ever bought tackle and regretted it?

hi all,
I was thinking last night about tackle I have bought in the past either on a whim and/or thought what a waste of money/time!
The biggest mistake I have ever made was when I got really serious about fly fishing about 10 years ago. I got it in to my head that I wanted to own the best fly rod in the world ( the power of marketing!) and went and bought a sage 9ft XP rod for a silly amount of cash!
found that I could cast my £70 shimano better and was told that most of the money spent on USA fly rods goes on export duty, you live and learn. I have also bought other items in the past that either end up sitting in the shed gathering dust or being given away!

mark

Many times Mark,i bought a 12ft hand built Avon from i beleve it was Mark...Phillips???After asking the fella if he could make me a rod for trotting for barbel,i paid what was a princely sum at the time and waited with baited breath,a few weeks later the rod turned up,well made,without doubt,but it was the most top heavy,unbalanced,stick of rhubarb ive ever laid my hands on,but i thought ive got to try it,so one day on the H.Avon,i fished with the beast,after several arm aching hours i hooked and landed a mid-8lber,god,ive never felt so sorry for a fish,i had no control,or power to bring the fish in,nowadays i would have known more about the possibilities of fish mortality on such occasions(i would have hand lined it in),needless to say i offloaded this piece of rubbish quickly and took the loss,another instance was when the okuma epix reels were getting rave reviews and one tackle shop was offering deals,the deal was to buy two for a considerable saving,so muggins here thought(even though i didnt need 'a' reel),i'll give em a go,well after many years of using shimano and daiwa reels,it was like going back to using the old 'black prince',the drag was poor,the level wind was all over the place,the press button spools didnt work smoothly,bloody awful,i gave them to a couple of kids and thought about the look on their faces on having something so marvelous(some saving eh?mg:

Aqua Umbrella system ?

Thing leaked like a sieve after a few years and because of the water proofing agent they used, it can't be re-water proofed ?

And it wern't cheap

Bob

Yep, a pair of new Browning Carp reels! They really did look lovely in the shop, untill I tried to load them with line.............the line lay was the worst I had ever seen, almost reverse taper! And when loading the line the reel started grinding! Total dross! I took them back and was given a new set......this happend twice! I went on to get Shimano after that! And then Cardinal 55's which IMO are the best!!!

thanks for that bob....was looking at aqua brollies!!!
I have always stuck with shimano or diawa reels, but one day while being advised about how good these reels where for the money, (sorry Mr leagem!) I bought a browning match reel...NOW I KNOW WHY THEY DONT SELL!!
Also I have tried Okuma reels and thought they where ok till about 3 months of feeder fishing, they just literately exploded!!

mark

Too much and too embarassed to list It happens to all of us.

You know what, I can barely think of one item I've bought in years that was junk. I've bought umpteen items on a whim and known sooner or later that I didn't really need them.
I'm really fancying an new pole at the moment and I have no real idea why. I'll probably not actually use it that much. I will use it more than my heavy fifteen year old beast though. The saving grace is that it'll last me years. Although once I get it I know I'll wonder why I've bothered. I do have a nasty habit of getting bees in my bonnet about new kit.

mark brailsford 2 said:

thanks for that bob....was looking at aqua brollies!!!
I have always stuck with shimano or diawa reels, but one day while being advised about how good these reels where for the money, (sorry Mr leagem!) I bought a browning match reel...NOW I KNOW WHY THEY DONT SELL!!
Also I have tried Okuma reels and thought they where ok till about 3 months of feeder fishing, they just literately exploded!!

mark

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Mark,

I now have a 60" Badger Oval and a JRC Overwrap, at around a 5th of the Price of the Aqua system, I can by 5 of the above !!

And they can be re-waterproofed !!

Bob

Interesting to see the negativity about Okuma reels. Quite unusual on the various forums where they gain quite a lot of support. I've always felt that they were inferior, not bought them and not been shy about saying so. I've lost count of the number of times I've been accused of being a tackle tart, a kit snob or having too much money for my refusal to buy anything but Shimano.
I've not bought a duff reel since I adopted that policy, I intend to stick to it!

easy this one-Fox evolution shelter. Well made piece of kit. However.....weighs a bloody ton, is over six feet long (so nice and easy to carry about, Not) and a total pain to assemble. Used once. Mint condition-anyone wanna buy it?

I bought a Korum Neotoric Twin Tip few years ago thinking it would be perfect for long distance work . My attitude to fishing has done a complete about turn and therefore have never used it for its original purpose .It gets a outing now and again ,being used as a marker rod .Shame really as it would make a good floodwater Barbel rod .

sam vimes said:

I do have a nasty habit of getting bees in my bonnet about new kit.

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I have the same problem. I convince myself it'll be useful and that I need it.

I generally buy rods and reels thats too expensive for the amount of time I use it. I bought a float rod after Xmas, cost me £150 and I've used to once to catch a handful of skimmers. So far it's around a £5 a fishmg:

xenon said:

easy this one-Fox evolution shelter. Well made piece of kit. However.....weighs a bloody ton, is over six feet long (so nice and easy to carry about, Not) and a total pain to assemble. Used once. Mint condition-anyone wanna buy it?

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I've got one (the compact evolution)......it's superb, light, fits into my rod slings large compartment and go's up and down faster than anything i have ever owned.

I can use it in awkward river swims to for overnighters.....i dont like bivvies on rivers!

---------- Post added at 16:57 ---------- Previous post was at 16:57 ----------

little oik said:

I bought a Korum Neotoric Twin Tip few years ago thinking it would be perfect for long distance work . My attitude to fishing has done a complete about turn and therefore have never used it for its original purpose .It gets a outing now and again ,being used as a marker rod .Shame really as it would make a good floodwater Barbel rod .

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I need a third........want to swop it lol

I've not been fishing long enough to have made any big blunders yet but as a newbie I've bought the wrong thing a few times - like buying meat punches thinking they were bread punches had to take one to work so a colleague who is a matchman could tell me where I had gone wrong DOH ! then I bought those little t-oss pots but the notch in the bottom wouldn't fit any of my top sections DOH !

I've never used the stott applicator - the thing that looks like nail clippers I find it much easier using forceps and me and my son have still not figured out how to add the feeding pot to his map tks pole but keep the section the same length as all the others

I have a Browning Snyth 2 ? 13ft quiver rod - it comes out once a year - and hten sit back waiting for next years oting


Just dosen't feel right to me somehow - if anyone makes me a offer of £50 it#'s theirs