Are we over doing it with all the new and very expensive kit available? I know I have fallen into this trap and spend a lot (really a lot!) on fishing equipment.
I now have so much kit I get bogged down and I don’t know what to use anymore. It also becomes a pain in the arse rigging everything up and in the end not needing or using half the stuff. Is it really necessary and worth it or should we just stick or return to basics and enjoy fishing?
I can clearly remember the time when our sea fishing equipment consisted of much less and basic equipment but we caught fish. It was also affordable.
Given we could drive on the beach and we had a nice beach buggy which was rigged for fishing. Rod carrier on roll bar, live bait bucket with pump on the bulbar, and space for the fish box and bait board also in front.
My wife is also a keen fisher girl. Our kit basically consisted of the following. Waft 350/2 on Purglas blanks, 400/2 on Purglas blanks (My wife bought mine for me as a wedding present). Both had nice cork composite (cork and rubber mix) handles. Two small light Shad sticks with grinders. The 350/2’s where fitted with Shimano Speedmaster and the 400/2’S with Shimano 20/40’s. For big swimbaits or shark slides we would change the 20/40 to Daiwa SL450SH Sealine reel for more line capacity. Line was always .55 mainline with .8mm leader. Years later we would start with braid backing and .55 top shot to get more line capacity as we were spooled a few times on the 20/40’s.
This was all good enough for edibles to sharks and big skates/rays. Where we fished made no difference Kosi bay, Cape Vidal, St Lucia, Mapelane, South Coast, Hentiesbaai….. It made no difference we caught fish.
The light sticks where used to catch shad and other live bait such as Moonies (three spot pompanos). One was a 9ft fiberglass 10 weight fly rod with a small grinder, I still have this rod. So much fun catching shad on that.
The 350/2 where excellent for smaller baits for edibles. Six ounce sinker and you are set. The 400/2 where used for larger throw baits and sliding bigger baits or livies. Six to Eight ounce grapnel and you were good to go. The 350/2 with the Speedmaster was also excellent (although hard work) with a 5-6 ounce) chisel nose plugs for kingies. White wooden ones and Aubrey da Gamas was all we used. We also had a couple of heavier spoons but that was it as far as artificial where concerned. Plugs and spoons nothing more(I lie, a few Yazuris for moonies in the surf..)
The 350/2 was perfectly balanced outfit for my wife. I remember her catching a big sandy of the ledge north of Vidal bay and the rod had no issue handling the fish. I had to hold onto her from the back while she was fighting the fish but the rod handled it no problem.
Our normal modus operandi was up and out of camp at 04h00, straight to the bay to catch our shad for live bait. Most of the times just using a spoon. Toby or a twisty would do most days. (Out of season we would use 3 spot pompano, bonefish (nr. 1 if you could get them), black tail, snapper salmon etc.). Get them into the live bait buckets with pumps running. We would then set of looking for the right spot to slide.
Having found this we would slide out the livies. Depending on conditions we would also slide big baits if needed. The rod would be in a special made long pension pipe to keep the line as high as possible out the surf. Drag adjusted and clicker on, wait for the pick-up. Our targets then where mainly KINGFISH, COUTA and KOB.
Sharks always picked up our baits so we caught them too. Blacktips, hammerheads, Zambies, Raggies, Duskies where all caught. Flatfish we also caught Honeycombs (some huge ones), Diamonds, Greater sand sharks etc.
We would then cast out the 350/2 normally with a prawn/chokka combo bait or Sealice or sard/chokka combo. Onto the sand bank they went. Either in the pension pipe or in hand. On these we caught everything Southern Pompano, Blacktip Kingfish, Bluefin Kingfish, Natal Stump nose, Mata Hari, Snapper salmon (Zululand trout!), Kob, Smaller skates and rays (Blue, brown, electric).
We kept what we wanted to eat and the rest went back for another day.
Back to the original question: Are we over doing it now a days with the new technologies? Does the average fisherman need all the fancy stuff?
Yes, we should keep ahead of the times and technologies but are we catching more fish now with all this fancy kit than before? AND THE PRICES!!! SCARY STUFF!
All the kit mentioned (Rods and reels) are still available today. Should we look at going back to basics or is it just me getting old? We use to have so much fun at a very affordable price I might add.
I am not suggesting we move back to cane rods and wooden reels(although this year I want to catch a shark on a Wooden KP deluxe), but I think we are over doing it, me in any case.
I miss the old days, a lot. Things are not the same.
I now have so much kit I get bogged down and I don’t know what to use anymore. It also becomes a pain in the arse rigging everything up and in the end not needing or using half the stuff. Is it really necessary and worth it or should we just stick or return to basics and enjoy fishing?
