11 Dollar Rod 20 dollar reel; Trout 23 inches RedFish 28 inches and 6lb Talapia All 3 were caught on 4 pound test line. Pics to come.

true.

i have an uglystick ultra light that has a tiny little reel on it and i was fishing for bait with it and got into some puppy reds.. and then i picked up a 19" on it.

4lb line.

ultralight is fun!!

Aw c'mon you guys everybody knows you have to have a Chronarch and a Loomis rod to catch fish like that. And you will do even better if your baits are over 20 bucks.

    ;D ;D

ya i never spend alot of money on my fishing gear and always do well

it is funny because I have 5 GLX rods and 3 2010 Revo SX and 2 Shimano Calcutta, and Carbonlite with a Stradic CI4 on it.  But I always catch fish on my 20 dollar quantum spinning combo from kmart i bought 5 years ago.

Go figure huh

Expensive equipment is nice, but you just don't have to have it to catch fish and have fun. My buddy can buy anything he wants and he loves those Ugly Sticks and catches plenty of fish with them. He may be the best fisherman I have ever shared a boat with.

Fish don't seem to care if you spend a little or a lot $.

Same here, My dad bought a quantum UL the other day for 20 bucks, And spent 3.50 on some trilene mono 6 pound test and was cathing fish left and right, I am starting to steal it every now and again.

The rod and reel does not define a fisherman , no matter its cost.

One of my favorite rods is an ugly stick. Use it mostly for panfishing since it is so flexible and light. But every now and then it's fun to throw a bass bait (weightless senkos or splishotted powerbait minnows on them) and catch a few.

For the longest time, I had a cheap 20 quantum snapshot combo that caught me a ton of fish. It worked great until I hooked into a northern and it destroyed my drag 

You guys must all be horrible fisherman if you don't show up to the lake with a couple thousand dollars worth of equipment. :

I "invested" in some very nice rods/reels in the last few years, but caught just as many fish on my old Ugly Sticks! In fact, my wife uses them now and sometimes out-fishes me...I used them the other day because I already had them rigged for her and had a blast!

Even with lures I have noticed the same thing. I have a lot of Lucky Craft, etc, but I have caught more fish on spinner baits than all other lures combined - Including the $15 ones. lol. I think some of that is not being afraid to through the cheaper stuff into thicker cover. I don't mind loosing a spinner bait that cost a few bucks, but it ruins my day to lose a Pointer, or Sammy! Lol!

Is it that time of the month again? 

Always love these threads.   

Is it that time of the month again?

Always love these threads.

So what do you use Burley?   ;D

Don't get me wrong...I would never go back to the cheap rods/reels!  Anyone who fishes for more than a few hours knows the difference just from weight alone - Much less sensitivity, etc.  I love my nice rods!  Can you catch fish on cheap equipment? Absolutely!

You can also get to work on a bicycle, but it sure is easier to ride in a comfortable car!  ;D

pfffft.

i still use 4 or 5 ugly sticks in saltwater. they work awesome and are plenty sensitive enough. if i can catch a sheepshead on an ugly stick... i can catch a bass. lol. i have the old plastic shimano curados on them and its a blast to fish.

whats funny is... my "expensive" rig-  7.0 quantum te on a 7'6" chimano crucial...... is not even CLOSE to what some of the people on here consider an expensive rig, and i think that it is ridiculously nice. so.... really... its all relative.

I now own several Revo/Avid combos, but for years all I could afford were lightning rods. I still dont go fishin' without at least one cheap combo. You never know when you might get into the pond grenel The bass have never complained that they were not caught on quality equipment!

Same goes for spinning gear, I never failed to land a fish because I was 4 ball bearings short! I did have an old Daiwa Cygnus reel seat snap when I was hooksetting a 2#er on a jig! I still landed the fish with the rod under my arm and the reel in both hands! ;D Good Times! That lil reel only caught a few hundred bass at least, so i guess I got my $50 worth!

I agree.  I just need something sturdy and powerful enough to haul in what I need. 

Is it that time of the month again?

Always love these threads.

There is alot more to quality gear than catching fish.

Rods-When you pay more for rods you get several things. Sensitivity-even cheap rods are pretty sensitive these days but occasionally you will feel a fish you wouldnt on a cheaper rod especially when the bite is off. weight-more expensive rods are lighter and better balanced, it plays into being more sensitive as some but its mostly a comfort deal and you can tell the difference when you fish several long days in a row. Warranty-most quality rods have lifetime warranties fewer cheaper rods do, I have bad luck breaking rods so I dont buy one anymore without a warranty.

Reels-Pretty much all reels wear down. The difference cheap reels wear down quicker. And you can cast alot better with quality baitcasting reels. With spinning reels I get by fine with cheaper ones not cheap but cheaper.

Lures-cost is a direct correlation with the money it costs to build a bait. If a bait is really good you gotta pay to use it. Simple as that. Plenty of crankbaits under $5 catch fish but they are not as consistent and your more likely to get a lemon with cheaper baits. And more expensive baits tend to cast better due to internal weights which is a nice bonus. And they have quality hooks and hardware out of the box that wont rust in 1 year. And I dont mind paying for some quality baits because I want what little time I have to spend on the water to be as good as possible. Quality hard baits also last longer usually if they arent wooden. As far as soft plastics I wont pay more than whan yamamoto baits cost unless they are swimbaits which last longer and catch real quality fish.

Can you catch fish on cheap stuff. Heck yeah. But I plan on fishing a long time and quality stuff lasts longer in my experiance.

One advantage of cheaper equipment is if you do a lot of bank fishing / wading, it seems (at least in my case) like I am always doing something stupid when walking that breaks a rod.  You tend to cry a lot less when it is a broken $30 rod vs. a $150 rod.

You tend to cry a lot less when it is a broken $30 rod vs. a $150 rod.

Seems easier just to be a little more careful with your gear, irrespective of price.

Will more expensive rods and reels catch you more fish? Probably not.

But in the long scheme of things will they show better quality over time? For sure.

you can catch fish with line wrapped around a hand spool. when i was a kid, i caught a sunfish with a bent needle. took about 50 worms but i finally got one.

you dont need expensive gear to fish. i dont think there was ever a doubt. i know i catch more fish than i did 5 yrs ago with my less sensitive rods. alot more fish? no.

i dont get to fish everyday. when i do i like nice toys that make the experience more fun for me.

if youre satisfied fishing cheaper rigs, more power to you. i wish i was attracted to big girls, but im not, so i cant clean up the bar at last call like some of my friends that will settle for that.

to each his own!

   Ill keep it simple... UGLYSTICK...

 

  Hell... I still use bamboo poles for crappie and bluegill.