An old man once said. Everything at the fishing store is intended to catch fisherman more so than it is catching fish. And it made me realize that fishing can be simple we just over complicate it.
When I worked at Cabela's between the powersports (selling sonar and boating stuff) and fishing departments, I totally experienced this same phenomenon. It always blew me away how much money people were willing to burn thinking that it was simply going to translate to catching more fish. Especially in the sonars/fish finders area 🤦 Then we'd see them back the following week saying they couldn't figure out how to use it 🤣 Great topic of conversation going on here. Fish what you can afford - save what you can so you can spend it on trips to the river. Gas money, paying for childcare (if your child doesn't fish with you), whatever you gotta do to spend more time on the water. There is zero substitute for that, and buying the gear is all for naught if you don't get out there to use it.
@twise95 From my experience I would say a guy should buy the biggest screen he can afford that fits his boat(knowing it will sit unused in his garage more than he thinks) because it will save your eyes a lot of strain. That being said, owning a quality sonar is a journey that only bears fruit with time on the water. They are not magic. Buuuut... I can say that side and down imaging are invaluable in more ways than one when learning how to fish new water(so a guy should buy a sonar he can grow into). A quality sonar is a long term investment that will make a fisherman fish on a whole new level. It's not going to catch him more fish without personal growth....
Kayaker here, bought my first and only Kayak from my neighbor, an Eagle talon 12, for $300.00. What a learning curve. No electronics, no trolling motor. Just a paddle, 4 rods, one landing net, and a small tackle bag. It is nothing but work. But, the fish that I have caught! The excitement of landing a bass, or striper, and being pulled all over the lake is something you don't get over. And....I am debt free with minimum cost. Good video.
Excellent video! Lots of truth here. I lost my best fishing buddy (and friend) to cancer almost 3 years ago. You're right, it's so difficult to find a really good fishing buddy.
I have a 24 foot pontoon boat with am enclosure, swivel seats front & back are outside. Has a Merc 175 hp optimax & a hummingbird 587 with GPS. Have caught literally hundreds of walleye & pike over the last 17 years with it. I also have a personal tube type pontoon with a trolling motor for trout a 12 ft with a 6ph Johnson for smaller lakes. I'm 72 but won't give up any of my boats.
My in laws had a 1970's livingston (fiberglass catamaran) sitting around for 20+ years and my dad saw it during my kid's birthday party. He learned they were trying to give it away, so he grabbed me by the shoulders and said "Joe, you gotta take that boat!". It was "free", so of course it cost $400 to register it and the trailer in WA, and the transom was shot so that cost $600 in materials to fix myself, and the motor rebuild hardware and testing has added up to $400 so far. So, free 14 ft livingston has so far turned out to be $1400, and it's not even in the water yet a year later (need to finish fixing up engines). How do people afford boats?!
Wasted money on fishing stuff, a target rich environment. Ok time to confuse, I am a recovering addict when it comes to buying fishing equipment, to include boats. In the past few years, I found I can walk into a fishing store and spend nothing. The reason is that I have everything I “need”. Some lessons I have learned in my many decades of buying fishing gear. 1. New does not necessarily mean better. Every year there is the new hot lure and yes some are well worth a try. I still find myself going to the white or green speckle back hoochies as I did 30 years ago. 2. Expensive, small rolls of leader line. I use my favorite 600 yard spools as leader, same line I spool my reels with. Doesn’t me I don’t think the weight of the leader line matters just doesn’t need to say “Leader” on the package. 3. I do not need 10 colors of the same presentation/lure. Not say 1 color is enough but I have found 3 or 4 basic color variations work just fine. 4. I am guilty of having a multiple dedicated rods for each of 10 different types of fishing do. Do the math, I have a lot of money not getting used much. Recently I have tried to grab rods from the garage that are versatile. I have my favorite salt downrigger rods, lake downrigger rods (double as surface rods), bottom fishing rod and finally my deep water ling and halibut rods with electric reels. Don’t even get me started on the different river rods I have collected over the years. 5. As for the boats, I have two, one I can fish by self in lakes and a larger one for the Straights and Ocean. The big one needs to be comfortable, so my wife is “ok” with going along. That second limit is important 😊 Be interesting to hear your take on the top 5 “must have” or best things to spend your money on. My #1 here safety equipment followed by reliable equipment (motors). Fresh bait and sharp (new) hooks are something I don’t mind spending money on. I would also add quality reels to the list.
I really appreciate your transparency on this subject. It lends a lot of weight to where people should spend their money. Higher prices rarely mean higher quality.
I have two boats. Neither is nice but both are customized to fish effectively. A 16ft that is a dream by myself and a 21ft that needs two people. The big one sure is nice when you have company. Buy cheep and make it work! Important thing is to get out there.
100% agree with everything you said. I bought a Helix with the side and down imaging as friends said it would change my fishing. Huge learning curve and I really use the GPS and regular sonar the most. I just need to know the GPS mapping, depth, and where the thermocline is. Rods, I build my own and love them. I also fish year around and spend 50-90 days on the water. If you go the average amount that a lot of anglers go 15 -20 day per year your not going to notice the difference that a high end rod may give you or the subtle sensitivity differences. Plus it also matters what kind of fishing you do. Fly fishing, this is what I mainly do so many people will buy the $1000 rods and $300-500 reels but out here we fish for trout. I rarely put a fish on the reel. I have found no name reels that sell for $40-50 that work awesome. And fly rods, the faster the action the less forgiving they are. There are a lot of inexpensive rods that work fine for every day use. I used Cortland $100 rods for the first 5-10 years of fly fishing and they were nice rods that didn’t break the bank. I only buy rod blanks now and build my own because I know what I’m looking for. Great video Tyler and thank you for telling it like it is!
I didn’t really get into fishing until a couple years ago and completely fell into the pricy rod trap! I don’t regret the rod reel setups I got, BUT I’ve seen plenty of successful Kokanee fishers using Eagle Claw rods from Walmart! I did the same thing with lures too. I know for a fact I have spinners, spoons, and other lures that I still haven’t used! I purchased A LOT more lure varieties than I needed. But I’m not nearly as stressed if I lose a lure on a snag! I’m also finding that I have less stress and more fun grabbing a rod and reel that I dont have to worry about during transport as much as my nicer rods!
You said a mouthful here sonny. Solid advice (where were you 50 years ago?) I am 71 now and I used to live right on Puget Sound. I dearly miss the salt. I make my own fishing rods because its fun and I built my own boat. My boat is an oversized coffee mug holder (ha). You forgot to mention spending money on a name brand coffee mug. We all need one of those, right?
The boat one is real wisdom. There’s a reason I went with a 19 foot inboard jet. Just big enough to take my family out but not too big that I can’t handle it myself.
Some people are just negative and put others down for buying low end or entry level rods and gear! The inexperience is what drives thinking expensive means you’ll catch more fish. Good video 👍🏽
35 years fishing the same 14' Starcraft aluminum. Four trucks and an RV have towed it all over the northwest. I've run it through the San Juans, all over the Columbia, Potholes, etc. I even took it onto Ross Lake by going up to Hope, BC and dragging down 50 miles of logging roads. Total cost has been under 10K with the new Honda and a used replacement trailer. I bought a bigger boat for comfort 3 years ago and sold it over the summer to just use the old one. You can give me the Viking funeral in it I guess. I do love North 40 in Omak. Such a well stocked store with everything.
