I thought fishing was cheap?

[Prawns]

Im new to fishing, and crikey - it sure isnt cheap to try and setup myself its turning out

Take just tonight for instance, I ordered

500meters 50 pound braid multi colour so I can measure off in a boat
500meters 20 pound braid multi colour
100meters 80 pound braid yellow for leaders
100meters 8 pound braid dark green
40gram metal lures x3 for boat/surf beach
4.0g 1.96inch 50mm Crankbait
35mm Popper
x20 Cross Lock Snap Swivels
72x Fishing Trace Swivel Interlock Snap
Bait Trap
30 metres 6mm rope for bait trap

I really dont even want to look at my bank account now, especially with other purchases recently like a rod etc - Im not a rich man and I reckon I just smashed my chances for some fishing trips for a while eek OOPS the wife is going to kill me

Please somebody tell me once all this initial outlay is done with, it gets easier on the wallet (crikey please dont tell me it gets worse! Im worried I dont know enough and am buying the wrong things like braid and lure colours/sizes also arghhh)

[Scratchie]

Lmao......... And you've only got 1 rod????

[Ray R]

Hahaha, just the beginning mate, there is always something else you will need, I cant even go into my local tackle shop to say g'day to the chaps without coming out a few bucks lighter..

[bluebottle18]

The best way to reduce your cost of going fishing is to send the wife in to buy your fishing gear. With her credit card etc.

IMO i think you should try and get the wife interested and go together fishing. They do make very good fishers and make good lunches etc for the day. Be patient and caring.

[Linc]

Sounds like your rigging up for deep sea fishing or big game fishing? Fishing doesn't have to be that expensive, especially landbased, but as soon as you factor in a boat and the added expenses that come along it adds up nice and quick... but it's oh so worth it!

[mike2153]

lol I started with one spin rod catching bream and flatties, I now have about 15 rods thousands in tackle and a boat... And I still don't think I have that much stuff

[sureangler]

My misses and myself have spent $60 on 2 rods from Kmart, about $30 on hooks/tackle and probably about $60 on bait from servos. That's about all we have bought so far and we have good fun. We are just land based at the moment. Next thing to buy from looking at all the posts is some fluro carbon leader and some braid. Why'd you need all that line?

500meters 50 pound braid multi colour so I can measure off in a boat
500meters 20 pound braid multi colour
100meters 80 pound braid yellow for leaders
100meters 8 pound braid dark green

[mrsswordfisherman]

The best way to reduce your cost of going fishing is to send the wife in to buy your fishing gear. With her credit card etc.

IMO i think you should try and get the wife interested and go together fishing. They do make very good fishers and make good lunches etc for the day. Be patient and caring.

awwww they do make "very good fishers" and if they get very interested they own and run a bigggg fishing forum just like fishraider

Have a look in our swap and sell you can get some very good deals on second hand unwanted items there

[rockfisherman]

I love topics like this.

There is no end in sight when it comes to spending money on fishing, you will always be spending money on consumables like hooks, sinkers, depending how much you fish, leaders, braid and once you get Into soft plastics, the only thing I can suggest is keep it simple ie 3-4 different types of plastics and jig head types, until you discover what works best for you.

Went a bit off topic there, but getting back to it, where you can cover 2 maybe 3 bases with one outfit, there is still so many scenarios. Run down of what's on my rack with out going into to much detail, and I have multiple of most.

- medium jig

- heavy jig

- light beach/rock

- medium beach/rock

- heavy beach/rock

- light lure

- medium lure

- heavy lure

I have more to say, but my wife is telling me to get off the phone, so catch ya later.

If it's to good to be true, it usually is...

[Prawns]

Cheers for the replies guys (and girls of course!)

Yep I sure do plan on doing the odd bit of deep sea fishing with a neighbour who seems keen to take me out on his boat, he gave me most of the reels and rods I have sofar - but Im converting alot over to braid. Is yellow leader terrible for deep sea fishing? That stuff was probably one of the cheapest anyway due it only being a 100 metre roll (thank god I didnt get the 300metre perhaps then )

I bought a land based snapper rod and also a surf rod myself to compliment the ones my neighbour gave me. I went out to buy a spinner rod but got one single letter in the model number wrong and ended up with a "boat" rod instead lols. Its a silstar 7foot one piece 701SWM "boat" but apparently they are ok for land based snapper anyway? (and I guess the boat) so.....phew!

