New to fishing - what should i get

[lape0019]

Thursday nights are always fun. I'll be there this week. And you can always count on a few very knowledgeable and helpful tournament anglers if Ed is busy with another customer.

I did not want to recommend a rod, but I think Curls has given you an excellent option in the convergence. Great rod for the price. My cousin has one because he wanted a two piece and I have used it a few times.

As for hooks and terminal tackle, I actually find places like CT to be a tad higher for the items they offer that are similar. Not everything, but for the things I tend to want anyway. If you shop around a little bit, you will probably notice that in the end, the average cost of what you buy will be the same. Some places will have higher senko prices and cheaper hard bait prices and others will be the other way around.

[CNs]

Going contrary to what most people are saying in this thread. I would go out and get a beginner rod and reel combo (pre-spooled with mono) for $40-$60 dollars (medium rod 6 to 7ft). Use it for a season and learn what is important to you and what you need for the fish you target in the areas you fish. Get advice and then go get something of higher quality.

There is some good advice. Buy used. On the buy and sell forum there are some bargains to be had. Whether in the lower end or towards the upper end
As an example there is a Megabass rod for sale @ 255$ retail is 350-400 for the rod. Now I know that this is way over your budget but just an example of what you can find here or on Kijiji. If I could get a 200$ reel for 100$ I would take it over a new reel @ $100 (depending on condition of course). same with a rod.

Its amazing how may rods I have been able to find used at great prices that people over spent on getting into fishing and going out only twice.
The most expensive gear I used was $1000 dollar drop shot rig on a guided trip from a competitive bass fisherman. Man, I could feel that rig lightly tap a rock in 30ft of water.

and that is why it worth $1000. But you don't need to spend a grand. On a drop shot rig the reel is not the most important part- its the rod.
You can get a very sensitive Drop Shot rod for $150 - $300 paired with a $50 - $75 spinning reel from shimano, abu Garcia etc. My best DS rod was a Simax great lakes DS rod. Was only 200$. I could not only feel a rock at 30ft and more, I could feel a fish swim near the rod. It was very sensitive.

[curls]

btw, I recommended rods in the $80-$110 price range for one reason, and I know 99.99% of you would agree with this:

It sucks to buy something cheap, use it for a bit, then upgrade... then upgrade again... and again. That gets expensive REAL quick! So start mid-range (for a non-tournament fisherperson, it's the way to go, IMO). It will last you a lot longer than a low-end rod/reel combo (especially the reel, IMO), and you'll get more enjoyment out of it as they're more sensitive, backed by better warranties, and built a bit tougher to last longer with regular use. The exception is the new Ugly Stik - I got one for my son and he's already ran the tip over with his bike, AND slammed the trailer door on it... it still looks brand new, and hauls in fish!

If one finds they want to experience tournaments, then they may want to look at higher-end stuff to increase their chances of winning some cash to fund this habit. Or, for someone like Biggs for example - they purely enjoy the feel and sport of using top line equipment even while shore fishing in the city! It's a bit of an addiction though.

[lape0019]

I do not buy rods pre spooled with line and I do not buy Zebco products. I have in the past and they broke quickly with some of the reels not even lasting a year. Secondly, who knows how long that mono has been on that reel and what shape it is in?

I totally agree with Curls yet again! You will have more pleasure using better gear. It doesn't have to be a top of the line combo but something in the range you are looking at is perfect. Plus, if you don't like it I am willing to bet you could sell the rod and reel for enough that you would only lose $60.00 - $80.00 (not much different than buying the cheap stuff to start with) and you will have used better gear for the season to really find out if you like it.

And FYI, every reel you buy at Paddletales comes with a freshly lined spool with your preference of line material. You can't complain about that and you know it hasn't been sitting on there for a year or more.

[BringDaRukus]

Gonna try to make my way to paddletales tonight but it'll depend on how early the boss lets me go. If not I'll wait until the beginning of next week to go talk to Ed afterwards as many have suggested.
Good news is I was able to borrow a rod from an acquaintance of mine for this weekend, i'll be able to compare both spinning vs. baitcasting. I'll just have to figure out changing the lines on them as they haven't been used in years...

Thanks again for your helping everyone, I was pleasantly surprised with all the suggestions and advise I got out of this thread