Worst Tackle buys

[steve2]

There are best buys, buys that haven’t stood the test of time but what are your worst fishing buys.
Looking in my shed my most recent worst buys are 2 Fox Carp rods, used twice, 2 Wychwood rogue Barbel rods still have plastic wrap on handles. Some secondhand reels just why I bought them I don’t know. 100’s of floats, swim feeders, hooks and lures.
All these fit into me worst buys not because they are rubbish buys but simply because I never needed them in the first place.
Other worst buys the John Wilson Avon system, rubbish with extension added. A Dinsmore folding landing net that broke on the first decent fish. New fishing line that had a glowing report but was rubbish when used.
What have you bought that you would say are bad buys or worst buys or just turn out to be rubbish not fit for purpose?

 

[mikench]

My various carp rods which I have never used, one of which has a 50mm butt ring which irritates me immensely. It might go in the garden as a support for a clematis or tomato plant. Horrible things.

 

[wetthrough]

Drennan FD3000 reel - let's twist again and a Daiwa 13' Team Daiwa Match Waggler rod - gyrates about like a demented snake when you flick it out of the water. I have several other rods and reels which I don't use simply because I have something that suits me better.

 

[Aknib]

A Shakespeare keepnet which floated!

Not like most do until the mesh soaks, this damned thing wouldn't stay down for love nor money and it's not always practicle to stake one out.

Two Fox Stratos baitrunners, bought lightly used second hand but a complete pile of shiiiit!

TFG 'fishing boots' which soaked your feet in anything from a light dew on the grass.

Fortunately these were all some time ago but I have a long memory with these sorts of things, I haven't since and I won't entertain any of the brands mentioned again.

If they were faulty then fair do's but they simply weren't fit for purpose and the companies that put them into the marketplace paid the price, and will continue to do so at least as far as I'm concerned.

 

[John Keane]

Guru Inline Plummet, rubbish gimmick! Guru Pellet Strainer inserts for bait boxes, superfluous junk. Guru Pop Up Bait Clips for use on their Method Feeders, flawed design.

Larger White Elephants include Preston On Box Backrest for Space Station Box, didn’t help with pole-holder’s backache one bit. Korum Fibreglass Lightweight Brolly, weighed 7lbs. Penn Surfblaster Fixed Spool Reel, more birdsnests than any multiplier.

 

[nottskev]

I suppose it comes down to things I've bought but disliked; few things have proved unfit for purpose.

I quite liked my old John Wilson 11/13. I jettisoned the 2' section, and found it fine for 4/5lb carp off the surface and for chub and barbel on a small river. I gave it to a friend in Lithuania, where it now catches tench and carp from his own little lake. It certainly paid for itself.

I tried the (in its day) hot new hooklength line Pro-micron, and found it brittle and curly. A friend who'd used it for donkeys' years recommended a Berkeley line for barbel. When I tried it, I was getting broken, sometimes on the bite. A Browning rod holdall came unstitched and ripped in various places after a few months. Those old green Drennan feederlink blockends that split when you'd put the cap on a few times.
Most shot these days. A Daiwa cf reel. Some more might come to me later.

 

[trotter2]

A matchbox seat box that was far to heavy to carry. A battery trolley that again required a crane to lift it in and out of the car. A drennan fd reel that lasted 2 minutes before the bail arm failed to work. A daiwa tdr reel that the line went behind the spool regularly. And a few recommended stick float rods from another forum that were outdated and recommended by some guy with rose tinted glasses.

 

[Keith M]

The Maggiepult that Bob Nudd promoted, for feeding your pole line one handed, and Bob even made a video to promote it.

When used it makes a loud THWACK!!! that spooks every decent fish in your swim. After trying it mine soon ended in the back of the shed.

They still sell this item on the Web with a different name and some think it’s great, however I think it’s worse than clapping your hands it’s so loud.
I suppose that if everyone used one then in time the fish might get used to it; but I very much doubt it.

I was always of the opinion that keeping as quiet as you can on the bank and not spooking your fish (Not to be confused with the noise of bait landing on the water) by making unnecessary noise was conducive to catching fish.

Keith

 

[sam vimes]

The last real duffer of an item I bought was the original Guru catapult. It might be good for the short ranges required on the average commie, but I found it useless for my fishing. The elastics often didn't see out a session without needing to be cut back. Once the elastic got so short as to need a full replacement, I did so. My thinking was that I'd got a duff elastic first time round. When the same thing happened with the second elastic, I gave up on the Guru caty.

 

[nottskev]

A battery trolley that again required a crane to lift it in and out of the car.

A PowaWalker by any chance? I had exactly that problem. I phoned the bloke who made them: given they'll be bought by people with a physical problem, like a back injury, why make them from something like scaffold pole? He answered, I wanted them to last a long time. Mine didn't last me long - sold on before I did myself further injury.

