EXPENSIVE GEAR - ARE WE TARTS?

You know how it is, the fishing starts to slow down a bit when the sun gets up and you start ruminating about things in general anf fishing in particular. I was waggler fishing a local water last week after silvers and tench and had some nice tench to over 6lb. Up comes the sun, off go the tench. A chap on the next peg was fishjing a pellet waggler up in the water and catching some nice carp, some close to double figures. I watched him and was seriously impressed by the parabolic curve his rod took as he fought these carp. Carbonactive or Greys, I thought. Couldn't resist so went for a quick chat and mentioned the action of his rod. Do you know what? It wasn't an expensive bit of kit but a Leeda Carp Waggler which cost him £35. He'd teamed that with a Leeda Carp Match reel (which he probably bought as a combo).

Back at my peg, I looked down at my two hundred quid Daiwa Spectron Waggler and just wondered whether my rod was 5 times better than his. It had cost 5 times more after all. The answer, of course, is no it isn't. The Daiwa is a lovely bit of kit. Well made, well finished and with top notch fittings and a lovely tip action. But did I really need to spend £200? If not, why did I buy it. I won't catch any more fish with this rod than I would with a cheaper one. Is it pride of ownership? Perhaps, but that doesn't catch fish. Am I showing off? I'd like to think not. Would I cry if I broke a £35 rod? No. Why I cry if I broke the Spectron. Too right I would.

Then I thought about my rods and reels. Daiwa, Drennan, JW Masterlines, Shimano ... and the most surprising rod in my armoury - the Shakespeare Mach 1 Power Feeder costing all of £40 (see my review on this rod) which I instinctively reach for if I need a heavy feeder or light method rod.

Sure, there's some rubbish kitout there, but there's also some surprisingly good gear at modest prices. The current economic climate might well see increased sales of this type of gear - I hope so because theres some realgems available which introduce good kit to occasional or new anglers without breaking the bank. And why did I buy the Daiwa? Still don't know. I suppose if I hadn't spent the money on this rod her indoors would have bought even more shoes and handbags. I hate it when the sun shines and the fishing slows down ...........................

The main differnce with ord is weight I find - the cheaper rods tend to be heavierthat a similar higher priced rod and of course a better finish - the dearer rod wont catch you more fish but may cast further and you can fish all day without arm strain

Reels- differet mtter - I've boughtchap reels and regretted it -poor gearig last about 6 months to a year - I've bought Shimano and foun them to be worth the extra cash

Pole -same commet about the weight as rods

Sofor me - I'll spend a bit more on mytackle

Anglers are natural tackle tarts, the longer they fish the more tarty they get but in our defence most of the rods and reels revolves around a few well known makers. As regards rods, most of the blanks for rods are sourced from a few makers in the far east and only the logo on them is different but there are exceptions of course. Shakespeare produce cracking good rods at realistic prices but you won't see many anglers shouting about how they own a Shaky rod, they aren't 'fashionable' enough for most anglers. I do though, I have just bought an 11ft Mach 3 feeder rod and it is all you require in a feeder rod with 3 tips and £60 against £130 odd for a Preston carbonactive screams bargain to me.

Reels are a different kettle of fish altogether, I, like a lot of anglers swear by Shimano and knowing their ultra smooth performance and longevity make them worth the bit extra needed to buy one in my opinion.

Daiwa is a company that I don't buy anything from because I firmly believe their products are no better than those at half the price, anglers pay a premium for the Daiwa name and I shy very wide of their products. Normark were also a pay for the name company but their rods were good, very good.

I have to agree with you both about the reels. Moving parts, bearings and quality of machining I suppose.

Interesting comment on the Daiwa Graham. I was shying away from even thinkingthe same thing!!! In truth when it comes to lightweight 13ft waggler rodsone of the best I've used is the Drennan Series 7 Competition Match - less than half the price of the Daiwa.

The Shakeys are, in my opinion, very under rated. With most anglers looking closely at their wallets before buying new gear, I do hope Shakespeare sales benefit. Good gear very reasonably priced. They did use to be fashionable at one time, remember the Boron Match rods from the early 80's? And, of course, everyone who was anyone had a Shakespeare Wand (except me!!).

