Fishing Rod Cost: How Much You’ll Spend On Average

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Going shopping for a new fishing rod can sometimes be a lengthy and confusing time. There are a bunch of different options to pick from and a lot of different price tags to go along with it. In this post, I’m going to be talking about some of the more well-known rods and how much you can expect to spend on average.

On average, a new fishing rod will cost somewhere around $203 USD for something of high quality but will range between $30 and $550. You can definitely end up spending more money than this but this seems to be the average for the most popular models. If you’re a bit tighter on a budget you can always try to find a used fishing rod. You could expect to pay a little less than half for a used reel.

The good thing about it is that there’s a solid rod out there that’ll fit your price point. Continue reading because I’ll be briefly touching on some of the more popular fishing rods out there and how much they cost.

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Fishing Rod Prices

The examples that are selected for this list are based on popular brands and models. Prices were based on Amazon prices at the time of writing this.

You can clearly see that there is a wide range of different prices. It all comes down to the brand, performance, and quality of the rod. All the rods I’ve mentioned are solid though and the reason I included them was that they were all part of my favorite fishing rod brands list.

Let’s break things further down into each brand and model.

Dobyns

Dobyns is my favorite higher-end rod brand and they mainly build spinning and casting reels. Their entry-level rods start at $79 and their more expensive rods start at $550. All of them are very solid rods, in my opinion.

The Colt Series is their budget-friendly rod that comes in 8 different variations. You can pick between spinning and casting and there are different lengths and strengths. They’re mainly designed for bass fishing but it’ll also work for other types of fishing as well.

The Sierra Micro Series is double the price of the Colt but the only thing that’s different is the build quality. The size they come in and the strengths are all very identical. Just a little higher quality overall.

The Champion XP Series is a bit more expensive again but you have a lot more options to pick from with this series. You can get light action rods and you can also get 8’10” rods, which will expand what you can fish for.

The Xtasy Series is their most advanced model and is designed for deeper water or lighter types of fishing. It could be worm fishing, jigging, or drop shots. Both casting and spinning options are available.

Ugly Stik

Ugly Stik is probably my favorite budget-friendly fishing rod brand. They make affordable spinning, casting, and fly rods, and even though they aren’t super high-tech, they still perform really well.

The Elite Series is available in both casting and spinning options and is built surprisingly well for the price. They’re extremely strong and you can get a number of different sizes and strengths.

The GX2 Series is their cheapest rod but it’s still quite good overall. I’d probably go with the Elite instead since it’s only a bit more, but both will definitely do the job.

The Bigwater Series is an awesome rod if you’re going to be fishing for bigger fish. It could be for trolling the lake for lake trout or for fishing the river for some steelhead.

The Bigwater Fly rod is their only rod (I think) and the length of it is 9 feet. It comes in a few different strengths (8, 9, 10) but it probably won’t be that great for smaller trout or bass.

G.Loomis

G.Loomis is a higher-end brand and made some of the best rods I’ve ever used back in the day. I don’t think they’re quite as good now (got bought out by Shimano) but they’re still really solid.

The XRX Shakyhead is a rod designed specifically for fishing the shakyhead but it could easily be used for other types of fishing. It’ll work well in shallow water, deeper water, or anywhere you want to throw lighter bait.

The Classic Trout rod is a lightweight rod that’ll work really well for smaller fish such as rainbow, crappie, panfish, etc. You can get rods between five and seven feet long with different strengths.

The Salmon Series rods are designed to catch salmon in lakes, rivers, and oceans. They’re longer rods with a stiffer backbone but you could also use them for lake trout or other bigger fish.

The Asquith is their all-water fly rod and it has a pretty hefty price tag. The rod is 9 feet long and the line weight ranges from 4 all the way to 12.

St Croix

St Croix is another solid brand that makes pretty much all types of rods. You can get spinning, casting, travel, and fly rods. A lot of them are very well priced as well.

The Panfish Series rod is an ultralight rod that’ll work well for all types of smaller fish. It’s probably one of my favorite rods and it comes in a number of different sizes.

The Mojo Trout is a fly rod that’s reasonably priced and comes in a bunch of different sizes. It’s definitely one of my favorites and would be a great rod for a beginner.

The Mojo Yak is a rod designed for kayak fishing. They make rods between 7 and 7.5 feet long and come in a few different strengths. You can also get a spinning or baitcasting rod.

The Mojo Bass is their signature bass rod that comes in a casting or spinning option. They’re going to excel when you pair them with a lure that needs a moderate action rod.

Okuma

Okuma makes a lot of different rods that will be perfect for someone who doesn’t want to spend a fortune. Not only that, but their rods are very well built overall.

The Longitude Surf is a really inexpensive rod that’ll work well for surf or pier fishing. You can get a rod between 8 and 12 feet long and it also comes in a few different strengths.

Nomad Travel is their travel rod that’s pretty cool because it comes with two different tips. One is lighter and one is heavier. It just gives you a bit more versatility without having to bring two rods.

Nomad Xpress is another travel rod that’s a bit cheaper but still performs quite well.

The Celilo rod is one of my favorite ultralight rods on the market. It’s really hard to beat for the price and will work extremely well for trout, crappie, or panfish fishing.

Daiwa

The Isla Inshore series is an awesome rod for inshore fishing but it’ll also work well for bigger freshwater fish. It comes in both spinning and casting and the price point is pretty reasonable.

The Rebellion series is a rod designed specifically for bass fishing and comes in a spinning or casting rod. The price is getting a little bit up there but it should do everything you need it to do.

The Procyon rod is a budget-friendly option that has a bunch of different options for whatever fish you’re after. Doesn’t matter if it’s trout, crappie, bass, salmon, or catfish.

The Aird X rod is another inexpensive option that comes in both casting and spinning. You can pick between different lengths and strengths as well.

Favorite Fishing

The White Bird series is their cheapest rods that come in both spinning and casting. It comes in a few different sizes and strengths and is fairly solid all around.

The Defender series is a little bit more money but it’s also a bit higher quality. I’m not the biggest fan of the way it looks but the rod overall is pretty solid.

The Phantom series is the middle-of-the-range rod (in terms of price) and it’s going to be a bit more sensitive than the others. It comes in both casting and spinning.

The Hex series rods are the most expensive but they’re also going to be a lot more advanced. They’re extremely light and strong and have titanium guides.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a new fishing rod then you might be a bit confused by which one to buy. There are so many different options and price points out there and it’s hard to tell what’ll be right for you.

Prices range from anywhere around 40 bucks all the way up to over $1000. All you need to know is that you can expect to pay somewhere around $203 for a super high-quality fishing reel.

You could pay more or you could pay less. Right around the $200 point should get you something that’ll give you everything you need out on the water.