Reality Check

[OldTimer]

Hey,

Having "state of the art" toys, or gear, is a dream of everyone.

Who wouldnt want the absolute best, most expensive, jaw dropping, envy producing stuff available.

Me too.

But:
- my Ford pickup gets us there and back.
- my beat up guitar sounds great
-my Timex watch keeps perfect time
- my old fishing gear, old beat up lures, and mono line - do catch lottsa fish - big ones too..............

Ever notice that most world record fish were caught years ago on old gear.............yeah I know "there were more fish then" - but my point is- that gear did the job and accomplished something that no one else ever had, or has since.

Otherwise the record books would be filled with listings from just the last few years.

Like the title of this thread............... Reality Checks are worthwhile... before dropping a hockey sock of money on the latest overpriced widget.

.............this should stir up a few comments.............

Cheers,

OT

[Brodylavoie]

I'm just getting back into the sport and I picked up a Berkley rod and a Shimano reel for approx $50 each. $20 for line. I'm betting that's more than enough for anything I'm going to get on my line.

Doesn't have to be fancy to work.

Some toys are fun to have though. I just ordered the Humminbird RF35 wireless sonar. Some pros and cons to the device I've heard but I prefer to make my own judgments.
http://ca.humminbird.com/products/341324/RF35

[Giuga10]

I can agree when it comes to fly fishing too. I find that my crappy home tied flys do better than the $3.00 each ones from the fishing shops, and mine are usually a completely non realistic BRIGHT yellow, with some frayed threads as a tail and it does the job well.

Giuga10

[MikeH]

(01-13-2013 04:08 PM)Brodylavoie Wrote:  I just ordered the Humminbird RF35 wireless sonar. Some pros and cons to the device I've heard but I prefer to make my own judgments.
http://ca.humminbird.com/products/341324/RF35

I got one of those a while ago.

http://fishontoronto.com/shore-based-sonar-fishfinder

I got hold of the rf20 model which clips onto an old rod and reel. I gave it some extensive use in the spring getting depths and finding structure on both new and existing locations, and it was useful towards the fall for finding outwhen temperature turnovers had occured.

Apparently I seem to have the only one that still works more than 12 months after purchase....
My top tip would be to dry the float immediately and to tape over the two metal terminals on its base when not in use. If they short out on your other gear or get damp, the battery will run down in no time, even though you are not using it.

[MuskieBait]

It depends...

A 1980 car can get you from point A to point B...but the same car also requires more time in the repair shop. It requires an emission test every 2 years. It has much poorer gas mileage.

A new car requires less care and much better gas mileage. There may be new safety features like ABS and passenger air bags. There may be luxury items like heated seats and digital device plug-in.

If you are capable to upgrade, would you?

Is it necessary? Maybe, it depends on what is important to you.

No one is saying you should go out and get the latest Ferrari (Shimano Stella)...but if you have a 1980 Ford that is breaking apart, or a little Civic that is incapable of doing some 4x4...then maybe it is time to get the right vehicle for your needs.

It's still getting from point A to point B...but some roads depend more car than others. A Civic is not fit for 4x4...even if you try it, it may last one trip and the car is done.

May I refer to this disaster that luckily was detected and avoided early.

http://ontarioshorefishing.com/forum/Thr...17#pid4617

If you are me and partake on saltwater fishing here and there...maybe once or twice a year...and you are looking at a $130 Cardiff (at the time) or a $170 Saltist, which one is the better choice? Is the $40 "savings" a short-sighted decision? To be absolutely honest, at the time I purchased the Cardiff, I had also had the Saltist at the top of my list...but I thought I would save some money, plus select a lighter reel, and chose the Cardiff. At the end, I ended up spending more than I would had I chose the Saltist from the get-go. I end up having to make two separate purchases!

I regularly (once or twice a year) fish saltwater. Saltwater intrusion and sand is a big issue for me. The better the components, the less repair I need to make, and the less potential failure there is.

I weight the pros and cons this way. I spend a few hundred dollars (or more) to get fishing somewhere exotic (Florida, California, Hawaii...etc). It's an opportunity that may not come often (or ever again). Now I'm fishing and a piece of my gear failed (rod snapped, reel broke down, line was old and snap easy...) because I was 1) too thrifty to pay the little extra for better gear 2) too lazy to put on new line 3) too lazy to care for my gear. And voila...there is an opportunity that only comes once in a lifetime (tarpon right under the beach, shark on the chew, bluefish busting everywhere)...and I have no gear to use because I was too cheap or lazy and my gear broke on my trip.

Sure, I can go and get new gear for replacement...but on a trip, time is limited...time is golden...time is opportunity...and time is also money. So getting new gear means losing half a day or a day of fishing and it means missing opportunities. So I spent so much money to get there for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity...but I decide to cheap out a few tens of dollar difference and put myself out of the game...because I chose a $130 reel that is not saltwater capable vs. spending the extra $40 for a saltwater capable reel...$500-$1000 spent on a trip...missing an opportunity because of a $40 savings...The cost-benefit economics just does not work out...