God save the 14’ aluminum. Mine has caught king salmon and lingcod in the ocean, stripers in the delta, rainbows/kokanee in mountain lakes and crab in the bays with the wife and 3 kids. A little cramped, but it’ll do the job for $3,500 used 20 years ago.
Having grown up on a 12’ boat with no electronics, it’s so hard to swallow the cost of electronics. Even now, having graduated to a big boat with big electronics, 90% of what I care about are the charts/gps position over anything else. I catch more fish with nothing on the depth finder but was where I wanted to be based on chart contours. Thank you for talking about rods. Money is much better spent on a good reel. Don’t ask too much of your rod by putting a ridiculous bend in it, but a reel with a drag that sticks can loose you a fish. As far as too much of a boat, it’s not that hard to handle a big boat by yourself, but you need training and experience. I can launch my 24’ Bayliner trophy cabin boat faster than some people can launch a kayak.
people waste money listening to local fishing business owners not realizing they're more interested in selling u gear than helping u catch fish. "You need to buy x amount of spoons, hoochies and make sure you change out your hooks every 3 hours"
I ran into a trout fisherman with his son this past salmon season. He was asking for tips on where to fish and how to fish salmon. Hes been asking around all season but wasnt getting much answers because most fisherman wont share their "secret" spots/techniques. My brother and i helped him out with what setup we use on this perticular river, the technique, and spot the salmon when they run pass us. He told me about his rod and reel he just bought for his son and himself. He took the advice of the salesperson and bought a $300+ rod not including the reel. I looked at his sons rod and it was a $100 okuma rod. I told him the cheap rod will catch fish just as well as the exspensive rod. Right at sundown when there was no sunlight to see the fish anymore, he landed his fish salmon (chum).
Started with a 8ft wood pram, then a 16ft Greg Tatman drift boat kit that i built in High School wood shop class, then 1981 16ft Alumaweld drift boat and a 16' Smokercraft, then a 18' Glasply, and now a 20 ft Alumaweld FreeDrifter. I would add, unless you're super mechanical, buy new or newer. Definitely don't over buy, but it sure is nice not having to mess with old finicky motors and hulls. Buy something that fits you well and can handle yourself but get new and take good care of it and do regular maintenance. You'll be much happier. I know i sure am after years of old used boats.
Loved the video. Agree emphatically with all. I use Berkley Lightning Rods, they typically retail for ~$50. I do find you need to spend more than the entry level for rods and reels, but not much more at all (I'm also a big Pfluger guy, great quality, moderate price). No...I'm not a bot. The boat thing is such a big deal. Neighbor around the corner, brand new (looking) 20' Starcraft, I had never seen it move, EVER. One day on a walk, I caught him outside, the 2017 boat had 18 hours on it! 18!!! Don't buy too much boat... but, and I can't stress this enough, if you can, DO buy a boat (or sure, Kayak). It opens a whole world of fishing for you. I think a 17 footer can be pretty easily launched solo, once you have experience.
I’m fortunate enough to have been able to afford a very nice pontoon boat a few years ago. My wife and I were debating the type of boat we wanted to get and settled on this particular boat. I wanted an 18’ deep v so I can go on small lakes or big water like lake Powell and flaming gorge, but she insisted on a do everything family boat so we compromised and got what she wanted haha. And you’re absolutely correct about needing someone to help launch, which mine does, but she comes with me, or my buddies or older kids can launch and I’ve been lucky to always have a willing partner to go . We’ve loved what we got because we can pull a skier or tuber on hot days, take my 4 kids and their friends out with us with room to spare , my wife can lounge on the sofa with a book while I fish or we can anchor up and swim in a cove. We went for versatility but there are many days when I would totally love a single person kayak like you have for small waters and easy loading. There’s not really one perfect setup but I’ve been happy with our boat so far.
An Absolute Outstanding Video.. Couldn't Agree More on all topics. I started fly fishing in Spring of '83 with an Eagle Claw fiberglass rod that was a 'switch'.. spin and fly. It was like casting with a broom handle, but it caught fish...(Yakima River). Both my rod and reel were a gift. The reel was a Pfluger that once was my uncles. The winter of '82, I learned how to tie flys from my college roommate. Years after, I upgraded my rod and reels... I still have and use them. My first watercraft was a float tube.. which I still have. My next was a post WW II 12ft aluminum row boat.. free. That I upgraded with an Eagle fish finder. I didn't use it to find fish, but rather bottom. Then came fishing yaks. And after seeing the Helix 7 on your channel.. I wanted one... but my budget didn't allow it. Wasn't until The White Elephant went out of business that I was able to get one. Both the aluminum boat and yaks have been used extensively on the Puget Sound. I have more fun in the yak, but the outboard definitely gets me there quicker. Far as waders goes.. agree 100%. Stick with a good quality name, but on the cheaper side. Instead of returning waters with pin holes.. repair them.
Yep, 100%. I used to buy rods in the $300 range. Now, I don’t spend much over $100 to $150. To me, that’s where returns start to really diminish. Also agree big time on the boat. I used to have a 22’ boat and reliable crew members were hard to come by. Seasons are also a moving target. So now, I have an 18’ boat for 90% of my fishing and go on charters for open ocean stuff.
Honestly, cheap rods are great. Its not a financial burden if you lose them and they can be very sturdy. I use ugky stick striper rods for salmon and lake trout. Strong enough for bog fish, and sensitive enough to catch kokes on. 40-50 bucks each before reels.
I think the issue with fish finders is people not understanding what they do. I use mine to catch way more fish (bass) even prior to live scope using side imagining and a good map. But I go with my dad and I think it screws him up just not even understanding what it’s telling him. Even the basics of 2d where people think once a fish leaves the screen it’s “behind you” not realizing that it’s a cone and all the graph told you was there was something in the cone angle, now it’s not in the cone angle.
Great video. I fish out of my canoe. Have caught salmon and many other species in all different types of bodies of water with the canoe. An underrated type of vessel in my opinion. Thanks for all your informational videos.
Best part of this was the advice about getting a boat that you can comfortably handle by yourself. While the rest of the advice is good, it is the stuff about boats that really hits home. How many hours have you been stuck behind some novice guy on the boat ramp who cannot launch or recover his boat in a timely manner by himself?
Every now and then I almost talk myself into upgrading from my dinky little striker 4cv, but I never pull the trigger. Maybe some day a super sale will win me over, but then again I could spend that money on gas to get to a lake.
I always look at the practical side of everything I do outdoors. Hunting, fishing, camping etc.. How much juice can I get for the squeeze I'm putting into it.
In my first years of Salmon fishing I caught the most salmon on Ugly Sticks equipped with good ol Abu Garcia line counters. But lately fell into the high end rod thing.
