General purpose combo under $100...

[sc0pe]

Hi guys,

Im starting to take more and more mates fishing these days, and im over them bringing their 10yo kmart clearance bin rods and reels that are totally unsuitable for the task at all.

Im looking to get say 4 combos all the same, for a mix of fishing styles.

That could be off the rocks for drummer, drifting for flattys out of a boat, snapper off shore and small reef bashing, bait fishing for carp, general estuary land based etc etc.

I know i wont find a perfect combo to do all the above, but its more about an all rounder and compromise, then outright suitability.

Im thinking along the lines of a 7 foot rod, and a qualityish 3500 size reel, and ide like to keep the combo under $100 generally as i wont be using them very often myself, and that they are mainly for friends and family. that said, ide rather put more emphasis on a decent reel, then the rod. my reason behind this is ease of cleaning, and the simple feel that is povided by a better quality reel, whereas on the budget side of things the rod itself is less of a factor. Immediately, i think of something like a penn spinfisher, and say an uglystik rod, for durability sake, but ide like to leave it open for suggestions for u guys that are more in the know.

What would you guys look at? web links greatly appreciative, as Ive been looking myself, and ready to grab something in the next week or so.

Cheers, Dan

[Mudguard 92]

Hey Dan,

If i were you i would be looking at somthing like the Shimano Sienna for a reel, it looks pretty good for the price and at $69 leaves you a little bit left for the rod. I considered this reel when i bought my SP gear but i went for the Symetre (2007 Model) for an extra $70 for the extra features and a bit better quality. You said that you were looking at the penn spinfisher, im not sure if you realised but i think that this would blow your budget as it is over $100 by itself.

If you were going to be using soft plastics a bit you mite want to consider buying a graphite rod, these wont take as much a hiding as fibre glass rods but they will perform better (if you look after them). They are alot more expensive then fibre glass and if you were going to buy one i would be looking at 'Starlo Stix' which are also $69.

If you were mostly using bait then there would be nothing wrong with a cheaper rod.

Remember you still have to take into account line and leader costs ;D .

If you are going to be using braid it alone may take up half of your $100 budget.


Good luck - James



I had some links to the reels and rods i suggested but they were blocked when i posted this, just goodle mo-tackle and look them up there.

You may want to look at this if you are going to buy a graphite rod too:

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=126755&highlight=graphite+rod

[oldboot]

Jim mate with the screaming deals going on at the moment you should not have too much difficulty getting a basic rod reel and some decent mono for thet price.

Unfortunately you have to be a bit of a vulture and see what is on offer.

Failing better deals the jarvis walker, low end penn or uggly stick rods will get a price point with a reasonable result.

I would cough up for a decent brand name reel and some brand name mono.

I just set a mate up with

2 x shimano 1 to 3kg spin rod s
2 x small penn spin reels
a roll of platapus melinium 10Lb line ( filled both reels and then some)
and a good selection of terminal tackle
a shimano tackle box and a few other bits for $300.

I cast the the outfits with a sinker only and they cast and wind very respectably.

Now is the time to be chisleing a deal.... therer are some serious bargins and clearances going .......get out there and have a look arround.

cheers

[sc0pe]

tackle and line not in the price, i have a couple of 1000 meter rolls of 14 pound mono kicking around and more terminal tackle then i could poke a stick at.

99% of the time they will be used for bait, and not by me, so im just looking for a reliable set of combos i can let mates use, as opposed to lending them my good gear. Kinda got sick of lending expensive stuff to mates only to have them accidentally drop them on the floor of the boat or walk into a tree with them.

im not really fussed which way i go atm
cheers, dan

[sleepygreg]

You were doing sort of OK until you mentioned drummer off the rocks.....I cant think of an outfit under $100 that would last one decent fish.....unless you snared a used outfit from a garage sale or from someone that had no idea of the value of what they were selling. A basic no nonsense reel would be an alvey 5 or 6 inch....new about $60 maybe more. A rod at least 10' - preferably 12' you may pick up a decent one for about $100....there goes your budget. As for the other criteria.....the other guys are on the money.

Greg

[dogsbody]

You may need to push up your limit to $150 to get something fairly ok.
A cheaper way to go is to tell your mates to buy better gear ;D ,,,, seriously.

Or they'll learn the hard way when you pull in all the good fish and they dip out.




Dave

[Fishbait]

Have a look at the Shimano Sienna 4000 ($59 - on special) and in a combo deal - around the $100 mark. Look at BCF, Tackleworld and Allround-Angler at Caboolture. I use these reels alot and they very good for what you describe. Cheers mate, Darren.

[PNG1M]

I agree with dogsbody two posts above. Fifty bucks more would increase your options & range of gear.

Hmmm...it almost brings the discussion towards "will el-cheapo do the job"? Maybe it can...but you might end up having to buy again if it doesn't meet your expectations (or maybe it will - another 'too hard basket' question).

Anyway, sc0pe...just try to get the best gear you can find to fit within your budget.

As oldboot says too, ya gotta get out there & do some shopping around. There must be some pretty shite hot bargains to be had at this time of year and if you're in the market for 4 set-ups then you have some bargaining power of your own.

[tailorboi99]

Penn Ultragraph's are cheap and quite good, around $100 at BoatingCF

Tom,
Look at the BoatingCF online store :)

[oldboot]

As sombody mentioned before if you want to keep cost down whilst maintaininf a strong and servicable reel, a Alvey is a good choice.

A 5" alvey will do quite a lot of fishing for you and take on some heavy fish......sure you wont be in good shape for the repetiitive cast fishing methods but there is not much a mortal fishing a 5" alvey loaded with 15LB mono wont take on.

so do you spend $35-40 on an a series or $65 odd for lever drag or $70 -80 for a C series.
stick it on an 8' general purpose rod for arround the $35 to 40 and you are away.

Unfortunatly sooo many of the fishing population do not understand the advantages of an alvey these days.

I started out with avlies and now have a good variety of reels.... BUT... if I had to have only one rod it would be 5" c series Alvey on an 8" rod spooled up with platapuss 10Lb melineum........ I might not get a C series in for the price but I recon I could get lever drag and a respectable rod in for the price.

cheers

cheers

[sc0pe]

hi guys, im only looking for spinning reels, as the people who will be using them wont have a clue how to use an alvey.

as mentioned earlier, they arnt to be used by myself, just for whoever tags along.

i may have found something, just need to check availabilty.

penn slammer combo ;)

[skipalong]

shimano will almost cover that situation

[sc0pe]

what would you suggest from the shimano stable?