How expensive is your gear?

So I've been looking at getting a rod and reel set up specifically for salmon fishing from the kayak for a while, as my current stuff is aimed at either fishing bobber and eggs from the bank (loooong Ugly Stick rod with little flex) or a cheap spinning set up (for casting spinners/spoons).  I knew I wanted something with a soft tip (for seeing spinners/wobblers work) but a stiff butt section, very durable, and I wanted it to not be too expensive (as we all know, there is a pretty good chance of a kayak rod ending up in Davey Jones locker.)

So tonight I went to Fishermen's Marine, checked out various Berkely/Lamiglass stuff, and struck up a conversation with one of the old-timers who works there (owns a fishing lodge in Alaska and guides in the summer, Lamiglass pro-staff).  Told him what I needed, and to my surprise, he steered me away from all the $50 to $100 rods I was looking at, and over to a short (6'6") $20 Eagle Claw fiberglass rod with exactly the charecteristics I was looking for.  Medium heavy action, very soft tip, short (8") butt section below the reel seat.  He pointed out that Lamiglass and others are now re-introducing fiberglass rods (to the tune of $150+) for exactly properties I was looking for.

So now I've got a kayak trolling set up with a reel that is worth 3.5 times what the rod is (I'm using one of my old Garcia's... but it was hard to resist spending my "saved" $$ on a new Shimano Corvalus).

How much do you spend on your kayak fishing tackle?

One thing I think the owner of the shop wouldn't know though is that the length of the rod is very important on a yak. When a fish is running all over the place it's really important to get the tip of your rod over the bow/stern easily. A long rod will make this a snap and fighting the fish simpler w/ less chance of dropping the rod.

When I troll I use a 9' Shimano TDR ($30) w/ a Shimano Charter Special reel ($120). Needless to say the rod trolls like a champ but has a soft tip w/ a strong butt worked just as as well jigging for the Tyee @ Moutcha Bay. And for $150 I think it's good on the wallet as well.

Z

I tend to prefer longer rods too. 9' is normal for me. Since we have to frequently use barbless hooks, a long rod with a soft tip helps to keep the fish attached. (So does a sliding weight set-up.) I also like gear that I can use while banking it.

The last outfit I bought was a cheap Okuma Celilo rod w/ reel, on sale at the end of last season for ~$50.00. (Reg. price was near 80.00, at Joe's.) It's been ridden hard and put away wet, and still works great. Near the same time I bought just a heavier Celilo rod for ~20.00; tough to beat at that price.

Way too much....

My rods are now almost exclusively Lamiglas and a few G Loomis. I like the fact that I can drive the factory if one ever breaks and get a replacement(whether you have to pay or not). I had a small G1000 series rod snap while trout fishing(pulled on a snag) and the factory replaced the broken top section free of charge. Earned a lifetime customer in the process. While on rods, I totally agree with you that fiberglass is the way to go for trolling. The reasons for graphite are casting and sensitivity. You don't need either while trolling. And fiberglass is more durable and has more flex which works really well for keeping a fish on. A great rod is the Lamiglas CG90DR. It's a 9' classic glass series rod with a 15-30 line weight. I'm nailed some good sized chinooks on mine and it handled them great. The msrp is $100, but they go on sale all the time for $85. And once fishermans put them on sale for $65(picked up my second one then). For the money, it's also hard to beat Ugly Stik Tigers. They are $45 on sale and nearly impossible to break. I believe in buying smart. You can pay retail any time. There will always be a sale or used one on the market. I've bought only a couple of new rods. Nearly all of my rods were purchased used for a fraction of the new cost.

As far as reels are concerned, I'm a reel nut so it's hardly a good question for me to answer. I love taking reels apart to fix them, upgrade them, or just to see how brand x stacks up against brand b). I fish Abu Garcia Ambassadeurs(not one is stock anymore though), Abu Garcia Revo's, Shimano Calcuttas, Shimano Scorpions(Japanese version of the Curado BSF), Shimano Stradics, Shimano TLD's for big fish, and Penns(various models). I am by no means a reel snob though. I still fish an Okuma line counter(only lefty line counter made) and my Abu Garcia Ambassadeurs the most. I've bought half of my reels in need of repair and built them back up to function "better then new". I used to have a rule that I didn't want more than $100 in any rod/reel combo since that would ruin my day if it fell in the drink....but I broke that rule a while ago. I have expensive rods and reels now, but I'm usually afraid to use them!

So to sum up. I'd say my average rod/reel combo has a retail msrp price of between $200-300, but I didn't pay anywhere near that.

My boats pretty short (12'5"), so maybe I'll be ok with it.  Worst case, it only cost $20 bucks!

Interesting to compare and contrast the cost of gear fishing stuff vs. fly fishing.  You can put together a pretty good salmon fishing baitcasing rod/reel package for $100-125 dollars.  $125 will buy you a basic entry level fly rod and nothing else.  Expect to pay at least $200 for an entry level combo, or $300+ for a higher-quality package.

$125 will buy you a basic entry level fly rod and nothing else.  Expect to pay at least $200 for an entry level combo, or $300+ for a higher-quality package.

No kidding. Fly rods/reels are bank!! And I got the more budget minded ones. I can't even say the words S*ge & N*utilus, my wallet gets scared!

Z

On the entry level fly rods, I've been pretty happy with WW Griggs IM6 graphite rods. 2 section rods run $40.00-80.00 at retail. Their warehouse is outside Portland, and I've been there to get a new tip section ($25).