I love the feel of the ugly stick rods, fast tip,lots of backbone, what i dont like about them is the ceramic eye incerts, rather have ss steel eyes, dont like the plastic reel seats either, but i have lots of ugly sticks
I feel I have wasted to much money on lures, spinners, hoochies, spoons, etc. and Dodgers. Last year I realized that I could catch my limit year around on the same dodger & spinner. I think it comes down more to just knowing where the fish are and how to get your presentation down to them.
With that said however I still find myself walking the aisles of sportsman's warehouse wasting my money. I think part of fishing is being a collector and organizing all your little trinkets.
I started off with a little inflatable 10’ pontoon boat, it was fun and caught a lot of kokes in it, but got dicey in the wind. Now I have a 14’ aluminum boat and feel a lot safer, still it’s nothing fancy, but I get to slay Kokanee and sockeye in it!
People think that they can buy their success. Fish finders are a fun entertaining toy while trolling, they are good for depth reading, trolling speed etc. but they don't tell you what the fish are biting on, or how catch them. What's really stupid is when parents buy their young kids expensive high end gear. A boat salesman told me that he hears all the time from people that they went out more often when they had smaller boats.
I totally understand what you mean buy getting a boat you can handle solo. All my friends thought I was crazy going with a 14.5 foot boat for the ocean, but I wanted something that I could get out in the salt but still be cheap to tow. Many many seabass lingcod and salmon later and I am convinced I made the right choice😂 I use less gas in a whole season of ocean fishing then some of my friends use for a single trip LOL. I did cheat a little and got a Stabicraft but it's perfect for me and the wife and if it to cold for her it's fantastic solo. They aren't the cheapest boats out there but they are safe and fish like a way bigger boat.
Thanks for another great video, fly fishing is definitely marked up a bunch. I’ve been fly fishing for about 10 years now and won’t buy anything more than $200 because I know the rod isn’t going to make me cast farther. With kayak I’ve fished 5 different brands and I’m hoping when I upgrade to old town it’ll be my last for a while. My last one wasn’t very suitable for my style of fishing
I have a 9ft Achilles hypalon inflatable boat with a wood floor. Super compact to store in my garage, easy to transport, carry and launch on my own. Love it so much and it’ll last many years. You can find them going for $500-2k used in great condition. Highly recommend it to anyone looking for an entry level boat.
Great video, thanks! I've had similar issues with newer waders, particularly the lighter-weight ones that work well in warmer temps. However, I was just steelhead fishing in Oregon last weekend wading in my over 20-year-old basic Cabelas neoprene waders that have been fantastic. I've used them pretty hard for duck hunting, and freshwater, and saltwater fishing in the colder months and every year I'm surprised they haven't leaked. I'm sure they will leak at some point, but I'm pretty sure at the time they were under $200. Lighter-weight waders have been a totally different story. I've had the same experience as you, with them lasting a season or two at most. 8Fans has been my most recent purchase, specifically the 8Fans 3-Ply Breathable X-Back Neoprene Stocking Foot Fishing Wader, which seem to be durable for what they are and well made. (???) They've made it one season comfortably and time will tell, but at least they are pretty affordable if I have to replace them after a couple of seasons. Full retail is around $160, but I've seen them on sale fairly regularly for under $100. Thanks again for all the great content!
i totally agree with the not buying a boat too large. I got a 14' aluminum boat and for me and the two kids its perfect. I can get the gear loaded and launch and load all solo and we are all able to have fun. More time on the water and I don't need help with any of the process and we just get to have fun fishing.
I have two aluminum tinnies one 10ft thats light enough for me to load in my truck by myself then I just load my motor and whatever other gear I’m bringing in the back seat I also have one 14ft on a trailer with an outboard and planning to build a casting deck and permanent battery bank this combo is the best in my opinion the the 10ft gets me on some really out of the way back country lakes with awesome fishing and the 14ft let’s me head out on bigger lakes where wind and travel distance are a problem
When you are buying to impress you are always going to get more than you need. The only “yeah, but” I would say about a higher end rod, is if you are casting hundreds of times a day, those few fewer ounces and/or better response does add up, but I totally agree regarding rods that sit in holders most of the time. Also, a decade ago I started to build my own rods, which is fun to do. However, it isn’t easy to find good quality components that don’t end up costing about what you’d pay for a medium to high end rod while ending up with a medium quality rod. Also, vendors like Mudhole tout the “advantages” of aligning rod spline with the guides, but I don’t know any good fishers who always cast and play their catches with the spline at right angles to the cast or fish! Almost always sideways or some angle, defeating the stated purpose of aligning the spline!
One of the things that frustrates me is the Kayak fishing industry and how exorbitantly expensive fishing kayaks can be. I'd love to get a foot powered kayak, but I don't have a spare $2,500 to put towards that kind of investment. That's also not including other items of importance I may need as well. I do a lot of Euro style carp fishing in the PNW as well, and I can definitely say that the price markup is about as bad as fly fishing in some aspects of that hobby. Even comparing prices in Europe with the prices of the exact same product in the US, there's no real difference after conversion and shipping costs. It's just expensive.
I enjoy fishing with a friend now and then and it can be quite enjoyable at times. However I have had my best and most productive days fishing when by myself. Maybe it's less distractions and I can do things totally my way. But it seems to work for me. 😉
I was gifted a Helios 3D and while it casts like a dream my Sage and Echo rods all cast great and a friend's Redington was also not remotely a hindrance to me catching fish. The Bighorn combo I started with was absolutely a nightmare to learn on, way too rigid and tough to feel when it was loaded but once I got the technique down I could cast with it no problem and for only $125 not $1,000. Tippet is also a huge rip off, using regular spinning line is all anyone needs not 100 feet of 3x for 4x the price of 100 yards of 10lb. Buying flies wasn't a huge burden when I started but once I got into tying I realized it was so much easier to fish when I controlled how much weight was on a fly and that the complex flies are for tyers not anglers. Any fly with more thab three materials is a waste.
Regarding the flyfishing: I have been in the sport for a fairly long time and have seen that, years ago, the difference between low-end, mid-priced and high end rods were substantial, but as the technology in materials and manufacturing improved over the years there became serious diminishing returns in quality as one moved higher in price-point. A $50 rod at Walmart today could be compared to a $300 rod 30 years ago in terms of fish-ability. Back then an inexpensive rod was a wet noodle that had no casting or hookset power (typically fiberglass). Now they are either all graphite or seem to be differently laminated fiberglass with more spine and casting power. Also you didn't mention reels, which unless you are fishing for King Salmon or Marlin, is simply a line holder that occasionally needs a decent drag to, if not slow the fish, to keep you from any line backlash.
Well said, Tyler!! Us anglers are so easily "hooked" into buying fishing equipment we probably don't really need. Please do a second video on other fishing stuff we waste our money on, like dodgers. I fish on a small lake in the Sierra in CA (Shaver Lake) 95% of the time for trout and Kokanee. Do I really need 50 different kinds of dodgers??? As someone once said, "All those dodgers catch more fishermen than fish." Haha.
