Where (if anywhere) do you skimp? (spin-off thread)

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Okay, before you start reading this, know that, on the good advice of a forum member, I have tried to edit the word "scrimp" out of the title of this post, as it has a negative connotation. Unfortunately, I am not able to edit the title, only the body of the post. I am replacing the word "scrimp" with "economize" where it appears elsewhere in the post. - Bryon Anderson

 

There is currently a thread on the Fly Tying Bench forum in which people are giving their opinions on what brand/type of fly box is best for dry flies. As with any "what's the best" debate on any piece of gear, people's rationales for using one box over another run the gamut from "they're pricey but they're worth it" and "they work great and they're nice and cheap."

 

While reading and contributing to this thread, it occurred to me that these same rationales would probably show up in any discussion on any given piece of gear. That realization led me to the thought that it would be interesting to see people's answers to the "what's the best" or "what's your favorite/preferred" question for each piece of gear they use, because it would probably reveal that each of us have items that we econmize on, and others where we buy the best we can afford. These spending behaviors, in turn, would likely reveal a lot of our different beliefs and theories about fly fishing itself, and that, well...might be interesting.

 

So, to boil this down to a simple question: When it comes to gear, where do you put most of your money, and why?

 

Personally, I tend to spend as much as I can afford on fly rods, not because I believe you need an expensive or fancy rod to catch fish, but because, of all my gear, I get the most pleasure from using the rod, so I like to buy as much of it as I can afford. Perhaps ironically, I tend to economize on reels. This is because I fish mainly for brown trout and bass, and I simply don't need a reel with a fancy drag. Many of my reels are actually click-pawls, and don't have disc drags at all. I tend to see fancy reels as basically flyfishing "bling" -- something to look cool on the end of a fly rod. I think I have two that cost over $100, and those were splurges or just cool-looking reels that were on sale.

I tend to go to the bargain bin for fly lines, too. All the specialized tapers and coatings are just completely out of control and unnecessary in my opinion. I refuse to spend more than $50 for a line. Most of mine I got from Cabelas for less than $30.

Leaders and tippet - economize. Same deal as the fly lines. Very little difference in any of them as I see it, and the cheap ones work just fine for me. I don't do fluorocarbon, either. Maybe it fools a few more fish and maybe it doesn't, but it's $10+ per spool and to me that's just silly.

Waders--semi-economize. I usually go for the next-to-cheapest model from well-known makers. It's a crap shoot.

Boots- best I can afford, definitely. I like to stay upright in cold moving water, and I like to be comfortable enough to wade and hike all day if I want to.

Vest or pack? Pack, best I can afford. I have to be able to find my stuff with one hand without looking, and it has to distribute the weight well so I can schlep it around all day and not be sore.

Fly boxes - economize, as long as they have slit foam. Homemade/repurposed is even better. It's a box.

 

That's all I can think of right now. Anyone else?

[Flyunder 0]

Nippers, the $1.00 nippers from a drug store cut mono just fine. There's one pair I'll never buy, but i won't open that can.

[Piker20 0]

Yeah, line nippers, 'fly tying' scissors, dubbing brushes. Synthetic flash. Lots of areas where non fishing related items are identical and cheaper.

Agree with the reels. I think spending a decent amount on a fly line is a good investment. Not spending top end but a budget fly line tends to cost in the longer run.

I've recently sold on a couple of shimano spinning reels I had and I was actually surprised the value they had held because I bought quality at the start and looked after it. Fly rods also seem to hold their value but I still think in general they are vastly overpriced compared to other forms of fishing rod.

[Crackaig 0]

All over the place, on anything and everything I can. I make as much gear as I can. Would love to do more but lack of access to a workshop prevents. One place I would say not to skimp is a good floating line. However, it turns out that the best I have ever used are far from the most expensive.

 

Sometimes though it isn't possible to get really good items no matter how much you spend. For me that seems to be waders. My answer here is to buy cheap and buy often.

 

Cheers,

C.

