Cost effectiveness

[DougieK]

Hi all.

This bit of conversation popped up in another thread and I thought it was worthy of it's own conversation.

What does everyone think about the cost effectiveness and diminishing returns on expensive gear?

I still have family up there and get back reasonably often.
Getting back to this thread - I am a bit confused. You seem to be suggesting that because of the wonderful difficult spots you now get into, only $500 gear will do the job. The question really is, would you still catch fish there with a $100 combo?
Cheers, Col.

Of course you would.

Now lets do a test. Go pick up a Fin Nor lethal 100 and put it on a $100 24kg gladiator spin stick. Now spool it with 80lb Fins. It's going to weigh literally twice as much as the assassin/expo or assassin/bio 10 combos i'm using with high quality tasline. The rod isn't going to have the same casting power, the reel the same smooth drag or drag capacity or retrieve rate, the line the same abrasion resistance or durability. If you're unfit you might be able to make 15-20 casts with the heavier combo until you're cooked. Pick up a bio 10 and any rod on a high quality blank and you can spin for much longer, cast much further for less effort, work different lures in different ways, be confident to stop bigger fish more often and not have your line break the moment it touches anything other than air or water.

I've used a dozen different large sized reels for land based game spinning, about half of which have broken or melted within a year of purchasing them and have actually broken a daiwa Saltist hyper 962 at the join. There is a huge difference between 'my drags gone' on a boat, where you can take another reel (that you didn't have to carry an hour) out and put it on your rod and 'my drags gone' when you're 5kms from your camp, 150km from a tackle shop, and down a ledge you have to literally climb into.

If you want to catch a fish you can cast literally anything with some bait on it at the water. If you want to fish the way I do, you 'can' fish with gear 1/4 the price of mine, but in the end it's going to catch up with you. High quality, light weight, durable gear is absolutely essential. A Saragosa with a 250 rod will 'do'. but spinning the hours I often do on these trips it's worth the extra $ to be more comfortable. Plus an awful lot of the time when i'm livebaiting for kings, there's also a chance of hooking a Marlin up north or an SBT in VIC.

This is actually a really interesting conversation that I have with a couple of the other guys i'm fishing with quite often. At what point does the cost of the gear outweigh the benefit that we're getting? Might be worthy of a new thread all together.

When i get a minute i'll put together a comprehensive list of spin reels i've destroyed in the last 3-4 years since we started rock fishing properly.

[dazz999]

i like to buy the best gear i can afford it last longer,it,s and is lighter and more fun to use buy once buy right

[Sebb]

I was just talking about this with my fishing buddy.
Cheap'ish gear that does okay job and may not last long, or more expensive but durable.
Note, there's also warranty and stuff. Nowadays they keep making new models every 2-3 years or so.

Sage fly fishing and Nitro offer lifetime warranty. Which means, if it's broken (eg. Usually the tip section), we can just pay some money and get a new section. Both are expensive.
I broke the tip of my Daiwa Wilderness ($300+ rod rrp at the time), and unable to get the tip section now as it's discontinued. Had it for about 4-5 years.

I'd say average it, the use and the cost and go for the ones we can afford based on our living standards.
To me $200-$300 rod and reel lasting at least 4 years is great.

[Bugatti]

Great topic Dougie

That's what it's all about. There is no disputing good expensive gear but is it worth it to "that" individual and to what you are targeting.

I joke about being a "hack" but I do appreciate good gear, I just can't justify the expensive stuff for me. I buy decent quality (rather than entry level) but it has to be up to the task not just my wallet. But I put more of an emphasis on good terminal tackle.

Fishos like Seb, dazz, Adrian, yourself and others would appreciate, comprehend and enjoy good gear.

I have two mates who go Tuna Fishing here in Jan-March. One has Snapper gear that isn't up to the task BUT he thinks it's the "fight" in the Tuna that is the problem not his cheap quality Rod & Reel. The other has awesome gear BUT he high sticks his rod and reels in when the drag is going out, not realising line is being peeled off, he has no idea and the "quality" begets him.

Cheers, Bugs

[Andrews]

I always aim to find a balance between the cost and the value of the fishing equipment I purchase.

I fish land-based from a pier and target a diverse range of species from snapper to the humble garfish and calamari. I love the idea of a universal rod that is a lightweight graphite that can effectively fish plastics one day and then run a paternoster the next. I never know what species are active until I reach the water and I decided on the Shimano Quickfire 2-4kg 6’6 graphite rod with the Sienna 2500 in a combo costing $79. This rod has worked incredibly well for me, it is light weight, the reel is smooth. This sold me on buying another Quickfire 2-4kg spin combo and the Quickfire 1-3kg 7’6 EGI combo both with the Sienna 2500 all at $79 each. I run one with a bottom rig paternoster, the second is exclusively for plastics, unweighted and garfish rigs and the EGI rod is perfect. Six months use of all rods and they have been flawless. I feel that for me this has been the perfect balance, with over 85+ squid caught on the EGI rod in 4 months and plenty of pinkies, flathead and whiting on the others they’re a pretty great inexpensive combo.