Sofar my kit

Setup 1 = Rod is a "Sport Fisher 750" 3.6metre/ 12' surf rod.
Line Class 5-10kg. Cast weight 28-90grams. 4.1:1.
Reel already on it along with very stretchy unknown mono, reel mentions 20pound line/265yards - Kmart $30 job for the whole lot

Setup 2 = Rod is a Silstar 701SWM 2.1metre/7foot "boat" one piece rod 8-10kg class. Mentions its "braid and mono safe' and "30-70GM" (whatever that means) cost $50
Reels for this rod are a Okuma Quadra QF80 which I plan to install 50lb braid on and a Niltron ALF550 Surecatch which I can "swap out" and plan on installing 20lb braid on

Setup 3 = Rod is a Silstar overhead boat rod "graphite composite 1100-66BWJ" 1.95metres/6'6" 10-15kg "jig/troll"
Currently sporting a Daiwa MFS300 baitcaster reel on unknown braid - but the braid feels like fencing wire and seems just as strong. In the end I think I will install the okuma BTL817 on it once I fix the shimano overhead rod

Setup 4 = Shimano ET Escape Series 5'6 overhead "Boat style" line rating 10kg. It has a Broken tip and no reel yet, once I fix it I might move the daiwa 300 baitcaster reel onto it

Setup 5 = Daughters Santa present. "Sport Fisher" 1.50metre/5' 2-4kg line class and 5-20gram cast rating with matched reel which has led lights which light up when you reel in. Replaced that reel when the ratchet broke on its 2nd use with a Shimano Aernos 2000 reel

Setup 6 = Abu Garcia Custom COS53UL Ultra light Action 0-10gram cast weight 1-6lb line class with a Penn Powerspin 1000 reel and 2lb fireline braid which has snapped for no apparent reason twice now so Im a bit worried about my lures and got some 8lb braid on order or might just run mono

Reels I dont have rods for yet....

Penn Powerspin V 3000 with 20 or 30lb braid installed at a guess

Okuma BTL817 Baitcaster with unknown mono installed already. I might put this on the Silstar "graphite composite 1100-66BWJ" and move the daiwa over to the ET Escape rod once its fixed

Im really getting into this fishing deal - I fish locally every day which is kind of estuary/river style - Mainly "legal" bream and flathead and tiny whiting sofar, but Ive also landed a turtle and a 80cm eel locally (I see the turtle here everyday doing laps up and down my fishing beach, knew it was just a matter of time before he got tangled)

I also take my 4wd out to Stockton beach occasionally for surf fishing and of course, the neighbour wants to go deep sea fishing where we seem to catch lots of flathead (Id like snapper preferably) but also do a bit of trolling on the way back home

I drag my wife down the waterfront locally when I can - but she is really dropping the ball and doesnt bring lunch! Mind you she isnt "mad keen" and usually only spends a hour or 2 with me and my 11year old daughter who is "mad keen" unlike mum.

I have buckleys of getting my boy away from his xbox it seems so he doesnt come, Im thinking of rigging his xbox360 up to my surf rod and trying it out as a lure to be honest

I still have to get some flourocarbon line for my local estuary low 30cms bream / mid 40 cms flathead - Anybody want to recommend what rating would be good?

Im loving this website already - all you guys seem nice and friendly

Heres my reels (apparently the neighbour is also servicing another abu garcia baitcaster reel he wants me to have as well - God my neighbours soooo nice, and OMG he has dozens of rods etc!)

and heres my current PB whiting - The daughter seems to be the "Whiting Queen" and has no trouble landing them unlike dad. Hers are also alot bigger. Its kind of embarrassing when the baits bigger than the fish (bait is squid cut into worms as we arnt the best at keeping bait attached yet )

and I bought a "old lady bag" yesterday to help me carry some of this stuff down the waterfront directly across the road (I got a bad shoulder after a couple motorbike stacks)

my "custom" rod holder aka ladder

and my tacklebox sofar

Edited January 18, 2014 by Prawns

[sureangler]

That tackle box looks good! I wanna pick something like that up soon. What's the estuary fishing up your way like?

I always keep our stuff in the back of the truck. Got a 80L fridge/freezer in the back too running off a second battery for any fish/bait. Couple of tackle boxes and a fishing shirt and some always handy jugs of water. Once the misses gets fishing it's a lot more fun, mine is a great listener too. Hasn't stepped up to packed lunches but she shouts whatever we do get

[Guest no one]

That tackle box is far too organised for a fisherman!!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Prawns]

Love the fridge in your rig mate - I dont have one yet (cant afford one) and get stuck using ice bricks from the freezer when I head out to Stockton beach fishing.

I got the tacklebox for $30, it came with nearly everything you see in there (lures excluded) I noticed the exact same box as a "Plano" brand selling at BCF for $60 which was $20 of retail price on special - and that one came empty! lol I got a bargain there for sure

I am a bit anal about my tacklebox and keeping everything nice I guess but I can find everything I want nice and quickly I suppose - Mind you its getting full and I think I might need to get some kind of lure box for the lures I have coming from ebay as I have no more room for them unless I start mixing up hook sizes etc to gain more compartment space

The estuary fishing here is great if its high tide I guess - but only if your not me. I quite often see fisherman spending a hour or 2 out the front and going home with a dozen nice sized whiting from the beach. They walk out into the water nearly waist deep though and use local bait (pumping yabbies at low tide, along with soldier crabs and worms) I dont have a yabbie pump yet as those suckers start at about $70 but eventually.....

At low tide I do go down the waterfront sometimes and collect soldier crabs (hundreds of soldier crabs do a run each low tide, the whole beach looks like its moving in places!)

