Fishing tackle technology over the years.

[Mattblack]

I like buying tackle almost as much as going fishing.
Squid jigs have come a long way over the last decade or 2. I've got a Shimano squid pouch full of fancy jigs with different colours & designs...bit of a waste as I only use the white one

[Andrews]

I feel that some fishing tackle catches more fishmen than they do fish.

I think that as technology has advanced, we have had some great improvements in a diverse range of fishing equipment. From the density of graphite rods to the shape, colour and uv range of fishing lures, soft plastics and squid jigs. This has also brought upon plenty of gimmicky products.

I always prioritize the right technique for the species. Every species is different in their behavior, food source and where they sit in the water column. Unless you’re placing your bait and lures in the right spot and depth for that species, you will be limiting your own success of hooking up. Expensive gear or not, I think the basics are the most important.

I would be interested in hearing everyones opinions of the price vs value of fishing gear. Would be a great discussion.

[Kestrel]

I remember far too many years ago, buying my first Lowrance 'Depth Sounder'. It worked by tracing the bottom contour onto paper. I thought it was amazing technology.... and it was then!

This is what it looked like

Lowrance.jpg (27.53 KiB) Viewed 1559 times

Kestrel

[Troy McLure]

From what I’ve seen in tackle stores the term “ getting what you pay for” seems to ring true. Definitely I’ve noticed the weight of rods and reels has made huge improvements especially for blokes like Dougie banging big lures out all for hours on end. I think for me I’ve got to find middle ground on price until I can get out more and fish as much as I want. Good feedback though.

[purple5ive]

I would be interested in hearing everyones opinions of the price vs value of fishing gear. Would be a great discussion.

i think this generally ends up opening a can of worms..
anyway i did have a discussion on Social media about the differences between the medium range rods,($500) and the higher end models($700 plus)
was the difference in quality of the Gear as noticeable as much as the jump in price?
it pretty much just went around in circles.

for me i have drawn the line at where my budget is and i have sort of stuck to it in a way. personally i just don't see the point of spending 700 plus on a rod or reel for light/finesse tackle fishing.
maybe if you were getting just the one outfit, then i would splurge a bit more. but i wanted a few so i opted for the cheaper option of spending around 500 per item. if i could purchase them on a sale cheaper or second hand in good used condition, then i opted for that.

horses for causes though.

[colnick]

I still have family up there and get back reasonably often.
Getting back to this thread - I am a bit confused. You seem to be suggesting that because of the wonderful difficult spots you now get into, only $500 gear will do the job. The question really is, would you still catch fish there with a $100 combo?
Cheers, Col.

Of course you would.

Now lets do a test. Go pick up a Fin Nor lethal 100 and put it on a $100 24kg gladiator spin stick. Now spool it with 80lb Fins. It's going to weigh literally twice as much as the assassin/expo or assassin/bio 10 combos i'm using with high quality tasline. The rod isn't going to have the same casting power, the reel the same smooth drag or drag capacity or retrieve rate, the line the same abrasion resistance or durability. If you're unfit you might be able to make 15-20 casts with the heavier combo until you're cooked. Pick up a bio 10 and any rod on a high quality blank and you can spin for much longer, cast much further for less effort, work different lures in different ways, be confident to stop bigger fish more often and not have your line break the moment it touches anything other than air or water.

I've used a dozen different large sized reels for land based game spinning, about half of which have broken or melted within a year of purchasing them and have actually broken a daiwa Saltist hyper 962 at the join. There is a huge difference between 'my drags gone' on a boat, where you can take another reel (that you didn't have to carry an hour) out and put it on your rod and 'my drags gone' when you're 5kms from your camp, 150km from a tackle shop, and down a ledge you have to literally climb into.

If you want to catch a fish you can cast literally anything with some bait on it at the water. If you want to fish the way I do, you 'can' fish with gear 1/4 the price of mine, but in the end it's going to catch up with you. High quality, light weight, durable gear is absolutely essential. A Saragosa with a 250 rod will 'do'. but spinning the hours I often do on these trips it's worth the extra $ to be more comfortable. Plus an awful lot of the time when i'm livebaiting for kings, there's also a chance of hooking a Marlin up north or an SBT in VIC.

This is actually a really interesting conversation that I have with a couple of the other guys i'm fishing with quite often. At what point does the cost of the gear outweigh the benefit that we're getting? Might be worthy of a new thread all together.

When i get a minute i'll put together a comprehensive list of spin reels i've destroyed in the last 3-4 years since we started rock fishing properly.

Excellent explanation Dougie, makes sense. I expect there are some other anglers fishing in special situations where the cost of sophisticated gear is justified. But I still reckon that the majority of us, fishing for bread and butter species in not particularly taxing circumstances, go for more refined gear because we want to not because we need to. And yes, I have been guilty myself.
Cheers, Col.

[Nude up]

I have more lures than you can poke a stick at be it hard body,soft plastic,squid jigs and skirted lures it is almost like a disease buying them a compulsive disorder and I love it.
Regarding squid jigs I have cheap and expensive ones no doubt when the squid are being hard to tempt the expensive $20 tp $30 range catch more squid.
I miss squid fishing I bought some the other day for the first time in my life bar at a restaurant

[DougieK]

I have more lures than you can poke a stick at be it hard body,soft plastic,squid jigs and skirted lures it is almost like a disease buying them a compulsive disorder and I love it.
Regarding squid jigs I have cheap and expensive ones no doubt when the squid are being hard to tempt the expensive $20 tp $30 range catch more squid.
I miss squid fishing I bought some the other day for the first time in my life bar at a restaurant

Was the squid awful? I can't eat seafood that's been frozen really anymore short of deep fried fish and chip shop flake. We are often spoiled with the quality of what we can pull out of the water.

The squid jig discussion is really interesting as a lure discussion as a whole. For me the variety is what's important. Almost all of my big pelagic non King hookups have come on either a Busted 75 ($7 bucks) and a slim needle nose GT icecream 3oz ($17). But somehow i'm walking around with half a dozen $100 timber stickbaits, 4 poppers, god knows how many nomads etc. I'll always try the old reliable first but kings are so freaking fussy a tiny difference in color can be the difference between hooking half a dozen of them and watching them headbutt your lure and not eat it.

[Mattblack]

I feel that some fishing tackle catches more fishmen than they do fish.

I think that as technology has advanced, we have had some great improvements in a diverse range of fishing equipment. From the density of graphite rods to the shape, colour and uv range of fishing lures, soft plastics and squid jigs. This has also brought upon plenty of gimmicky products.

I always prioritize the right technique for the species. Every species is different in their behavior, food source and where they sit in the water column. Unless you’re placing your bait and lures in the right spot and depth for that species, you will be limiting your own success of hooking up. Expensive gear or not, I think the basics are the most important.

I would be interested in hearing everyones opinions of the price vs value of fishing gear. Would be a great discussion.

Stradic for the small one's, Saragosa for the big ones

[DougieK]

I manly lure fish so i love the modern stuff more feel and cast further

The difference between casting a really high quality blank and line is so unbelievable the first time you do it it feels utterly effortless.