Expensive gear

[matt_mad_fisho]

G'day everyone
i am looking at getting a Gloomis rod and a Tica Libra 2500 for casting small lures and softies for bream, ive been doing it for a few months now and im realy enjoying it. Do you think it is worth getting the expensive gear?

Thanks Matt

[Craig_S]

Matt, its a raffle really, good gear is always worth paying for and some of the guys here will rave over Loomis rods.

On the other hand for a minor drop in quality you might see a significant savings in bucks which could be put towards upgrading the lure selection.

As an example, some of the Daiwa rods in the $120 range are pretty good and there are probably a heap of guys on this site who will not only tell you they are a good rod but are using it themselves. Also a reel like the Okuma AV15 will only go $80 but is not bad either. I use one of these and its been trouble free for me. I think Dave W will also be an Okuma fan.

This didnt help did it

[matt_mad_fisho]

G'day Craig
thanks for the advice, i might just have to have a look at the diawa rods. i have fiends that use them and they say they are excellent. but i am getting the tica libra.......it is so smooth

cheers Matt

[Cheyne Jones]

Just a suggestion but if you are getting a setup specially for flicking lures at bream i would go for a smaller reel, 2500 would be perfect if it was an all round setup but if you are going to flick lures all day long your arm will get nice and sore.

For the money you will spend on a libra all reels in that price range will be just as smooth and you could even go for a shimano biomaster in the 1000 size for the same price.

[Geoff R]

G'day Mat,
Craig is right, there are a lot of rods out there that will do the job, but I love my Loomis's and so does everyone who uses them.
I find I like a very ridgid rod that is light and still has the spine to handle a decent fighting bream, my GL2 SB721 is a great allround rod and has caught me a lot of fish.
Definately have a look at the range before you spend the bucks
Regards Geoff

[matt_mad_fisho]

g'day graig
thanks for the advice buddy, i was actually looking at a loomis rod 2day and it was a gl3 model. and it is awsome so i think i might get that

cheers matt

[pete s]

would you rather drive a corolla or a bmw??

both do the job but 1 is just better at it.

i bought an innovator spin and a diawa emblem, whereas my mate bought a loomis and shimano stella. we both catch fish but i know which outfit i'd rather use.

the problem with using good gear is you dont want to go back to using the cheaper stuff

[peter bear]

BUY THE LOOMIS YOU WONT REGRET IT. I USE THE LIBRA 3000 ON A SB721 BIT HEAVY BUT IT HAS THE BACK BONE AND GRUNT TO HAUL THE BIG BREAM IN .GOOD HUNTING.

PETE.

Matt, My experience has been that I often buy gear that may may be at the bottom of the price/performance spectrum which often leads to me upgrading my gear if I find that I like the activity, this usually ends up costing me more than if I had purchased the best gear in the first place.
The trick is finding out if you like somthing before committing.
eg: I'm not that keen on surf fishing and have moderatly priced gear.
I'm very keen on Bream and use top shelf factory equipment, I've tried 9 different rods and have just purchased a Loomis Dropshot rod, a similar thing has happened with my Fly fishing gear.
It wasn't that the good gear was not available, initially I couldn't bring my self to spend the money.
I now have a lot of rods and reels that I don't use.

[Bear]

I have one simple rule.

Buy what you can afford and don't go crazy.

The more expensive stuff might be nice to have, but it won't mean you can't catch fish.

One of my set-ups is an Okuma FA-30 on a Shakespeare Intrepid Titanium IM-7. $130 the lot. Still gets me good fish and I can spend more on lures.

I'm still saving for a custom rod though.

[mike_mad_fisho]

gday matt
i like the idea that bear has spend enough to get a good quality reel and rod that is in ur price range and then u r able to buy heaps of lures.
thnks michael

[Bear]

In the end it's the lures that are going to catch you the fish. Get something you can afford and learn off. Buy all the lures you need and then save for what you WANT.

In the mean time you can at least have a selection to test with.