This subject occured to me when I was hanging out at Sportco the other day. As we all know, fishing is an expensive sport, and I have no qualms about paying out what's necessary. But what about those that maybe don't want to spend so much, but still pick up quality gear? As we all know, there's a lot of crap out there, both cheap and not so cheap. What gear have you come across that might help those who are buying for someone else that may not get into the sport big time, or just buying stuff when you're tightening your belt? Here's my pick:

Okuma Conniseur 8'6" MH spinning/baitcasting rod. Great rod for light saltwater and salmon. Can sling up to 4 ounces of lead, take line from 15-25 pounds, and is sensative enough to feel very light taps on the line. Cost: $26 at Sportco, about $40 retail. I've had one for a year, and I can say I've spent a lot more on rods that weren't nearly as good.

I just bought a new downrigger rod at Sportco this afternoon. An Okuma for $20. All my downrigger rods are Okuma's. As a matter of fact, all my spinning rods and reels are Okuma's too. You just can't beat them for the buck.

Boy do i wish kunan's were still around, thoses are my downrigger rods, and my brother inlaw is giveing me a brand new one he's had stached away in is closet for years, good rods for the money.

I bought a couple Fin-Nor rod/reel combos at sportco for $59.95 ea. For chum fishing last October.The rod is 8'6" Power lite IM-6 graphite composite med/lite action and the reel looks alot like the Okuma.The reel has 8 ball bearings.I have been amazed at the quality of this inexpensive set-up.I caught chums up to 20lb on it without any problems the drag is really nice.I have went boondogging with a freind out of his sled using his gear Okuma reels on custom Rain Shadow rods.And I would say the reels are about equal in quality with maybe this fin-nor being a little smoother.And the rods were pretty close too his rain shadows being slightly more sensitive but the fin-nor casting better.I even tried drift fishing the fin-nor and it worked great for that to.Now I have caught myself leaving my $250 steelhead set-up at home and have been using the cheapie.

"Cheap" rods used to mean big, heavy, Eagle Claw yellow glass rods from the drug store for 20$. "Cheap" now seems to mean anything thats not Loomis!

Tackle has come a long way since the old days. You can walk into any major sporting goods outlet (or check a catalog) and get an entirely serviceable rod for under 50$ for sure and some under 40$. These are graphite, or comp., IM6, etc. Some of them rival the "big names" in quality. They are far better tools for angling than most any rod available 20 years ago. Competition has brought more more choices and more reasonable prices. And I see it getting better all the time.

Hey, its great to have the lightest, most responsive rod around; but it certainly is not needed to catch fish. Most "cheap" rods are sensitive enough to tell you when a fish takes, and you certainly should be able to find one light enough to use all day (or you need some serious work on the wrist muscles!). Isn't using a 350$ rod kind of like shooting a deer with a gold-plated bullet?

Best all-around deal I've seen lately:

Shakespeare (NOT a mis-print!) Catera spinning reel. 5 ball-bearing smooth, tight lock-up, great smooth drag system, smmooth balanced retrieve, around 30$. Best spinning reel for the money I've ever seen.

Fishing does not have to be as expensive as the tackle industry would have you believe. A true story about one of the best steelheaders II ever saw. Old, retired and widowed he lived near enough to the Puyallup river to walk to it and he fished it everyday it was open or fishable. He had to save all year to afford a fishing liscence each year. He mooched line, his gear was handed down and decrepit, his hooks were from gear he snagged. And incredibly, the lures he used were buttons of all colors, shapes and sizes that his wife had collected over many years as a seamstress. He threaded his leader through two eyes of a button and maybe added some yarn when he had some (his wife did not knit). On a river that many people passed over for greener pastures, I would watch him consistently catch and release 2 or three fish when the rest of us went fishless. And he was not a catch and release fisherman; this was only after he had filled his punchcard (which during the 70's I believe was 16 fish). He kept the fish to eat and share, but he fished because he had nothing to do and nowhere to go. He couldn't even afford waders and would periodically get wet when chasing a large fish down river. But he never let the almighty dollar stop him from fishing and catching a buck or two out of the Pew.

Thinking of him reminds me of the fun we use to have fishing for cod with only a 50 cent hand line rig we would buy at the local drugstore. I guess good fishing is more about good times than good gear sometimes.

Now there is something that really fris me, hand lineing for cod. That was really great, only one of my kids got to do that before they completely netted them out. And talk about great tasting.