Extremely Over Priced

[superscot]

Gents while having the wee look through the new catalogue sent through the post ?will not advertise the catalogue

Came across the new G4 GORE-TEX waders from Simms ?.at a whopping ?589.00 yip ?589.00 pop yer Simms G3 guide wading jacket (must be a G4 soon)on at ?359.00 along with yer new boots as well at ?119.00 ..Total cost just to keep warm and dry ?1067?.is this not taking things a bit too far! Or taking the piss!

Mind the first time yi ever cross a barbed wire fence could rip the arse out them!

Is it the case we troot fishermen are now gullible to buying extremely over priced and sometimes inferior equipment made in the far east due to the (must have ) syndrome ! 

Ok you might leave the water at the end of the day dry ?but will you have caught any more fish ?I think not !

Now I class myself as an ok troot fisher ?.don?t know everything and willing to listen and learn and have to say the info from this forum has taught me one hell of a lot?

Rods will a ?600 quid job catch me anymore fish ?..Will it make my trip/day any more pleasurable?.that bit unsure ?.don?t have a ?600 quid job and don?t plan to ?but will it catch more fish !...Don?t think so !

Mate just spent over ?600 on a Sage TCR 10?0? 7 weight at ?630...Mad fecking mad ??.does it cast well ?.yes but not any better than the 10?0? 7weight Sharps Of Aberdeen I use ?well most of the time

Is it the case that most or all manufacturers are now jumping on the band wagon and advertising game fishing tackle at hugely overinflated prices knowing full well we the mugs will be tempted into buying them 
Cheers   

[haresear]

I have to confess to using Sage rods Superscot. They don't catch me any more fish, but I find them so responsive that they are just a pleasure to use.

Maybe it's like cars. A Ford and a Ferrari will both get you there, but the Ferrari is more fun to drive (I suppose ) .

The Simms are built really well and very well designed, but as you say, one thorn or barbed wire fence and they will tear just like cheapos.

Alex 

[Wildfisher]

My most expensive rod would be in be ?200 price bracket. Honesty though is ?500 / ?600 for the tools of your trade really that much? If you look after it ,it will last for years. Don’t really  like making comparisons but how much does a set of golf clubs cost? How much does the average Joe spend on booze and fags? To each his own but I know what I believe to be better value!  Fish with what you are happy with. If a cheap rod and reel is what you want  then fine – use it!  I used to believe there was no difference  until I tried better gear myself and there is just no comparison. Anything that adds to the pleasure of your precious fishing time has to be good

[Clan Ford]

Yes, rods can be expensive but as Fred points they last a good while, especially with lifetime gaurentees!  Clothing and waders are another matter however.  Do your £600 simms last longer than you £100 Orvis Enduras? - I have my doubts.  However, I have to say that my main angling expense (apart from all the bits and bobs) are waders.  I doesn't matter if they are breathable or neoprene but I doubt that I get more that a season out of either.  I'm sort of tempted to go for the expensive pair and see if they do any better but I can't justify the cost (yet).  I reckon it is the night time sea trouting that is hard on the waders - tramping through the bramble strewn undergrowth is bad enough in day light but at night, half the time I don't have a clue what I'm wandering through!

Norm

[murray1228]

I think it all comes down to the augment of diminishing returns. A ?100 rod is probably going to be much better than a ?50 rod but a ?500 rod may only be slightly better than a ?200 rod. I recently bought a Sage XP when they were selling them off to make way for the new range. I do enjoy fishing with it and i feel it's a cut above my other trout rods in terms of casting and finish. However, i doubt i would have bought it if it weren't for the sale and i known it won't catch me any more fish!

As for waders I tend to look upon them as disposable items, if i get two seasons out of a pair I'm doing very well, so i would never spend heaps of money on them.

Reels are probably the biggest rip off out there, who needs a disc drag for trout? Ninety nine times out of a hundred I play them by hand. Only trout i tend to play off the reel are decent sea trout in a river, and even then a simple ratchet mechanism and a palm on the spool rim is quite sufficient.

Those are my views, but each to their own and all that... After all, we are only on this planet for a finite period and if a new bit of kit will add to your enjoyment of fishing - go get it!

Murray

[rabbitangler]

As far as rods go, it aint the rod, it's the driver!! You would probably be better, especially as a beginner, spending half what you pay for a sage on casting lessons. I agree with murray aboutthe ?50 - ?100 - ?500 rods, most of which cost a hell of a lot less to make than that. Runour has it many are made in the same factory on the same equipmant, bit like tescos own and branded foods!!

We are being ripped off?? Well by some of the manufactureres

[burnie]

Trouble is as time and technology move on everything gets out of date and you just have to have the new "better" one,I know I've a cupboard full of rods and reels that may never see the light of day let alone water again.

[superscot]

but I find them so responsive that they are just a pleasure to use.

Haresear thats what ma mate has been preaching to me all week ...and will say it did feel really good to use

Honesty though is ?500 / ?600 for the tools of your trade really that much?

Point taken Fred as my mate also pointed out yi think nothing of spending ? on photographic equipment

Do your ?600 simms last longer than you ?100 Orvis Enduras? - I have my doubts.

Clan Ford check on a few American forums and most are saying well over priced for the product in question

I know I've a cupboard full of rods and reels that may never see the light of day let alone water again.

Burnie have a bloody garage full of rods that will probally never see the light of day again

Checked a few American sites and the waders in question are on sale for just under $700 yet we are expected to pay around ?590 for the exact same thing ...now just how much profit does the the seller in the UK make from each pair sold !   

[sandyborthwick]

I feel that often as not that there are only slight gains to be made by buying the most expensive kit. The gear is often peddled as the next new bread - I have my doubts its a bit like car manufactureres changing the wing mirrors or the lights. There are perfectly adequate rods reels and lines cheaply available that in the end will make little or no change to the actual average Joe fly fishermen. My casting is not perfect even after 30years of self teaching but I think a better rod will often make little difference and I certainly will not buy on named reputation alone. I often still use a D.A.M. 10ft that I bought for ?20.00 in the early days about 20years ago and still find it the best stick for certain jobs even compared to todays techy improvements. I won't knock those that believe in spending hard earned cash on nice shiny new gear - but my own personal vanity lies more in copious numbers of single malts. In a way Fishing gear is just reflecting the consumerist society we find ourselves in which is a sad state of affairs. I quite like the image of the old amateur pitting his guile against the wily old trout with split cane rod in hand. I fish for the challenge and the sport if it was just about improving my catch rate then the ultimate gear would be a thunder flash explosive fished on braided rope and a big net. Enjoyment for me is in the pursuance(all aspects) and I get little enjoyment out of lashing out ?500-600 at any time(I think my scots blood s showing). Also I think that we have to be careful that the cheap as chips brigade are not done down here - all those young lads and lasses still have to start somewhere and I'm sure we all scrapped together a few hard earned pennies when young to get started. Expensive promos and Glossy mags can give the impression to the uninitiated that you need a millionaires pockets just to start in the sport - I dread the day that this starts to pervade public perceptions as the norm (as it often does now) and that game Angling is viewed as somewhat elitist. As for Jackets and clothing some of the most accomplished artist with the fly are never seen in much more than a worn old cotton wax jacket - again in my opinion hard to beat.

So the point is when you see old step toe at the lochside in his tilley hat, wax jacket, and cheap rod in hand I shall be getting as much if not more than Lord Snodgrass in his Million dollar equipment and catching equally feck all to my greatest pleasure at somewhat a fraction of the price - and I bet I still end up buying the Malts!

Sandy B.O.