LiveScope for ice, super cool, half camera/half flasher, but very expensive and heavy, not good for transport. If you know how to read a flasher it gives you the same info. Light mark at a distance, heavy close up, and close up is all that really matters mostly, active fish. Until they get light and cheap, useless for most. Rods. Low end rods are fine, it’s the reels that matter, cheap reels are usually bad. Drags are key. Fly fishing true! I bought so many lures and gear between 2007-2010 that now that I want to save money I just reach deeper into my old tackle box, and have what I need. I buy so so little now, absolute necessity. One mostly only fishes 2-5 presentations per outing anyhow. Yes skill and confidence is key! #1
I have a fishing kayak and a small dingy with a 2.5 horse engine. I find I go areas bigger boats would never go, and I catch a lot more fish. #6 The wide variety of lures catch more fishermen than they do fish.
Great video, thank you. I wonder if your experiences with resolution in deep water could be linked to the 1024x600 resolution of your helix 7 (solix is 1280x800 for example) and/or a different ducer? So funny you mentioned boats... I bought my first boat last year; 2005 Lund WC14DLX. 14.9 foot, 20hp honda tiller, it has a floor in it, small livewell and bilge pump, nav lights and that's it. Added a trolling motor to the bow (after adding a plate). Perfect size for me as I go alone a lot, got two downriggers mounted (I almost exclusively troll for trout). Many of my friends thought I bought too small but I can move it around on the trailer by hand due to the size/weight, I can also get it into a lot of unimproved boat launches that I couldn't with an 18' or larger boat. Thanks again for the great content.
I came close to getting fired at West Marine for suggesting to a customer that he might want to to try an entry level paddle kayak to see if he liked kayak fishing. A visiting corporate honcho sold him the largest most expensive pedal powered kayak that west carried at that time. The customer came back in two weeks and was furious that I would not accept a return of the boat, because kayak fishing "sucked".
Love the channel and content First time I disagree. A quality rod can make a huge difference when drifting, bobber or even jigging. Hook set and feel are improved. There are quality rods with out paying for a top loomis or edge but they are nice
Thanks for the video! I'm just buying my first fishing kayak and have been looking at fish finders. Any fish finder model you'd recommend for the salmon, trout fisher you just described?
The Garmin Striker 4 Plus is a great budget option. alnk.to/deyrlOI Otherwise the Humminbird Helix 5 Chirp GPS G3 is a great option and has a $40 rebate right now thru March which drops the price to $280 alnk.to/28SHyrl
Good information, I'm guilty in multiple areas here but I at least have a set of Frogg Togg waders that have lasted for six years now. I would probably add in there all of the accessories that are added on to kayaks and boats that make them look like a battleship with clotheslines strung between the cannon barrels, barely leaving any room to cast. I'm guilty in this area, too. I have pared down a lot and learned that you end up having more time to fish when you aren't trying to unsnag yourself from the 5 rods and two different nets sitting around you that you casted your own lure into, if that makes sense.
I catch 8 to 30 kokanee with my little boys in the Canadian Cariboo region where I have 10 acres a day out of an old 14 ft fibreglass with cracks and patches with a 2.5 yamaha 4 stroke.....using a portable hummingbird 200 dollar sounder.....I dont even have downriggers, just use leadcore on 100 dollar 6 weight flyrods and 10/11 weight flyreels for faster pickup....cheap works and we are known as one of the better fishing boats on Bridge lake....decent low mid level cheap gear works
14.99 trout combos from bi-mart work fine for panfish to stealhead ,Chinook to if you want to have fun,but i quit paying retail on anything fishing related after retirement 2 years ago now that i have time to hit estate and garage sales pennies on the dollar for all this stuff
Yea edge rod customer service really sucks, been like 9 months since I sent my rod back in because it arrived defective.. They took forever to reply to my multiple emails I sent asking what was going to happen.. They finally replied saying they were sending it back to manufacturer and theyve been silent since.. Unreal!
Or u can get on an airplane, fly to a remote Arctic River, catch char after char, and have a drink under the midnight sun while Arctic Fox and Caribou run around your camp.
Meh, some folks only spend the $$ on a new screen every 10 years or so. So spending the few extra bucks for the down/side imaging even is indeed crappy but less of a pill to swallow than not having it for many years. Especially if you buy secondhand, which obviously isn’t without its own risks.
This one is a bit personal for me. I rely on the revenue of the Spilt Milt merch I sell to make more videos. Its a big part of making my channel financially viable. At the same time I also see some influencers throwing their name on every single kind of fishing product out there and that seems over the top sometimes.
Name brand terminal tackle. Hate to break it to you, but spending a dollar each on Gamakatsu hooks instead of buying bulk generic ones isn't always a wise move.....
100%. I haven't found an equivalent hook to my favorite Gamakatsu split shot/drop shot hooks so I buy in bulk to lower the costs but when it comes to duolocks, swivels, split rings etc...I def go off brand and budget.
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
An old man once said. Everything at the fishing store is intended to catch fisherman more so than it is catching fish. And it made me realize that fishing can be simple we just over complicate it.
Retail honesty-absolutely brilliant! This kind of genuine honesty is very rare. I hope you get a billion subscribers.
When I worked at Cabela's between the powersports (selling sonar and boating stuff) and fishing departments, I totally experienced this same phenomenon. It always blew me away how much money people were willing to burn thinking that it was simply going to translate to catching more fish. Especially in the sonars/fish finders area 🤦 Then we'd see them back the following week saying they couldn't figure out how to use it 🤣 Great topic of conversation going on here. Fish what you can afford - save what you can so you can spend it on trips to the river. Gas money, paying for childcare (if your child doesn't fish with you), whatever you gotta do to spend more time on the water. There is zero substitute for that, and buying the gear is all for naught if you don't get out there to use it.
@twise95 From my experience I would say a guy should buy the biggest screen he can afford that fits his boat(knowing it will sit unused in his garage more than he thinks) because it will save your eyes a lot of strain. That being said, owning a quality sonar is a journey that only bears fruit with time on the water. They are not magic. Buuuut... I can say that side and down imaging are invaluable in more ways than one when learning how to fish new water(so a guy should buy a sonar he can grow into). A quality sonar is a long term investment that will make a fisherman fish on a whole new level. It's not going to catch him more fish without personal growth....
Kayaker here, bought my first and only Kayak from my neighbor, an Eagle talon 12, for $300.00. What a learning curve. No electronics, no trolling motor. Just a paddle, 4 rods, one landing net, and a small tackle bag. It is nothing but work. But, the fish that I have caught! The excitement of landing a bass, or striper, and being pulled all over the lake is something you don't get over. And....I am debt free with minimum cost. Good video.
Excellent video! Lots of truth here. I lost my best fishing buddy (and friend) to cancer almost 3 years ago. You're right, it's so difficult to find a really good fishing buddy.
Sorry for your loss
I have a 24 foot pontoon boat with am enclosure, swivel seats front & back are outside. Has a Merc 175 hp optimax & a hummingbird 587 with GPS. Have caught literally hundreds of walleye & pike over the last 17 years with it. I also have a personal tube type pontoon with a trolling motor for trout a 12 ft with a 6ph Johnson for smaller lakes. I'm 72 but won't give up any of my boats.
As an avid fly fisher, I'll say the thing we seem to waste the most money on is expensive whiskey.