Yes we are, Cakey will agree/forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif

Had some great Shakespeare rods-one in particular a 13' stepped-up job was just great for tench fishing with a nice action through the middle.In fact I caught a 7lb+ fish on this rod and it didn't let me down!

Expensive rods etc?-yes I have one or two but I always love to go back to my 1970's Bruce & Walker 11' Avons in fibre glass with action through to the handle.Coupled with small Simano baitrunners they are a joy to fish with....£40 quid they cost me and still as good as new!!Old fashion,maybe a little heavy and out of date they may be but great rods nevertheless!!

In defence of Daiwa reels I will say that there salt water match model hasn't needed new bearings yet and the cluch is still silky smooth the bail arm is not so clever, my Shimano twin powers normaly last about 18 months before have have to put new bearings in, the clutches last about the same time and are definetley not salt water proof. I knew an angler who spent over a hundred quid on a rod because he liked the colour, and we moan about women and there handbags and shoes

Again in defence of daiwa, I have had a couple of Emblems for a number of years now, £45 each, I use them for spod and marker rods, never had a problem with them.

Daiwa rods are over the top on price, British made hence the price, not many British rod companies around now. Most are made in the far east and bought over here.

There is some good tackle around at a decent price, but i don't mind paying that bit extra for the finish and quality.

I believe that there is a tackle tart in all of us, everyone would loathe a Hardy Marksmen Rod, or a Shimano Stradic reel, but for the 90% of us who cannot afford it, thereis lots of good quality qear out there for a cheapish price, however I would never skimp on a reel, you really do get what you pay for with reels, moreover, I have seen people with £20 rod and reels catch more than someone perched on his OnBox, clutching a £3000 pole. The most important thing in Angling is watercraft, knowing how, and where to present your bait is more important than the tools used to do it

Many years ago i was fishing at Stanborough lakes WGC, to prove a point I took a branch and tied on some line, float etc. sat down and caught a number of roach plus a bream close to 4lb, all on a stick. A friend of mine asked me to do it, to prove a point to his son's.

The saying, you get what you pay for, is very true, and tackle is no different, you will always get some good mid price tackle, but that bit of quality cost that little bit extra.

Having quality gear is nice, having good gear is a must. More so for reels, poles, fly gear, spinning gear and for trotting. Waggler and feeder rods are left on rests along with carp rods on pods. As long as they are reasonable good, cast out desired weight to spot then I don't think you need the quality or hiked up price.

<blockquote class=quoteheader>Ray Daywalker Clarke wrote (see)</blockquote><blockquote class=quote>

Many years ago i was fishing at Stanborough lakes WGC, to prove a point I took a branch and tied on some line, float etc. sat down and caught a number of roach plus a bream close to 4lb, all on a stick. A friend of mine asked me to do it, to prove a point to his son's.

The saying, you get what you pay for, is very true, and tackle is no different, you will always get some good mid price tackle, but that bit of quality cost that little bit extra.</blockquote>


I did much the same many years ago , when getting away from my ex wife , leaving all my gear behind as well , ( I got it all back and intact at a later date ) , it just shows what you can do with the basic gear ./forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif

As for Daiwa , yes you pay top dollor but it is quality gear , I have 3 pike rods , ( dictater ) , 3 carp rods ( infinaty ) and 3 of their pit reels , they are years old but will see me out . ( excuse spelling )/forum/smilies/disappointed_smiley.gif

One of the problems with expensive kit is when you are the one on the "fishing station" with the pole costing more than the car of the geezer who's catching more than you with an Argos starter kit or a bundle of ebay vintage bargains. Ithink you'd start to hear mutterings of "All the gear, no idea" from everyone else on the fishery.

Probably just sour grapes on my part, I never get to play either role! (Though I do have the ebay vintage stuff...)

