Reality Check

[MuskieBait]

Just having a healthy discussion here...

If you are making a long term SMART purchase, wouldn't you try to buy state-of-the-art gear that will last you the next 10-15 years and still be pretty good? Or would you buy dated gear that is already behind on technology?

Sure, a reel is a reel and any reel can catch fish...but so can a hand line. Hawaiians, for year (and some still do), fish for 100lb+ tuna using hand lines.

Who needs a reel?





And if you say "well, they are just little tunas"





(as an aside...this was what I was talking about Michael...jack-poling tuna! Now THIS is epic!!! You can also see what I meant by chumming up fish with live bait...and keep chumming to keep the school around. They still do that in California on their party boats...even for other fish like California Barracuda and Bonito.)

So...simple bamboo or fiberglass rod...one length of line...100lb+ tuna...

Who needs rods with roller guides and stainless steel bent butt, multiplier, lever drag reels, harnesses and game chair anyways? You don't even need a sportfisher boat that is quick on the reverse and tight on the turn.

Who needs drag anyways?

Here's reality check for you...point A to point B...they're catching fish anyways, right? You can't get more old timer gear than that.

To each his own I say. If you want to spend on good gear, go ahead. I play on a $70 ukulele...I don't see the need for a Gibson at this point. But hey, if you want to spend on a Gibson, go for it. At least you know enough to appreciate the difference.

That last sentence is I think what will decided for you whether you want to spend more on gear or not...and whether you think it is worthwhile to get state-of-the-art, absolute best, envy producing gear.

I'm not saying you should just go and buy an item because of the name and the bling (hey, that rhymes!), but if you can appreciate the difference in top end gear, and you see the need for it, then go ahead. Who cares what everyone else says...most likely they are just jealous. Lots of envious folks out there sometimes (not saying you are such folks, OT).

I would really like to see Michael face-off a 8' bull shark on this Powerleader 600. I would love to see the graphite spool smoke under the sizzling run.

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Before anyone thinks I'm an over-the-top tackle ho, I still love my Pflueger Trion GX-7 rod and reel. And when and if I need a replacement, I hope that combo is still in production so I can get the same rod and reel as a replacement. Great combo for the price and all you really need for most light-medium gear application.

And before people think I'm fishing with Trinadad's and Stella's, my saltwater gear consist of a very forgiving graphite composite UglyStik Tiger rod ($80) and a full aluminum Daiwa Saltist reel ($180). That is pretty low-mid price range for saltwater gear. Dependable, but not much bling at all (well, maybe a little bling from the Saltist...certainly no Saltiga but still a very bullet-proof reel within limits).

For the longest time I had a Jigmaster reel ($80)...but that Jigmaster was really hurting on line retrieval rates when we were fishing in over 200 feet of water. More time cranking up means less incentive to check bait as often as you can...and also more tiring on the arms...hence I upgraded to the Saltist. It's not a bling decision...it's a practical decision...high gear ratio = faster retrieval = more fresh bait dropped to attract fish = more fish.

Is the extra $100 in price worth it? Absolute to me. Plus, now I can use that reel for 20-40lb class tuna (some have even caught tuna up to 100lb on it)...whereas the Jigmaster's drag was smoking and heating up badly while fighting a 15lb mahimahi and a 8lb skipjack tuna after. That's the difference the extra $100 can give you. Great construction, greater dependability, less prone to failure. Absolutely worth the price tag.

And do you need braid? Isn't mono good enough? That depends...mono is pretty poor when you use 40lb mono in 200+ feet of water on a 6oz lead...it literally feels like fishing with a rubber band...zero sensitivity at all...and very slow on the hookset. Learned my lesson while fishing for cod in Massachusetts...switched over to braid and it was night and day...you can feel every soft bite that the cod were giving you...and in the end I caught a few more fish.

Dependable means a little more money...but it does not mean the entire bank account