Abu Garcia Vendetta Casting Rods?

[J-Doc]

Anyone got any bad experiences?  Picked up a 7ft casting rod and was impressed with how light it was.  And sensitivity seemed really good from what I could tell in the store.  

 

Don't need another robut.......tempted to try one.  I know the spinning rod version breaks often or at least they used to. I don't want to get a rod that will break in the first few years. 

 

http://www.abugarcia.com/abugarcia-rods-casting-rods/abu-garcia-vendetta-casting-rod/1405201.html

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

I found two in a wal mart sale bin for 20 bucks a piece about three years ago.  Since then i have broke Ducketts, Falcons, and replaced numerous guides on both of those.  Mean while i cant break the vendetta, so ill have to say that the ones i have are good as it gets

[J-Doc]

I forget the name of the spinning rod version. Maybe it's also the Vendetta? 

Regardless.....if you got them for $20 A piece you stole them at that price.  

 

I wss impressed with how light it was.  Makes me worry about using it for football jigs with braided line though (regardless of drag setting).  That kind of hookset could break one and that's probably what it would be used for.  It's a heavy bait and a heavy duty presentation.  It's not a punch rig or A-Rig, but not small either. 

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

Mine are both 6'6" medium heavy and i would say they are more on the heavy side on the action.  Yes there are very light.   I casted a new Duckett the other day with a deep crank on and it shattered right in front of the reel seat.  It is on its way back to Duckett.    

I think the price was marked wrong on mine because they had the same rod for 79.99. I dont feel to bad about it. I think walmart will be just fine 

 

 

[fishinwrench]

There are a ton of really good rod blanks on the market now, the only hangup I have is with freakin' SPLIT GRIPS.  

I won't even pick up a split grip rod to see what it feels like.  I hate that almost all rod builders have adopted that as a standard nowadays. I wish that "fad" would go away.

[MoCarp]

7 hours ago, aarchdale@coresleep.com said:

I found two in a wal mart sale bin for 20 bucks a piece about three years ago.  Since then i have broke Ducketts, Falcons, and replaced numerous guides on both of those.  Mean while i cant break the vendetta, so ill have to say that the ones i have are good as it gets

let me ask ...do you use braid? I find it hard on rods/guides

[J-Doc]

6 hours ago, MoCarp said:

let me ask ...do you use braid? I find it hard on rods/guides

I've used braid for years and I have not had a problem.  I use 10-15lb braid which in theory, would "dig" more into the guides.  I do however have 50lb braid on an A-rig setup but I don't use the A-rig anymore.  I just cannot stand flinging that Christmas tree of a bait presentation.  Lots of hangups, lost $20 worth of baits, frustration, etc.   All for a bass that is just going to get turned loose?  No thanks.  Just me...

Braid when used with a lighter drag (which should be to prevent ripped lips) should function fine in any quality rod.

[J-Doc]

7 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

There are a ton of really good rod blanks on the market now, the only hangup I have is with freakin' SPLIT GRIPS.  

I won't even pick up a split grip rod to see what it feels like.  I hate that almost all rod builders have adopted that as a standard nowadays. I wish that "fad" would go away.

What do you have against the split grip?

[fishinwrench]

Well first off it looks stupid, I'm not a fan of the skeletonized look and I like having a fore grip on a rod. 

I hold a spinning rod with all fingers forward of the reel stem and that doesn't work well with skeletonized split grip crap.  

Is it about shaving weight off?   That's rediculous.  A little extra weight towards the butt end of a rod is a good thing.

What's to like about it ?

[J-Doc]

1 hour ago, fishinwrench said:

What's to like about it ?

I very much respect your opinion when it comes to fishing.  I was just curious what you had against the split grips. 

When they first came out, I thought it was kinda odd looking but it grew on me.  It had a custom rod look to it.  Now it's become so mainstream that I don't even notice it really anymore.

I like many probably hold the spinning rod with the reel seat split between fingers.  Structurally, I prefer this location because all the resistance when the rod is loaded occurs at the reel seat.  The rod is less likely to break at the seat than above the seat.  Minimal chance of a breakage but in my mind, that super small percentage is eliminated.  I think I broke one doing it the other way once a long time ago.  Probably a cheap Walmart rod or something when I first started fishing.

I have on occasion held a spinning rod on the bare shaft of the rod in front of the seat when drop shotting but I found I have better sensitivity and feel of a bite at the real seat where the bite is transferred through vibration of the line direct to the real and up the real shaft into the real seat.