Does an upper end Baitcaster make you better?

[Buffdaddy54]

Bare with me here, I'm home sick from work and bored out of my mind. I recently had a conversation with a coworker regarding the argument that a "better/more expensive" baitcaster will make me a better angler. I took the side that that is not always the case. I was a golf professional for 20+ years and gave 1000's of lessons and I can tell you from experience that the equipment used rarely made a person a better golfer. I wish I had a dollar for every time someone showed up for a lesson with a $500 driver and a $10 swing to go with it. My mantra was always "if your swing produces a certain type of ball flight I don't care what you have in your hand your going to produce that ball flight." Having a $500 driver just allows you to hit a $500 slice! Now on to baitcasters. My coworker wants me to believe that if I invest in an upper end Shimano, Lews,Daiwa,***, whatever, that my skills will get better. I don't buy it! I'm a firm believer in fundamentals, learning skills, practicing those skills, mastering those skills, then and only then do you upgrade equipment. Right now my casting skills are at a novice level, pitching and skipping skills are non existent. So how is a $250 to $300 baitcaster going to make that better?

What say you? 

[roadwarrior]

I am not convinced that your rod and reel have a great deal of impact on "catching" fish,

but better equipment makes the "fishing" more enjoyable. 

 

[Jig Man]

No not in general it won't make you a better fisherman, however, I take my wife's friend's husband from time to time.  His idea of equipment is Wally world close outs.  At least half of the day he is busy picking out back lashes while I am casting.  Decent equipment may not make him better at catching fish but at least it would give him more opportunity to do so.  He is already skilled enough at picking out the birds' nests.

[NYWayfarer]

7 minutes ago, Buffdaddy54 said:

Right now my casting skills are at a novice level, pitching and skipping skills are non existent. So how is a $250 to $300 baitcaster going to make that better?

What say you? 

Some of the higher cost baitcasters have features not available on your less expensive ones. After all a cheaper made reel has to sacrifice something to get the cost that low.

 

For example my Revo has a cast control knob that clicks with every adjustment. My cheap casters don't and it is a feature I am finding it hard to live without. Makes dialing in the fall rate of a bait so much easier and accurate IMO. I have yet to see this feature available on a reel less than $150

 

Does it make me a better fisherman...maybe. It gives me a certain amount of confidence that what I am doing is correct. I will cast better and accuracy will improve. I would say that makes me a better fisherman.

[sully420]

Yes and no, let me unpack this a bit. Once you have quality gear IMO for reels its around 150 bucks give or take and rods 100 bucks i think you can fish at any level. Go below that and you start to have problems that goofball your results. I think its really important to start with cheap stuff and work your way up to better equipment. That way you'll have a lot better idea of what improvements in your equipment you would like to make to have better results on the water. I catch way more fish having 5 setups I can afford then if I just had one set up that was top dollar.

[CaptPete]

To a degree I think he's correct, specially with casting reels. I know I instantly became way more adept at light lures and  longer casts moving from a BPS pro qualifier to a Daiwa Tatula CT. That move made major improvements in casting performance/consistency for me.

 

I've since purchased higher end reels... and there are diminishing returns there imo...

 

 

 

 

[LionHeart]

Is higher priced gear better? I feel safe in saying generally yes, even though the price to quality/performance increase is far from linear after you hit the $150 range for a rod or reel.  

 

Does using better gear make you fish better? I'd have to say again, yep, to a limited point.

 

But to say you can buy your way out of learning fundamentals would be the same as thinking the new pair of Nike's will add 3 inches to your jump shot.  It don't work that way.

 

For this reason, I would never recommend someone new to fishing to buy the cheapest setup possible.   Cheaper gear truly doesn't fish as well as gear at or above $100. Just like anything else,  start with lower -mid range gear.

[Tywithay]

There can come a point with a cheaper reel when your skill will exceed the capabilities of the reel. I have a couple older abu silver max reels, and short of turning the brakes off, they are pretty much peaked out on distance. I can take one of my Zillions and achieve similar distance (or further) with very little effort. The technology in that Zillion is far superior to the old abu. It allows me to get better results with less effort. 

