Fish-Hawk.Net

New to fishing and not a well off kinda guy....

Was wondering is there anyway a guy like me can get into some half decent gear without taking out a loan?

Geez! I looked at some rods and stuff and could not believe the price of some of them!

Is there really that much of a difference between a cheapy Rapala rod and say a high end one like Shimano?

Then it seems people talk about lengths, actions etc...all way over my head.

Is there a rod/reel combo that will catch most species for me? Like bass, pike etc?

welcome to the site devon

first person that answers UGLYSTICK to Devon's question gets a smack upside the head

Andy

Always lot's of stuff in the Spring in the Classifieds.

uglystick...............waiting for the smack on the head from Andy....he he .

I'm not a pro fisherman by any means (I'm barely a novice) but for a guy on a budget I see nothing wrong with an UGLYSTIK in my opinion.
Not sure what Andy means by UGLYSTICK... never seen one of those, must be a cheap knock off.

ohhhh you have no idea

hey I was just messin around...nothing wrong with the STIK

you are absolutely correct though...work with whats in your budget.

Hi Devon, welcome to the site.
If we had a better idea which area of the country you lived in, we might be able to direct you to some of the local vendors in your area. If you live in the Ottawa area.
Bits and Baits in Stittsville has some nice combos at good prices.

Paddletales in Winchester is having a great spring sale this weekend, with great pro staff to help you with your selections.

There is also the Valley Fishing and Outdoor Show in Carp in early April for some great deals as well: http://www.valleysportsmanshow.com/VFOS

good luck

Just get a medium action spinning rod / reel combo. You should be able to get a decent one for $50 at Canadian Tire / Lebarons, etc.

It will be enough to get you started.

devon wrote:New to fishing and not a well off kinda guy....

Was wondering is there anyway a guy like me can get into some half decent gear without taking out a loan?

Geez! I looked at some rods and stuff and could not believe the price of some of them!

Is there really that much of a difference between a cheapy Rapala rod and say a high end one like Shimano?

Then it seems people talk about lengths, actions etc...all way over my head.

Is there a rod/reel combo that will catch most species for me? Like bass, pike etc?

devon,

The short answer to your question is yes there is a huge difference between the cheapy rods and the quality rods. That being said, you can think of the various lengths, models of rods as special purpose equipment meant for a very specific task (i.e. flipping, cranking, finesse, etc)

For anglers like yourself, just starting out you should be able to pickup a quality outfit (at a reasonable price) that should cover all of your fishing needs as long as you're not fishing at the extreme ends of the spectrum (i.e. crappie, Muskie).

Nothing wrong with starting off with the cheaper equipment and having only 1 or 2 rod and reel combos. Don't get caught up with what you see on fishing shows ($600 reels etc) You can get a usable rod reel combo for $50 or $60 if you catch a good sale at canadian tire or walmart. For multi species action I would suggest a 7' med action rod and a 2500 series spinning reel. It is true that you do get what you pay for in fishing equipment but its also probably true that everyone on this site has a story about pulling in a ridiculously big fish on a closed face zebco.
Once you decide that you want to make fishing a major hobby then you can blow obscene amounts of money on gear if you like, until then keep it cheap. In a year or two you can make the jump up to the next level ($100 combo) then a year later $200 and so on. This is the approach I have taken and it works for me, besides you will really appreciate the quality of the higher end stuff after using the cheaper stuff for a few years.

Best advice for quality gear at cheaper prices is to watch the classifieds here. Obviously better more and deals at the end of the season, but the classifieds is a great place to start. As everyone has said, you get what you pay for.

My first rod, that I bought, was from Canadian Tire... I simply went in, wiggled the stick around a bunch of times, had an $50 budget or whatever, and left... fished with it not knowing any better for years... I remember later on, buying a rod and reel separately and being sooooo impressed...

I say do the same... get a few bucks and get fishing...

An uglystik, a few pickerel rigs and bell sinkers and some worms and you can catch about a dozen different species on a hundred different spots on the Ottawa River or anywhere else for that matter. It's only when I bought my boat that I got a bit fussier with my gear and tackle selection, but I certainly did catch literally tons of fish growing up on the aforementioned gear. Good fishing Devon.

Yannick

Thanks for the advice guys!!