High end fishing gear

[outrider58]

I learned to cast and fish with a baitcasting reel as a boy back in the mid-1960s. Two things I learned, one, the term "birds' nest" has more than one meaning, and two, the kids with the spincasting reels had more time to fish because they weren't untangling "birds' nests".

All my bait casters are so tuned, you can virtually cast and lay the rod down in the middle of the cast and it won't birdnest. But, if you accidentally hit something during your back cast, like your back-seater's rod, look out! Mother of all bird nests. There is a trick to getting them though. It works most of the time.

 

[Baldheaded]

Thanks for the explanation. I got the hang of it after a couple dozen casts, but then asked a guy how he tuned his to prevent backlash. My very next cast was the last of the day for that rod. lol

8000 Penn Battle III 10ft saltwater combo is about the most expensive I have bought. I'm rocking Ugly sticks GX2's in various sizes for the rest. I'm a Casio watch kinda guy.
Interested in hearing about the high end gear in this thread.
Hopefully this thread won't inspire me too much.

Hopefully it will...... lol. Once you drive a Porsche it is hard to go back to a Mustang. Sorry to all you Mustang guys. I do like Mustangs but thats another thread. It's also kind of like what people here say about their guns. Same goes for rods and reels. You will eventually need a bigger safe and a bigger boat. hehe

 

[tdt91]

I have a good process to help you learn how to use a baitcaster. For this training lets consider the reel has a dial magnet and standard spool tensioner.
Move the magnet dial to zero. Have your bait (whatever it is) already tied on. hold the rod straight out in front of you and push the thumb bar and lightly thumb the spool so you don't get a back lash. Your goal is to adjust the spool tensioner until you can push the thumb bar, release the spool completely and when the bait hits the ground your spool will not backlash. You want just a tiny bit of overrun on one wind.
Then move the magnet dial to halfway and start casting. As you get better and better you can adjust the spool and magnet as needed.

 

[Baldheaded]

I have a good process to help you learn how to use a baitcaster. For this training lets consider the reel has a dial magnet and standard spool tensioner.
Move the magnet dial to zero. Have your bait (whatever it is) already tied on. hold the rod straight out in front of you and push the thumb bar and lightly thumb the spool so you don't get a back lash. Your goal is to adjust the spool tensioner until you can push the thumb bar, release the spool completely and when the bait hits the ground your spool will not backlash. You want just a tiny bit of overrun on one wind.
Then move the magnet dial to halfway and start casting. As you get better and better you can adjust the spool and magnet as needed.

Well said. One more thing to add - as a beginner don't practice on a windy day. And really don't cast into the wind when possible for a while. The wind can even make a seasoned bait caster look bad once in a while. hehe

 

[outrider58]

I have a good process to help you learn how to use a baitcaster. For this training lets consider the reel has a dial magnet and standard spool tensioner.
Move the magnet dial to zero. Have your bait (whatever it is) already tied on. hold the rod straight out in front of you and push the thumb bar and lightly thumb the spool so you don't get a back lash. Your goal is to adjust the spool tensioner until you can push the thumb bar, release the spool completely and when the bait hits the ground your spool will not backlash. You want just a tiny bit of overrun on one wind.
Then move the magnet dial to halfway and start casting. As you get better and better you can adjust the spool and magnet as needed.

Yup. Bait caster 101.

 

[mauser58]

I dont go by cost but by quality and action. I have fished about 60 years and went through many rods, reels and lures. An expensive rod does not mead it will catch you more fish. Its the know how and skill. I mostly use spinning set ups in ultra light, Medium/Heavy and Heavy. I use UL for small jigs and spinners and for trout and saltwater panfish. My average rod is probably $80 and reels about $100-$120. My trolling setups are about $300-$500 per set up. Surf rigs I have are about $300 each. I check the rods for sensitivity and strength and how they work for the lures I am casting .

 

[TI-tick]

You will learn there are things that do better with bait casters as you become proficient with them. The most important thing for me is, they are far superior when casting crank baits as, when you cast a crank bait with spinning gear, the lure summersaults through the air and often fouls in the line. When you cast a crank bait with a bait caster, the lure doesn't flip around as it flies, it stays straight like a missile and has much less tendency to foul with the line. There are many other benefits as well.

