I'm going to wade in here in defense of spending as much as you can afford on a good rod and reel (not to mention line and hooks):

1. Unless you are an expert (some of the Board members can catch fish with a stick, string and a bent pin), the better equipment helps the same (average) angler catch more fish. The better the fisherman you are, the less a difference good equipment makes to that fisherman's success rate. (And if you're a beginner or just plain bad, high end equipment probably won't help as much as if you're at least average.)

Case in point: where I fish for steelhead in Alaska the best results come from throwing light drift gear that is splitshot weighted (vs. slinkies or pencil lead) and glided back downstream. Last year I used my trusty Cabela's $85 10-20lb spinning rod. Trouble was, I couldn't feel all the takes (I also broke the rod on a fish on the last day, too). Using advice from Hawk, I called a rod builder in Fridley, Minnesota and ordered a chuck n' duck rod (Sage fly blank w/ Fuji spinning guides). This year I was doing a whole lot better due to a change in technique and that sensitive blank. I raised the hook-up rate at least 50%. What's another 4 hook-ups a day worth to you . . . ? For me this rod has already paid for itself.

Does this mean everyone should run out and spend several hundred dollars on more sensitive rods? NO. It means that an average fisherman using better than average equipment is going to catch more than he would using below average equipment.

2. Fishing is already an expensive sport. Figure out some place else to save money but don't skimp on things that connect you to the fish. What most people don't figure in the cost equation is that their spare time -- the time we fish -- is worth a whole lot, too. Skimping on equipment costs diminishes the vale you get out of spending a day on the river (or with your kids at the ball diamond for that matter).

3. I gain more satisfaction from fishing with good tackle than so-so tackle. You can cast a little farther (not that this helps catch more fish), the retrieve is smoother, the rods are less fatiguing to use and the drags work better (a big plus). Another example. One morning last week in Alaska I was drift fishing with spinning gear for the only time on the trip. Hooked a 35" bright steelhead while anchored up and underestimated the fish's fight. I was waist deep in the river (having hopped out for a beaching) and working the fish to the boat when he went nuts and swam in a circle around the anchor rope. I ended up freeing the line by dunking the rod and reel combo (and my arm) into the water completely, doing the quick handoff and whipping the combination down the length of the boat. Finally leadered the sucker, but it took another 5 minutes and I was waiting the whole time for the drag to start going bad. The reel I was using was a Shimano Sustain, the $230 spinning reel Reel Truth wonders if anyone buys. The reel performed perfectly even after taking the prolonged dunking. If the reel had seized up and I'd have lost the fish, I'd have been very pissed off. I lose enough on my own. I don't need any help from equipment failure, too. I guess I don't catch more using good gear, but I probably lose fewer fish by not using cheap(er) gear.

When I took the Sustain apart later I found that ZERO water had gone inside the gear case AND the drag system was sealed as well, and required no maintenance. I was impressed. (The one shortcoming of the Sustain is that you end up with tremendous line twist after fighting a single good fish. The obvious solution -- cut off, strip line off and let it dangle in the current -- works well, but must be repeated each time.)

4. Finally, I'm all in favor of buying the best equipment at the best price. I'm not out to impress my friends (and believe me, few people in Singapore or even Australia give two hoots what you're fishing with). That doesn't necessarily mean always buying Loomis and Shimano (though I own several of both, but Singapore may be the cheapest place in the world to buy a Shimano reel, too -- about 60% of Cabela's or Bass Pro's prices).

One thing that really drives me crazy is the high price of fly reels. There's nothing IN them, so why so expensive? I am a very satisfied customer of the Tioga Reel (#10), which is the less expensive ($140) version of the award winning Teton fly reel ($220 or so). Excellent drag, though a little heavy.

I'm certain that there's $30 of advertising in the retail price of each Loomis. If anyone fishes GL3 quality rods made by other manufacturers then I'd be a willing convert. What I've done to date is have TH Custom Rods (active on this Board) build a couple of Loomis blanks up to factory specs for around $50 under retail. That helps some. Searching the Internet and buying mail order also cuts down on the costs.