What, in your opinion, is worth spending extra money on, and what isn't?
Baits/lures, tackle, equipment. What are you willing to dish out extra money for, and what absolutely isn’t worth spending extra on?
I ask this mainly because I see people argue over Yamamoto baits and whether they’re worth it. Personally I cannot justify spending $8 on a bag of plastic baits that I can go through in an hour at my local pond, and that are shot after one fish. Especially when the yum baits seem just as good at enticing fish and I can get four or five fish with one. I absolutely kill bass on the yum swimmin dingers.
I also cannot bring myself to spend a lot on a rod. Reel, absolutely. I have broken cheap reels in literally one or two uses before. I have never had such issues with cheap rods.
I would also be more than happy to spend extra on quality jighead hooks if I could find them, since they all seem to be pieces of crap.
--
by TrueNameAmended
Braid. Thin diameter, high strength, more threads. Suffix 832 is the go to around these parts. Application specific top water frogs(if youre a bass fisherman). Gamakatsu hooks. The difference in diameter to strength ratio of the hook. Thinner hooks, same strength means I have to use less force to get it into the fishes mouth.
--
by Rough1
Only smoke top shelf weed, but cheap beer is ok.
--
by friedocra
Lol. Can’t say I can relate but well-played.
--
by TrueNameAmended
I drop my money on terminal tackle. Only the best hooks, swivels, etc. Lost too many good fish to cheap terminal tackle.
--
by WorshipNickOfferman
Rods and reels, good hooks and quality line. Everything else I don't get much more value, some lures are obviously better quality but I mostly saltwater fish so with soft plastics and a some top water stuff it's not as big of a deal.
With reels you can definitely get value from midrange stuff for inshore fishing, especially if you take care of it. For big fish reels that get used a lot is where the high end stuff shines, big fish can destroy a reel. My Penn International 50's and 80's are over 10 years old and catch an average of probably 200 fish a season trolling with them, mostly dolphin, blackfin, wahoo, sailfish and 1-3 blue marlin in the 150-300lb range.
My spinning reels for inshore stuff are mostly midrange penn and Shimano but I do have a Stella that I got from Shimano when we were still sponsored by them, it's an almost $1500 spinning reel and it is a thing of beauty but I would have never paid that much myself.
--
by jasper181
Depends on how and what you target I suppose. I make my own dough baits for trout, catfish and carp. Costs next to nothing. They work fine. No need to buy the stuff off the shelves. I also contruct my own in-line spinners and spoons from components.
I share your view of cheap rods for spinning/casting. Fly rods - that's a different story. The cheap fly rods I've seen are sub par at best and horrible at worst. I did roll my own a few years back on a cheap rodblanks . com blank. One of my favorites.
I'll spend extra on fly line, waders and boots.
--
by givemethreesteps
The Yamamoto baits suck. They certainly catch fish, but get destroyed immediately. I also use the YUM dingers exclusively. I'll cheap out on fly reels, since it's rare that I take a fish to the reel in fresh water. I'll spend that money on nice line instead. Fly rods I can go either way, I have plenty of nice ones and also some cheaper ones. It's nice to have a cheap rod if you're going to be bushwacking in the backcountry with it. Spinning reels I split the difference, not trash, but not fancy either. I'll buy cheap spinning rods all day, too, but spend a little more for something that's more specialized. I bought a really nice kayak, and that has been worth every penny.
--
by ca20198
I'm with you on the YUM dingers, but what a are you doing that breaks cheap reels in a single use? My 2 year old durango reel ($10) is still going strong after catching some decent bass (18 inch range) and hoisting a nice freshwater drum up a steep riverbank.
--
by NotNotFishing
Jbtruck
Loc: East coast Florida and Rhode Island
Try Zman paddle tails. They last quite awhile. Just my 2 cents...
JB truck...
Terminal Tackle.... invest in the best
Yum Dingers on a per worm basis will catch many more fish than any Yamamato. I have caught 20 + bass on the same dinger before changing it. Depending on how much time you fish and how many fish you catch determines the true value of rod/reel , I have both low cost setups as well as $500 plus rod and reel combos. When fishing tournaments I stick with the high price setups as they are more reliable when catching dozens of fish in a day with the ultimate goal of winning a 20K tournament.
I agree with the terminal tackle comments, especially when it comes to quality line and hooks. You only hook that fish of a lifetime once. Mine was a 30" Chinook salmon on a small Sierra Nevada creek on a Panther Martin with brand new P-Line 6 lb test mono. Took me 30 minutes to land and he spooled me at least half a dozen times. To my amazement the line held and I was able to land and release him. I wouldn't have stood a chance with the cheap line I used to buy. And even good line will fail at the knot if you don't re-tie it every now and then, especially if you're stream fishing where your lure is banging into rocks a lot.
The other thing worth buying, if you fish at night or before sunrise, is a good hands-free light. Either a headband type or the kind that's built into a cap. I bought my gf one, mainly cuz she liked the cap. Spent the rest of the evening watching her effortlessly handling catfish gear while I waited to borrow her damn cap. My flashlight lasted half an hour before I dropped and broke it....
Berkley power Baits are dependable and last for quite a few fish. I spend more money on good quality hooks, terminals and line. Go cheap-go home!
keep doing your research , buy a few things at a time ,see what works ,make a mental note of what you want to try next time as you can always get more stuff and remember most stuff on the shelf is to catch the fisherman not the fish . tight lines !
If you want to reply, then
register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.