see some Kaden series
I have an AirX baitcasting, awesome. Got it from academy on sale for $30 last father's day.
The airidx and paired with the diawa regal is my absolute favorite medium light combo
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. It is very helpful.
Airdx is #1 on my wish list.
The nexxave original was my best spinning reel ever
I love the 13 blackout and defey rods. But lews 50-80$ reels, in my experience are junk! The laser, sliver and red , is 80$ at academy. I got one three years ago and I no longer have it. It didn’t last a whole year😢 I’m basically done with lews reels. That’s why I broke down and went with shimano , and I’m so happy I did! Money well spent. I can’t buy another brand, shimano is just hands down awesome! I really really need to buy a few halo rods for sure! Thanks Gentlemen!
Holy crap 99 for a curado rod! Best deal I've seen in a while on tackle warehouse
There's no Curados in this video
@@d10dozerman2 tackle warehouse, I looked up their deals. Also edited my comment. Merry Christmas!!
Is Friday end tactical bassin knows good vid
Thank you guys, just starting to play around with fishing. Can I ask two follow up questions?
1) is there a telescoping or 2 piece rod you reccomend?
2) I'm in WA state, it would mainly be a fish from a dock/bank situation and mainly smaller fish but once a year there's a salmon run by my house that a bunch of folks fish for. Maybe this means two reels but what reel size(s) do you recommend. There's some great deals on a quantum reliance 65 on eBay right now which I think may be great for the salmon but I'm wondering if it's to big for most other types of fishing?
Love the content guys
Just to be honest I was sad when 13 discontinued the Origin A. That was a solid little beater reel.
Best buyers guide by miles 🤘🤘✌️🖖
Definitely pickin up one of those spinning combos
did you ever get one ? and if so how was ur experience with it ?
@@JayBandz2005 no, I actually bought a daiwa revros combo 8’6 medium and a diawa crossfire with a 1000 series diawa laguna reel.
I have a question?
How do you know when to change fluorocarbons?
And is there another knot besides the f g knot that’s easier to tie when joining lines that you could recommend ?
Thanks
Thanks
Incredible gear! 🎣
Remember on The Wedding Singer when Adam Sandler said thank you that information would have been helpful yesterday I wish I knew that tape trick 20 years ago!😅😅😅
Ha! Better late than never 😂
Great contents as always, really appreciated it! Have you guys ever tested any rods or reels from Kastking or Piscifun? There's another comment that mentioned these two.
They're are more budget--friendly for a pond hopper like myself but I'm moving up the ladder $lowly. 😅
Keep up the great work!
There are drastic differences (in places you can't see from the outside) between these reels and the industry leaders. That said, we've put time into them and there are a couple BFS options in Kast Kings line that function well.
We need a buyers guide for Matt’s shackets. They look cozy and warm.
Ha! In all seriousness you can get them, that's the AFTCO "stout flannel shacket" and its more comfortable than it looks 😎
Love the buyers guides and the time and thoughtfulness you both put into all your content. The only thing is the holiday guides should be flipped with most high-end first because those are usually the items sold out first. Nobody is looking for a deal on $100 rod to $75...
Do you know if TW is still doing their discounts manually adjusted for those with MAAP brands or are they just doing away with it entirely?
The sales are still there, just like normal. You're good to go 👍 Sorry for the slow reply, was on the water all day yesterday.
While I agree with your sentiment in some ways (because we're high end guys too) there are a TON of people looking for sales on less expensive gear. If you have specific questions DM us on any platform and we'll try to help any way we can... otherwise what you're looking for will be here in a couple more days 😎
I like the sellus but I have had to many guide inserts fallout. 1 may of been from me being a little rough but I’ve had two or 3 fall out just respooling..
I have 2 Sellus's, one is a 2 piece spinning rod, and one is a Heavy casting 7'6" for the freestyle magdraft. I use braid on the spinning and mono on the Heavy. They're still in working order, but I don't use them all the time. I just needed a cheap travel rod and same for a dedicated soft Swimbait rod.
