Ebay fishing equipment as good as high-ends?

[viperon1982]

Hey guys,

Here's a question for all experienced pro-anglers! What do you think of the stuff they sell on Ebay? Namely the rods and reels. They are reeeeeeally cheap and they do have pretty good-looking designs. They do sell shimano and other high-end items, but I'm mainly referring to the el cheapo ones.

How are they compared to the high-end stuff that cost hundreds of dollars? Any significant differences you guys can point out to this junior angler pls?

[Feral]

I dunno about high end stuff, thats cowfish and Troy teritory!

But it matches the mid range stuff well enough. You have to be careful though, stick with the 10 or 11 ball bearing reels, anything less is crap. Rods - well yeah, Ray got my Loomis blank from the states, so you cant get much better than that, but the no name stuff give it a shot, some of those I have got have been good, others have been good, but not how it was described. IE I got a 4 to 6lb graphite rod that I reckon is more solid than my 8kg loomis! Also be careful of their descriptions of it being a graphite rod, about 2% graphite 98% fibreglass I'd reckon on some of them!

But if you want a cheap rod that will do a job, you cant go past Ebay. If you want a high end flick stick that weighs 3oz, shop very very carefully. They are there, mainly on US sites, and a good deal cheaper than buying in australia, but still expect to pay $100 to $150 for a brand name rod that costs $3-400 here.

Post edited by: Feral, at: 2007/05/25 16:05

[mojo]

Guys, I'll give myself a bit of a plug here, I often search carefully and buy a 5-10 rods from the states, Keep what I want and try to sell the rest at a small profit.

About a year ago i bought a few pinnacle spx3 and tsunami trophy rods, they sold like hotcakes and I have to say i'm sorry I only kept one.

I currently have 2 rods up, look for pinnacle extant and shakespeare catera, I have relisted the Catera about 6 times and havent got a nibble, one of the best value rods on the market and I'm amazed it hasnt sold, theyre not dirt cheap but Imo similar rods in shops would be in the 90-120 mark.

sorry in advance if this post is out of line.

Mojo

[jalova]

Hi, I have bought heaps of gear from ebay and most of it is pretty good stuff. The rod and overhead combo unit was especially good ( to me anyway ).

Cheers

Tony

[sharker]

I bought a Relix cyclone baitrunner 6000 from ebay. I think it has 10 ball bearings. I was looking for a cheap reel to bash some sharks with next season. For $30 including delivery I am more than impressed.

[Feral]

Yep, I've got one of those loaded with 35lb mono, keeping it in the boot as a spare winch for the boat until shark season comes around again.:woohoo:

[viperon1982]

Pretty insightful info guys. Thanks. Good to know that the cheaper rods are quite comparable to the high ends. I have bought \"budget\" fishing stuff from ebay, and I must say that I wouldn't settle for anything \"less\".

[Mack_attack]

sorry to disapoint you but about a year ago i bought a baitrunner from brian forsyth and it rusted within a couple of weeks even after washing:( : but there might be better stuff now. if you want one the 7ft 10-15kg saratoga rods are unbreakable. i have personally landed a 6ft tiger shark with more than 7kg of drag screaming off the reel and the rod performed great not bad for $30 including postage.

Post edited by: Mack_attack, at: 2007/05/25 18:52

[Cowfish13]

Feral wrote:

I dunno about high end stuff, thats cowfish and Troy teritory!

What do you mean? I'm not in the same league as Troy.

I have one expensive combo, a Raider rod matched with a Pflueger president. Both were bought on special with $50 off the rod, and $140 off the reel.

Other light lure gear is a Shimano SSS rod ($49) with an Okuma Travertine (bought off my brother for $80)

The bait spinning stuff I have is a Daiwav crossfire ($40) and a Shimano GTS rod ($40) with 10lb platypus mono.

Also, I have an Abu ambasaduer 6600 ($159, I got it for christmas) matched with a rod that I won from this site

I may have a couple of good things but I'll almost definately never be able to afford a Loomis or Stella or Certate.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Anyway, back to the question on eBay gear, I'd stay off some of the lures unless you can get them for under $12 inc postage.

I wouldn't buy any line from eBay because all the stuff I've bought has sucked. Both braid and Mono.

Reels you can usually get good value for money and

Rods can either be awesome or terrible. One my brother bought was stiff as a pool cue, and another was like a rubber band because it bent as much for a 20cm Snapper as a 55cm Mackerel. But another rod was so good he bought a second one.

Post edited by: Cowfish13, at: 2007/05/26 16:29

[wokket]

Yeah, I bought a cheap bottom bashing rod from ebay (the same as this I think ).

It's seems well made, neat epoxying etc, but the tip is both really soft and very solid (from the guid feet/epoxy) at the same time, which means the guides aren't spaced all that well for the bend it gets.

I haven't really had a chance to fish with it yet, I'll decide after that whether I keep it as a spare, or chuck it entirely.

I'm interested in rods that people have bought from ebay that people reckon are worth the price though!

Cheers,

Tim