Order of Importance

[Tim Storey]

I just read the posting on the Lucky Craft Lures. Many good points. I also joined the group buy. I have had many conversations over the years with other fishermen and am always suprised to see where they spend their money. We all spend a lot of money on tow vehicles, boats, rods, line and lures. I have fished with guys who have used the same line for years trying to save a few bucks.



Sure the Lucky Craft lures are expensive but the fish in the lake does not see your tow vehicle, the boat, your 225 hp motor, or any of that other expensive equipment you used to get to the fish. It all comes down to that one moment your lure makes contact with the fish. At that point the most important thing you have is the lure. Then your line, then you rod and reel, and so on all the way back to the dock with your catch. Why spend all that money getting to the fish only to show him something he may not want on a worn out rod and rell with last years line still on the reel. The point is to catch the fish.



How about a list from you guys listing what you think you should spend you money on in order of importance. Whats more important a good GPS or a good lure? Big motor or good line? Think about it. My tackle is on top. Perhaps some of the new people getting in to the sport could benifit from all your years of figuring out this stuff on your own.

 

[Jim B]

For me the fisrt place ill spend my money is on the boat either for purchace ot maintanance. Keeping it running poperly is key because its what gets you there and back. second for me would be rods and reels. spending money on expensive lures is last on my list. I just wont do it, not because im cheap or frugal but because i dont believe they work any better. This has been proven to me tine and time again by a menber of my club. He is one of the best fisherman in my state and he puts quality fish in the boat regularly with nothing more then a jig and pig and a tube bait.

 

[Mike Levesque]

I agree, with boat, vehicle, and trailer, coming first for me, 'cause like Jim said, it's what gets you there and back.

Tackle wise, I may go a bit overboard here, but I probably spend more annually on line, than anything else, sometimes re-spooling halfway through the season, around mid July, and at the end of each season, around November, stripping all the reels, so I'd say I spend more for line each year than anything else, after of course the vehicle and boat. It's not that I use real expensive lines, (Berkely XL,Vanish,etc., it's just that I go through so much of it when re-spooling twice a year,oh, and I do have a neighbor, who'll use the same line for a couple years at a time and to be honest, have never seen it affect his catching, casting, etc. egMike

 

[gone bye bye]

The most important thing between you and the fish you cannot buy....your knot.



Mini

 

[Staci Matheis]

I can fish without a boat - I'll just go from the bank or hitch a ride with one of you - but I can't fish without a rod and reel.



The rod and reel is the first thing we all buy - whether it be a Snoopy Zebco or Shimano Calais and custom built rod.....



That's where I put my first priority. For my purposes, the best mix of quality and price are combos offered by BPS: Shimano Curado 101/Extreme and Shimano Sahara or Spirex/Bionic Blade.



I don't buy cheap line. I stick mostly with Stren Lo-Vis clear. Next year, I'm going to experiment more with fluorocarbon.



For some reason, I have never been one to re-spool regularly..... But I've never had any line problems either. With spinning tackle, the wind knots usually force me to cut/re-spool much more often than I do with bait casting equipment.



I don't often buy the most expensive lures - I lose too many in the rocks and stumps - but I do on occasion.



me!

 

[Rob LaMoy]

I need my boat to be top notch to guarantee I can get there and back. From there I look at my line first, like Mini, the knot is most important. But line quality is first for me. It does no good to have a good bait or any bait for that matter if it the line can't hold the fish. I spend extra $$$ to get Fireline for jigging of berkley sensithin, twice as much over regular mono, but to me it's worth it. Then next is the bait, I want to catch fish. If I can do with a less expensive bait I'm thrilled. If not and I have to throw an expensive life like looking bait, it's and easy investment given how much I spent on boat and motor just to get there. Then my rod, I need a strong and yet extremely sensitive rod. No cheapie will do. Now I don't spend $150 on St Croix or Gloomis but would like to. I do however buy quality rods on clearance at wal-mart and BPS when I can. The rod is your connection to the bait and bottom and fish. It transmits to you what is happening in conjuction with the quality line. It's hard to put priority on one over the other because they each have their equal but different roles. Kind of like asking who is most important in your family, mother or father? BOTH! Then the reel. You need a reel with metal gears, not plastice, a quality drag system and as many bearings as you can afford. It will pay off over the long run. Quality comes at a price. If you throw a $1.97 wal-mart generice spinnerbait, you will have to constantly retune it, the cheaper skirt will fall apart sooner. The hook will need to be sharpened and chances are the cheaper swivel bearing won't allow the blades to turn as easily or sometimes at all. But with a premium bait, a custom bait for a few dollars more, the blades turn every time and effortlessly. The skirt is tied on not with a rubberband, so it stays on. The paint is baked on so it chips less easily. The hooks are quality so they stay sharp and give you better hook ups. Just my opinion again, but an over the road driver doesn't look for cheap trucks like Yugo if they made one. They want quality and dependability like Mack, or International or Peterbuilt, or Volvo (did I mention your's Scott?) and will pay the extra money for it. How is fishing (if you serious about it) any different?