My in laws had a 1970's livingston (fiberglass catamaran) sitting around for 20+ years and my dad saw it during my kid's birthday party. He learned they were trying to give it away, so he grabbed me by the shoulders and said "Joe, you gotta take that boat!". It was "free", so of course it cost $400 to register it and the trailer in WA, and the transom was shot so that cost $600 in materials to fix myself, and the motor rebuild hardware and testing has added up to $400 so far. So, free 14 ft livingston has so far turned out to be $1400, and it's not even in the water yet a year later (need to finish fixing up engines). How do people afford boats?!
My free Heaters goose duck boat from the late 60s cost me about 1200 after refurbishing it and getting it ready for fishing.
Bust
Out
Another
Thousand
Wasted money on fishing stuff, a target rich environment. Ok time to confuse, I am a recovering addict when it comes to buying fishing equipment, to include boats. In the past few years, I found I can walk into a fishing store and spend nothing. The reason is that I have everything I “need”. Some lessons I have learned in my many decades of buying fishing gear.
1. New does not necessarily mean better. Every year there is the new hot lure and yes some are well worth a try. I still find myself going to the white or green speckle back hoochies as I did 30 years ago.
2. Expensive, small rolls of leader line. I use my favorite 600 yard spools as leader, same line I spool my reels with. Doesn’t me I don’t think the weight of the leader line matters just doesn’t need to say “Leader” on the package.
3. I do not need 10 colors of the same presentation/lure. Not say 1 color is enough but I have found 3 or 4 basic color variations work just fine.
4. I am guilty of having a multiple dedicated rods for each of 10 different types of fishing do. Do the math, I have a lot of money not getting used much. Recently I have tried to grab rods from the garage that are versatile. I have my favorite salt downrigger rods, lake downrigger rods (double as surface rods), bottom fishing rod and finally my deep water ling and halibut rods with electric reels. Don’t even get me started on the different river rods I have collected over the years.
5. As for the boats, I have two, one I can fish by self in lakes and a larger one for the Straights and Ocean. The big one needs to be comfortable, so my wife is “ok” with going along. That second limit is important 😊
Be interesting to hear your take on the top 5 “must have” or best things to spend your money on. My #1 here safety equipment followed by reliable equipment (motors). Fresh bait and sharp (new) hooks are something I don’t mind spending money on. I would also add quality reels to the list.
I really appreciate your transparency on this subject. It lends a lot of weight to where people should spend their money. Higher prices rarely mean higher quality.
I have two boats. Neither is nice but both are customized to fish effectively. A 16ft that is a dream by myself and a 21ft that needs two people. The big one sure is nice when you have company. Buy cheep and make it work! Important thing is to get out there.
100% agree with everything you said. I bought a Helix with the side and down imaging as friends said it would change my fishing. Huge learning curve and I really use the GPS and regular sonar the most. I just need to know the GPS mapping, depth, and where the thermocline is. Rods, I build my own and love them. I also fish year around and spend 50-90 days on the water. If you go the average amount that a lot of anglers go 15 -20 day per year your not going to notice the difference that a high end rod may give you or the subtle sensitivity differences. Plus it also matters what kind of fishing you do. Fly fishing, this is what I mainly do so many people will buy the $1000 rods and $300-500 reels but out here we fish for trout. I rarely put a fish on the reel. I have found no name reels that sell for $40-50 that work awesome. And fly rods, the faster the action the less forgiving they are. There are a lot of inexpensive rods that work fine for every day use. I used Cortland $100 rods for the first 5-10 years of fly fishing and they were nice rods that didn’t break the bank. I only buy rod blanks now and build my own because I know what I’m looking for. Great video Tyler and thank you for telling it like it is!
I didn’t really get into fishing until a couple years ago and completely fell into the pricy rod trap! I don’t regret the rod reel setups I got, BUT I’ve seen plenty of successful Kokanee fishers using Eagle Claw rods from Walmart! I did the same thing with lures too. I know for a fact I have spinners, spoons, and other lures that I still haven’t used! I purchased A LOT more lure varieties than I needed. But I’m not nearly as stressed if I lose a lure on a snag!
I’m also finding that I have less stress and more fun grabbing a rod and reel that I dont have to worry about during transport as much as my nicer rods!
You said a mouthful here sonny. Solid advice (where were you 50 years ago?) I am 71 now and I used to live right on Puget Sound. I dearly miss the salt. I make my own fishing rods because its fun and I built my own boat. My boat is an oversized coffee mug holder (ha). You forgot to mention spending money on a name brand coffee mug. We all need one of those, right?
The boat one is real wisdom. There’s a reason I went with a 19 foot inboard jet. Just big enough to take my family out but not too big that I can’t handle it myself.
Some people are just negative and put others down for buying low end or entry level rods and gear! The inexperience is what drives thinking expensive means you’ll catch more fish. Good video 👍🏽
35 years fishing the same 14' Starcraft aluminum. Four trucks and an RV have towed it all over the northwest. I've run it through the San Juans, all over the Columbia, Potholes, etc. I even took it onto Ross Lake by going up to Hope, BC and dragging down 50 miles of logging roads. Total cost has been under 10K with the new Honda and a used replacement trailer. I bought a bigger boat for comfort 3 years ago and sold it over the summer to just use the old one. You can give me the Viking funeral in it I guess.
I do love North 40 in Omak. Such a well stocked store with everything.
God save the 14’ aluminum. Mine has caught king salmon and lingcod in the ocean, stripers in the delta, rainbows/kokanee in mountain lakes and crab in the bays with the wife and 3 kids. A little cramped, but it’ll do the job for $3,500 used 20 years ago.
Having grown up on a 12’ boat with no electronics, it’s so hard to swallow the cost of electronics. Even now, having graduated to a big boat with big electronics, 90% of what I care about are the charts/gps position over anything else. I catch more fish with nothing on the depth finder but was where I wanted to be based on chart contours.
Thank you for talking about rods. Money is much better spent on a good reel. Don’t ask too much of your rod by putting a ridiculous bend in it, but a reel with a drag that sticks can loose you a fish.
As far as too much of a boat, it’s not that hard to handle a big boat by yourself, but you need training and experience. I can launch my 24’ Bayliner trophy cabin boat faster than some people can launch a kayak.
people waste money listening to local fishing business owners not realizing they're more interested in selling u gear than helping u catch fish.
"You need to buy x amount of spoons, hoochies and make sure you change out your hooks every 3 hours"
I ran into a trout fisherman with his son this past salmon season. He was asking for tips on where to fish and how to fish salmon. Hes been asking around all season but wasnt getting much answers because most fisherman wont share their "secret" spots/techniques. My brother and i helped him out with what setup we use on this perticular river, the technique, and spot the salmon when they run pass us. He told me about his rod and reel he just bought for his son and himself. He took the advice of the salesperson and bought a $300+ rod not including the reel. I looked at his sons rod and it was a $100 okuma rod. I told him the cheap rod will catch fish just as well as the exspensive rod. Right at sundown when there was no sunlight to see the fish anymore, he landed his fish salmon (chum).
Nice!