The thing about bait casters is, you want several of them so you can keep each rod and reel combination tuned for a specific bait(lure) weight, type of lure, and fishing method.

The Penn Fantom II's have dials to dial in the cast so you can tweek it right.
Gotta stay sober to figure that one out though.

 

[TI-tick]

All my bait casters are so tuned, you can virtually cast and lay the rod down in the middle of the cast and it won't birdnest. But, if you accidentally hit something during your back cast, like your back-seater's rod, look out! Mother of all bird nests. There is a trick to getting them though. It works most of the time.

My Penn;s don't have that thumb thing to shut down the spool.
Fishers need to match the hatch, use your thumb and adjust.

Fillets manana as I've got some! Lost three rigs but may retrieve at low tide.

 

[Trepang]

I like nice gear.

Trolling rods custom built by Shore Tackle on Kent Island with Shimano Tekota 800s

Live lining rods custom built by Steve Fogle in Walkersville with Shimano Baitrunner 4000Ds

Bottom fishing rods are 4’ Kunnans with Shimano R2000s

Everything except the live lining rods have Power Pro braid and the live liners have 14 lbs Vanish fluorocarbon on them. Get multiple seasons out of the braid and change the floro every June.

No clue how many $10,000s of dollars are tied up in gear.

They live a very rough life. Annual maintenance is well over $1k.

Use Crazy Horse Custom Rods in Calvert for rod repair and a guy in Florida for reel repair and maintenance.

Just last weekend a guy dropped a live lining rod over the side. It happens.

For my own personal use, I had Bill O’Brien build me a spiral eye’ed sea bass rod that I have an Avet narrow spool SXJ on. He took measurements off me and built it so the butt tucks in my arm pit perfectly when cranking on black sea bass in >100 feet of water.

 

[Slackdaddy]

I am 100% kayak fishing, 2 distinct types: Multi day camping/fishing on Class 1-3 mountain rivers, And Local Tidal rivers Rockfish, Sneakhead, catfish.
I have settled on Ugly Stik GX2 and Pflueger President reels for spinning, a basic Shamano bait caster.
All spooled wth 832 braid.

I am really, really hard on the equipment in the white water trips,, and loose a setup at least once a year,, my reels typ get replaced at 3-5 years.

My buddy lost 2 St.Croix set ups after wiping out on this trip through Smoke Hole Canyon.

 

[outrider58]

I dont go by cost but by quality and action. I have fished about 60 years and went through many rods, reels and lures. An expensive rod does not mead it will catch you more fish. Its the know how and skill. I mostly use spinning set ups in ultra light, Medium/Heavy and Heavy. I use UL for small jigs and spinners and for trout and saltwater panfish. My average rod is probably $80 and reels about $100-$120. My trolling setups are about $300-$500 per set up. Surf rigs I have are about $300 each. I check the rods for sensitivity and strength and how they work for the lures I am casting .

Much of that fishing skill is proper boat positioning, especially when bass fishing.

 

[kstone803]

I buy what I would consider medium grade gear. I'm hard on gear and I'd say reels are almost consumables. I've got some St. Croix rods that are 15+ years old and some other rods that are probably about a decade but reels usually only make it 5-6 years tops. Hose em off daily, lube em and store em inside in the winter but the salt just kills em all eventually. Right now I'm running a hodge podge of Shimano, Penn, Abu Garcia and I think even a few zebco ultralight reels on the kids rods. They all catch fish. My surf fishing gear is a bit higher end but that's gonna bring in a big one someday

 

[BigTinBoat]

I guessing your a bass fisherman. The Zodias rods are very nice also. I don't have one but have seen them in the shops.

Correct. From what I've read it seems the Zodias and Poison are pretty much the same blanks, but the Poison has all of the SIC guides whereas the Zodias it is only the tip that is SIC.

 

[Baldheaded]

Correct. From what I've read it seems the Zodias and Poison are pretty much the same blanks, but the Poison has all of the SIC guides whereas the Zodias it is only the tip that is SIC.

There's a new Shimano Poison Ultima coming out very soon. It is around $800 I think. I am curious to see if I can tell a difference between it and the Adrena's I have. No near plans to buy one. I am very happy with the Exprides and Adrena's.

