What is the most important thing you'd spend $$$ on?

[Sebb]

What is the most important thing you'd spend $$$ on?
With anaconda has 50% sale on Lowrance sounder, it got me thinking.
Being mostly fishing landbased, sounder is unnecessary. When I fish on kayak, sounder is good to have to check water depth. But being mot as mobile as boats, other features on sounder are good to have but not essential or as helpful.

Similar with fishing in general. We can catch fish on $20 Kmart combo, but it's nice to have expensive shiny gear, though not essential.

So what do you think is worth buying and spending heaps of $$$ on?
Curious what others think.

[ben475]

i'd say the most important thing to spend is time not money.
i like to look for the sweet spot in gear, not the cheapest, not top of the line (unless its for an extreme purpose).
a sounder would come in handy at times on a yak.

[Whiskers]

Spend your money on something that could save your life.

Invest in a PLB, (Personal Location Beacon)

Most of us at sometime or another can end up in some remote places and if you end up in difficulties there's going to be no-one around to help.
In my part of the world mobile phones are pretty much useless, many places have no signal at all, so you need a PLB.

Accidents can happen quickly and they're not something you plan for.

[Sebb]

Spend your money on something that could save your life.

Invest in a PLB, (Personal Location Beacon)

Most of us at sometime or another can end up in some remote places and if you end up in difficulties there's going to be no-one around to help.
In my part of the world mobile phones are pretty much useless, many places have no signal at all, so you need a PLB.

Accidents can happen quickly and they're not something you plan for.

Yup, I have a PLB. Though I admit, sometimes I forget to bring and stays in car's glovebox.

[Seniorfisho]

Get yourself a hand held fish finder for a start. They are very good and can help a lot when fishing a new spot. Other than that, I try to avoid anything Daiwa.

[smokin_reels]

Sounders, good braid, upgraded terminals

[mazman]

I think budget and style of fishing really determines priority.

For sounders I have a helix 9 that I regularly use on my kayak but for small water cod fishing in summer I leave it off as it just gets in the way and provides no real value in this situation. That same sounder becomes an extremely valuable tool when I'm bream fishing and has directly led to some of my most memorable catches.

[cheaterparts]

I don't tend to spend huge money on fishing gear but as a kayak fisho the most important things were - quality kayak ( built for purpose ) most fishing kayaks are not built for distance or more extreme places ie off shore or surf launches at times I do both -- to add to that a quality.paddle also makes covering distance better/easier --- Anzac week we covered 110 km by paddle around Eden and out the front both south of Boyd tower and out around the north point of Two fold bay

the EPIRB and VHF radio were pretty Important for those trips out the front and in fact all of my safety gear is probably fairly important

[Andrews]

Agreed with all these replies, if you're actively fishing where there is an inherent risk, boat, kayak, land-based, wherever investing in safety is something no-one should compromise on.

I think for me it's quality clothing to ensure that I am appropriately dressed, not exposed to the elements and quality fishing gear. Spend a little more (by no means high-end) investing in equipment that has the consistency and reliability to perform with active use, has the capacity to be serviced/ repaired if required and is fit for the task I'm looking for it to perform.

[fishnut]

Get yourself a hand held fish finder for a start. They are very good and can help a lot when fishing a new spot. Other than that, I try to avoid anything Daiwa.

I second that,couple years ago bought a Daiwa egg rod and about 2months later it just snapped while casting the lure so no more Daiwa for me