# What fishing reel would you give to a serious fisherman on christmas?



## marv1234 (Nov 10, 2014)

What fishing reel or fishing related item would you give to a serious fisherman on christmas?

This is going to be my gift to my dad or brother.

Offshore Angler Ocean Master Round Casting Reel 

http://www.basspro.com/Offshore-Angler-Ocean-Master-Round-Casting-Reel/product/1409180856463/


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## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

If it's for a "Serious Fisherman", it's usually best to give a gift certificate, gift card, or cash and let them choose their own gear !


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## Mastrbaitr (May 7, 2014)

im with Dave on this one.


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## surffshr (Dec 8, 2003)

What's it to be used for?


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## Benji (Nov 19, 2014)

What Dave said


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## levellinebrad (May 27, 2015)

An Akios 656scm. I'll send you my address so you can ship it!


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## markedwards (Jan 29, 2001)

I'm with dave too.


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## Fish'n Phil (Nov 11, 2002)

Fishing related item: Cabelas fishing backpack. On sale for $56.

Fishing reel: Shimano Stradic.


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## Mastrbaitr (May 7, 2014)

Fish'n Phil said:


> Fishing related item: Cabelas fishing backpack. On sale for $56.
> 
> Fishing reel: Shimano Stradic.


Why? Any particular reason for these specific items?


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## gshivar (Aug 29, 2006)

Dave x 10


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## cooper138 (Aug 8, 2012)

Yeah gonna go with Dave as well


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## IPNURWATER (Aug 20, 2013)

If you buy them something make sure whatever store you get it from is near them to return it or Exchange it so they aren't completly screwed if they don't like it . plus get a gift receipt for exchange.. Etc otherwise what Dave said.


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## Got Fish? (Dec 31, 2014)

I agree with IPNURWATER and Dave


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## flathead (Dec 18, 2003)

It took me the better part of 20+ Christmases to convince all of my relatives to give me gift cards or cash. Every year I see folks give presents that are neither wanted, needed, or the wrong size.............only to be taken back for exchange...........during which the aggravation ruins the season.

Gift cards are the gift that can't go wrong.


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## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

flathead said:


> Gift cards are the gift that can't go wrong.


Absolutely . . . When you give a fisherman a Bass Pro Shops / Cabela's / etc. card, the "wheels start turning" and a huge grin is sure to follow !

Merry Christmas & Tight Lines !


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## kurazy kracka (Oct 14, 2008)

penn torque 5


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## Peixaria (Dec 31, 2008)

Dave is down on this one. High end fishing gear is like high end training gear [sneakers come to mind] for competitive athletes. Nobody can pick it for you. Its what works best.


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## Oldmulletbreath (Jan 7, 2006)

Get them a Gift cert to their favorite tackle shop .... WHERE THEY FISH, why do you people think Bass Pro, Cabela's and so forth are such great places???? Support the places you fish not the big box stores


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## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

Oldmulletbreath said:


> Get them a Gift cert to their favorite tackle shop .... WHERE THEY FISH, why do you people think Bass Pro, Cabela's and so forth are such great places???? Support the places you fish not the big box stores


Why Bass Pro / Cabela's, etc ??? . . . Selection, Large quantity in stock, lower prices and an excellent return policy are the main reasons I can think of. With the economy the way it is, most people seek the best "bang for the buck". For me, local tackle stores are great places for buying bait, if needed, hanging out / shooting the breeze, getting local information and reports, etc. For major purchases, I shop value for my money !


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## marv1234 (Nov 10, 2014)

Bass pro is nice because it has a large selection. I've been to cabela's its not bad either. Way back in Alaska Sportsman Warehouse was the best it had everything even 5 lb sinkers. Local tackle are sometimes more expensive if they don't have enough customers. Ocean's East however is an exception they had a lot of traffic so lower prices and good selection. I miss it already. :fishing:


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## IPNURWATER (Aug 20, 2013)

Oldmulletbreath said:


> Get them a Gift cert to their favorite tackle shop .... WHERE THEY FISH, why do you people think Bass Pro, Cabela's and so forth are such great places???? Support the places you fish not the big box stores


The biggest reason of all ...



Big box stores offer an extended warranty on most gear but tackle . those small tackle shops don't .I'm like most people like to protect there investment .. Just about all these warranty will let you bring the product back after using it and abusing it Or breaking it months down the road .then I get to choose something different so it's could be consider a upgrade . those little tackle Shops don't do this ..


learn the hard way . use your manufacture warranty or getting your stuff serviced through the manufacture which everyone gonna have to do is gonna cost you. Shipping plus service fee plus down time .equally over 20-30 bucks easily or more On a cheap reel . extended in house warranty from box store is way less then that and when my stuff needs a cleaning, replacement, Or to be serviced I just use the extended warranty In house ..so I have no down time ,It's cheaper , plus I normally get the Newer version or just a new product. Rather then my old best up products just freshen up .. 

