$79.00 - Cabela's Fish Eagle II for B&J?

[drifter]

I also just receivedt my Cabela's Master Catalog.

They have a Fish Eagle II with a 10 foot IM6 blank in a 8-15 line weight for $79.00.

Sounds like a good rod and a good price for Bobber and Jig. The theory being that a high end rod is not as important for Bobber and Jig, vs. say drift fishing.

Would appreciate any comments. Tight Lines, Drifter.

I'm also interested in that rod for the same reason - I use bobber/bait/jig setup on the John Day and would like a longer rod. I would like some honest feedback as well. The 9ft, 8-12 might be a good all-around economical alternative for both bobber/bait and drift fishing.

I use the fisheagle II 8.5 ft, 6-10 lb, for spinner fishing and I absolutely love it. It's a great rod, a little light, but you just can't beat the price.

[Backlash2]

Drifter,
I was looking through my catalog and came across the rod you are looking at. I had exactly the same thought!!! You certainly don't need a high end Loomis or Lami to bobber fish. You better order yours fast, because if they only have one in stock, I'm making the phone call now!! Glad to see someone else thinks like I do, at least some of the time. I usually wonder........

[Trout,myster]

I don't have that particular rod, but I do have a FE II that I bought as a combo with one of my Curados. It's a 7 foot that I use for walleye and bass and I'm impressed as all get out with it. Kind of made me wonder why I would pay what I did for a 7 foot Loomis. You will like the quality and feel for the money paid.

------------------
Troutmyster

[Snagly]

I bought the Cabela's 9' FE II 10-20lb rod about 5 years ago when I first started getting serious about salmon/ steelhead. At the time it was about $120 (I think). It's been a value-for-money rod (even at the higher cost price) that I now use as a backup for the collection of GL3's TH has been building me (plus the odd factory rod or two). However, I don't think an FE II compares with a comparable GL3 -- nor should it have to given it's less than half the price. It's a heavier blank and simply doesn't have the same feel. But as you guys said, you're going to be bobber fishing so sensitivity may not be that important. Two points to consider:

1. It's tiring to fish all day with a heavier rod. I have a 10'6" GL3 1265 that I used for floats and as an all-round drift/ spoon rod in BC. While the rod works well, it's also a lot more tiring to use this for 8-10 hours at a stretch than, say, an 8'6" 1025 GL3.

2. Some of the very good float fishermen say that they are so in tune with what's going on with their rigs that they feel the take before the bobber dips, and for that reason they fish high end, more sensitive rods.

For what it's worth, I also used to own a FE III salmon/ steelhead spinning rod that ran me about $170. For that money, I was expecting GL3 performance but it was more like a GL2 (if that). So the value-for-money rods at Cabela's remain the FE II's -- I bought five of the 9' 10-20lb spinning model for $90 back in 1996 prior to an Alaska trip with fellow newbies. Four of the five rods are still fishing well, while I broke mine on a fish a couple of years ago -- but that rod had been through a lot of punishment (dropped, banged on rocks, etc) so that wasn't Cabela's fault.

[DanS]

drifter,

I have two of the FE II's in the 10ft 8-15lb line model. At 80 bucks, it's a steal. It's a more than adequate float rod, but is a little soft for other methods like tossing spinners or spoons. As a float rod, you can't go wrong.

snagly's got it pretty well covered above as to how they compare to the upper end rods. I'll stick with the FE II, since you could afford to buy 2 of them for the price of one upper end rod.

Fish on.........

[firetiger]

What other factory made rods would you recommed for jig fishing? I have been looking for the All Star rod that someone mentioned but haven't been able to find it yet. I would like something in the 10 foot lenght. I may just go and order one of these rods but I like to shop around first. I looked in some catalogs and haven't been able to find anything I liked besides this rod.

[Osprey]

My Vote goes to the Femwick HMX series 10'5" rated at 2 to 10 lbs for under 70 bucks,it's the deal,plus it's got a long solid cork handle which works awesome for those brutes and it gives a variety of choices for reel location for better balance...Os

[Snagly]

OK, I've got my old Cabela's catalog and fishing rods out and figured that while I'm giving my opinion I might as well get the facts straight.

1. The high end rod I paid a lot of dough for that was disappointing is called a C44x Graphite, model CHMS906S (9', 10-20lbs) spinning rod. Again, nothing wrong with the rod, just that at $160 I think there are better value for money rods out there.

2. As for the value for money rods we got in 1994 (not 1996) that are still fishing fine for small (<30lbs) kings in Alaska, that's an IM7 "Tourney Trail" SS906 (9', 10-20lb line) spinning rod for $80. This is a fine, fine rod for general purpose salmon/ steelhead fishing.

3. The Fish Eagle II casting rod is a 9', 10-20lb GST906 for $80. It's fine for what it is, but if truth be told I'd probably pay the extra and buy a GL2 if I had to it over again.

Of course, all these rods being several years old by now means that different manufacturers probably now produce the blanks and they're assembled by political prisoners in China so maybe these aren't accurate comparisons . . . oh well.

[smilesforu]

A float rod doesn't have to be ultra sensitve if you rely totally on the float. The surface speed of the water is faster than the water below. One of the techniques to fish a float properly is holding it back just a hair so it doesn't drag the gear below. If you use a spin glow setup below you must hold back to properly work the setup and a sensitive rod will help in the fish detection. This is especially true for a glob of eggs drifting springers. Guess it depends if your fishing technique....sensitive is better in some of the float techniques.
Tight Lines

------------------
Marty M
Steelheader.net