In all my years of steelheading I've found one truth carved in stone and will not deviate from it...well most of the time. Buy the best equpiment you can! Pay the little extra for things like line,hooks,swivels,waders and really any equpiment that you are going to use for these fish. I used to try to get by with the cheapest waders and hip boots that I could get away with. After too many wet and cold feet I try not to spare expense on this item. There's nothing worse than cold feet is there? I recently bought an inexpensive spinning reel that looked like a quality item and a great buy. It fell apart! and only after a couple of uses. Same with line, don't skimp or it could cost you a fish so why save a couple of bucks if there is a chance it might fail? I would be interested in knowing what some of the rest of you think the one item you CANNOT skimp on is.

I could not agree with you more on this issue.My fishing buddy has not learned this yet though.he spends more$ on the junk than i do on quality equipment because it just wont last as long.i seen him break three cheap rods in the same weakend last summer right when the silvers were in and then he had one of the biggest silvers i have ever seen right to boat only to have his cheap line break.I use only quality line,rods,ect.but i personally think that good line and hooks are most important because it is the only link to you and your fish.

Good Post Shane~ I agree with you on fishing equipment . If I cant afford what I want, I wait until I can afford the items I want. I try and not settle for the alternatives. In my years of fishing I have found that every time I tried the alternatives ,I was dissapointed and went back to the good stuff. Why spend money 2,3 or more times than you would have by getting the quality item ?????

Line and hooks. I like Tuff Line(For Salmon), it costs alot more than mono, but I have never snapped this line fighting a fish. I also buy razor sharp Owner trebs and replace factory hooks on my Plugs.

On a larger scale: Boats! Nothing worse than a boat that cant get you where you want and a motor that craps out on you!

[ 01-05-2002: Message edited by: Jett'in Fool ]

If there is one thing I learned from my dear departed Dad, it's to buy the good gear. Not necessarily the most expensive gear, but definitely not the cheapest gear. If you don't buy right, you will buy twice, and that's always more expensive.

I drive a North River and a Lavro, fish Sage fly rods, and hit Ping golf clubs. But Cabela's has the best rain gear and tents. Price is not necessarily the best indicator.

I agree. Go with the quality of the experience.
Comfort and confidence are very important to me.
I by the best quality hooks I can buy no matter
what the cost. And the best line available. I am
constantly looking to improve the quality of the
experience. The best rod for what ever situation
along with the most quality and comfort in my waders( Dan Baileys )I don't carry a file with me
because the Gamies are as sharp as they can get.
Owner make a sharp hook to. I always keep the
sharpest hooks available in my tackle box. Shamano
makes great reels. And I have a few. They are
dependable if you by their best. You get the idea.

Pay a liitle more now and save a lot later, including headaches.
Don't cheat yourself for a few bucks.

You got that right Stew! For me it's G.Loomis rods, Shimano reels, Izorline or Maxima, BARE waders etc.............

Although it wasn't fishing related, I remember meeting an old friend for a duck hunt in Klamath falls 6 hours from home, and before shooting started he started talking about his great investment, it was one of the lowest priced shotguns you can get which he won at a banquet.(I'm thinkin' it's a piece of @%#!) He extolled the virtues of it's reliability and shootability (he had gone through less than a half dozen boxes of shells). When shooting hour arrived he got one shot and it jammed. He cleared it after a bit and one shot and it jammed again. I handed him my keys to get a spare gun in my truck and he took off come to think of it in my waders, my spares wouldn't fit him....get the picture.
He recently shot a buck at 9500 feet in Nevada in 3 feet of snow and had to hike down to 7500 ft to his rig to drive into town to get a knife sharpener to finish cleaning his 4 point, a full days back to camp in the dark totalling 4000 ft up and 4000 ft down. A big task for a 49 yr old hunting by himself.
It doesn't make sense to scrimp!

Ah, who needs all that good stuff! I think this picture speaks for itself. Rod 'n reel, less than $10

Never scrimp on line, swivels, hooks. I did have to replace my bobber rod a couple of years ago though and bought a Shakespere Intrepid. When I drift with it I feel it is every bit as sensitive as the Lami I was fishing and it was 100 bucks less. More money dosent always mean better product.

Too funny man, I bet that brat put a big bendo on that pop-caster!! True, big bucks won't always do it for ya. But I've found out the hard way life is too short for cheap gear. If it spins, put a sampo ball bearing swivel on it, if it swims hook it with a gami mainlined with maxima to yer lami!

That's no big deal, those brats are like reeling in a wash cloth anyway. Hey Kev,how come you didn't call for the snoopy clinic.

I agree with using quality gear, however, quality gear doesn't always have to break the bank. I can't feel too much difference between my G Loomis GL3's and my Allstar Elite rods but I can feel the difference in my wallet each time I buy a new Allstar at about half the price of a GL3.
I was a Gamakatsu man, exclusively might I add, for over 10 years but not any more! Now I fish Visions which are a far better hook for the price and I have had less problems with Vision Hooks than I did with Gammies, except for gaining weight from drinking those extra beers with all the money I save from not having to buy Gamakatsu anymore. :p

After seeing pics from the 1st Annual Snoopy Rod Classic, I've decided I have no use for my GLoomis rods and Shimano Reels.

For sale:
STR 1025C IMX
STR 1141C GL3
STR 1265C IM6
All Star 1262C

Plus 2 Shimano Bantam 251's, 2 Shimano Bantam 201 SG's, Shimano Citica and Shimano Bantam 2201 SG.

On a serious note...the best money spent, I believe, is on the best quality rain gear and waders and layering you can afford. I do not miss the days of leaky waders, a snowboard jacket, jeans and a cotton turtle neck.

[ 01-06-2002: Message edited by: RPetzold ]

I learned this lesson with car parts.24,000 miles ago I replaced the cv's on my subaru wagon.I actually replaced the whole drive train exept the engine and tranny.I looked into the diferance between dealer parts and aftermarket,found it was twice as expensive.140.00 for after market and a little over 300.00 for subaru cv's.I chose the aftermarket.I just got done replacing the aftermarket[they were shot after only 15,000]with a dealer pair!Thats 450.00 and alot of grief for what would of cost me 300.00!

Buy the best car you can afford or should I say just because the vehicle is alot of money does not mean it is worth it.

I paid $10,000 for a '92 Explorer a year ago and have into a new muffler, new starter, new lower unit to the water pump, new rotors and everything on the front brakes and now I am sitting on hold right now waiting to get an estimate on having the intake manifold gasket replaced because it is leaking.

This is not including the new right angle bushings the poor ole ******* needs.

Ryan, If I had all the money I dumped into a 92 exploder, I could be driving a Lexus now. Fix one thing and the next week something else wads up. If you start hearing any valve train noise, in no time at all you will be looking at a new engine. Cut your loss while you can.

Wish I could cut my losses but I took out a 5 year loan and it is 16% intrest so I am beyond screwed.

Sparkey, with car payments like that how do you expect to make those drift boat payments to me