I often run straight braid. Should I not?
I've had great luck with Revros's (Revrosi?) and CC80's. 3 years of pretty heavy use with no issues at all.
I have a Daiwa AIRDX love the rod, but the reel just pooped on me after about 1 year fishing year round.
Matt and Tim, With A-rig do you go straight braid like with a frog, or braid to leader? The reason I ask is because my first time trying an A-rig with braid to FC leader, it broke off as I casted it. Very sad 😢
I’ve watched their videos long enough to know and they go braid to leader.
You can also just throw fluoro only, 18 to 22 lb
That sounds like you had the head wrapped. With a Rig, you need to check on every cast that it didn't tumble and wrap in the air. If it wraps, your next backlash or hook set will guarantee a break off.
@@tacticalbassin - Thanks for replying with your insights. I will get another Flashmob Jr and try again.
Which of these casting combos is best for jerkbait
Tacklr Warehouse only has sale in 4 rod makers. Dobbyns, Ark, Okuma, and another unknown. Dobbyns was only one i heard of.
I'm so glad you commented... we're about to blow your mind 🤯 EVERY rod is on sale, it just can't be listed because of MAP pricing requirements. You'll have to complete the sale to see the discount on your final receipt but that 15% off applies to all of them 👍
@tacticalbassin well that sucks..I checked TW first didn't see sale on St Croix so I bought rod from TD
Dude I have Walmart lews combos I leave them in the rain the 100 degree days outside in the back of my truck and pic them up and still catch fish and they last
If you had to pick just one of these casting rods, which one you going with?
What do you guys think of 6th sense an googan rods? If tested yet.
Could u frog on that Aird Heavy casting rod?
Is the Daiwa Arid x a one piece Rod?
yes!!!!
I love your guys channel. I've learned so much from you, and I'm thankful for your videos. However, I really feel like TW screwed up their Black Friday/Christmas sales this year. I've already spent too much money 😂 and you haven't even gotten to the high end rods yet! Not to mention at this pace, they won't ship in time for Christmas. Also no sales on Shimano or G Loomis rods??? What the heck?
Hey Kevin! We appreciate the support and I'm so glad you left this comment or we couldn't have helped. Here's the deal... all the high end brands are protected by MAP pricing requirements ( you can't say they're on sale) but if you complete your purchase... low and behold they're ALL included in the sale. It's always been this way and a lot of people miss the savings.
Also, they will make it time for Christmas, although on the final video you may have to select their 2nd day option. We timed it intentionally to wait for the rod sale and still make it for Christmas. 🎣
@@tacticalbassin thanks for taking time to reply. How do you know what percentage you get off? The website says 20-65%. It also has Shimano and G Loomis listed in the excluded items section. When I add an expride to my cart, I get all the way to the place order button, and it still says it's going to charge my card full price. I'm not interested in agreeing to pay over $300 and hoping that some undisclosed amount will be deducted. I know for sure I have bought exprides with advertised discounts in the past.
@kevinlavery6194 It's been this way for many years. TW hasn't advertised a discount on them but you may have seen it on the PayPal side when you went to check out.
But rest assured, this is how the sale works. We've been buying everything unlisted for nearly a decade.
Thats it? The guides got smaller and smaller this year. Flew right through.
So diawa and shimano are excluded from the tacklewarehouse sale
They are included. Follow through with your purchase and you’ll see the discount 👍
Biggest durability issues that ive noticed with cheaper rods is in the guides. Every time i buy a cheaper rod the tip guide ends up getting nicked and then fraying/braking my line.
Wait, are the reels on sale?
They were about a week and 1/2 ago. I don't know if they still are. TW split up their sales this year. Different things were on sale at different times.