Temple Fork makes a pretty good rod for $90 bucks (crappy reel seat, cheap cork in the handle, but it works and casts ok).  I have several of their $150ish dollar roads.  I've also got a couple St. Croix's... they used to be great entry level rods with high quality components, but they are now priced way above entry level.

I just won a 5 weight Scott A2 at a fundraiser for a conservation group the other night (I felt guilty about how little I paid for it).  Nicest rod I've ever owned   Guess it balances out the cheap Eagle Claw gear rod..l

Being the cheapest man alive you may not want my opinion but,,,

I think the Ugly Stik InterCoastal Series is God's gift to kayak fishing. 7' (ICCA11701M) and 8.5' (ICCA11862MH) they are long enuf and without an excessively long butt. They are always under a c-note and if you haunt enuf Wal-marts (a bad thing for the industry) you can find them for as little as $35 bucks. Although you can't take them to Woodland to have them replaced, you won't have to because you won't break it. Soft tip with a anchor lifting backbone and a cute blue butt wrap so that you still have plausible deniability. If you really need to spend more , then you should roll your own (but that's a whole nother ball o'whacks) That goes double for fly rods.

For reels I'm an Abu fan, but I have broken too many bait clicker's.  Time for a Newell (or a hopped up Penn squidder) which ever I find first. The Quantum 1420 MG is a pretty solid reel with a good capacity and its easy to find on ebay for about $35 bucks.

Fishesfromtupperware, you say you break too many bait clickers. Are you talking about the line out alarm? If so, maybe you should switch to the old style. They were just a bent piece of sheet metal with a button. Nearly impossible to break. Bend....maybe, but they are much more durable. I built a couple of bearing free reels for salt water use. One of mine has the old style and I have to say I like it. You can tell if  a reel has the old style by the button. The button is wider and goes all the way to the frame where as the newer style is narrower and has a gap before reaching the frame.

But I like hopped up Penn's too! I have two narrow Jigmasters(506HS), one on an Accurate frame and the other is being built on a Tiburon frame. What makes them unique though is that I built the one(that's finished) as a custom left handed reel. The 505 and 506 never came in lefties, and I only fish lefties. So I had to improvise....  I wanted a 505/506 over a 500/501 to get the ball bearing supported spool. Got to love those classic Penn's!

Gear ho checking in ...

I knew I wanted something with a soft tip (for seeing spinners/wobblers work) but a stiff butt section, very durable, and I wanted it to not be too expensive (as we all know, there is a pretty good chance of a kayak rod ending up in Davey Jones locker.)

Stiff butt, sensitive tip ... perhaps a "plug" rod.  I've used a Loomis HSR1021C GL2 forever, well, at least 10 years.  I use this thing for everything.  Sure it costs ~$160 bucks, but it is super versatile.  Trolling the salt, mooching, jigging bottom fish, plug rod in the river, downrigger, salmon drift rod in a pinch, heck I've even trolled up striped bass on it.  Started off with an Abu 6500 on it, but I switch off reels depending on what I'm fishing.

-Allen

rkj:
You sound like my kinda guy!  The bait alarm is a bent piece of metal and it broke at the bend. Two of them, in the same place! I think its an abu problem (as though your really not supposed to use the clicker) ordered a new part, but I'm may cob together a replacement part.

Wow! I can't believe they have failed multiple times on you. At least they are cheap:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ABU-GARCIA-AMBASSADEUR-LINE-OUT-ALARM-BAIT-CLICKER-KIT_W0QQitemZ280165077486QQihZ018QQcategoryZ108153QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The new style clicker assembly is strong, but they use two springs(one in each direction) to center the clicker. Those are prone to breaking as well. I would have thought the sheet metal would have held up better. Maybe Abu Garcia had a batch of poor metal. Mine has held up but I haven't put many hours on that reel yet. Anyway, to change the clicker style you also need to change the side plate and button.

You mean you actually use the clicker?   

-Allen

So I've been looking at getting a rod and reel set up specifically for salmon fishing from the kayak for a while, as my current stuff is aimed at either fishing bobber and eggs from the bank (loooong Ugly Stick rod with little flex) or a cheap spinning set up (for casting spinners/spoons).  I knew I wanted something with a soft tip (for seeing spinners/wobblers work) but a stiff butt section, very durable, and I wanted it to not be too expensive (as we all know, there is a pretty good chance of a kayak rod ending up in Davey Jones locker.)

So tonight I went to Fishermen's Marine, checked out various Berkely/Lamiglass stuff, and struck up a conversation with one of the old-timers who works there (owns a fishing lodge in Alaska and guides in the summer, Lamiglass pro-staff).  Told him what I needed, and to my surprise, he steered me away from all the $50 to $100 rods I was looking at, and over to a short (6'6") $20 Eagle Claw fiberglass rod with exactly the charecteristics I was looking for.  Medium heavy action, very soft tip, short (8") butt section below the reel seat.  He pointed out that Lamiglass and others are now re-introducing fiberglass rods (to the tune of $150+) for exactly properties I was looking for.

So now I've got a kayak trolling set up with a reel that is worth 3.5 times what the rod is (I'm using one of my old Garcia's... but it was hard to resist spending my "saved" $$ on a new Shimano Corvalus).

How much do you spend on your kayak fishing tackle?

The corvalus is a good deal but I've heard some horror stories about them giving out after a season... I have a shimano cardiff 401, and sure its alittle more expensive but I've had mine for about 3 years, fished the snot out of it and just sent it in earlier this year to have it looked over... but thats just my 2 cents on it... but good luck trollin though