Started with a 8ft wood pram, then a 16ft Greg Tatman drift boat kit that i built in High School wood shop class, then 1981 16ft Alumaweld drift boat and a 16' Smokercraft, then a 18' Glasply, and now a 20 ft Alumaweld FreeDrifter. I would add, unless you're super mechanical, buy new or newer. Definitely don't over buy, but it sure is nice not having to mess with old finicky motors and hulls. Buy something that fits you well and can handle yourself but get new and take good care of it and do regular maintenance. You'll be much happier. I know i sure am after years of old used boats.
Loved the video. Agree emphatically with all. I use Berkley Lightning Rods, they typically retail for ~$50. I do find you need to spend more than the entry level for rods and reels, but not much more at all (I'm also a big Pfluger guy, great quality, moderate price). No...I'm not a bot. The boat thing is such a big deal. Neighbor around the corner, brand new (looking) 20' Starcraft, I had never seen it move, EVER. One day on a walk, I caught him outside, the 2017 boat had 18 hours on it! 18!!! Don't buy too much boat... but, and I can't stress this enough, if you can, DO buy a boat (or sure, Kayak). It opens a whole world of fishing for you. I think a 17 footer can be pretty easily launched solo, once you have experience.
I’m fortunate enough to have been able to afford a very nice pontoon boat a few years ago. My wife and I were debating the type of boat we wanted to get and settled on this particular boat. I wanted an 18’ deep v so I can go on small lakes or big water like lake Powell and flaming gorge, but she insisted on a do everything family boat so we compromised and got what she wanted haha. And you’re absolutely correct about needing someone to help launch, which mine does, but she comes with me, or my buddies or older kids can launch and I’ve been lucky to always have a willing partner to go . We’ve loved what we got because we can pull a skier or tuber on hot days, take my 4 kids and their friends out with us with room to spare , my wife can lounge on the sofa with a book while I fish or we can anchor up and swim in a cove. We went for versatility but there are many days when I would totally love a single person kayak like you have for small waters and easy loading. There’s not really one perfect setup but I’ve been happy with our boat so far.
Awesome top 5! Soon as I saw this pop up what came to mind was dodgers. I have so many and always go back to a small handful i rely on every trip.
Guilty myself on this one.
@@BennettBuilt-yu2gw A guy doesn't know what works until he has it !
Me too. Local guides hype this kind of stuff up on FB. I’m gonna sell a bunch of gear soon.
An Absolute Outstanding Video..
Couldn't Agree More on all topics.
I started fly fishing in Spring of '83 with an Eagle Claw fiberglass rod that was a 'switch'.. spin and fly. It was like casting with a broom handle, but it caught fish...(Yakima River). Both my rod and reel were a gift. The reel was a Pfluger that once was my uncles.
The winter of '82, I learned how to tie flys from my college roommate.
Years after, I upgraded my rod and reels... I still have and use them.
My first watercraft was a float tube.. which I still have.
My next was a post WW II 12ft aluminum row boat.. free. That I upgraded with an Eagle fish finder. I didn't use it to find fish, but rather bottom.
Then came fishing yaks. And after seeing the Helix 7 on your channel.. I wanted one... but my budget didn't allow it. Wasn't until The White Elephant went out of business that I was able to get one.
Both the aluminum boat and yaks have been used extensively on the Puget Sound. I have more fun in the yak, but the outboard definitely gets me there quicker.
Far as waders goes.. agree 100%. Stick with a good quality name, but on the cheaper side.
Instead of returning waters with pin holes.. repair them.
I've caught a lot of nice fish on cheap gear. Like you said, experience, knowledge and conditions are far more important.
Yep, 100%. I used to buy rods in the $300 range. Now, I don’t spend much over $100 to $150. To me, that’s where returns start to really diminish. Also agree big time on the boat. I used to have a 22’ boat and reliable crew members were hard to come by. Seasons are also a moving target. So now, I have an 18’ boat for 90% of my fishing and go on charters for open ocean stuff.
Honestly, cheap rods are great.
Its not a financial burden if you lose them and they can be very sturdy.
I use ugky stick striper rods for salmon and lake trout. Strong enough for bog fish, and sensitive enough to catch kokes on.
40-50 bucks each before reels.
I think the issue with fish finders is people not understanding what they do. I use mine to catch way more fish (bass) even prior to live scope using side imagining and a good map. But I go with my dad and I think it screws him up just not even understanding what it’s telling him. Even the basics of 2d where people think once a fish leaves the screen it’s “behind you” not realizing that it’s a cone and all the graph told you was there was something in the cone angle, now it’s not in the cone angle.
Great video. I fish out of my canoe. Have caught salmon and many other species in all different types of bodies of water with the canoe. An underrated type of vessel in my opinion. Thanks for all your informational videos.
New to the channel!!! Love how informative and honest this video is!!!
OOOOOKUUUUUMA!! Value based rods and reels!
Have 4 great reels 2-Tesoro 10s, a Makaira 16 II SEa, Makaira 30 II SEa
For some people, Okuma is the fancy rod and reels! Lol
@@DarenHarmon Zeeeeeeeeeeeebcoooooooo
Best part of this was the advice about getting a boat that you can comfortably handle by yourself. While the rest of the advice is good, it is the stuff about boats that really hits home. How many hours have you been stuck behind some novice guy on the boat ramp who cannot launch or recover his boat in a timely manner by himself?
Tackle, and multitude of colors of said tackle... totally love your list.
Every now and then I almost talk myself into upgrading from my dinky little striker 4cv, but I never pull the trigger. Maybe some day a super sale will win me over, but then again I could spend that money on gas to get to a lake.
I always look at the practical side of everything I do outdoors. Hunting, fishing, camping etc.. How much juice can I get for the squeeze I'm putting into it.
In my first years of Salmon fishing I caught the most salmon on Ugly Sticks equipped with good ol Abu Garcia line counters. But lately fell into the high end rod thing.
I love the feel of the ugly stick rods, fast tip,lots of backbone, what i dont like about them is the ceramic eye incerts, rather have ss steel eyes, dont like the plastic reel seats either, but i have lots of ugly sticks
Great advice Tyler. Thanks for sharing!
When anyone askes me what golf club to buy I always say: The most expensive clubs you can find, That way you know it's not the club".
I really appreciate your videos. Thank you for the time and effort you put into them.
I feel I have wasted to much money on lures, spinners, hoochies, spoons, etc. and Dodgers. Last year I realized that I could catch my limit year around on the same dodger & spinner. I think it comes down more to just knowing where the fish are and how to get your presentation down to them.
With that said however I still find myself walking the aisles of sportsman's warehouse wasting my money. I think part of fishing is being a collector and organizing all your little trinkets.
I started off with a little inflatable 10’ pontoon boat, it was fun and caught a lot of kokes in it, but got dicey in the wind. Now I have a 14’ aluminum boat and feel a lot safer, still it’s nothing fancy, but I get to slay Kokanee and sockeye in it!
People think that they can buy their success. Fish finders are a fun entertaining toy while trolling, they are good for depth reading, trolling speed etc. but they don't tell you what the fish are biting on, or how catch them.
What's really stupid is when parents buy their young kids expensive high end gear.
A boat salesman told me that he hears all the time from people that they went out more often when they had smaller boats.
