Alright guys, I know a lot of you think it's insane to spend $370 to $500, or even $600 or $700 on a rod. Some others of you think it's insane to spend $50K on a boat, $50K on a vehicle to pull it, and then use "average" rods and reels. To each his own - this thread isn't about that and frankly, I don't really care either way because what another man does with his money isn't my concern. We are the United States and the freedom to buy and use what makes us happy in the endeavor we all love, fishing, shouldn't be a point of angst amongst us in my opinion. Some guys can afford a 100K boat and truck, some can't. So what. Some guys can afford a $400 rod, some can't, so what.

All that said, I'd like to open a converstation about Megabass rods. Yes, The Tackle Trap sells them, is a BBC sponsor, and I use a lot of them and have since well before The Tackle Trap even existed. I know a lot about them, their history, performance, and other facts I find interesting. I've been fishing with a lot of the X4 rods and a few of the new Black Jungle rods lately. Like a lot of folks, I've fallen into the "technique specific" trap so to speak. Looking for the best rod for a particular technique and ending up with way more rods all designed for those few things that seem to fall within each individual rods sweet spot. I suppose that's why I've always liked the G Loomis MBR series so much. They're a group of rods that can do a lot of things and do them very well. I have to say after a considerable amount of time on the water with the X4 series, they deserve some serious consideration. Call my opinion biased if you will, matters not to me. I'm sharing information at this point and if it results in a few rods sales, fine, fantastic, so be it, if not, that's fine too! From the Rattle Viper all the way up to the Black Python, the range of techniques that can be covered, and covered well, with a small group of rods is very impressive.

I'll write very briefly about the new Black Jungle rods. These rods as incredible as they are, clearly reside on the upper end of the cost spectrum of bass fishing rods. I understand that. But, how many rods can you honestly say throw a RC 3.5 or a 1/2 oz swim jig as well as a 3 oz Alabama Rig? Very few that I know of, but the Megabass Black Jungle Power Versatile can. I've thrown everything from DD22's to big squarebills to 3oz Alabama Rigs to 3oz swimbaits to 1oz football jigs all on one rod and never once felt like I was lacking for anything. Add up the number of rods and reels it would take to cover what this one rod can do with one reel, the numbers may be a surprise.

There are many other examples of the impressive versatility of both the Megabass X4 and Black Jungle rod series, but I can't write about them all. I could say more about the Super Red Demon, but we'll save that one for later. A lot of folks are turned off by the fact that a rod as costly as a Megabass doesn't have a lifetime warranty. Fortunatlely now, they do come with a 3 year warranty. Most of us know that if a rod has a manufacturing defect, it's going to show up much sooner than in 3 years. Heck, do most 50K tow vehicles come with more than a 3 year warranty? It's a matter of perspective really. Make no illusion folks, I know Megabass rods aren't for most guys and I'm fine with that. I'm interested to hear some other thoughs from Megabass owners and everyone else...