[Jelvas]

Better? Hummm...  no! Happier? Definetly.

 

I catch just as many fish with any of my Curados as i catch with my Metanium, but i enjoy fishing my Metanium way more.

 

 

[Dens228]

I would say to some extent higher quality gear will make you better.  Rods more than reels.  Being able to feel the bottom, weeds, contours, light strikes will definitely help you.  How expensive, not sure but I can tell you that when I switched from $60 rods to rods between $130-160 my catch rate went up.  

 

The rod won't tell me where to fish and when but I can up my ability to fish the area well. 

[Choporoz]

Bait Monkey prevents me from being the least bit objective on this subject.

 

However....couple of thoughts - notes above about features, easier 'dialing in', better drag, clickers, not to mention less drop off in performance between maintenance...etc....all probably add some incremental improvement; similar thoughts about 'better rods' - getting the power and tip for your style of fishing is probably more important, but things like strike detection and hook-setting can be better with higher end rods. 

 

   One thing that I probably neglected more than rods and reels was line; as I got better line (that suited my fishing appropriately) I think there was more than just an incremental difference. 

[Yudo1]

I think it depends on how cheap of gear you're talking about. As long as the gear doesn't hinder your fishing due to malfunction, constant overruns and poor casting distance then you're fine. Higher end gear allows me to focus on fishing. My buddy goes the cheaper route and he spends more time picking out overruns and I consistently outcast him, but I'm not sure I catch more fish than him.

[OCdockskipper]

Not only does it make you a better fisherman, it defines you as a better person.  Just like the guy driving $100K Tesla with the "Impeach Him Now" bumper sticker who cut me off today, buying more expensive things shows that you are a better person.  Smarter, better looking, less suseptive to marketing plans & advertising gimmicks, just an overall higher quality person.

 

A side benefit of buying the most expensive products available is that you no longer have to have respect for others or follow societies rules of etiquette.  That is for all those other slubs...

[NYWayfarer]

1 hour ago, BaitFinesse said:

A cc knob clicker is a cheap item.  They are sub $60 reels with this feature.

Can you give me an example of a sub $60 reel with this feature?

 

I have a lot of BC reels that cost $100 and under from Daiwa, Pflueger, Quantum, Abu Garcia, Kastking and *** and none of them come with a cast control, spool tension knob that has a clickable adjustment.

[Mobasser]

I still have and use some older round ABU casting reels. # 4600c is my fave. These are good reels, but are outdated my many new low profile models.I can fish as good as most guys I fish with, some better, who have the best gear. For me, I don't think it matters. 

[Buffdaddy54]

I think I need to clarify something here. I am not talking about using junk or substandard equipment, not even talking entry level stuff. I'm just a firm believer that if I start off with decent stuff upgrading to "better stuff" right away is foolish on my part. Learn the basics first. Yes I do believe there are features that can help shorten the learning curve but there is nothing like good old fashion "putting in the time"

[Glaucus]

2 hours ago, Jig Man said:

No not in general it won't make you a better fisherman, however, I take my wife's friend's husband from time to time.  His idea of equipment is Wally world close outs.  At least half of the day he is busy picking out back lashes while I am casting.  Decent equipment may not make him better at catching fish but at least it would give him more opportunity to do so.  He is already skilled enough at picking out the birds' nests.

At Wally World, it's usually Abu Garcia _____ Max reels. Those aren't causing him to backlash. He's causing him to backlash. Unless he's getting something else that's completely horrible. 

[evilcatfish]

I have baitcasters costing $30 to $500, and they all catch fish just the same. Practice will make you better, then once you've honed your skills a little more, splurge on that fancy new reel.  I'm no expert, just my thoughts....

[NYWayfarer]

20 minutes ago, Buffdaddy54 said:

Yes I do believe there are features that can help shorten the learning curve but there is nothing like good old fashion "putting in the time"

Methinks you answered your own question.

