To clarify, graphite or graphite composite fishing rods are VERY strong, they just need to be treated with more tender, love and care than fibreglass rods.

Robby ; I as a hobby restore old solid glass Jarvis Walker rods old Toradins , Mugee's Port Philips Black Queens Etc I buy them in Bric a Brac shops a shop at our local tip and garage sales usually missing runners and looking the worse for wear ,after cleaning replacing runners and varnishing ,while not as new they are perfectly good rods and its funny but I tend to use them a lot more than my $150 dollar Graphite Rods the old girls ...well they've got soul . Cheers from Bob from Bairnsdale !🐟🐟🐟

And then there’s fly gear…. That’s a whole different level of expensive for top end gear

I use a 'glass composite Ugly Stik Gold baitcaster for my kayak fishing rod as they will take a lot more knocks and very hard to break . Great rod for throwing heavy spinnerbaits and for trolling. I have some old 'glass Shakespeare rods that over 20 years old and still going strong. Also a fan of the Abu Rayrex composite rods. Best of both worlds.

Broke my Savage Black Ultralight a few weeks back highsticking a trout to drag her onto the bank. My fault entirely and when I heard the crack and saw the tip hit her in the face, I was totally unsurprised. I said afterward on the vid that I was highsticking and my fault entirely. TBF, that rod copped some punishment. That day alone I had bank flipped half a dozen big trout along the creek and I often got carp on it while fishing for redfin with it. It probably should not have lasted as long as it did lol.

I’ve caught just as many fish on handlines.

My everything rod is the ugly stick gx2 any day.. I have 3 of them. 2 solid for in my Ute & 1 break apart for in the family car. I’ve caught every native fish of various size + everything from small Redfin to massive carp. I cannot count the number of trout I’ve caught from rivers & creeks. Shakespeare ugly stick gx2. Unbreakable! 2nd favourite ugly stick black pearl. Another fantastic rod for sitting on the river drowning worms..

cheep glass rod with a reasonable real would last you for ever, great vid mate

Have never broken a graphite rod fishing (car door another story). I prefer the graphite rods for control over larger fish. I personally find the glass rod way too flexible. I only really use my glass rods for bait fishing or whiting, fishing where control of your fish isn't essential.

Gday robbie loved the video and I think your opinion is really great but I do have something to add. As a professional bream fishermen who enters in tournaments and fishes salt water and freshwater allot I find that expensive rods which are lighter and more Sensative are essential Especially when fishing with light line such as 3 pound leader. As well when I go mulloway fishing in estuaries such as the Yarra or docklands I find high end rods in some companies such as penn or shimano do very well with these fish compared to fibreglass, because braid and live bait is pair really well. I definitely agree with the old cheap fibreglass being awesome rods as I think they are, as someone who is 16 and fished for 11 years my first rod was an old ugly stick my dad gave me and it’s still my prised rod. I’m not trying to contradict your argument I just wanted to bring another view to the table. Have an awesome day Robbie and keep up the amazing videos

Thanks Robbie. You have potentially saved me a few hundred dollars. I recently bought a Daiwa Tatulla heavy duty baitcaster. I've used it a few times and love the action and casting accuracy. You're advice about high sticking is something I've never heard of before. Great advice probably the most practical I've ever had on any video. Thanks again. Tight lines 👍

Hey Robbie, you're right about fibreglass rods lasting for years, I've got a few rods from the seventies still catching fish🐟

That was good info thanks Robbie. I'm going to go through my old rods and sort them.

Graphite rods are prone to getting micro cracks when banged around. The micro cracks become stress points causing failure. Don't bang your rod on hard stuff and use a rod sock for transport and storage.

Great information. Thanks Robbie. I have learnt something new today.

This has been a brilliant episode, it’s helped me a lot with rod selection. At times I’ve struggled with casting and this has been very helpful with future rod choice.

G Loomis baitcasters are nice.

Thanks Robbie, over the years I have always enjoyed your videos and this one was very informative on fishing rods as over the years I have collected many different rods . Keep em coming ! 👍👍🍻🍻

Awesome video mate! Totally agree. Thanks for sharing.

Learned something new, thank you Robbie!