£3000 pole or £20 starter kit it doesnt really matter what you have as long as you have fun doing it (catching or not). My first proper kit was a starter one from argos for about £14 quid with a little 9 ft fiberglass rod (so much fun) but a hobby turned into a love for angling and progressed as the years passed. At 18 I pole fished my local syndicate (nunnery lakes) for two seasons with cracking results lake catching carp upto 19lb and catches of 50lb to 120lb of tench and bream in 5 to 6 hours of fishing as it always went quiet about mid-day and the pole a 12.5m maver strong arm that cost me £300 ( well it cost my dads insurance company cause one very early moring I went fishing with my old 10.8m garbolino arawak pole cost me £120 but after a night out boozing and I was shattered and about 5am I put my pole which was at out with all sections down on the octopus pole rest and I sort off doosed off for a second or two to be woken up by my pole splashing into the lake and as I was still abit drunk I wasnt going in after it as the lake dropped off to 25ft some 10 yrds out and the pole went to the center of the lake obviously by a big carp and the fish must have went down as my pole was vertical with about 4 or 5 metres up in the air , it was a sight but the fish come off and with no boat around it sunk after a few minutes, then claimed on the household insurance and they paid up too full whack and more. The same syndicate had stretches of river where I had perch to 3lb 12oz my pb and roach to nearly 3 lb a memorable catch. Then in 2000 I started carp fishing and paid out loads but it was well worth it as I was my goal to catch big fish and it went from there, back in 2000 they cost me £140 each for shimano technicum 3lb tc fast action rods along with shimano 8000 gte baitrunners at £120 they were pricey but 9 years later I`m still using them and the reels still spin for ever with one flick of the handle, the rods still look mint from when I paid for them new( well one butt had been chewed by my dog along with the rubber grip on the reel handle but buying quality gear does pay off as it lasts but only if well looked after. Keep greasing your reels internals and keep them clean always. Now I find it difficult to fit all that I need in the car when I go fishing but who cares as long as your having fun. Angling dont you just love it/forum/smilies/big_smile_smiley.gif

YES

You do get what you pay for, generally speaking,my Stradic is excellent,BUT, even the brands are not infallible. I had a shimano baitrunner 6010, the bail arm stopped flicking over one day whilst piking on the Bridgewater. The kind people at Shimano sold mea small metal component to replace the plastic one which had broke in the bail mechanism. They knew straight away what the problem was. "Standard fault mate" says they, "I take it you'll send the part free of charge then" says I. "Of course sir we'll send it free of charge" They didn't say.

I still have 3 x 6010's and I do like them but needed something a bit smaller for tinca's and barbel ,hence the last couple of years I've used a couple of Abu's, probably 80 sessions they've been used since purchase, still going strong, ace stuff.

I even bought a dinkyAbu for small river chubbing, 23quid, again tremendous value, and it has all the toys on as reels costing 3X as much.

For me its walking boots, spent a small fortune over the last couple of years and Ive hardly fished. Trying to get the co-ordination right with my crutches can be a $ugger at times.

Only today I've spent the afternoon cleaning them all.I even spend time searching boots on the net. Sad or what /forum/smilies/confused_smiley.gif

I forgot to mention I`ve got 3 fox mx bite alarms, I paid £35 each so not expensive at all but 2 of them I bought in 2000 and the 3rd in 2001 and they are working fine now. 9 years use out of a bite alarm isnt bad going, the main bulk of my gear is fox and shimano and end tackle is korda, fox, gardner, kamasan, sufix, jrc./forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

Brand new or a home made lash up it doesnt matter to me ,if it does the job wellI will use it not giving a toss What others may think.

I think you guys have just about summed up my own thoughts. Good gear is necessary, exquisite gear is a luxury. And good doesn't have to cost the earth.

I resist the temptation these days to fall into the "Mark II" trap. Sure, some Mk IIs are real upgrades but a lot are simply the same bit of kit with different fittings or decals. I used to do a lot of beachcasting in the late 80s and early 90s before the inshore fishing off theHampshire coast declined. I could always cast well (Daiwa 7HT multiplier) and could easily exceed 100 yards with clipped down baits and my Daiwa Paul Kerry Supercast. Then they brought out the Supercast Mk II which I had to buy of course. I really struggled to maintainmy distances with the MK II. It was also quite amusing to see those with well lined pockets, but little casting skill, thinking that buying more expensive kit made you a better angler. Some bought Zziplex blanks (expensive at the time) which wouldn't bend this side of a 300 yard tournament cast!!

There's a consistent element to the posts on this thread. Buy good kit, don't break the bank,learn to fish properly and enjoy yourself. Sums it up nicely I think.

And last Sunday? At a local club waterat 5.00 am chasing bream and tench (successfully I might add). And the rod I was using? My inexpensive Shakey.