 

[Steven Atwell]

I am with Rob on this one. There must be millions of fish not detected by fisherman every year due to cheap line, and cheap rods and reels. If I throw a white SB (that's a spinnerbait Rob ;?) of cheap quality and it still rolls and flashes, it should do as well as an expensive one as long as I can put it exactly where I want it in front of the fish's face, and actually be able to tell the difference between a stump and a hit. Line and rod/reel.



But the first thing to buy after that, is a nice big sparkly boat. Because I just don't get as excited when I drag out my jon boat. I'd spend more time fishing and be in better spirits in a comfortable boat with all the ammenities and electronics.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

We got another one Rob. sa's got "Glass Envy" first symtom of Glass Fever wich will eventually lead to glass purchase. There's no cure, he's ours!!



TOXIC



Oh yeah, 1. Boat/TM 2. Rod/Reel 3. Lure 4. Line 5. Net, cause if everything else works right, I'm gonna need it!!

 

[Steven Atwell]

Too late. I've had my Gambler for quite some time now...................sa

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Oh, that's right, I forgot. Those other boats don't register as well in my peanut brain. BTW, it's not fair having 2....my little pvc doesn't count.



TOXIC

 

[Rob LaMoy]

That was how I used to increase sales when I ran Wal-Mart's sporting goods. So many weekend anglers came in and bought cheap gear and when they would go to ring up the $19.95 el cheapo rod I would ask, "can I show you something?" Most would say "sure". I took them back to the rod isle put the rod they were going to buy in one hand and a quality rod for about $50 in the other. I then had them close their eyes and tell me which rod they felt the "bite" in. I would lightly tap the tip of the rod. Every time they said the better rod, but I was tapping both! They never felt it in the Ugly sticks or zebcos or renegades etc. Once I drove that point across, it was easy to get them to go from the el cheapo shakespear $1.97 for 1000 yards mono to berkly or stren at $5.00. Inevitably they would be back a week later and thanking me because they were now catching more fish than ever before. I told them they were most likely getting bit before but just never knew it. I won't even get into how I up saled electronics/finders! LOL

 

[Marke Cicero]

I don't think there is any "order of importance" because it is ALL important and it ALL costs money. I don't purchase anything unless I can "justify" the expense. I put a lot of time into shopping, researching, evaluating and trying to make the best educated decisions to stretch the dollars that I have.



BOAT: I budgeted $15k for a boat. I could of had the 700LX, NX750 or TV-18. Sure a glass boat would have prettier and had sparkles but the TV-18 was longer, wider, higher hp rating, higher weight capacity, more storage and less maintenance. All 3 would get me to the fish but I thought the TV-18 was a better VALUE.



LINE: When I was kid my parents bought me el-cheapo line at flea markets and discount stores and I lost lures while casting. I quickly learned to use Trilene or Stren at a moderate price. As super braids or fusion lines came out I tried them here and there and didn't personally find them worth the extra money. So now I stick with a good quality Mono because I find it to be the best VALUE.



I think you can see where I'm going with this. I'll be the first one to tell you that cheap stuff sucks but on the other hand I think that sometimes expensive stuff is simply that....expensive.



I pay more for Gamagatsu hooks because I believe they are better than Eagle claw.

But I don't buy St. Croix rods because I believe the BPS Extreme or Pro Qualifier's are just as good.



We simply have to do a little home work, weigh the features and benefits and determine if what we are buying is worth what we are paying.



Marke

 

[Mike Levesque]

Great post Marke....

I use the BPS rods simply because I can't afford the real high end rods,and I'm also partial to the Berkely Lightnin' rods, only damage I've ever done to them was "human error", such as closing livewell lid on a couple rod tips then steppin' on the lid, thus converting a couple 7 footers to 6' 6" ...... course those are then re-tipped and given to the kids, and yet another trip to BPS commences.

 

[Andrew Zuber]

I had a Lightnin' Rod break right in the middle one time on the hookset for a walleye...haven't bought any since then.

I like the Berkley Bionic series though...nice rods for $50 and they're available at Wally-World.



P.S. I still landed the walleye!!!



az

 

[Staci Matheis]

In all my years of fishing, I've only broken two or three rods on a hookset.

When I thought back afterward, I remembered that I had done something to damage the rod at the point of the breakage just shortly before.....

 

[Staci Matheis]

Amen, Brother Dan!