[JSzymczyk 0]

I look for value at low price on reels for sure. I don't think I have a reel right now that I paid over $50 for. I've fished the salt a fair bit with them too, catching fish which ran harder and faster than even steelhead (which I also catch on them). Nothing complicated about a fly reel, and unless you are often targeting things like tarpon, big bonefish, king salmon, big atlantic salmon, there is realistically no need for a reel which holds nine thousand yards of backing and has a drag made of airliner brakes. ESPECIALLY with reels (and loads of other things in life) people want to ASSume they can replace skill with technology.

[phg 0]

I tend to skimp on fly rods ... that's why I started building my own. I just couldn't justify the cost of all the fly rods I wanted. Now I have a fine selection of different lengths and weights to choose from, in both graphite and bamboo. Several are even customized for specific waters that I fish frequently.

 

When fly tying, especially fishing flies, I tend to skimp on hooks. Several of the "bargain brands" are plenty good enough for general fly tying. The biggest differences I see are in the variety of styles to choose from, and the fineness of the wire for dry fly hooks in smaller sizes.

[kennebec12 0]

I skimp on pretty much everything, if I find it at a yardsale it's perfect. I see people all the time with thousands of dollars gear, sage or orvis rods, fancy vests, shiny reels, and there I am wet wading with an old hand-me-down fly rod, a reel that the spool doesn't stay locked in so I put washers on the screws to hold it in. I must look stupid but I'm catching just as many fish. I don't have rolls of cash so I use what I have and try to make what I don't. Tactics and skills are far more important. Could I get ten more feet on a cast with a better rod and line, probably, but is that ten feet worth a $1000 rod and $80 line? Not to me, though waders would probably be nice when I get a few extra bucks, because the water can be pretty chilly in Northern Maine.

[tidewaterfly 0]

IMO, there's a difference between skimping & over spending. Each of us can afford a range of what we buy, so what might be over spending for one person, may not be for another. As Joel said, we each look for value in different ways too.

 

I tend to go to the lesser end of the prices range on most everything simply because I know what I can afford & what my wife will tolerate. I will look for deals, regardless of brand name.

 

I'm more concerned about function than form. I've yet to buy neoprene waders, still use the rubber, boot foot type. Although what I currently have is an Orvis model, a closeout that I didn't pay full price for.

 

The only thing I feel I really "skimp" on is leader & line material, since I use bulk line & some tying stuff. I know what I can use when tying, so again it's not skimping, it's being frugal.

 

I won't pay $35 for a name brand fly box, when I can get a similar box for $6, which doesn't have the "brand" name associated with it.

[vicrider 0]

Nowhere. I've spent most of my life scrimping. Now without that much left I'm doing it my way.

[mikechell 0]

Spend money? You're supposed to spend money on this past time?

I think I spend more money on gas for the boat and the van than I so any other part of my fishing or tying.

[Crackaig 0]

Rods are one thing that you just can't save on by building your own here. The import duties on the blanks and the price of parts etc. make it more expensive for us to build than to buy.

Cheers,

C.

[Bryon Anderson 0]

IMO, there's a difference between skimping & over spending. Each of us can afford a range of what we buy, so what might be over spending for one person, may not be for another. As Joel said, we each look for value in different ways too.

This is an important point and one that I should have mentioned in my original post. It was all clear in my head... Of course each of us is going to have his or her own parameters for spending on what amount to our toys. That's why I said that for certain items I buy "the best I can afford" instead of just "the best".

 

I've said before in other threads on the various forums here that I am very thankful for having been forced to start fly fishing on a shoestring budget, because it taught me to look for value rather than just buying what looked shiny to me or what some fly shop owner told me I had to have. It's a good thing, too, because otherwise I'd have been out of fly fishing before I got started--the owner of the shop where I tried to buy my first fly rod told me that if I wasn't prepared to spend $500 on a rod, I was wasting my time. And that was in 1996!

[Chase Creek 0]

OOOOHHH! This topic pushes a button for me! I'm a firm believer that you don't have to spend a lot of money in this sport. If you WANT to, that's OK with me - just don't make other folks think it's necessary.