What would you rather have spend more money on a old beat up gear that might cost you more too repair And wait week's or service or replace it with a new one the same day..


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## River (Sep 30, 2006)

Wow, IPNURWATER .... So when it needs cleaning or gets dunked, you take it back and get a new one or upgrade. ..... And Dave you ask the guy at the local tackle shop, usually a serious fisherman to dump his brains out so you'll buy a few bucks worth of bait. ..... Shame on y'all,,, but I guess that's getting to be the American way. I worked in a local tackle shop for several years ..... and if I ever work at one again and know who you are ..... You'll get sent to the S---hole . I'm pretty strapped for money but proud to say ... I buy all my fishing and hunting eguip from local private owned shops..... Their info is priceless when you need it ..... River


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## 1BadF350 (Jul 19, 2006)

I suppose if i lived near a local tackle store i would shop there frequently. Unfortunately for most of us we don't. So my options are Dicks, Bass Pro, Wal Mart. 
I get geared up before i drive 300 miles to OBX. 
There are certain things the box stores don't carry, like 3 sided 8's, 10's, pier gaffs, pin rig anchors, quality live bait hooks, bait, etc, which i have purchased from TWs or Whalebone tackle. 
Of course theres usually the "local" or "employee" discount that applies at the mom and pop stores. 
River i doubt you've paid retail price on a lot of your local purchases, not that theres anything wrong with that.


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## River (Sep 30, 2006)

1BadF350... I do understand being a tackle ho and having no where to go but the big box stores, I have all the stores you mentioned plus Gander Mountain within driving distance and I do love to drag my old nose down the counters and I do stand and stare at certain things for long periods of time .... Especially on rainy days ..... And I do occasionally break down and buy something but would never take it back unless it broke prematurely before I wore it out ......but I still buy my hunting stuff from Hateful Fred at the Gun store and fishing stuff from know it all Randy at the tackle shop a few mile away because they will never steer me wrong ...I have bought plenty of things from TW's and every tackle shop all the way to last one before the ferry docks on highway 12 without any kind of discount but I did get a discount during the time I worked at Teaches Lair ..... By the way, TW's has one smack awesome Black Friday sale .... Drove there several times from Frisco because of the good prices ..... Don't believe their reel prices can be beat that time of year .... River


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## 1BadF350 (Jul 19, 2006)

Yeah i wanted to ride down last weekend but my staff were mostly off friday so i ended up working. Plus Saturday was opening day of deer gun season in Md so i didnt want to miss that.


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## greg12345 (Jan 8, 2007)

love tw's when i am down there...all time favorite though is green top in richmond, best of both worlds - prices better than basspro/cabelas with gear obviously selected by locals who know whats worth buying


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## IPNURWATER (Aug 20, 2013)

River said:


> Wow, IPNURWATER .... So when it needs cleaning or gets dunked, you take it back and get a new one or upgrade.
> 
> 
> River Are you saying you wouldn't take it back if you paid for that service or was given it?
> ...


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## HuskyMD (May 19, 2000)

I would prefer to shop at a small tackle shop with people who were knowledgeable about what was going on locally and what gear/tackle is going to be more effective locally. However, there is no such place here. There is one small shop in town. They don't know their arse from their head. I drive almost an hour to go to Greentop and if they don't have what I want I go to BassPro. That said, if someone at a local shop had an attitude like River, I would not go there. Period.


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## greg12345 (Jan 8, 2007)

greentop is more than an hour for me but make that drive all the time...i'll be honest, glad there is a ll bean and cabelas (soon) there too

i'm an equal opportunity spender...


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## River (Sep 30, 2006)

Breaking a part is what the warrantys for .... Not use and abuse, got so tired of people coming in with their reels full of sand wanting their money back or a new one ..... Abuse .... No way the mom and pop shops can handle that.... So some people do need to continue shopping at the big box stóres if this is how they operate .... I no longer work at a tackle shop, so you can continue to use em for bait and info .. River


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

May not be fishing related but I purchased a Lenovo E431 business class Laptop back in Jan 2013 due to recommendations from the on-line computer expert crowd. (Could be fishing related if I was trying to type a fishing story on the E431 however)

I have E431 for work, but mostly it sits at home as I prefer a desktop at work. It is still shiny and appears to be new as it was used very seldom. Sexy fast, has thousands of dollars of software installed on it at the moment.

It will not start up as of three days ago and have been working on it for two days at my office at the expense of working on something else like making money.

