tackle whats the best and why are we fooled

[chazyboi]

i recently was looking at a post about a fishing reel and was wondering do we subconsciously buy tackle because we are force fed big companies telling us thiers is the best to have ,,i mean take shimano and daiwa we are told its quality but is it any better than shakey okuma or wychwood ect,,fact most reels and rods are built in the same factories abroad alongside each other sometimes . i own 3 okuma nitrix multipliers for beach work as i couldnt get what i was told was the best an abu 6500 for decent mony ,,fact i cant see the difference in reliability or casting i can hit same distance with an otg as with the abus and sloshes my mates owns, my casting is average though,,and my old daiwa 4500 ems are still going strong and smooth when my shimanos sufferd baitrunners breaking ect my mate brought 2 wychwoods at same time his are perfect,,,,we tend to steer clear of the cheaper reels because we are led to beleave alot are rubbish yes some are but there are alot that are good give em a try heres a rough comparison ,,ie okuma epix v2 epx 55 pro 8 bearings bullet proof bait runner average price 40 notes ,shimano st 1000ra 1 bearing 1 roler bearing 60 quid , daiwa linear tls 5000 4 bearings 140 quid av ,from the okuma to daiwa not much diff i found the okuma realy good and if not better than the shimano and daiwa and i am a daiwa fan ,now we know shimano have conned us by making a cheaper range of runner but the workings inside are all similar or the same as the expensive reels they make, why would they make a diffrent bait runner component or bearings and gears for each range of reel ,some of us who were engineers in a previous life would understand that ,, Also rods i remember the chub outcast , greys prodigy and a ron thompson having the same blanks you could pick up a ron thompson for 50 and the greys 100 pluss the outcast sat inbetween and sold on virtue of its chub name and that it had a greys blank and wasnt as expensive so there you go ,,,my way of looking at it is if you can buy good quality at a cheap price without being fooled that only the "top names" are the best ,then you have more in your pocket for sundries and petrol to get to those marks also it might release the over priced stranglehold the big names have on our tackle industry ,,,

[didgeman]

I tend to agree that most "big name" stuff is produced in the same factories.
No experience with expensive kit as more than £80,- for a reel is a no go for me. Same as rods. I cringe to think to pay £400,- for a rod.

Now I am not knocking people who do. It's like cars really. My trusty rusty Skoda gets me fromn A to B. Someone else may prefer something a bit better!
But at the end of the day we both get there!

[flydog]

Hi Didgeman, Could'nt agree more with you, my angling friend has just bought a Guideline fly rod £350.00, my rod & reel was £80.00, and we catch the same fish.

[chazyboi]

i wsnt knocking the people who have i mean im not too bad ,,drive a saab 95 and golf diesel and have paid a bit in the past for rods have 2 maj holidays a year and pleanty of fishing trips ,,,its just the way they try to fool people with tackle a rod is a rod is a rod ,the designe hasnt changed in centuries only the material , so how can shimanos super graphite carbon luxury rod be any better than say a ron thompson super carbon graphite (not real models btwlol)fact is they arnt we need to stop paying for name brands ,,i recently picked up a fladden ecolite for someone 11" cost 16 quid and to be honest its a great little bass flattie rod and i gave it some stick casting was fine and i caught on it ,my missus laughs and says fishermen are stupid as we buy anything with shimano on or if its painted green or camou lol, another one did me i brought a shakes takle box cost me a 10ner just for bits and bobs wicks had same thing in black for 4 pound says it all lol

[LittleFish]

In my experience expensive rods usually have a better quality finish in terms of rings,whipping and reel fitting,but apart from that there is no guarantee that the actual rod blank will perform any better than a cheap version.I have a pair of 15 foot RonThompson beach casters and they are (imo) far superior than the Daiwa long rods that I have seen and a darn sight cheaper too.

[the pyromaniac]

I was talking with Bearded Alex and Bentley, two of my frequent fishing partners, just a few days ago. We have come to a concensus that for a reel, we are willing to consider anything with a metal or graphite spool rather than plastic (paying little mind to brand, only to price), and for a rod we'll take something in the length we need with as many guides as possible in our price range. We're on a budget, as Bentley makes $20K a year, and Bearded Alex and I are currently out of work. While we buy most of our gear online (especially me) and use mostly stuff from brands that aren't sold locally, we do have our limits on what we'll pay.

Despite these limits, I've caught 16 species this year, and they've each caught 8.

[Ripple]

Apart from all that as been already said...................Shhhhh !

"The fish dont care" !!

Ripple.

[Bluesbro]

I guess it`s the feeling it gives you owning it!!!!!! I drive a nissan almera but if somehow I could get a merc I would! Both do the same job but one would make me feel a lot better driving it lol..... I have never spent too much on a rod or a reel but I do try and get the brands. Don`t make me catch any more fish but I take pride in my gear and look after it as if it is my baby...........I would also add that these companies have become a brand for a reason, they have consistantly produces quality gear, over generations so people trust them, I have brough gear from the market and it has lasted me well but I have also got a load of sh*t as well so there is always that air of uncertainty when you buy blind........All the "BIG" casters would also probably swear that the zippys and centuries are the best in the business at hitting the distances too because they have ivolved over many many years of work which cant be said for cheepy rods BUT that only comes into play if you can seriously use the kit!!! If your a 100yard chucker like me then it wouldn`t make a damn bit of difference lol.

Just my thoughts tho

Joe