 

[Baldheaded]

The 1 big thing I like about the high end St. Croix rods in the model like the Legend Elites is the warranties. My old ones had life time warranties but the new ones are still 15 years. I damaged 2 Elites last year and I just took a few pictures of them and they sent me brand new ones. That is the mark of an awesome company. Shimano only has a 1 year warranty but after that if anything happens to the rod they will send you a new one no questions asked for 1/2 the original cost. I think G. Loomis rods carry a life time warranty but not 100% sure. I don't own any.

 

[davsco]

The reel in my picture is a Zebco Cardinal 7 made by Abu in Sweden.

Heck yeah, I have a 7 and a 4. The drag location is awesome. The 4 was on a Fenwick ultralight that I unfortunately smashed in the trunk and never found a replacement. Bought that at Herman's in Tysons when Tysons was one floor...

 

[johnkn]

St. Croix




.

 

[Suppressed]

If you fish a lot, using budget gear gets annoying. I have used other peoples cheap gear and the reel came apart while I was fighting a fish. I use high quality rods and medium quality reels. My newest rod is a Shimano Trevala paired with a Shimano Vanford. I broke it in this past April catching a 47 inch Bull Red Drum down by the Bay Bridge Tunnel. During that same trip, I hooked a Stingray with a four foot wingspan. That rod was doubled over but didn't break. One of my other favorite rods is a JLS Custom rod paired with a Shimano Vanford. In the past two years, I have caught over 200 Rockfish with it. The rod is more important than the reel. Some people spend close to $1000 for a reel. I have used them but couldn't see the benefit. My next reel will be a Shimano Nasci which goes for around $110. It is one of their lower end reels but it has a lot of the technology that the high end reels from a few years ago had.

I also use good tackle. My favorite jigs are G-Eye Jigs made locally in Chesapeake Beach. They are made with high quality hooks and the attention to detail is outstanding. The owner is an avid fisherman and knows what catches fish around here. I also like Shimano jigs and SPRO swivels. I have tried a bunch of braided lines and have settled on Power Pro. For leaders, I just use Ande monofilament. Fluorocarbon leader is a scam.

 

[Baldheaded]

If you fish a lot, using budget gear gets annoying. I have used other peoples cheap gear and the reel came apart while I was fighting a fish. I use high quality rods and medium quality reels. My newest rod is a Shimano Trevala paired with a Shimano Vanford. I broke it in this past April catching a 47 inch Bull Red Drum down by the Bay Bridge Tunnel. During that same trip, I hooked a Stingray with a four foot wingspan. That rod was doubled over but didn't break. One of my other favorite rods is a JLS Custom rod paired with a Shimano Vanford. In the past two years, I have caught over 200 Rockfish with it. The rod is more important than the reel. Some people spend close to $1000 for a reel. I have used them but couldn't see the benefit. My next reel will be a Shimano Nasci which goes for around $110. It is one of their lower end reels but it has a lot of the technology that the high end reels from a few years ago had.

I also use good tackle. My favorite jigs are G-Eye Jigs made locally in Chesapeake Beach. They are made with high quality hooks and the attention to detail is outstanding. The owner is an avid fisherman and knows what catches fish around here. I also like Shimano jigs and SPRO swivels. I have tried a bunch of braided lines and have settled on Power Pro. For leaders, I just use Ande monofilament. Fluorocarbon leader is a scam.

I have a bunch of the Vanford reels. A 1000 and several 2500. I really like them. I bit lighter than the Stradics I used to use. At $250 for a Vanford that is border line high end for a reel. I would say a starting point for high end. The Twin Powers and Stellas would be high end with a starting point of $500. I just got my hands on the Twin Power recently and am in love with them. I feel a noticeable difference in them over the Vanfords. And I agree with you about the G-Eye jigs. They are very nice. Anglers in Annapolis sells them.

 

[Rich1911]

I have a bunch of the Vanford reels. A 1000 and several 2500. I really like them. I bit lighter than the Stradics I used to use. At $250 for a Vanford that is border line high end for a reel. I would say a starting point for high end. The Twin Powers and Stellas would be high end with a starting point of $500. I just got my hands on the Twin Power recently and am in love with them. I feel a noticeable difference in them over the Vanfords. And I agree with you about the G-Eye jigs. They are very nice. Anglers in Annapolis sells them.

… and to think- our ancestors caught fish with sticks and vines …