This morning while fishing from my canoe I had my rod tip break while I was working on unhooking a 30"ish pike that indeed had one more run left in it.

It was an older Shimano Medium weight rod I've had for about 30 years. I am pretty cheap when it comes to equipment, and to be honest this rod was ready for retirement anyway.

So now I'm looking to replace it. I hope to find a very general rod that will work decently for trolling, casting, or jigging and would be able to handle the occasional larger fish. I primarily am a catch and release guy but occasionally will work on catching walleyes for a meal or two.

Lastly, the budget is pretty tight these days with my daughter in college, so ideally would like to stay below $100.

Any advice?

Get an ugly stick. Medium fast rod.

What SV said.Cannot go wrong with an Ugly Stik. There are better rods out there, but there are no better rods for the money, and they're almost indestructible.

Thanks guys!
so....single piece or two piece? Does it matter?

Cricket67: "Thanks guys!
so....single piece or two piece? Does it matter? "

Most of my rods are two piece Ugly Stik GX2s. These rods have not let me down.

I prefer the two piece for portability.

I can also break them down and hold them together with a bungie dealie bob. That way some of the more addicted younger members of the party don't slow things down.

In my experience the Ugly Stik GX2s are overbuilt.

I like two piece rods for portability. Haven't noticed a difference in how well they catch fish.

There are two things to mention here. "I need a new rod" and "I'm pretty cheap when it comes to equipment". Lets start with the second. I broke the tip off my rod too and since I was starting my BWCA trip at a somewhat remote location with other people, I didn't want to take time to drive back to town to replace it so I overlapped the broken time to the rod, wrapped it with some fishing line, then used some cheap glue to hold it together. I did buy a new rod when I got home but I'm still using the repaired rod while the new one sits at home.

Now it is time to address the first quotation, I need a new rod. Sure you do and people have given suggestions so I will too. The rod I use was a cheap one from Walmart, a Shakespear two piece. To be honest, I have never caught a large fish with it. The biggest was a northern pike of about 30 pounds and the biggest walleye was about 8 pounds. However, I have my drag set at 3 pounds, sufficient to set the hook but light enough to not stress the rod. When a fish wants to make a run, I flip the switch and back reel until I have the fish next to the canoe, ready to land, then flip the switch back so I can control the fish.

I am cheap and have been using Zebco RT (Ready Tackle) Compact Telescopic Spinning Rod / Reel Medium Action Combo $30 for over 30 years. The reels are garbage so I replace them with a one upper medium light spinning reel add another $30. They get the job done for most of my fishing I've caught a hen female Brook Trout of 8lb (Lake Nipigon Coaster Brook Trout) and live released her during this time of the year right before the season Closes on Labour Day. It makes good sense to let the hens go to me as they carry a lot of eggs and the future of that species is important to me. The Spawning Males are a bit smaller around 4-5lbs and have a much more colourful appearance anyway. They tend to fight to the Rapids bull dogging for the depth probably a natural instinct to find a safe hiding place. The same size Rainbow Trout (Lightning in a bottle) would probably spool me or jump 5-6 ft out of the water and throw the hook. Brown Trout fight similar to Brook Trout not a problem. Small Mouth Bass jump out of the water but only 1ft no problem. Big Pike over 10lbs are hard to bring aboard in a canoe even with a net and that is where they can easily be a problem. I have broke a rod tip before and had to drill the broken fiber glass out and rough up the fiber glass a bit before crazy gluing(Knock off Crazy Glue) the tip back on and had no problem after. The foam handle takes a beating as I force the hook into it for transport in a pack so after 4 or 5 years I have to break down and buy a new one and start all over...

Just go to a Bass Pro shop or similar check out some rods and see what feels right. There is prob hundreds to choose from I’m sure you can find one that suits your needs.

Thanks again everyone!

I ended up getting the tip replaced on my Rod at Cabin Fever in Victoria at the advice of my brother. Just over $8 after tax. The rod is now about 4-5 inches shorter and the end is a bit stiffer, but I don't think that will make much difference.

I still will be keeping my eye out for end of year deals. Thinking that two peice Ugly Stick may need to be added to my arsenal.

Hey Cricket , you fish the west metro , in a canoe ?(i'm in Waconia) you fish Auburn ? Yes hard to go wrong with a 2 piece ugly stick in Canoe country , i think the best rod out there for the money are the Fenwick HMG (1 piece) rods , BUt i was a bit surprised to see how much they've gone up in price since i last purchased one , $170 , last time i purchased one they were a $100 , pass on a St. Croix and buy a Fenwick ;)