Cheap-O fishing gear?

[Gillroid 9000]

Hi, i am an avid Bass angler. I constantly struggle with the costs and lack of reliable gear. I am looking for these things

-A cheap good spinning setup (80usd limit)

-A good cheap baitcaster setup(100usd limit)

-Cheap reliable Lures,Hooks,Sinkers ETC(4 USD limit)

And PLEASE DO NOT SUGGEST GEAR not matching my request. (EX I suggest you to get a Shimmano Curado with the G Loomis casting rod)- Dont be that guy.

 

[bigturtle]

if you want cheap and reliable, go buy better 2nd hand gear.

[Robeng]

Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Carbonlite baitcaster combo for $100 when on sale.

Take a look at TackleWarehouse for tackle too.

 

[J Francho]

I would keep checking the Flea Market forum here.

[JustJames]

Any spinning combo with  president reel or abu garcia casting combo, walmart, dicksporting good or check other online store like TWC, purefishing outlet.

[jleonard91]

I got the Abu Garcia Silvermax at Academy for like $70. I don't have any complaints from it. 

[budgetbassin]

If you're just getting started, I'd suggest an Abu Garcia Black Max 3 combo with a 6'6'' medium heavy rod. The whole combo should cost about $70. For spinning, I would suggest a Pflueger President combo in 6'6'' medium rod. There is plenty of tackle under $4. Gamagatsu EWG hooks are less than $3 a pack at Walmart. Yum dingers are about $3 a pack. If you want a lipless crank, Cotton Cordell Super Spots are about $3. Strike King Mini King spinnerbaits are under $3,and there's always the $1 ones.

[primetime]

You can find inexpensive fishing tackle and equipment that is quality if you do your research online, read reviews etc.

the Key is buying a good value. 

[Cgolf]

For a decent spinning setup I have been using the same ugly stick for years, is it perfect, no, does it catch a lot of fish heck yes.

I usually pair it with a 30ish dollar range Shakespeare 3-5 bearing spinning reel. I have a couple of excursions and a catera that I have used pretty hard for at least 7 years with 0 issues. I have also had a couple of mid range Daiwas that have failed within a couple of years during that time.

Can't really help on the crankbaits, Bandits used to be cheap, but not any more. What I do is watch cabelas, I have picked up a lot of baits real cheap there over the years, they appear to randomly clear out certain colors and you  just have to keep looking or get lucky and find the deals.

[Gillroid 9000]

Wow! Thanks for the tips people. My personal "experiences" taught me to avoid flea market fishing stuff. Thank yall for the help

[J Francho]

You have two posts here.  Not sure your experiences with "flea markets" counts.  There are literally dozens of great deals on gear offered right now.  You might want to take a look.  There's even a "good sellers" thread, where you can see the number of good transactions reported by buyers.

[Advantage]

2 hours ago, Forager said:

Hi, i am an avid Bass angler. I constantly struggle with the costs and lack of reliable gear. I am looking for these things

-A cheap good spinning setup (80usd limit)

-A good cheap baitcaster setup(100usd limit)

-Cheap reliable Lures,Hooks,Sinkers ETC(4 USD limit)

And PLEASE DO NOT SUGGEST GEAR not matching my request. (EX I suggest you to get a Shimmano Curado with the G Loomis casting rod)- Dont be that guy.

 

Academy Sports has their own line of rods, reels, tackle, etc. Very good quality for way less than most name brands and their return or exchange policy is basically no questions asked. I highly recommend you check them out. (Also, most of their workers whether full or part time don't know squat about fishing, which in most cases is bad...with the exception that they constantly and consistently mismark stuff! And always in the consumers favor.

[buzzed bait]

36 minutes ago, J Francho said:

You have two posts here.  Not sure your experiences with "flea markets" counts.  There are literally dozens of great deals on gear offered right now.  You might want to take a look.  There's even a "good sellers" thread, where you can see the number of good transactions reported by buyers.

he might be thinking about an actual flea market, like the ones that sell produce, baby clothes, LED signs, stolen laptops, knockoff sports apparel and your grandpa's junk fishing gear....  

[roadwarrior]

 

[MBB Nate]

Academy has Menace BC reels on sale for $50 right now.  Get one and a berkley lightning shock rod.

 

I have a pflueger trion baitcaster I got at walmart for $35 and I actually love the thing.  It outcasts my Lews LFS.  I use it on a med/mod lightning shock for squarebills.

[Gillroid 9000]

Sounds like im all good. Got 200 Moolah with me. Happy shopping for me. Yall have a nice day and tight lines.

[d-camarena]

Black or silvermax combo for casting.

Sellus spinning rod with a sienna for spinning

 

[Some tissues]

For about a $90 setup you can get a shimano convergence and sienna I have this as my spinning set up right now works great

[MBB Nate]

I would get a lews mach combo before a max combo.

 

The sellus rods and sienna reels are decent.

 

You can build a better rig yourself.  Lightning shock rods will be better than the combo rods, $40, and a pflueger trion/president spinning reel and a mettle reel if you are at academy.  I don't know where you are shopping though.

[rippin-lips]

Spinning

okuma rtx 25s

pflueger president 

 

Casting

Daiwa Tatula 1st gen

Shimano Caenan

[new2BC4bass]

On 10/24/2016 at 10:51 AM, Forager said:

Hi, i am an avid Bass angler. I constantly struggle with the costs and lack of reliable gear. I am looking for these things

-A cheap good spinning setup (80usd limit)

-A good cheap baitcaster setup(100usd limit)

-Cheap reliable Lures,Hooks,Sinkers ETC(4 USD limit)

And PLEASE DO NOT SUGGEST GEAR not matching my request. (EX I suggest you to get a Shimmano Curado with the G Loomis casting rod)- Dont be that guy.

 

Wow.  Here a few minutes and already got these guys figured out.  

 

On 10/24/2016 at 12:00 PM, bigturtle said:

if you want cheap and reliable, go buy better 2nd hand gear.

X1000

On 10/24/2016 at 1:30 PM, Forager said:

Wow! Thanks for the tips people. My personal "experiences" taught me to avoid flea market fishing stuff. Thank yall for the help

Don't know where you got your experience from, but I've bought a ton of gear off fishing forum classifieds.  Probably 99% of the time I was pleased.  You can get stung once in a blue moon if you do it long enough.

On 10/24/2016 at 3:31 PM, MBB Nate said:

Academy has Menace BC reels on sale for $50 right now.  Get one and a berkley lightning shock rod.

 

I have a pflueger trion baitcaster I got at walmart for $35 and I actually love the thing.  It outcasts my Lews LFS.  I use it on a med/mod lightning shock for squarebills.

Academy Sports line of baitcast reels get good reviews.  I can vouch that the standard Berkley Lighting is a good rod for the money.  Never could get past the looks of the Shock, tho.  Can also vouch for the Pflueger Trion baitcast reel.  Didn't work for me with light lures, but is a casting machine when used with what I consider typical weight bass lures.  Never used the Trion spinning reel, but have read good things about it.

It is totally possible to get halfway decent gear at the price limit you specified, but it is going to take some time and research on your part.  Good luck.

[MBB Nate]

Shopping online is where you will save.  I picked up a Vendetta and a Fenwick Eagle for $42 together!

I ordered a $50 H20 Menace yesterday and I'm really excited to get it.

[new2BC4bass]

20 minutes ago, MBB Nate said:

Shopping online is where you will save.  I picked up a Vendetta and a Fenwick Eagle for $42 together!

I ordered a $50 H20 Menace yesterday and I'm really excited to get it.

Keep an eye on Walmart Online if you know what you are looking for.  It can be hit or miss tho.  Often their price is just "good", but sometimes there is a "great" mixed in.  However, the price doesn't always stay at one point.....thus the need to keep an eye on the item you want.  Shipping is always free to a store near you, but state taxes must be paid.  Make sure to have any rods shipped to a local store.  My last one from them was shipped to my house.  Obviously I didn't pay close enough attention to the shipping address.  The rod arrived in 2 pieces.  It was suppose to be a one piece rod.  Took it over to Walmart and got an immediate refund.  Clerk told me they wouldn't have accepted the rod had it been shipped to them. Would have saved some angst on my end.  USPS dropped it off and took off without letting anyone at the house know they were making a delivery.  You can imagine how I felt when I saw the package, but the good thing was Walmart's customer service.

[Poolshark]

As an avid bass angler, familiar with loomis and curado, you might already know the answer to your own question. But...

If you want new..

Casting combo- Lews Mach combo 7 mhf.... Or I had an absolute blast last spring with an Abu Garcia Silvermax/ lighting rod combo I put together at Walmart on vacation. ran me around a hundred dollars and I caught my personal best. Go figure... I would use this setup again without hesitation. 

Spinning setup- shimano sellus/Sedona combo.

if you want used... Go to your local pawn shop or shop the flea market on this forum

[fishnkamp]

I do not like to suggest "cheap" equipment for anyone. I will suggest some quality equipment that is available at a reasonable price. The difference is you can afford it and it will hold up over time.  Even though I carry hundreds of dollars worth of gear I fish with these combos still.

For a spinning rod and reel Go to Dicks Sporting goods or online and spend $60 for a Pflueger President 6930 or 6935 series reel.  Match that to a Berkely Lightning Shock rod (not a lightning rod). Choose the 6'6" or 7 foot Medium rod. This rod can often be found at Walmart for around $30 on clearance. 

 

My wife and I own many combos costing over $300 and yet we each fish 2 of these rods at times.  During fall I need 4 rods on the deck I can alternate throwing different color and size  rattle traps with. We have landed some huge catfish and stripers on these rods. She has the spinning version and I own the baitcasting version. We like all of them.

For a baitcaster this is a no brainer. Again go to Fisherman's Factory Outlet. Currently they have an Abu Garcia Veritas 6'6" MH rod that retails for $99 on sale for $48.88, They also offer two Fenwick HMX rods, a 6'6" and a 7" mh rod. They retail for $79 to $89.  They are for sale at $45.  Match the rod up with a reel from Cabelas. Go to the Cabelas Pro Guide Casting reel. If you look close you will see the "D" on the lower edge on the gear box. These are essentially the same as a Daiwa Exceler which retails for $99. Cabelas is selling this reel for $59.99. This will give you a really nice combo for right around $100.00 give or take a little shipping.