EXAMPLE When the Boy Scouts came out with the fly fishing merit badge a few years ago, the local Council summer camp brought in someone (adult) who was an experienced fly fisherman to instruct the merit badge class. He told the boys they needed a $500 rod and a $300 reel to get into the sport. How many boys do you think went home and asked mom and dad for $800 so he could try fly fishing to see if he liked it? Not many, I'll bet. This is an example of the myth that fly fishing is for the rich. Unfortunately, that is how many folks see fly fishing.

C'MON, FOLKS; it's just another way to fish!

I have enjoyed fly fishing for about 50 years, and I have several rods / reels, but none of the rods cost over $100, reels maybe $60. I would like to have a bamboo rod, but I also want to eat and make the house payment. Want and need are two very different things. If you want a $1200 bamboo rod, and can afford it, that's fine with me. But the fish will never know the difference.

Stepping down from soapbox now.

[utyer 0]

Byron, first off, I hope you found a different fly shop. Any one who tells you that $500 is the "entry point" for a fly rod is an idiot. Not many beginners would or could find any difference in their fishing with a very expensive rod as compared to a decent $100 to $150 complete outfit. Secondly, I think economize would be a better term. Scrimp has a negative connotation, and I don't think there is anything wrong with seeking out a more cost effective alternative. I do so whenever I can.

 

That said, I stopped spending a lot of money on fly rods about 25 years ago. Before that, I worked in tackle stores or sporting goods stores, and could buy anything at a very good discount. I continually rotated my older rods out to others, and tried out a new rod (at least one,) every year. I never seemed to have any problem casting or fishing any rod. When I started "scrimping,"

I didn't notice that my less expensive rods were any less effective at casting or fishing.

 

Reels for salt water fishing, is one place were I don't "scrimp," but I do economize. All the Lamson reels use the same drag, so I will be happy to fish a Konic in the right size. Most of my trout reels were a lot less money than even the Konic. I still have and use an old 1492 reel.

 

I like a good line, but I don't pay "top dollar" for them, I pick up good lines when I find sales or discounts.

 

I have and assortment of very basic fly boxes. My vest is a pack I found at a yard sale for $1.00 I re-rigged it to fit on the front of a hydration pack I picked up at a flea market for $7.50. This holds everything I need (including water,) for a day on the stream. I am now into my 5th year on my Cabela's Gortex waders, and shoes. Finally wore out the uppers on my old Korkers, and replace those with a pair of shoes that cost half what a new set would have been.

 

If the hook model works, for the application, I will try it out. A lot of the Allen hooks I have tried, worked out just as well as the TMC or other brands I tried. If the shape is right for the application I will continue to use them. In salt water, I will use Eagle Claw and Mustads.

 

Materials, I would rather pay $8.00 for a 50 yard spool of macrame yarn that an single hank of the fancy stuff. I can always add a little flash. I can loose Congo hair flies just as easily as any EP files.

 

There is a lot of very good, very expensive tackle out there, but if I can get the job done, I am just as happy to economize when I can.

[Bryon Anderson 0]

I think economize would be a better term. Scrimp has a negative connotation, and I don't think there is anything wrong with seeking out a more cost effective alternative.

Utyer, you are right about the word "scrimp" having a negative connotation. I didn't think about that when I titled my post. Let me say that I did not intend to imply that seeking out less-expensive alternatives to high-priced gear was in any way a bad thing. I certainly have done just that for most of my time as a fly fisherman, and I continue to do it with much of the gear I buy to this day. Heck, if it wasn't for the need and/or desire to economize, I might never have become a fly tier or rod builder in the first place, as it was the desire to get more for my money that drove me to both crafts.

 

I am going to take your suggestion and edit the word "scrimp" out of my original post--I can't edit the title, so I will place a comment regarding the wording at the beginning of the post-- and replace it with "economize". Thanks for pointing that out.

 

As for the fly shop owner that gave me such a hamfisted and elitist sales pitch, he cost himself a lot of money that day. I was embarking on what has been, so far, a 17-year career of fly tackle purchases, but I've never spent a dime in that shop, that day or any since.