Here’s a question (paraphrased) from a Scheel’s Mankato Customer on April 27th this year:
Customer - I’ve got a few old walleye rods I’m looking to upgrade, but everything new I’m seeing is a few hundred bucks. Is there anything of quality I can get under $125, or even $100?
Me - What are you looking to do with them and how do you fish?
Customer - Mostly jigging, some vertical fishing but more casting than anything.
My answer was pretty simple in that especially at the $100 price point, there’s rather few options for a quality stick. Still, a few familiar lengths, powers, and actions lend themselves well to both walleye AND bass rods, meaning that the St. Croix Bass X rods were my pick for $100. Specifically, the 6’8” MXF and 6’10” MLXF Spinning for jig applications. Depending on the weights you’d be fishing, either the Medium or Medium Light Powers would be good choices.
It’s rare to see any rod in the $100 category with true X-tra Fast (XF) actions, which are so critical to proper jig fishing. It’s even more rare to see them as lightweight with quality components, another hallmark of any good walleye jigging rod. I promise that the “Bass-X” on the blank will work just fine for any walleye application, and the fish certainly won’t care!
Joel