I totally understand what you mean buy getting a boat you can handle solo. All my friends thought I was crazy going with a 14.5 foot boat for the ocean, but I wanted something that I could get out in the salt but still be cheap to tow. Many many seabass lingcod and salmon later and I am convinced I made the right choice😂 I use less gas in a whole season of ocean fishing then some of my friends use for a single trip LOL. I did cheat a little and got a Stabicraft but it's perfect for me and the wife and if it to cold for her it's fantastic solo. They aren't the cheapest boats out there but they are safe and fish like a way bigger boat.
I would have gone for a 16 ft medium V Lund.....still able to be manned by one but can take more weight and a lot safer in rough weather
Thanks for another great video, fly fishing is definitely marked up a bunch. I’ve been fly fishing for about 10 years now and won’t buy anything more than $200 because I know the rod isn’t going to make me cast farther. With kayak I’ve fished 5 different brands and I’m hoping when I upgrade to old town it’ll be my last for a while. My last one wasn’t very suitable for my style of fishing
I have a 9ft Achilles hypalon inflatable boat with a wood floor. Super compact to store in my garage, easy to transport, carry and launch on my own. Love it so much and it’ll last many years. You can find them going for $500-2k used in great condition. Highly recommend it to anyone looking for an entry level boat.
Another great video Tyler!! More you spend the more you got to work and not fish!
Great video, thanks! I've had similar issues with newer waders, particularly the lighter-weight ones that work well in warmer temps. However, I was just steelhead fishing in Oregon last weekend wading in my over 20-year-old basic Cabelas neoprene waders that have been fantastic. I've used them pretty hard for duck hunting, and freshwater, and saltwater fishing in the colder months and every year I'm surprised they haven't leaked. I'm sure they will leak at some point, but I'm pretty sure at the time they were under $200. Lighter-weight waders have been a totally different story. I've had the same experience as you, with them lasting a season or two at most. 8Fans has been my most recent purchase, specifically the 8Fans 3-Ply Breathable X-Back Neoprene Stocking Foot Fishing Wader, which seem to be durable for what they are and well made. (???) They've made it one season comfortably and time will tell, but at least they are pretty affordable if I have to replace them after a couple of seasons. Full retail is around $160, but I've seen them on sale fairly regularly for under $100. Thanks again for all the great content!
i totally agree with the not buying a boat too large. I got a 14' aluminum boat and for me and the two kids its perfect. I can get the gear loaded and launch and load all solo and we are all able to have fun. More time on the water and I don't need help with any of the process and we just get to have fun fishing.
I have two aluminum tinnies one 10ft thats light enough for me to load in my truck by myself then I just load my motor and whatever other gear I’m bringing in the back seat I also have one 14ft on a trailer with an outboard and planning to build a casting deck and permanent battery bank this combo is the best in my opinion the the 10ft gets me on some really out of the way back country lakes with awesome fishing and the 14ft let’s me head out on bigger lakes where wind and travel distance are a problem
When you are buying to impress you are always going to get more than you need.
The only “yeah, but” I would say about a higher end rod, is if you are casting hundreds of times a day, those few fewer ounces and/or better response does add up, but I totally agree regarding rods that sit in holders most of the time.
Also, a decade ago I started to build my own rods, which is fun to do. However, it isn’t easy to find good quality components that don’t end up costing about what you’d pay for a medium to high end rod while ending up with a medium quality rod. Also, vendors like Mudhole tout the “advantages” of aligning rod spline with the guides, but I don’t know any good fishers who always cast and play their catches with the spline at right angles to the cast or fish! Almost always sideways or some angle, defeating the stated purpose of aligning the spline!
Aligning the spine allows for more consistent casting
One of the things that frustrates me is the Kayak fishing industry and how exorbitantly expensive fishing kayaks can be. I'd love to get a foot powered kayak, but I don't have a spare $2,500 to put towards that kind of investment. That's also not including other items of importance I may need as well.
I do a lot of Euro style carp fishing in the PNW as well, and I can definitely say that the price markup is about as bad as fly fishing in some aspects of that hobby. Even comparing prices in Europe with the prices of the exact same product in the US, there's no real difference after conversion and shipping costs. It's just expensive.
Very true. Good work.
I enjoy fishing with a friend now and then and it can be quite enjoyable at times. However I have had my best and most productive days fishing when by myself. Maybe it's less distractions and I can do things totally my way. But it seems to work for me. 😉
I was gifted a Helios 3D and while it casts like a dream my Sage and Echo rods all cast great and a friend's Redington was also not remotely a hindrance to me catching fish. The Bighorn combo I started with was absolutely a nightmare to learn on, way too rigid and tough to feel when it was loaded but once I got the technique down I could cast with it no problem and for only $125 not $1,000. Tippet is also a huge rip off, using regular spinning line is all anyone needs not 100 feet of 3x for 4x the price of 100 yards of 10lb. Buying flies wasn't a huge burden when I started but once I got into tying I realized it was so much easier to fish when I controlled how much weight was on a fly and that the complex flies are for tyers not anglers. Any fly with more thab three materials is a waste.
Regarding the flyfishing: I have been in the sport for a fairly long time and have seen that, years ago, the difference between low-end, mid-priced and high end rods were substantial, but as the technology in materials and manufacturing improved over the years there became serious diminishing returns in quality as one moved higher in price-point. A $50 rod at Walmart today could be compared to a $300 rod 30 years ago in terms of fish-ability. Back then an inexpensive rod was a wet noodle that had no casting or hookset power (typically fiberglass). Now they are either all graphite or seem to be differently laminated fiberglass with more spine and casting power. Also you didn't mention reels, which unless you are fishing for King Salmon or Marlin, is simply a line holder that occasionally needs a decent drag to, if not slow the fish, to keep you from any line backlash.
In the world of duck hunting, Sitka waders have been gaining in popularity, even though they cost $1000. One tried them for fly fishing.
Well said, Tyler!! Us anglers are so easily "hooked" into buying fishing equipment we probably don't really need. Please do a second video on other fishing stuff we waste our money on, like dodgers. I fish on a small lake in the Sierra in CA (Shaver Lake) 95% of the time for trout and Kokanee. Do I really need 50 different kinds of dodgers??? As someone once said, "All those dodgers catch more fishermen than fish." Haha.
LiveScope for ice, super cool, half camera/half flasher, but very expensive and heavy, not good for transport. If you know how to read a flasher it gives you the same info. Light mark at a distance, heavy close up, and close up is all that really matters mostly, active fish. Until they get light and cheap, useless for most.
Rods. Low end rods are fine, it’s the reels that matter, cheap reels are usually bad. Drags are key.
Fly fishing true!
I bought so many lures and gear between 2007-2010 that now that I want to save money I just reach deeper into my old tackle box, and have what I need. I buy so so little now, absolute necessity. One mostly only fishes 2-5 presentations per outing anyhow.
Yes skill and confidence is key! #1
Agreed on the rod and reel spend!
Hard to beat the $50 ugly stick that i absolutely abuse.
Practical and sound advice.
I have a fishing kayak and a small dingy with a 2.5 horse engine. I find I go areas bigger boats would never go, and I catch a lot more fish.
#6 The wide variety of lures catch more fishermen than they do fish.
