On line equipment purchases

[PeterMac]

Oh ya baby, the time is here!! Gonna buy me some salt water gear, namely a couple rods and reels to go with 'em :grin:

This is exciting, but wait :whazzup: , are there any great sites on-line to make these purchases??? I don't know, I guess I'll have to ask the SALTY DOGS for [img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img] ???

Any thoughts guys and gals?

PeterMac

[ 04-30-2003, 01:28 PM: Message edited by: PeterMac ]

Try EBay

Stand Up Rods

[Beer Waggin]

Search Elite Tackle World on ebay and buy the good stuff for cheap!

How much are we spending for you?

:grin: :grin: :grin:

[blubeast]

Having learned the hardway... if you buy rods via ebay... be sure to find out about shipping costs and how they are packaged... I have had some shippings costs exceed the cost of the rods...

best to ask up front before you bid.

The last rod I got from ebay was $18.00 to ship. It was a med-high end Penn.

[JeepMcMuddy]

I get catalogs from Capt Harry's They seem to have decent prices and you can order online or through the catalog.

[ 04-30-2003, 05:09 PM: Message edited by: JeepMcMuddy ]

[Mark Mc]

Just one more opinion here....If you're interested in THE top-of-the-line saltwater rods (esp. for pelagics), you're talking about Calstar & Seeker. And the very best prices I've seen on the west coast are from Charkbait:

http://www.charkbait.com/indexT.htm#Fishing%20Rods

I'm afraid to tell you how much I've spent at this shop. Mark Smith is a first-class guy and his prices are hard to beat for brand new.

Yes I've bought a few rods & reels off e-bay, and have been fairly satisfied. But you always take your chances on e-bay. For a few dollars more you can buy brand-new, and support a great guy & his tackle company.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated in any way with Charkbait, other than a loyal customer.

[crabbait]

I see they sell blanks for Seeker, etc. What are the hot rod numbers? Tuna sticks?

Help a guy out here, which blanks would you buy?

[Mark Mc]

Oh Jeez, Crabbait. If you had asked that question on the Allcoast (So Cal) website, there would be a debate 100 posts long. It all depends on what you want to do with those rods. Here is a very brief summary, going from light line to heavy:

20 - 30, for tossing swimbaits at albies, the 196 and 270 e-glass are standards. For graphite, the 700 xl & l.

30 - 40, "crossover" rod than can be used for tossing jigs and light trolling, the 870 e-glass or 700 M graphite.

40 - 60 trolling, the 660 / 665 series e-glass (called "jig and bait"). These are wonderful all-purpose rods as they have a tender tip but huge backbone. Great for halibut with 50lb spectra, and will yank in any troll-caught albie pretty quick.

50 - 100, real heavy trolling / standup gear, any of the "troll / bait" rods. I'm looking right now at an all-roller 655xh, 5 1/2 ft. I have a couple similar lamiglas blanks I made into halibut rods.

Let me know when you'll be in Newport this summer; I always have part of this collection with me & you can parking-lot test them.

You will notice a standard model number nomenclature common to Calstar, Seeker, Sabre, and to some extent Lamiglas. This was started by the original California Tackle Company (Sabre), a guy named Leon Todd, who now runs Calstar. What is interesting though is that for some identical numbers, the Seeker blank will be rated a little lighter than the Calstar.

Have fun shopping and remember to intercept those PVC shipping tubes from UPS/FedX before your wife sees them.

[ 05-01-2003, 08:19 AM: Message edited by: Mark Mc ]

[PeterMac]

Thanks for all the replies guys [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] , shopping for them is okay, but fishing with them will be awesome !!

PeterMac

Wouldn't it be nice if all rods were classed like fly rods.

[Miss B Haven]

Keta- yep, I need a 400 weight for those bluefins! :grin: