Super User NHBull Posted March 29, 2018 Super User Posted March 29, 2018 2 hours ago, Catt said: A quality reel will last a lifetime ? This is why my second granson, who will be born in August is getting his Shimano Conquest next week ? 5 Quote
Super User Catt Posted March 29, 2018 Super User Posted March 29, 2018 Just now, NHBull said: This is why my second granson, who will be born in August is getting his Shimano Conquest next week ? And PawPaw gets to use it first to make sure it catches fish! 1 Quote
Super User NYWayfarer Posted March 29, 2018 Super User Posted March 29, 2018 13 hours ago, WRB said: My reels tend to out last my rods. Tom Ditto. I still have reels I bought in the 80's. My oldest rod was probably purchased less than 10 years ago. To answer the OP's question, I try to match rods and reels of equal value. The difference between price is never more than $20 Quote
tholmes Posted March 29, 2018 Posted March 29, 2018 I spend more on reels than rods, but for practical reasons. I'm much more likely to break a rod than a reel. Plus, I can fix a broken reel, but a broken rod is junk. Tom 1 Quote
Super User Boomstick Posted March 29, 2018 Super User Posted March 29, 2018 I tend to spend more money on spinning rods than reels, but with casting, there's been a couple times the reels have cost more than the rod. Then of course some things depend on application as well - for example if I am fishing jigs and soft plastic, a higher end rod is going to be more important but if I am fishing moving baits, I can get away with a cheaper rod. Quote
sully420 Posted March 29, 2018 Posted March 29, 2018 Value is really important to me when it comes to fishing gear. I tend to spend 100-130 on rods and 170 bucks max on reels. I feel like that is a sweet spot for me as far as quality and price. If you learn how to service your own reels you can make them last forever. 1 Quote
jbmaine Posted March 29, 2018 Posted March 29, 2018 If money was no object I'd have top end of both. As is, I have never spent more than $ 100 for rods or reels and can fish very well ( for me any way). One thing not mentioned but to me is very important is line. I will not skimp on line. Mid range setups will fish well with good line, but bad line on the best setups will give you headaches. 2 Quote
Adam.love05 Posted March 29, 2018 Author Posted March 29, 2018 4 minutes ago, sully420 said: Value is really important to me when it comes to fishing gear. I tend to spend 100-130 on rods and 170 bucks max on reels. I feel like that is a sweet spot for me as far as quality and price. If you learn how to service your own reels you can make them last forever. This is where I'm at.. and an very satisfied with everything.. the most expensive reel i have is a chronarch mgl that I bought on here second hand for well under MSRP. (Thanks wet_dream).. all the others are $150 and under.. rods are all around $100 and they are light enough and sensitive enough for my fishing skill.. It always makes me laugh when you see pros fishing $150-200 reels on $150-200 rods.. with no complaints! And then the weekend warrior fishing a set up that's worth $700+ with a dozen others on the deck! Don't get me wrong, to each their own.. but it's similar to lures.. most are made to catch fisherman more so than fish.. you can catch just as many fish on a $3 Walmart crank vs a $20 megabass knuckle crank.. It's all part of the hobby though.. I have a jerkbait box full of pointer 100's and vision 110's, but my most used and productive jerkbait is the strike king kvd! But I love those pointers and visions as well! 1 minute ago, jbmaine said: If money was no object I'd have top end of both. As is, I have never spent more than $ 100 for rods or reels and can fish very well ( for me any way). One thing not mentioned but to me is very important is line. I will not skimp on line. Mid range setups will fish well with good line, but bad line on the best setups will give you headaches. Great point! That's something I just started realizing last year.. line plays one of the most crucial roles,if not the most, in any fishing set up Quote
Super User NHBull Posted March 29, 2018 Super User Posted March 29, 2018 4 minutes ago, Adam.love05 said: This is where I'm at.. and an very satisfied with everything.. the most expensive reel i have is a chronarch mgl that I bought on here second hand for well under MSRP. (Thanks wet_dream).. all the others are $150 and under.. rods are all around $100 and they are light enough and sensitive enough for my fishing skill.. It always makes me laugh when you see pros fishing $150-200 reels on $150-200 rods.. with no complaints! And then the weekend warrior fishing a set up that's worth $700+ with a dozen others on the deck! Don't get me wrong, to each their own.. but it's similar to lures.. most are made to catch fisherman more so than fish.. you can catch just as many fish on a $3 Walmart crank vs a $20 megabass knuckle crank.. It's all part of the hobby though.. I have a jerkbait box full of pointer 100's and vision 110's, but my most used and productive jerkbait is the strike king kvd! But I love those pointers and visions as well! At a local level this is very true. I have friends that are trying to "make it" and because of the sheer volume of there gear, much is lower than the weekend warrior. Having to outfit 30 set-up with few quality sponsors make it cost prohibitive unless they are trust fund babies Quote
sully420 Posted March 29, 2018 Posted March 29, 2018 Snap-on tools are awesome but i can fix my stuff just fine with my craftsman tools. Same with fishing gear i just think it's important to show people that you can be successful fishing with whatever one can afford. 2 Quote
Super User burrows Posted March 29, 2018 Super User Posted March 29, 2018 Spend more on my reels. Quote
Delaware Valley Tackle Posted March 29, 2018 Posted March 29, 2018 The rod plays a much larger role in casting , presenting, hooking and landing fish than the reel does. Whether or not that translates into spending more depends on the circumstances. Quote
desmobob Posted March 29, 2018 Posted March 29, 2018 Rods. I can find reels that I'm completely happy with for between $100-$175 by careful shopping. I have some $100 rods I like, some $200 rods I really like, but I'm ready to start experimenting with some high dollar rods that I'll hopefully love... Tight lines, Bob Quote
Super User Catt Posted March 29, 2018 Super User Posted March 29, 2018 I believe in keeping my tools simple, functional, durable & dependable One can go to Wal/Mart, Harbor Freight, Sears or some other outlet store to buy mechanic, carpenter, electrician, machinist tools ECT and these tools will work but they are not designed for commercial use. Yes these tools wills last the weekend guy a lifetime of light to medium use and serve him quite well. Now look at it through my eyes I am a journeyman carpenter/mechanic my tools are what I make my livelihood with so I must depend on my tools to perform every single time I use them under every conceivable conditions with limited failure. Now relate this to bass fishing; when I hit the lake it will be from sunup to sunset, under extremely adverse conditions, and with full expectations of bass in excess of 6 pounds so any failure on the part of my reels is not accepted! Start with a quality reels & ya shouldn't have to ever replace em! I still tell momma I need a budget for reels I just add it to my rod budget! Quote
Super User kickerfish1 Posted March 30, 2018 Super User Posted March 30, 2018 Both. I like balance. You could put a Steez on a Walmart special and it would feel awful. Likewise putting an NRX on a Shakespear baitcaster would be bad as well. Most of my combos retail from $400 - $1000. I like to keep the bottom contact setups a bit more spendy on the rod while the resistance bait setups a bit more spendy for the reel with durability in mind. I would guess that 9/10 of my setups probably have a more expensive rod than reel. Now if you count $ spent on aftermarket reel parts and internal upgrades some of the reels would top the rods. Quote
Super User Raul Posted March 30, 2018 Super User Posted March 30, 2018 18 hours ago, Catt said: A quality reel will last a lifetime ? My XLT Plus and Cardinal UltraCast 62 Abus from the mid 80’s are still in operation. Truth being said, after purchasing them I really didn’t “need” to purchase more, if you start with good stuff you won’t need to purchase again in a very long time and when you finally do it has more to do with trying something new than actually needing it. I didn’t purchase new reels well beyond a decade after getting those. Got my first Curado in 1994, a decade after purchasing the Abus. 1 Quote
Lures'n'Liberty Posted March 30, 2018 Posted March 30, 2018 I'd drive all of you crazy. I'm in love with the ease of a spincast and I've got a $5 flea market Daiwa Goldcast with $3 worth of ebay bearings on a $300 custom rod and I wouldn't trade it for anything. 1 Quote
Fishin' Fool Posted March 30, 2018 Posted March 30, 2018 On 3/28/2018 at 7:34 PM, Adam.love05 said: That's the thing.. I'll spend 150-200 on a reel and it will last me a lot longer than my rods.. I am mostly a bank fisherman so I have a tendency to break tips or eyelets.. I mean in all reality, I use to catch fish with a zebco back when I was a kid and it was still fun! I wish I could afford a $500-600 set up, I just don't see a point in it fishing from a bank or small craft.. I don't know if I could ever justify it even with a bass boat.. but I bet it would sure be nice to use one! I say rod also. Go with a company that offers an accident forgiveness warranty such as G. Loomis or Dobyns has something similar if you're worried about breaking them. Also, have you considered joining a bass club before? That way you can get out on the water and fish and not have the expense of owning a boat. Quote
Adam.love05 Posted March 30, 2018 Author Posted March 30, 2018 21 minutes ago, Fishin' Fool said: I say rod also. Go with a company that offers an accident forgiveness warranty such as G. Loomis or Dobyns has something similar if you're worried about breaking them. Also, have you considered joining a bass club before? That way you can get out on the water and fish and not have the expense of owning a boat. I'm not sure if they have a bass club around here. Something I'll definitely look into it. Thank you.. I enjoy fishing from the shore as well.. reminds me of when I first started fishing the Brook down the street catching shiners.. a boat would be a fun opportunity as well Quote
Fishin' Fool Posted March 30, 2018 Posted March 30, 2018 3 hours ago, Adam.love05 said: I'm not sure if they have a bass club around here. Something I'll definitely look into it. Thank you.. I enjoy fishing from the shore as well.. reminds me of when I first started fishing the Brook down the street catching shiners.. a boat would be a fun opportunity as well I love bass fishing but then you combine that with going fast in a boat, pressure to catch the fish in a certain time and race back to the launch that was like a shot of adrenaline for me. In fact tournament fishing almost ruined fun fishing for me. I see you are near Lk Champlain I'm sure there are plenty of bass club options out your way. My closest big water is Lake St Clair. Quote
PatrickKnight Posted March 31, 2018 Posted March 31, 2018 I try to match them accordingly but I have to talk myself into spending 200+ on a rod and will do that on a reel in the blink of an eye. Quote
Dens228 Posted March 31, 2018 Posted March 31, 2018 I guess I'm in the middle on both.....I used to think rod, then a bought and used a more expensive reel and realized what I had been missing. So far my most expensive reel was $170 and my most expensive rod was $139, I use them together and after using it for the first time went back and bought another of each. Not high end but compared to my first combo that cost $70 total I'd say it's getting up there. lol Quote
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