How much do you spend on an outfit?

[Mac_Attack]

iHave a Shimano JHX 4000 hich is getting on a bit so i am going to get a new one soon ish
as for my rod i have a 10 year old trusty ugly stick
Cheers Nick

[shappy]

i have fishing combos that are worth $50 and the dearest being about $150. the dearer one being my soft plastics outfit. my opinion on the dollars is based on how much it is going to be used. i am a diesel mechanic buy trade and my snap on metric spanners cost around the $500 mark for 10mm to 19mm. i can buy a set of supa tool spanners from super cheap with more spanners for maybe $50. the snap on will last my working life, the supa tool will not.
sp's is about 90%of my fishing these days so i spent more money, but 100% of fishing is 2 or 3 times a month. a $1000 outfit will be great, but a bit over the top for the amount of fishing i do.

shappy

[Chunqx]

I don't mind a second hand Loomis rod but reels I'm a bit iffy about buying second hand because unless you strip it down to see the insides, you just don't know its real condition. My current main outfit is a Loomis dropshot GLX and a Certate 2000. Backup outfit is Loomis SR842-2 IMX and Caldia Kix 1500.

I used to use a cheaper shimano rod and reel combo (Shimano Stimula rod & sahara 1000 reel) but when from the first day I used a Loomis (SR842-2 IMX), I couldn't believe the sensitivity of that rod. I felt bites I never felt before and as a result hooked more fish than I ever did from day one.

[Flattie Assassin]

Yer i spend too much. 3 tcurves with twin power reels and daiwa capricorn. plus cheaper setups for flogging with the kids etc. even they stock 100 dollar reels and gary howard custom rods. I can't help spending money on fishing gear. I'm fully addicted.

[fishenmick]

I spend way more than I should. It is normally the best my conscience will allow me. You know what though, my kids normally outfish me on their $50 outfits.

In the end I don't care, I love fishing and I cannot help myself. Mick

[TheRealAndy]

I have a whole heap of different gear ranging from cheap $20 combost up to about $400. I am a late starter to fishing, probably only the last 12 months, so still feeling my way through different gear. My fave rod is my $80 starlo squidgy spin coupled with a shimano Sienna 2500. Cant remember what the real cost but the combo is the most used rig in my shed.

The other day I picked up a 12 foot surf rod (shimano taipan extreme) for $30. Bargain. Just need to find a reel for it now.

[salmonking]

it just gets stupid!!you go in to the tackle shop"to have a look"!!!!bloody dangerous that is.like a kid in a sweet shop.i went in our local one the other day here in the uk,ended up paying £300 for one rod £150 for another and £240 on two reels.!!!!!her indoors still thinks i had a bargain because i told her it cost me £200 the lot!!!shhhhhhh

[NAGG]

As I'm in the middle of putting together a couple of new impoundment barra / bass outfits , it worth revisiting this thread.
The first thing that has surprised me , is that the reels have cost me less than what I will pay for the rods ( I've generally spent 25-50% more on the reel ( with the exception of a couple of Millers & Loomis) ..... I've been pretty happy with my reel purchases over the last 7 years or so!!!
Now in my current quest.... I've imported a Daiwa Zillion 100HA ( my second) for A$270 which was a bargain. Now I've just got to finalise my choice of rod which has been narrowed down to only a couple ....... but I'm still looking at $450 - $650 for what I would consider the optimum choice! ( length , weight , quality, design & personal preference) ..... While it is a lot of money for an outfit that may only be used for 2 or 3 trips per year ...... I'll be happy in the knowledge that the gear is fit for purpose
....... The good news is that with a little care ....... This outfit should last me many many years ... or until the next bit of bling catches my eye ... Cheers , Nagg .

PS .... For me , There is nothing worst than watching someone struggle with their gear because they have scrimped or have an outfit that is not fit for purpose . Then seeing their enjoyment & day improve when I've lent them one of my spare outfits.....
I'll always suggest that someone should save a little longer or look at importing / Ebay to purchasing quality at a more affordable price ........ Thats my thought anyhow!

[PumpyChowdown]

Reading this thread makes me want to open a tackle store!

I cannot believe how much some of you spend on outfits. I'm not having a go, because it's each-to-their-own, but there's no way I could justify spending more than $150 MAX on an outfit unless I fished several times a week and in competitions.

Does a $1000 combo catch 20x more fish than a $50 combo?

[PlasticFantastic]

Does a $1000 combo catch 20x more fish than a $50 combo? Does a $5000 set of golf clubs hit any further than a $200 set? Not for the average golfer they wont, but you probably enjoy using them more. Same applies to fishing expensive gear costs more and no IT doesn't catch more fish but if you feel more confident using it YOU will catch more fish not the gear you're using. Having said that I own and have owned 2 Certate's a Saltiga a TD Sol a couple of T-Curves and Team Daiwa Rods. I'll never go back to cheap gear no matter how many fish I catch or dont catch.

PlasticFantastic

[Flattie Assassin]

Yeah, I won't go back to cheap gear either. I just invested in a Certate and GLoomis combo. $1000. Have a couple of Tcurves with twin powers etc. I don't think it's that big a deal. Look at what some other sports costs involved. Cycling is a cpl of grand for a bike. Jetskis, thousands.

So to set yourself up with some nice gear fishing wise, really isn't that expensive compared to other sports. Well worth it too.

[kingtin]

Y

So to set yourself up with some nice gear fishing wise, really isn't that expensive compared to other sports.

Agreed................it's just the cost of the bloody boat to carry 'em

My gear ain't flash, but it does the job and I've never paid top price. I always wait for sales or keep an eye on the 2nd hand market.

I have a range of Penn Powersticks to 37kg, which I've had for more than 4 yrs and not one of them costing more than 49 bucks, and all, still in good nick. These, married to 2nd hand Penn 245 LD's, 340's, and tld 25's have boated noahs to 8ft and even bigger shovellies. Not one of these outfits would have cost more than $150. Admitted, it may have taken me longer to get 'em to the side, than if I had reels with more grunt, but I don't think a more expensive rod could have done a better job. When you're going for big vermin, I think my strength is likely to give out long before my rods.

That said, when it comes to the lighter gear, for bream etc, I've always fished cheapies also.............. until recently.

I managed to pick up 5 different shimano catana rods (spin, plastic etc) for 15 bucks each (shop soiled) whilst strangely enough, the Mart was selling catana reels off at half price at the same time. I think the rods are normally around the 100 buck mark. Each combo works out at 55 bucks each at my sale purchase price and possibly 170 bucks at normal price. I am absolutely rapt with them! If this is what a not so cheap combo feels like then the loomis (and other brigades) must be in heaven. They are balanced, light, and a pleasure to fish all day with. I know they aren't top notch but they are the bees knees compared to what I (tight-arse) am used to.

I always poo-pooed expensive gear, but now the mortgage is paid off,..........I might just start to look at what all you egrell and loomis guys are raving about

kev

[kingtin]

Bloody hell! This thread got me to thinking how many rods I had left after giving a heap away when some of the kids left. I've just counted 'em and I don't know if some have made their way back home, but there's 37 out there, and 42 reels!

The lot probably add up to less than 1000 bucks

kev

[Tetsuo]

Smith bayliner with certate finesse.Sweeet

[jake kelly]

$400-$500 for a decent bream outfit