The sale was divided, that's why we started the entire buyer's guide series with reel videos (during that sale). Now its just rods... but we're still doing combos because those are our favorite videos too 🙂
And it's time to blow my paychecks again
Me when only the rods in these combos are on sale right now 😢
They're all on sale it just doesn't show. (MAP pricing requirements) Complete your purchase and your final receipt will reflect the savings 👍🏼
@@tacticalbassin but reel not on sale, with how TW screwed up their sale this year...
There was a whole reel sale already, that's why we took the time to start the Buyer's Guide series with two dedicated videos to reels when they were on sale. We did everything we could to help people prepare before they ended up here without their reels. Sorry if it slipped by you!
This was a more difficult structure for sure... we've had to adapt to it as well, including a ton more behind the scenes work just to make sure our videos got to you at the appropriate times. We'll see what the future holds but TW will always have our support... Those are real anglers doing everything they can to improve this sport. We may not agree with every decision but we'll always support them.
@@tacticalbassin Sorry, i was just explaining my interpretation of the other guys post.
I see all your videos, so saw the reel ones and even caught some terminal week 1. However, I do not like TW new website or new sale structure. I still use them, but they actually got less money from me under this structure and I got less of the stuff I was hoping for. It seems like more work for you guys too, though I certainly wont complain about getting more buyers guides.
Happy Holidays.
@danielhedrick9917 You're definitely not alone in those sentiments, we've heard it a lot. Speaking for myself (Matt) I have grown to love the new site. It was rough when it launched but they've made a ton of improvements in recent weeks.
My sticking point was on the rods and now that it's fixed, it's amazing! Less intuitive than it used to be but there is way more information at your fingertips than ever before once you figure out how to navigate it. Pick any rod length and action then click "specifications" and you get more info than you bargained for.
I know we're ahead of most because I'm on there almost every day but it's won me over. The sales weren't my favorite but we're just a couple anglers and I'd imagine they had to slow test the new site and probably wanted to give that poor Warehouse crew a little break from the Black Friday madness that creates such chaos for them every year. Time will tell, I'd love to see something more traditional next year. 🤞
The Sellus is ridiculous. I have more expensive rods, by a lot, and I can't tell any difference. And they are durable as hell. I've had a few 13 Fishing rods and they fall apart like they are made of glass, by comparison.
No ugly sticks?!
Real anglers use only Jdm equipment.
I'll never buy Abu Garcia again.Bought a combo from Sam's club last year and a total piece of shit.
Idk how you make this list and not use Abu Garcia Black Max reel. Those reels last forever and feel $50 more expensive than they are. This channel acts like you can't buy products from Walmart and Amazon. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate the teaching videos. But I don't see you guys doing a Walmart challenge ever.
The Black Max was featured for a number of years by Tim and Matt.
They have a close relationship with Tackle Warehouse. Which is totally. But the Black Max really isn't significantly aless expensive these days than most of what they're showing here. But I get where you're coming from.
I’ve been beating the living hell out of gear I got from Amazon and it’s holding up and performing so, so well for me. Granted, I’ve only had it for a few months, but I normally fish 3-5 times a week at least for a couple hours, sometimes 8-11 hours. I guess kastking has a bad reputation but I honestly couldn’t be happier with the gear I’ve tried of theirs. I tried a baitcaster, I think the verus assassin? So light, so comfortable, so smooth, and I love that the spool tension knob clicks when you tighten/loosen it. Loved it so much I bought 2 more (at around $40, unreal) and then branched out to a rod and spinning reel from them and also couldn’t be happier. For the price point it seems unbeatable.
I consistently find myself reaching for that $50 rod and $30 reel over my $250 combos more often than I’d like to admit.
Because the Black Max and frankly all of AG is absolute junk now.
I've been lucky enough to find quite a few really good rods from Walmart over the past couple of years. Not reels though.
Kastking and picsifun
The cauis B is on clearance at $69 now so better price but also going away 🫠