I’ve wasted a lot of money on tackle storage options. Misc bags & boxes that I don’t need or use.
I’m with you on Patagonia. I sent every Patagonia product back to them. Now I have a far gift card… for Patagonia 😅
Good stuff Tyler.
Dare I add $80,000 pickups..... or am ! just showing my sour grapes.
Buying every lure color, lol. Ngl im guilty of it.
Great video, thank you. I wonder if your experiences with resolution in deep water could be linked to the 1024x600 resolution of your helix 7 (solix is 1280x800 for example) and/or a different ducer? So funny you mentioned boats... I bought my first boat last year; 2005 Lund WC14DLX. 14.9 foot, 20hp honda tiller, it has a floor in it, small livewell and bilge pump, nav lights and that's it. Added a trolling motor to the bow (after adding a plate). Perfect size for me as I go alone a lot, got two downriggers mounted (I almost exclusively troll for trout). Many of my friends thought I bought too small but I can move it around on the trailer by hand due to the size/weight, I can also get it into a lot of unimproved boat launches that I couldn't with an 18' or larger boat. Thanks again for the great content.
Sounds like a great setup.
I came close to getting fired at West Marine for suggesting to a customer that he might want to to try an entry level paddle kayak to see if he liked kayak fishing. A visiting corporate honcho sold him the largest most expensive pedal powered kayak that west carried at that time. The customer came back in two weeks and was furious that I would not accept a return of the boat, because kayak fishing "sucked".
Yeah that's awful. I swung hard away from upselling because honest selling builds trust and repeat customers.
Love the channel and content First time I disagree. A quality rod can make a huge difference when drifting, bobber or even jigging. Hook set and feel are improved. There are quality rods with out paying for a top loomis or edge but they are nice
I would def qualify drift and jigging as methods where a higher end rod can make a difference. I
Great points for us.
Thanks for the video! I'm just buying my first fishing kayak and have been looking at fish finders. Any fish finder model you'd recommend for the salmon, trout fisher you just described?
The Garmin Striker 4 Plus is a great budget option. alnk.to/deyrlOI
Otherwise the Humminbird Helix 5 Chirp GPS G3 is a great option and has a $40 rebate right now thru March which drops the price to $280 alnk.to/28SHyrl
@@spiltmilt Thanks dude! Love your content. Going to try this spring to catch my first kokanee
Good information, I'm guilty in multiple areas here but I at least have a set of Frogg Togg waders that have lasted for six years now.
I would probably add in there all of the accessories that are added on to kayaks and boats that make them look like a battleship with clotheslines strung between the cannon barrels, barely leaving any room to cast. I'm guilty in this area, too. I have pared down a lot and learned that you end up having more time to fish when you aren't trying to unsnag yourself from the 5 rods and two different nets sitting around you that you casted your own lure into, if that makes sense.
Frogtogs for the win
Spot on!
I catch 8 to 30 kokanee with my little boys in the Canadian Cariboo region where I have 10 acres a day out of an old 14 ft fibreglass with cracks and patches with a 2.5 yamaha 4 stroke.....using a portable hummingbird 200 dollar sounder.....I dont even have downriggers, just use leadcore on 100 dollar 6 weight flyrods and 10/11 weight flyreels for faster pickup....cheap works and we are known as one of the better fishing boats on Bridge lake....decent low mid level cheap gear works
Grundens is sneaking in to snatch the wader crown.
14.99 trout combos from bi-mart work fine for panfish to stealhead ,Chinook to if you want to have fun,but i quit paying retail on anything fishing related after retirement 2 years ago now that i have time to hit estate and garage sales pennies on the dollar for all this stuff
Let me know when you wanna go fishing out west (WY,CO,Utah)I will def show up.
Fishing line is a waste. Basic Trilene mono works great.
True, true, true true and true. I agree on evey point with you.
Yea edge rod customer service really sucks, been like 9 months since I sent my rod back in because it arrived defective.. They took forever to reply to my multiple emails I sent asking what was going to happen.. They finally replied saying they were sending it back to manufacturer and theyve been silent since.. Unreal!
You are not alone. I've heard nothing but horror stories.
I know people who have more than one boat in their driveway, and I have an inflatable kayak. I wish every week. They fish once or twice a year.
Feel like you pretty much nailed it!
I will die on the hill that 99% of anglers would do perfectly fine with a 14 foot aluminum boat or any decent fishing kayak
Old Town Canoe with some fly rods and flies and some basic camping gear 🫡 Best time you'll have on the lake
Or u can get on an airplane, fly to a remote Arctic River, catch char after char, and have a drink under the midnight sun while Arctic Fox and Caribou run around your camp.
@spiltmilt that too. Definitely out of my budget at this point but maybe someday 😂 (I'm a broke college trout bum)
I waste money on bait scents, Berkley gulp products. Bought way more than I need.
Bring a can of sardines to snack on and use the oil to scent your lures...
Could you expound upon why you won’t buy Patagonia?
I don't agree with their anti-hatchery stance
@@spiltmiltthanks. I was about to ask the same thing.
Meh, some folks only spend the $$ on a new screen every 10 years or so. So spending the few extra bucks for the down/side imaging even is indeed crappy but less of a pill to swallow than not having it for many years. Especially if you buy secondhand, which obviously isn’t without its own risks.
Fly reels are frequently overpriced. A decent fly reel shouldn't cost more than $40 or $50.
Why did North 40 in Omak get rid of all of their fly tying materials.
Because they don't know how to run a company.
@@spiltmilt well...there you have it. I sure miss it and have to go home to Montana to get materials. Cheers.
Sport shop confidential.
Well that was fun! 5 things we under spend on???
Great topic idea!
Nice
Jdm tackle is still better. For example jerkbait have better action. Rods are more sensitive and reels daiwas are way better
Nice!
Interested to hear why you aren’t interested in Patagonia’s products
They have a long history of backing anti-hatchery litigation in the region.
To Big of a Boat = Fish Harder NOT Smarter
my biggest peeve that people waste money on is crappy "merch" such as t-shirts, hats, etc from influencers
This one is a bit personal for me. I rely on the revenue of the Spilt Milt merch I sell to make more videos. Its a big part of making my channel financially viable. At the same time I also see some influencers throwing their name on every single kind of fishing product out there and that seems over the top sometimes.
@@AuSableAngler I get so Addicted to buying merch 😁
@@spiltmilt I'd rather just see the money spent on Patreon or something similar ... makes more sense.
Addicted fishing comes to mind lol though there stuff isn’t too bad at least.
Name brand terminal tackle. Hate to break it to you, but spending a dollar each on Gamakatsu hooks instead of buying bulk generic ones isn't always a wise move.....
100%. I haven't found an equivalent hook to my favorite Gamakatsu split shot/drop shot hooks so I buy in bulk to lower the costs but when it comes to duolocks, swivels, split rings etc...I def go off brand and budget.
Dont even start on fly fishing....I love it but the prices are insane.
Maxcatch sells a lot of fly rods for a reason.
Fly Reels ... Even more than the rods. I'm not a doctor so I can't spend 1200 dollars on line storage. But it's got such a smooth drag...