 

[trotter2]

A PowaWalker by any chance? I had exactly that problem. I phoned the bloke who made them: given they'll be bought by people with a physical problem, like a back injury, why make them from something like scaffold pole? He answered, I wanted them to last a long time. Mine didn't last me long - sold on before I did myself further injury.

Yes that's the ones not for me .

 

[Peter Jacobs]

The worse item I ever bought has to be also the one that had the very worst after sales service (and that word is used advisedly) . . .

It was a 15' rod by MAP that also had the option of a separate butt section that made the rod into 20 feet for Bolognese fishing. The 15' and extra butt section cost over £300 and that was at 1993 prices. . . .

The very first time I put it together and threaded line through the rings the top 6 inches of the tip section broke off in my hands, rendering the rod useless.

I had the devil's own job getting in touch with MAP who at first refused to replace the section even though I offered to pay for a new secion; then they tried telling me that they no longer imported that model and flatly refused to even talk about the problem any futher.

I mentioned this to an old friend who worked in Forster's in Birmingham who said he'd look around and see what he could do. He actually found that the tip section of a Tri Cast 15' rod fitted my MAP perfectly, and even gave it to me for free . . . .

Needless to say I have never bought another item from MAP but then used Foster's for the next few years alost exclusively.

 

[catmad graham]

I bought a set of bite alarms with illuminated swingers and a reciver for a good price [or so I thought]
first time using them on a night catfishing session I got a bite of went the alarm with one little bleep the reciver went beserk bleeped about 7 times making it unreliable and unuseable and the wheight on the swingers was about 2ozs so you would need a killer whale to move it
also bought an ngt 5lb test curve rod what a piece of c*** it was stiffer than a scaffold pole ok for spoding but not much good for much else
just goes to show you get what you pay for

 

[rayner]

I can't really think of any bad tackle buys, at least none come to mind. I did buy an Okuma bait runner reel that was done for in a season, it got very clunky winding in but I put that down to me being too tight to buy a better quality reel. The reel was poor but I blame myself for the buy, rather than the buy being bad. Buying expensive doesn't always equate to quality but buying cheap is a sure fire way to rubbish.

 

[Aknib]

Needless to say I have never bought another item from MAP but then used Foster's for the next few years alost exclusively.

I used to regularly call in to Fosters when I was working in the area and bought a fair bit of gear from them over the years.

I preferred the old shop before they moved to the industrial type unit which backs onto the canal somewhere in the early 2000's (?) and found the service much more personal but I couldn't really fault the larger store, it's only what you'd expect with higher footfall.

Are they now an Angling Direct?

 

[flightliner]

Not bought by me but relation for me--
A Lesney bread press !
Bought by me-- a packet of Ai lion dor hooks, both total - - - P !!!

 

[Krang]

Some cheap fluorocarbon from Decathlon. I had it as a leader as I was casting quite a nice Yo-Zuri lure into the Thames. It snapped off as I was casting. Couldn't figure out where the lure had actually gone. Then about ten seconds later it plopped right into the middle of the water never to be seen again. The line hadn't even snapped at the knot. Since then I've been sure to only buy good fluorocarbon.

 

[fred hall]

I am interested to see that the Powawalker didn't suit more than one person because I had been musing over getting one. My personal worst buy, or at least my most expensive Angling mistake, has to be the Diawa barrow platform I bought a few years back but has been used less than a dozen times. To be fair it is a well made item but I just cannot get on with it, finding it awkward to set up and cumbersome to use. My judgement is clouded by the fact that on second use I didn't see a small ditch in front of me and as a result we both went A over T! A legacy of this incident is one leg slightly bent (the barrow, not me). An ongoing project is to replace it because I do need my Brilo seatbox for pole fishing. Any suggestions welcomed.
PS Have decided against a single wheeled trolly.

 

[stillwater blue]

Magna Strike Predator and Equalizer where good lures but the quality control was shocking, some floated others sank, some had a rattle and some didn't and some leaked yet they where all supposed to be the same

I had one of the first Daiwa baitrunner style reel, I can't even remember the name. The line twist pretty much made it unusable, I was gutted as I'd saved my paper round money up for weeks to buy it.

 

[ian g]

I used to regularly call in to Fosters when I was working in the area and bought a fair bit of gear from them over the years.

I preferred the old shop before they moved to the industrial type unit which backs onto the canal somewhere in the early 2000's (?) and found the service much more personal but I couldn't really fault the larger store, it's only what you'd expect with higher footfall.

Are they now an Angling Direct?

Yes they are , I visit the industrial estate on the other side of the canal regularly so used to divert to Foster's a lot . Great shop and good service . I don't go so much now so can't really judge the new owners set up.