I smash em up with my foot and roll them into a handful of sand forming a ball - I chuck those out as burley they are easy to chuck where you want when they are a "sand ball" Ive stuck some on hooks before as well, but sofar the fish get a feed and I havnt managed to land one, the first few casts usually ends in only a small bit of crab left on the hook after a couple of lightning strikes Im too slow for

[The Incredible Hull]

Squiding is another costly fishing activity, but once you catch your first, it's all worth it!

[Prawns]

I might ge a squid jig thing. I notice quite a few glow in the dark - Is squidding a night time activity?

[bharris]

what you spent isnt much thats just tge start

Sent from my GT-S7500T using Tapatalk 2

[wizza]

Mate you should do well .Youve got more tackle than ET on his honeymoon. cheers wizza

[Guest Aussie007]

I might ge a squid jig thing. I notice quite a few glow in the dark - Is squidding a night time activity?

spend your money on quality jigs if your thinking of going squiding $20+ each jig

[The Incredible Hull]

I might ge a squid jig thing. I notice quite a few glow in the dark - Is squidding a night time activity?

Yer mate it's a night time activity. They like clean water so you want to fish as downstream as you can.

All you'll need is a bream setup, so 2-4kg rod, 6lb braid, 6lb leader. I highly recommend to get a Yamashita in White base size 2.5, that color has caught me the most squid. Retrieval technique is just like fishing for Flatties on soft plastics. Good luck!

[Yowie]

Most of the rods I bought were from Big W, some of their specials.

6 foot Jarvis Walker spin rod for whiting, bream, flatties with 6lb mono, cost $14. Okuma reel which was a bit more.

6 foot Jarvis Walker boat rod for tailor, school jews, reddies, etc, with 11lb mono, cost $22. Reel a bit more again.

Don't need to spend too much on tackle.

[Prawns]

Thanks guys All this advice is awesome

I was chatting to my neighbour today - and he asked (weather permitting) if Id like to go out on his boat again this weekend and maybe pull a all night fish Saturday night into Sunday or just perhaps a days fishing on Sunday with a bit of shark bait on the side. Sounds great to me!

Im going to take my 7foot 8-10kg boat rod and borrow a reel off him as my braid I ordered wont have arrived yet - but at least I get to have a play on my new rod I guess this time (borrowed everything last time)

Had a great day "fishing" today which pretty much involved not much fishing but alot of chatting with a guy kitted out in Berkley gear - he was scoping out the area for a future kayak fishing trip he wanted to go on.

We organised a "intention for a Stockton beach fishing trip together" as he hasnt been on Stockton before in his 4wd and I guess theres safety in numbers when you havnt been to a place before (I go solo ok but I can understand somebody who hasnt been there being a little worried alone the first time)

Top bloke, and when it came time to go he passes me a lure and insists I take it! (I offered to pay but he said he got some of them free and was having none of it)

As Big Kev used to say "Im excited!"

[Testlab]

The fastest, most sure fire way to save money on tackle is to.........

Buy a boat.

[GreyNurse]

Hi Prawns

By the look of your list of purchases, I thought that you were buying stuff well above what you needed, thinking that you might be estuary fishing. But for beach and deep sea, it's OK. Don't use braid as leader material, especially bright or rainbow colours. Too visible. You want a nice long leader of either fleurocarbon or mono, about the same rating as your main line or about 25% less. By long leader, I mean at least two meters. If you are using braid, it's no stretch properties can lead to the hooks being pulled from the fish's mouth. The above mentioned leader takes some of the shock out of an aggressive bight so the hooks won't pull so readily. Attaching your leader to the main line is determined by things such as line diameter, terminal rig configuration, type of water, your dexterity and personal choice.Take notice of what others are doing and keep asking questions if you are not sure.

As for things getting worse, that's entirely up to you. Look at it this way. If you actually go out fishing, you're not shopping. That's a great logical argument if the wife complains about being a fishing widow. If she insists you fish without her, then DO IT! You should be so lucky!. At some point, though, you will need to replace lost, worn or chewed gear. That's OK. A fifty here, a fifty there won't go unnoticed, but it's not breaking the bank. Then go for the big stuff at Christmas and your birthday. It works for me. It will likely work for you.

[Prawns]

Thanks for the advice mate its appreciated

Does the 2 metre leader length also hold true for local "estuary" style fishing for legal sized bream/Flathead?

Ive only learned 2 Knots for directly joining line. The Albright and a double uni, is one better than the other or another knot you recommend?

I'm kind of in a small Bay here but have a local Creek as well and some local mangrove areas. I fish all over the place except for rocks. sorry if I was a bit confusing before

Across the road (my usual)

Open ocean

And surf

Local creek

And planning on hitting some mangrove spots at high tide

[sureangler]

Most of the rods I bought were from Big W, some of their specials.

6 foot Jarvis Walker spin rod for whiting, bream, flatties with 6lb mono, cost $14. Okuma reel which was a bit more.

6 foot Jarvis Walker boat rod for tailor, school jews, reddies, etc, with 11lb mono, cost $22. Reel a bit more again.

Don't need to spend too much on tackle.

I think I have the same rod as your 1st one yowie, and no complaints really. I also upgraded my reel and I think its terrific