Squid jigs I have preference for either Yamashita SUTTE-R 3.0 or Rui’s 3.0 jigs as they’re great quality and inexpensive at around ~11. I love my squid fishing and I knowingly accept that eventually I’ll lose the jig either from a weed snag or a cuttlefish wrapping my line around weed. A jig normally lasts me 4-6 months and by that time it’s stained black and torn apart with every successful catch. I normally wait till the Yamashita 3.0’s are on-sale online for $8 each, or 3 for $30 before purchasing a couple. When BCF emails out their $10 off minimum spend of $10 email voucher I normally pick up one for $3. Without buying anything else the often send another few vouchers which turn into more cheap jigs.

[Sebb]

I started with $40 aussie disposal combo, to $80 Shimano jewel rod, to $120 raider, and now I am gonna use $249 Black Label rod.
I'm gonna stop there. TD commander is nice but at $400+ is way above my affordability and living standard. Lol.

Each to their own I guess. Some people stop and happy at $100 gear, some go further, whether be the need to catch tougher species in tougher places or for the excitement and the fun.

[DougieK]

I'm trying to put together a list of reels i've killed over the past 6 years. Understanding that my background as a kid was in trout fishing in streams like the acheron and the rubicon, my first spinning outfit was a mitchel spiderglass 6'6 and a little silver reel that is still operational but I don't use it in salt water. I took 15 years off fishing and took it back up when i was 30 thinking that a back surgery had ended my martial arts career. During rehab I ended up spending a fair bit of time in geelong where I taught myself some soft plastic work in the Barwon, then moving back to Melbourne's South East, CarlG convinced me to buy a Catana and try for some salmon. My first Salmon session I hooked 11 and landed 2, and was instantly addicted. Over the next year or so I figured out that a couple of guys i knew through Jiu Jitsu had this youtube channel called Morningtide, and after watching their trailer and buying their first DVD, CarlG and I set out on a mission to catch the biggest fish we could from the rocks in Victoria.

Keep in mind I was unemployed and had almost no budget starting. The gear destroyed not counting car doors

Rods

2X Shimano Eclipse rods, Both broken exceeding their casting weights before i knew any better. one 702 and one 902

1x Shimano Catana eyelets fell out of the guides. Probably landed 1000 salmon.

Unbranded w** pole. Broke on what i think was a cuttle fish at mornington.

Shimano Impact nano XT 3-6 lifting a squid.

Majorcraft solparra (gift from CarlG) broke first cast lifting a cuttle fish.

Random Iso rod I found on the back cliffs at sorrento. One of the sections disconnected while casting and the line broke. Just pulled clean out of the socket.

Jarvis Walker 6-10kg fibreglass somethign 10 footer. Snapped at the reel seat on what I assume was a big black ray.

Daiwa Saltist Hyper 962. Broke clean in half site casting a squid at a kingfish. Probably my fault.

Other than that. The car and transport victims are the Nitro, the impact XT, and one of my 11 foot assasins which is not a 10 foot assassin.

The rods i've had no trouble with are my Shimano Tcurve coastal 902. Berkely Egimaster 3-4.5. All 3 assassins. Penn alliegence II 1002. and my AFAW 6 + bait.

Reels

Oh dear here we go.

Daiwa Procaster GTR. Gears went. This was my first salmon reel that was

Shimano solstice4000. Drag went.

Shimano sienna 1000. Everything rattles, still useable.

Shimano Sienna 2500. See above.

Penn Sentinel 950. Drag went.

Shimano Stradic Ci4 4000. gears.

Penn Spinfisher 7500 SSV. Anti reverse went.

Pflueger Supreme XT. Gears melted mid salmon bust up.

Spinfisher 6000 baitrunner whatever. Screws fell out.

Fin Nor lethal 100. Handle broke

Fin Nor Lethal 100. Drag seized.

Shimano Sustain 5000. Rotor bent to the point where it wobbles and is barely useable. I have two of these, the other one is fine.

Shimano biomaster 5000. Line roller seized and needs replacing, shaft bent which i bent back with a pair of pliers (my fault) and the gears are extremely crunchy.

Shimano Biomaster 10000. The shaft from the bit that connects the rod is bent, having my reel face slightly away from the guides. Also the line roller is seized and something in the gears is clicking.


Plus i'm sure i've forgotten a few. The number of hours each reel has lasted has increased dramatically. The lethals, one of my sustains and both bios are still useable. The bio 10 and 5 are part of my normal arsenal whenever I plan a multi day trip somewhere.

The reels I've had no problems with are the Penn Spinfisher 10500 V. Although it literally weighs 1.35kg. The shimano Saragosa 20k, landed some big fish including a 60kgish hammerhead on this, and the Daiwa Saltiga expo 5500h. You could pop for Gt's with the Gosa, but really reels as heavy as the gosa and the 10500 are reserved for bait fishing. The balance between light weight power and durability in the expo seems pretty much perfect.

[Nude up]

These are some of my superceded rods during moving house I threw out multiple reels. I have noticed as I have invested more money in my gear it is lasting longer.

[Sebb]

Oh dayumn DougieK.
Over how many years did you do all that?
I broke 5 rods and couple reels in the last 10 years or so. I don't do much extreme fishing like you though.

[DougieK]

Oh dayumn DougieK.
Over how many years did you do all that?
I broke 5 rods and couple reels in the last 10 years or so. I don't do much extreme fishing like you though.

My first salmon session was in February 2013.





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