I can clearly remember the time when our sea fishing equipment consisted of much less and basic equipment but we caught fish. It was also affordable.
Given we could drive on the beach and we had a nice beach buggy which was rigged for fishing. Rod carrier on roll bar, live bait bucket with pump on the bulbar, and space for the fish box and bait board also in front.
My wife is also a keen fisher girl. Our kit basically consisted of the following. Waft 350/2 on Purglas blanks, 400/2 on Purglas blanks (My wife bought mine for me as a wedding present). Both had nice cork composite (cork and rubber mix) handles. Two small light Shad sticks with grinders. The 350/2’s where fitted with Shimano Speedmaster and the 400/2’S with Shimano 20/40’s. For big swimbaits or shark slides we would change the 20/40 to Daiwa SL450SH Sealine reel for more line capacity. Line was always .55 mainline with .8mm leader. Years later we would start with braid backing and .55 top shot to get more line capacity as we were spooled a few times on the 20/40’s.
This was all good enough for edibles to sharks and big skates/rays. Where we fished made no difference Kosi bay, Cape Vidal, St Lucia, Mapelane, South Coast, Hentiesbaai….. It made no difference we caught fish.
The light sticks where used to catch shad and other live bait such as Moonies (three spot pompanos). One was a 9ft fiberglass 10 weight fly rod with a small grinder, I still have this rod. So much fun catching shad on that.
The 350/2 where excellent for smaller baits for edibles. Six ounce sinker and you are set. The 400/2 where used for larger throw baits and sliding bigger baits or livies. Six to Eight ounce grapnel and you were good to go. The 350/2 with the Speedmaster was also excellent (although hard work) with a 5-6 ounce) chisel nose plugs for kingies. White wooden ones and Aubrey da Gamas was all we used. We also had a couple of heavier spoons but that was it as far as artificial where concerned. Plugs and spoons nothing more(I lie, a few Yazuris for moonies in the surf..)
The 350/2 was perfectly balanced outfit for my wife. I remember her catching a big sandy of the ledge north of Vidal bay and the rod had no issue handling the fish. I had to hold onto her from the back while she was fighting the fish but the rod handled it no problem.
Our normal modus operandi was up and out of camp at 04h00, straight to the bay to catch our shad for live bait. Most of the times just using a spoon. Toby or a twisty would do most days. (Out of season we would use 3 spot pompano, bonefish (nr. 1 if you could get them), black tail, snapper salmon etc.). Get them into the live bait buckets with pumps running. We would then set of looking for the right spot to slide.
Having found this we would slide out the livies. Depending on conditions we would also slide big baits if needed. The rod would be in a special made long pension pipe to keep the line as high as possible out the surf. Drag adjusted and clicker on, wait for the pick-up. Our targets then where mainly KINGFISH, COUTA and KOB.
Sharks always picked up our baits so we caught them too. Blacktips, hammerheads, Zambies, Raggies, Duskies where all caught. Flatfish we also caught Honeycombs (some huge ones), Diamonds, Greater sand sharks etc.
We would then cast out the 350/2 normally with a prawn/chokka combo bait or Sealice or sard/chokka combo. Onto the sand bank they went. Either in the pension pipe or in hand. On these we caught everything Southern Pompano, Blacktip Kingfish, Bluefin Kingfish, Natal Stump nose, Mata Hari, Snapper salmon (Zululand trout!), Kob, Smaller skates and rays (Blue, brown, electric).
We kept what we wanted to eat and the rest went back for another day.
Back to the original question: Are we over doing it now a days with the new technologies? Does the average fisherman need all the fancy stuff?
Yes, we should keep ahead of the times and technologies but are we catching more fish now with all this fancy kit than before? AND THE PRICES!!! SCARY STUFF!
All the kit mentioned (Rods and reels) are still available today. Should we look at going back to basics or is it just me getting old? We use to have so much fun at a very affordable price I might add.
I am not suggesting we move back to cane rods and wooden reels(although this year I want to catch a shark on a Wooden KP deluxe), but I think we are over doing it, me in any case.
I miss the old days, a lot. Things are not the same.
..With anything , the world advances , the people who make things want to make better things and amke more money and there will always be people who will by these newer things and they do work...BUT here is the dilemma , todays fishermen want that one kwik FIX that will land him that beaut of a fish AND what alot of fisherman DO NOT realise that some times that beaut fish is right on his doorstep...BUT to get that fish he thinks he needs the VERY latest in kit.....and then again sometimes the said fisherman needs to get off his ass and actually go walk looking for the fish and yet again many places along our coast has not become safe anymore and now said fisherman wiles his time by purchasing multitudes of kit and ends up becoming a collector and not fishing anymore....