Lenovo Support (which bought 100% IBM's Laptop/desktop business in 2005) will not speak with me about helping me cause my warranty expired earlier this year. No warranty....No Talkie....

Lenovo Support told me the only thing they can do is transfer me to get the extended warranty, but until then they cannot talk to me about anything. (i.e. there is no support)

New extended warranty costs $158 for one year, however the Lenovo contact selling warranties could not guarantee that any problem with my Lenovo Laptop not starting up would not cost extra or if it was covered at all. (I think Lenovo warranty contact was only qualified to take my Visa16 digit number and expiration date)

I let Lenovo know that I was going back to Dell and for them to have a Merry Christmas.

After reading Lenovo support forums, it turns out Lenovo knew they had a startup problem with the Edge (E Class) and hundreds of folks have experienced the exact same problem as me.

Lenovo no longer supports the E431 model, (2 years old and with known defects, makes no sense to support the model) 

I will likely have to ship it to WDbrand in the very near future for some of his Mountain Man diagnostic work to see if it can be revived.

Typed in on a Dell Desktop

I am pretty sure River no longer works selling tackle, I am also pretty sure he never complained about anyone posting directions/diagrams/information on his fishing rigs either, so why complain

I do not even think River complained when folks used his store-bought rig and had the hook straightened out by a 41" Drum at the Point, Lenovo would have stated "Misuse of product (i.e. too large a fish) which voids the warranty of course


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## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

River said:


> And Dave you ask the guy at the local tackle shop, usually a serious fisherman to dump his brains out so you'll buy a few bucks worth of bait. ..... Shame on y'all,,, but I guess that's getting to be the American way. I worked in a local tackle shop for several years ..... and if I ever work at one again and know who you are ..... You'll get sent to the S---hole ..... River


River,

Attitudes like yours give a lot of small shops "bad reputations" . . . Without people coming in and just buying Bait, or a few small items they forgot or ran out of, those shops would have even less money coming in. 

Rest assured, if I found out that a shop "intentionally misled" me, I would be "blasting them", far & wide, to every one I talked to and on every forum I was on. "Customer Service" is EVERYTHING, especially in a small business !


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

ez2cdave said:


> River,
> 
> Attitudes like yours give a lot of small shops "bad reputations" . . . Without people coming in and just buying Bait, or a few small items they forgot or ran out of, those shops would have even less money coming in.
> 
> Rest assured, if I found out that a shop "intentionally misled" me, I would be "blasting them", far & wide, to every one I talked to and on every forum I was on. "Customer Service" is EVERYTHING, especially in a small business !


I am pretty sure all the OBX shops are misleading you Dave, they are crafty self-serving locals and do not have to go thru random drug testing like Cabelas or Bass Pro Shops... and for $3.00 in finger mullet you deserve better....


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## bronzbck1 (Jun 13, 2007)

You got that right Garbo look what happened when Rodanthe pier gave a report and he couldn't catch the last tide or yesterdays fish.
They make millions on $3 worth of bait.


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## don brinson (Apr 8, 2011)

Good for you River, and also for you Garbo. We have to support the small businesses. Not only do they carry good products, but have valuable information on their products. I do shop the big box stores but try really hard not to when possible. Now for my answer to the topic, 
Akios is a great reel.


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## bronzbck1 (Jun 13, 2007)

For the money you can't beat an Akios the best reel out there out of the box there is. I own 6, I have 12 abu's and never see me using them again, 7 penns, and a Daiwa millionaire collecting dust.


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## surffshr (Dec 8, 2003)

bronzbck1 said:


> For the money you can't beat an Akios the best reel out there out of the box there is. I own 6, I have 12 abu's and never see me using them again, 7 penns, and a Daiwa millionaire collecting dust.


Now here's a man with his priorities straight:fishing:


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## greg12345 (Jan 8, 2007)

garbo and bronzbck u guys are cracking me up. 

fwiw river has done more to help people catch fish than prob anyone else on this board....


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## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

Garboman said:


> I am pretty sure all the OBX shops are misleading you Dave, they are crafty self-serving locals and do not have to go thru random drug testing like Cabelas or Bass Pro Shops... and for $3.00 in finger mullet you deserve better....


No, actually, I've only had good experiences in OBX tackle shops, so far . . . Now, down in South Florida, that's a totally different story !


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## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

bronzbck1 said:


> For the money you can't beat an Akios the best reel out there out of the box there is. I own 6, I have 12 abu's and never see me using them again, 7 penns, and a Daiwa millionaire collecting dust.


Dude, you should post some pics of your gear . . . You already know I'm a "tackle ho" . . . LOL !!!


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## marv1234 (Nov 10, 2014)

Speaking of this topic I have a bunch of lures I never use and I guess it will make a great gift for my brother lol.


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