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by Editors of Outdoor Life Magazine
Outdoor Life Magazine offers its picks for best overall fishing rod and best value. For each rod tested, editors cast it hundreds of times and rate each based on balance, ergonomics, accuracy and… craftsmanship. The editors' descriptions of their selections are incredibly brief, however, and they don't list other fishing rods that were tested. The editors rank the Shakespeare Agility as the best value and the G. Loomis Bronzeback as their top choice overall.
by Editors of Outdoor Life Magazine
by Editors of TackleTour.com
TackleTour.com is the place to go for a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of fishing tackle. Its editors are all passionate fishermen and come from a variety of backgrounds in different styles of the sport.… The site goes into enormous detail for each fishing rod tested, including first impressions of reviewers, field tests, charts comparing specs and features for similar rods and an overall rating. Editors also give out awards for best value and top picks. Most of the rods reviewed are higher-end luxury fishing rods, so popular models such as the Ugly Stik aren't reviewed. So far, the editors have given out two awards for 2008, naming the Okuma Guide Select and the Shimano Cumara as best values. The G. Loomis Bronzeback was an Editor's Choice in 2007. The site also contains a helpful article on how to buy fishing rods.
by John Merwin
John Merwin, Field and Stream Magazine's fishing editor, names his top picks for a variety of products in hunting and fishing, including spinning rods, though he doesn't provide much information beyond… that. This article doesn't explain how he tested the rods or which other rods were tested, and the descriptions for the selected fishing rods are brief with only a few details. The 2007 spinning rod awards go to the Berkley Lightning Rod and the Shimano Tiralejo. The March 2008 issue gives its 2008 Best of the Best award for spinning rods to the Shimano Cumara.
by James Beck and Robert Belloni
Fishing buddies James Beck and Rob Belloni offer their opinions on 13 different swimbait rods. For each fishing rod, they list pros, cons and an overview of the rod's specs. Rods are not ranked or given an… overall rating, and many models reviewed are not widely available. Also, Beck and Belloni are reviewing for a specific type of fishing (swimbait), so not all of their views on the rods can be applied generally. (Swimbait is a type of plastic lure designed to imitate the action of a bait fish.) There is a section for reader comments, though few readers seem to use it.
by Branson Werner
This new site promises to provide in-depth reviews of all kinds of fishing tackle, including rods. Branson Werner offers explanations of how he goes about selecting rods to review and his criteria for… rating them. Since the site is new, it doesn't contain many rod reviews yet, but Werner promises some are forthcoming. He does name his top picks for 2007, which include the G. Loomis GLX and the Shimano Cumara, though he only accompanies them with short descriptions, lacking in detail.
by Editors of MyFishing-Guide.com
My Fishing-Guide is a website whose goal is to help readers get started in fishing. The editors post several short but helpful articles on choosing a fishing rod. They call the Shakespeare Ugly Stik one of… the best. The St.Croix Triumph series is highly regarded and best suited for beginners. The Berkley Cherrywood and the Fenwick Eagle are also recommended for beginners. Several other articles go into slightly more detail about these rods, and clicking on the Fishing Rods link leads to a series of reviews of rods from 16 different companies.
by Keith Sutton
Keith Sutton, writing in Game & Fish Magazine, describes the latest new fishing rods from eleven major manufacturers including Shimano, Okuma, G. Loomis and Berkley. In general, upcoming rods will be… lighter and more durable, and more rods will be technique-specific for buyers who want rods for their favorite fishing tactics. Sutton goes into detail about the latest developments from each manufacturer, but he doesn't rank any of the new rods.
by Contributors to Cabelas.com
One of the top retail sites for fishing rods, Cabelas.com, allows users to post comments for certain models. In terms of user review sites, Cabela's has commentary for a greater variety of fishing rods,… though popular rods such as the Ugly Stik still receive the most reviews. Cabela's also highlights its top picks for spinning rods, but does not provide any explanation for why those models were chosen.
by Contributors to BassPro.com
Bass Pro Shops sell some spinning rods under its own name, but also carries a wide selection of spinning rods from many manufacturers, with user reviews for many of them. The Shakespeare Ugly Stik receives… a few dozen very positive reviews. The Berkley Lightning Rod has about half as many. Users write comments and rate the rods on a 5-star scale. The website also has a section called "Customer Top-Rated Fishing Gear - 4 Stars or More," but this looks more like a section of special sale offers. Users have reviewed many more 4-star items than are shown in this section.
by Contributors to Amazon.com
by Contributors to Hunting and Fishing Gear Review
This website, founded by James Shiperly, features a collection of user reviews for various types of hunting and fishing equipment, including spinning rods. The reviews here tend to be a bit longer and more… in-depth than at other user-review sites, partly because Hunting and Fishing Gear Review provides a template that includes sections for pros, cons and a general summary. The vast majority of users comment on the Shakespeare Ugly Stik, though G. Loomis and St. Croix receive some attention as well. Reviewers also rate the rods on a scale of one to five stars.
by Peter B. Mathiesen
by Editors of About.com
by Arvin "Pescador" Reyes
Tackle Thief is a website devoted to finding deals and bargains for fishing tackle. In this very detailed buyer's guide, "Pescador" outlines and answers many good questions to help readers narrow down… exactly what kind of fishing they plan to do and which kind of rod they will need. He also explains terminology for rods, and provides a graph demonstrating different types of action for rods. This website also features a forum for the discussion of fishing tackle, but no reviews or test results.
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