[TNReb]

2 hours ago, Jig Man said:

No not in general it won't make you a better fisherman, however, I take my wife's friend's husband from time to time.  His idea of equipment is Wally world close outs.  At least half of the day he is busy picking out back lashes while I am casting.  Decent equipment may not make him better at catching fish but at least it would give him more opportunity to do so.  He is already skilled enough at picking out the birds' nests.

My neighbor bought a bass boat last year.  We fished the heck out of that thing all summer/fall.

 

After duck season, he was ready to get back to fishing.  I talked him in to trying crappie one day.  He only had bass rods (nice ones too).  I said don't worry - I have some light spinning rods we can use.

 

Well, he goes to WalMart instead and buys two $20 combos.  He didn't even bother changing the line on them.  

 

That line had so much memory, he was constantly tangled in knots.  He had a big mess and said "as soon as I get this knot undone I'm going to chunk this piece of junk right in the water".

 

A couple minutes later he gets the tangles out and reels in his line.  

Next thing I know he chucks that rod like a spear straight across the lake.  

 

I about died laughing. 

 

Before our next attempt, he went to Bass Pro and bought two nicer rod & reels.  One of them snapped 10 minutes in to our fishing trip!!  (nobody's fault.. I think the rod was already cracked or something)

[Deleted account]

No. 

[grub_man]

2 hours ago, Buffdaddy54 said:

I'm a firm believer in fundamentals, learning skills, practicing those skills, mastering those skills, then and only then do you upgrade equipment. Right now my casting skills are at a novice level, pitching and skipping skills are non existent.

The fundamentals of just about any sport, craft, or hobby are far more important than the equipment used as long as it is adequate.  After you learn the fundamentals, and frankly starting off with an old round Ambassadeur or Millionaire is a great way to do it.  You get 2 centrifugal brakes and a cast control knob or two.  Use those reels to educate your thumb and then move on to the creature comforts of a modern low profile reel.  That's where I started, and let me tell you, it took a while to become confident throwing an 1/8 oz. ball head with a grub.

 

Whatever you have, learn the fundamentals of various casting techniques using a weight that your reel can handle well. Then learn to push the lower limits for weight.  Once you get there, you will have a strong enough background to have a feel for what you might want in your next reel.

 

I am sure I could set up a reel that would be nearly impossible to backlash, but it sure won't cast too far.

 

I took on a role this spring as an assistant MS lacrosse coach (a sport I've never played in my life), and I can honestly say that there is nothing I could spend on a lacrosse stick that will make me a better lacrosse player until I master the fundamentals of throwing, catching, and shooting.  It has been a ton of fun to learn, but I am a true novice.

 

[Boomstick]

A good reel with a good braking system will help keep you casting, which will help catch more fish. But you don't have to break the bank here. Around $135 buys a Daiwa Tatula SV on eBay or a Pflueger Supreme XT. If that's too expensive, try a Daiwa CT.

 

But hell, I've caught fish on an Abu Garcia Black Max which cost $30!

[Darren.]

I'm with @roadwarrior on this. Better fisherman, as in catch

more and better bass, no, but def. makes more enjoyable.

 

The car you drive doesn't make you a better driver, but it can

sure make the journey to the destination more fun, comfy, etc.

 

Although I will say this about casting reels. I had a miserable 

time with a $50 BPS combo early on. The Lexa, and Chronarchs 

were an order of magnitude better, and in that sense made me

a much better *caster* of stuff, but did not improve my ability

to catch fish, per say.

[MickD]

50 people will define this question in 50 different ways.  To me the issue is will more expensive equipment perform better than cheaper equipment, cheaper equipment defined as equipment that an expert could get along fairly well with.  The answer to my question is yes, the more expensive equipment will let those of us who are less skilled be more effective fishermen by allowing us to cast longer, more accurately, with fewer backlashes, and with less time out for repairs.  But fishing reels are a lot like just about everything else in that the advantages are not linear to price.  With each added $25 in price, the incremental improvement is less, but it's still there.  When you get up into the many hundreds of dollars, there is little practical advantage in spending more.  To me the sweet spot is in the $200 range with Daiwa.  Maybe a little higher.  But for $200 one can get a really good, easy to use, durable casting reel.