quality of gear THAT important...

[angler_jack]

Basically since I'm 18, the only fisherman in my family, and earning minimum wage i have been forced to buy the cheapest gear on the market most of my rods and reels costing between 10-30 quid. And my chair, pod, luggage and tackle boxes are all just as cheap. But they all do the job i make do with what i have. i mean my set of carp rods AND reels cost me 50 quid and they do fine. and my 20 pound alarm set still make a noise when i get a bite. My feeder rod is still sensitive enough to show bite indication and all my rod play fish well in ym opinion. so i ask is it THAT important...


saying all this, once i finish with uni and hopefully have more expendable income i will probably start buying the more upmarket gear anyway...

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

I think that a cheap reel will eat you down sooner rather than later

I've bought cheap reel and had them break

Rods well a cheap float rod may be heavier and not as balanced as a dearer rod and you may find holding it for long periods tiring

 

[chefster]

Its only important if you want it to be.....

 

[barbelboi]

Don't forget that the only thing the fish sees is your end tackle - the rest just makes it easier/more pleasurable for you........
Jerry
PS When you can afford it a good rod and reel will last a long time and give you a lot of pleasure.

 

[frothy]

Your outlook on fishing is breath of fresh air most youngsters just want the newest fancy tackle. making do with what you have and concentrating on things that are important like water craft and bait presentation are far more valuable. The better tackle comes with time and you will have the ability to put it to good use and get the most from it:thumbs:

 

[terry m]

Its only important if you want it to be.....

Spot on, focus more on how to catch the quarry than whether your kit looks as good as the guy next to you.

 

[black rod]

You only get what you pay for in this life, having said that I believe the quality for cost on fishing tackle has improved over the past 10 years.

 

[Bluenose]

Welcome to the site mate!

I think the main factor is that provided you enjoy your fishing with what you have now then try not to worry too much, all due respect but you have years to make upgrades, and re-upgrades after that.

Many cheaper brands will get you by without a doubt, and if you can, put a bit aside to get yourself an upgraded rod or reel, second hand is a superb option for quality gear at a bargain price.

 

[itsfishingnotcatching]

Just enjoy the fishing, there's an old expression "what you've never had, you'll never miss". Upgrade only when necessary for now, you may find that in the not too distant future, family and work commitments may seriously impair your ability to fish (I had a thirty odd year break mg There's a few guys on here who have owned expensive tackle, sold it when times were hard or fishing became impractical and now cannot replace it at any cost.

A lot of good tackle is available well within your budget.

Ian

 

[jacksharp]

Welcome to the site and ignore any tackle tarts who come on preaching about what's best. What's really important is that you are getting out fishing!

Check your nearest online Gumtree site for secondhand bargains on good tackle brands. I check it daily and have had some crackers like a Korum quiver and tackle bag for £20 the pair, and a Daiwa pole for £30.

 

[steve2012]

Quality of the angler is a million times more important than flashy tackle, luggage, matching rods and reels etc

All of us started somewhere and bought better rods and reels as we went along, however the basic principle remains the same, the fish dont see your bedchair or what label your clothes are.

Best of luck to you, fish will always be able to be caught on basic tackle and baits. Worms catch everything that swims !!

 

[Peter Jacobs]

The most important parts to get right are your hook, hooklength material and your bait.

The rest are simply appendages, and that coming from a self-confessed Tackle Tart.

Yes, it is nice to use the best kit available, but as others have rightly said, the fish don't see, or get put-off, by those bits.

Learn your watercraft and pay attention to the "business end" of the tackle and you'll catch plenty.



Welcome to FishingMagic and tight lines.

 

[beerweasel]

Thousands of pounds have been spent on research and development to produce
tackle that is perfectly designed to catch anglers.

 

[sam vimes]

I quite agree that, for the most part, there's plenty of excellent gear available for very little cash. However, don't let the inverted snobs kid you that spending good money on better gear can't pay off handsomely. And despite the trueism that the fish don't care what you use and that it's terminal tackle/bait that really matters, better kit can put extra/bigger fish on the bank. Much depends on how much you value that and value owning decent gear.