If I get good gear to start, then it will last me years of service. No time lost, no need to replace the gear for the next 10-20 years.

OT, funny you brought this up. How much were your Squidders when you bought them at the time? How do their prices compare to reels today adjusting for inflation? A lot of older guys say they fish with these older gear that were dirt cheap and they are just as dependable...but they forget that 20 years ago, $30 buys a lot...gas was $0.49 when I moved to Canada 20 years ago. They also didn't mention that at the time, these Squidders, Jigmasters and Spinfisher are some of the top gear of the time. Yeah, these gear are not are advance when compared to modern reels...but at the time of purchase, they were top gear.

A Penn 6/0 (Penn Special Senator 114H2) is not cheap either...they are selling for $170 now. I wouldn't call that exactly "cheap". It is on the mid-low end for a conventional 6/0 though. It is dependable...it is no-frills...but it is not exuberant...yet not cheap.

A $170 Shimano Baitrunner or Penn Spinfisher V is really on the low end of saltwater spinning gear...they get the job done and are dependable...but certainly not considered expensive for their performance or their durability. Buy once, last 20 years.

Just my $0.02.

---

I'll tell you what's overpriced...

The same old model of reel that comes with a "new" upgrade when they add one more bearings to the reel...and a new "material" when they shaved 0.2oz of weight off the rod or reel...

They sucker people into getting new gear when the new models are marginally slightly better in things that does not matter that much.

Now...a spinning reel with a water tight gasket for the gear box (main body)? Tell me how many spinning reel has any kind of waterproof construction?

[Giuga10]

(01-13-2013 06:42 PM)MuskieBait Wrote:  I'll tell you what's overpriced...

The same old model of reel that comes with a "new" upgrade when they add one more bearings to the reel...and a new "material" when they shaved 0.2oz of weight off the rod or reel...

They sucker people into getting new gear when the new models are marginally slightly better in things that does not matter that much.

Kinda like Iphones.

Giuga10

[MuskieBait]

Exactly...that's why I don't spend my money on electronics...every new model is just marginally better.

I would rather save the $400-700 and spend that on another trip to fishing somewhere else

iPod, iPad and iPhone...add the three together and you're looking at a return airfare to Australia...I'm not kidding.

[MichaelAngelo]

There are tried and true products with excellent track records. Usually, they're not sold in stores anymore and you can buy them on Craigslist for less than you can buy the modern renditions.

Further, there's the question of how much uncertainty one is willing to accept. The Canadian Tire Special spinning combo is probably (99% of the time) going to work. But the thing is, fishing can come down to once-in-a-lifetime moments that some feel are worth preparing for.

Like Sean said on here before, buy cheap buy twice.

Or just don't buy at all and stick to your old guns! I did this for a while until my inconsistent drags on my old reels potentially lost me some fish in California. "Potentially"... I'm not certain of how things could have played out different if I was using more suitable gear.

I bought some "new" stuff including an old, used Sedona workhose. $30 got me a dependable reel probrably better than the latest shimanos of that price. That "potentially" is worth eliminating from the picture.


Even going into the Florida trip, I didn't have a consistent large spinning reel... I haven't made that purchase yet. I was using some random "Powerleader 600" who knows what . I caught me fish... but it also could have lost me fish... could have.

[MuskieBait]

Question is...do you want to have that "could have" in the back of your mind when you need to depend on the gear?

Didn't you get a fish get you into a snag on that Powerleader 600?

The Powerleader 600 caught you fish, but they were fish you can handle on a 3000 size spinning reel of decent construction. Most of the fish that were landed on the reel were under 3lbs...and none of them were bigger jacks, bigger grouper, bigger snapper or sharks.

Sedona is a decent reel. You are right. You can get good condition used gear for a fraction of the cost. My Shimano Baitrunner and the Daiwa Saltist Levelwind are both bought used. They are not the latest model...but they are not exactly old gear either. I wouldn't call any gear under 5 years as old. But there are also a lot of previously owned new gear on the internet that you can get in new-in-box or excellent conditions. There are a lot of tackle hos out there who just buy gear for the sake of buying gear and never use them...and then they push them out after to make room of newer gear...silly people...

I would like to eliminate as much of the "potentially" out of the equation as possible. You may only ever hook up one tarpon...and you don't want your gear to fail in that case. I will pay a lot not to relive those moments when your gear fails and you lose the fish of a lifetime. Been there, done that...there are a lot of fish that still haunts me.

And imagine you eventually hooked a snakehead on that braid of yours? You knew how that went...luckily you found out the issue before you hooked a snakehead. I can only imagine the disappointment that follows...

[OldTimer]

Never said buy cheap ............ said buy smart.

"Reality Checks are worthwhile... before dropping a hockey sock of money on the latest overpriced widget."

BTW........... my pickup is almost new....... but not a Ferrari................. then again, my old guitar is a Gibson.

.........smile

OT