Fab1 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 Just finished servicing a cheap shimano reel I've had for 20 ish years and thought to myself how many others use cheap rods and reels?I know alot of you use high end gear but surely there's others out there like me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 One of my favourite setups that I’ve caught probably 500 plus snapper on is a stradic Fk 4000 (which was not that cheap) but paired with a 7ft sonic pro series shimano rod that is probably the cheapest in their range! I’ve had it for 5 years now and every time I hook up it still gives me confidence of landing a good fish! The rod itself was part of a combo that cost $69. I still use this rod on nearly every trip! Love it!!! cheers scratchie!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickmarlin62 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 I still use 25yr old penn spinfishers an old ft70 home made rod and an old silstar powertip i rebuilt 20 yrs ago snapper fear them 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest123456789 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 All my tackle is cheap, except braid, hooks and split rings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Clain Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 I have a Penn rival 15kg stick that came on a combo with a less quality reel, that is on a lighter rod now. I put my Tyrnos 30 wide on the Penn rival rod which is actually a perfect combination. The setup feels so nice in hand and I have caught lots of kingfish and a few other species on it. The rod is probably worth 80 dollars but it performs really well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 (edited) Fab, While I spend a little on a reasonable reel (not too much), some of my rods are from Big W at $20 to $30. (may be a little dearer now) As for mono line for rods, I use Sufix (Finland) or Aussie Platypus 100. Hand lines are Schneider brand. Dave. Edited March 28, 2020 by Yowie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonD Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 (edited) Two Xmas's ago we bought $20 outfits as a challenge to see who could land the best and most species on them before breaking them. We did make an allowance to upgrade to better Shimano reels under $30 simply so we could reduce chances of loosing fish which might end up with tackle attached. These outfits are still going strong after numerous species both big and small. What's really impressive though is just what action these created with micro jigs and light plastics, to the point we catch more fish using these. Now many of our friends are also having heaps of fun with these and even some charters are using them. Edited March 29, 2020 by JonD 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 I use top of the range,but in the last year I have bought Kastking and Okuma Ceymar reels. The Ceymar are under $100 and have a ten year warranty. The Kastking are Megatron reels also under $100. Great reels and no problems. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
campr Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 I fish ANSA comps using 1kg pretest line and use fairly good quality reels, but the only rods I can find with the action I want are 8 to 9ft nibble tip rods that mostly cost me about $40. Best to date are 2 flatties 97cm weighing over 5.6kg. Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingie chaser Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 (edited) Well I don't think I will ever own a Stella or Saltiga because I don't think you need to spend that kind of money to catch fish! Im not knocking anyone who saved their money & had dreams of one day getting one & finally fulfilled the dream. I think most of us will set down a realistic budget on what we want no matter the product, sometime we walk into a shop expecting to spend less but end up spending way way more, I know I do that like 75% of the time 😜😁🤣 There is a lot of quality mid priced & even lower end gear in the world that will do the job required but at the end of the day & while you get what you pay for I think what is more important is no matter the cost to respecting the gear, keeping it lubed, keeping it in good order by washing it down after each use & it will still give you good longevity & be reliable. Edited March 29, 2020 by kingie chaser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 2 hours ago, kingie chaser said: Well I don't think I will ever own a Stella or Saltiga because I don't think you need to spend that kind of money to catch fish! Im not knocking anyone who saved their money & had dreams of one day getting one & finally fulfilled the dream. I think most of us will set down a realistic budget on what we want no matter the product, sometime we walk into a shop expecting to spend less but end up spending way way more, I know I do that like 75% of the time 😜😁🤣 There is a lot of quality mid priced & even lower end gear in the world that will do the job required but at the end of the day & while you get what you pay for I think what is more important is no matter the cost to respecting the gear, keeping it lubed, keeping it in good order by washing it down after each use & it will still give you good longevity & be reliable. Hi KC. Most of our gear is "very affordable" when it comes to justifying expenditure on fishing gear to our better halves. LOL. Outside of that i think that ones values dictate the prices paid for gear. Generally everyday people who see the value of money will research and get what they believe is best value. If money isn't an issue people may believe that "only the best will do". Of course some fish species command a fight with an angler using decent, quality tackle, but a lot of species can be caught on very average gear. As you say maintenance is important to continued performance. Cheers, bn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthman Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 (edited) I've gone super cheap (china reels ~20) to mid range (Daiwa theorie / sustain FI / stradic FL). The reel that I have the most of are: Daiwa BG (when it was ~$100 ages ago) Okuma Epixor XT (about 1 year ago when it was about $47USD shipped) Shimano Nasci (when it was ~$100) These to me represent some of the best value in reels upto the 5000 size, which represents 95% of my fishing. Im slowly upgrading to nicer gear but still swear by the above reels. Benefits with the upgrade now are lighter weight and super smoothness. Rods - i don't actually spend too much on rods - my favourite rod has got to be the savage gear finezze 4-6kg 7'8 spin rod ($64), I use lots of 3-6kg 7' rods and find that most are pretty good at ~$50 mark whilst on sale. My most expensive rod is a Daiwa generation black UL 1-2kg. Very nice but doesn't get much use these days (due to style of fishing I do most of the time). Shimano raiders represent very good value for the price point (sometimes under $100). Savage gear mpp2 rods, when on sale at around $40, are good value aswell. Edited March 29, 2020 by anthman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savit Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 I totally agree with Big Neil. It is either - invest your own time into tackle research to get the extra value for the money, or pay extra for the "insurance"of quality and spend the saved time on the water. My most used (a few times per week) lure setup was $20 2-4kg Kmart graphite rod, $12 (halfprice sale) JW 2500 size Kmart reel and $7 Kmart braid and $2 Ebay blades. Caught hundreds of tasty flatheads on it plus various bycatch. The $12 reel (5 ball bearings) still quite ok after 8 years with irregular servicing, 2 "swims" and bycatch up to 4 feet sharks and rays. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the skipper Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 At the ripe old age of 17 I bought myself a 6 1/2 inch Alvey side cast reel matched with a 12 ft Len Butterworth beach rod that was in 1975 . Back then as an apprentice I saved my spare pennies and after a couple of months I was able to afford it. Since those days I have bought more expensive set ups and cheaper versions but for me it is about how you maintain your gear regardless of the quality. One thing I would say is to try and stick to name brands as the quality of their cheaper range are good value for money. My reels of choice are Shimano but that is just a personal thing for me. I am approaching 62 years of age and still use my Alvey beach rig quite regularly and would back it to land a fish every time. Tight lines The Skipper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonywardle Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 I bought a $40 two piece jarvis walker black queen deluxe FG rod not too long ago and I use it for bottom bashing chasing flathead. Works a treat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcurrall Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 I have an ET 2-5kg baitcaster rod I bought when I was 15, about 20yrs ago, sure it was about 60 bucks as a combo. Now on its 4th reel, and have caught 95cm cod, 80cm king, countless bonito and Mack tuna, and the young fulla caught a 5ft hammerhead on it over the Christmas holidays so is now his favourite rod, uses it for everything. It’s outlived many rods I’ve owned that cost up to 10 times as much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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