I wonder if you get people on car forums claiming that a Mondeo is just as good as an Aston Martin? I'm sure there is a parallel, they'll both do the job. However, anyone suggesting to me that, if they were given the choice of either for free, they'd choose the Mondeo, are only kidding themselves.

 

[jacksharp]

Inverted snobbery has nothing to do with encouraging the poster to fish with what he can best afford.

Tackle tarts on here rubbish budget tackle all the time from their lofty perch, sitting on their wallets.

Its nice to hear people say "The important thing is just to be fishing" and not tack on "but you'd do so much better if you could afford such and such"

Posters don't start threads like these if they can afford top of the range.

Good luck to the OP and no doubt he will upgrade when he can afford to.

 

[sam vimes]

Inverted snobbery has nothing to do with encouraging the poster to fish with what he can best afford.

Tackle tarts on here rubbish budget tackle all the time from their lofty perch, sitting on their wallets.

Its nice to hear people say "The important thing is just to be fishing" and not tack on "but you'd do so much better if you could afford such and such"

Posters don't start threads like these if they can afford top of the range.

Good luck to the OP and no doubt he will upgrade when he can afford to.

I accept that there's nothing wrong with encouraging anyone to fish in whatever way they can, with whatever gear they can afford, but some posts go beyond that into hints that expensive kit isn't worth it. People that think that way are only kidding themselves. I haven't noticed anyone, including the self confessed tackle tarts, rubbishing budget gear on this thread.

 

[jacksharp]

I accept that there's nothing wrong with encouraging anyone to fish in whatever way they can, with whatever gear they can afford, but some posts go beyond that into hints that expensive kit isn't worth it. People that think that way are only kidding themselves. I haven't noticed anyone, including the self confessed tackle tarts, rubbishing budget gear on this thread.

Sam, as a fly-fisherman of 40 years I can categorically state (having owned them all) that a Sage/Loomis/Orvis/Scott rod for £600 is no way better functioning than a Greys for £250 other than for the pleasure of owning them. The same goes for the reels like Hardy vs Vision or Lamson vs Snowbee.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Sam, as a fly-fisherman of 40 years I can categorically state (having owned them all) that a Sage/Loomis/Orvis/Scott rod for £600 is no way better functioning than a Greys for £250 other than for the pleasure of owning them. The same goes for the reels like Hardy vs Vision or Lamson vs Snowbee.

Not sure I'd agree with you on that one to be honest.

The lifetime guarantee that you get with Sage fly rods is unsurpassable elsewhere.

Also, I would argue the clutch system on an Abel reel is far superior to anything available between £100 to £200

On the coarse fishing side I'd champion the performance ofmy Carbotec rods against anything made in the same era too.

 

[jacksharp]

Not sure I'd agree with you on that one to be honest.

The lifetime guarantee that you get with Sage fly rods is unsurpassable elsewhere.

Also, I would argue the clutch system on an Abel reel is far superior to anything available between £100 to £200

On the coarse fishing side I'd champion the performance ofmy Carbotec rods against anything made in the same era too.

We've had this discussion before Peter. The lifetime guarantee on a Sage rod is good, but you can get 2 Greys Platinum XT for the cost of a Sage. The Platinum XT is the lightest rod I have ever fished with, will cast for miles (if required) and the fittings and quality are first class.

As for Abel reels, you need a good clutch if you are after bones, tarpon, big-game fish or spring salmon. The clutch on Abel and Tibor reels is totally wasted on UK troufishing BUT, I can understand why you like owning them. I have owned a Waterworks LA and a Lamson Litespeed, lovely reels but an unnecessary extravagance.

 

[richiekelly]

I have owned and used both expensive and budget tackle in the past, I always try to buy the tool that I need for the job in hand and that needn't be the most expensive, I will only upgrade if something breaks or if I cannot do what I need to with the tackle I already have, there have been very few occasions when I have needed to do this and yes it has put a few more fish on the bank but in most angling situations the run of the mill tackle will perform well enough.


While on the subject of tackle, I am looking for a long landing net handle (one I need for specific swim I want to fish) it must be very long ( 12/14 feet) and strong, any ideas?