I guess I will look at this from another point of view. It is pretty much fact that you can't catch fish if your line isn't in the water. I think that the better quality rods and reels allow you to do this. They do not back lash as often, they cast better, the rods are less liely to break on a bigger fish, they are lighter and don't wear you out. All these little things ad up over the course of a days, weeks, years fishing, so if the original question is do higher quality products help you catch more fish...I would say YES. Now, if the question is do higher quality products help you land more fish once the fish is hooked....that I would say is a maybe....my 2 cents