2 Great Rods Under $70 in 2023
Fishing rods in the $40-70 range are the sweet spot for most anglers. Of course, we’d all love to start out with $200 rods, but it isn’t usually practical.
Especially if you want to use specific rods for different fishing tactics, it’s easier to start out on the lower end. For me, $25 combos left a lot to be desired, so I worked up to rods around $50 and as high as 70 or 75. I found plenty of rods in that range that did what I needed them to do, and that allowed me to build a bass fishing, coastal fishing arsenal with multiple setups.
Having used and abused a lot of rods, I figured I’d share a few examples of those here.
Ugly Stik GX2 By Shakespeare
The Ugly Stik had to make the list, of course. This rod has hauled in more fish than I can count. I’ve never had one fail.
I’ve done some ridiculous things to these rods and I swear I could almost hear the rod laughing at my attempts to break it.
You want to have at least one workhorse rod you can throw in the truck bed without a care, and this is it. It won’t give you as much precision as some of the other rods, but it makes up for it in strength and grit. It’s usually $35~$45 for most sizes – see the reviews and links there for current pricing.
Also see Ugly Stik GX2 Casting Rod review videos
KastKing Perigee Fishing Rod
KastKing manufactures all Perigee II rods for power, durability, and accuracy. They come in one-piece and two-piece setups. The Twin-Tip design features Toray 24-ton carbon matrix KastFlex technology blanks. These fishing rods also include two tips you can swap out. You get 2 rods in 1, since you can switch it up with the tip. Choose between two combos – Medium and medium heavy, or medium with medium light. If that’s not value, I don’t know what is. Also, these come with a lifetime warranty. Most sizes run between $60-70, check the reviews and links there for pricing:
