I usually only fish with soft baits from a kayak.

I'm using two berkely drop shot rods - they are quite tough and super light weight. One actually fell overboard last year near a boat ramp.
4 days later I found it again on low tide. Was already overgrown with little shells and stuff. Cleaned it and it's still working as new ;-)

As reels I use cheap Shimano fx 4000 reels. They are only $50 and I just replace them every couple of years, if they get stuck or something. They get sprayed with a lot of salt water on my kayak and get completely dunked every now and then. And they still work like a charm.
I even caught a few big king fish on them and they managed to stop them.
But probably only because I was drifting on a kayak and I couldn't put full pressure on them.

I tried an abu garcia T-2500 reel once and that only lasted a few months.
So I'm not buying those anymore. Think the shimano fx 4000 is way tougher.

So far I haven't seen any need to spend hundreds of dollars on expensive reels, if the cheap shimanos do the same job and last forever.


I like those Alvey reels. Super simple and tough construction. I don't have one, but would definitely get one if I wanted to do more surf casting or perhaps boat and bait fishing.

I am fortunate that through my job that I get free rods and reels that would otherwise be discarded.

In my job I'll pick bulky waste at the home of customers and sometimes, you find some funny stuff.

Last week I was and picked it all in a fishing store that would close down after 50 years!

It was Christmas eve for me! :woohoo:

I agree, Mark. 100% agree...

There is no "need" to spend big dollars...but there is "want" :)

For beginners through to pros, most of the lower end stuff is all they need... I have just looked through my gear and the most expensive reel I have is the 4500B which when I got it had a RRP of close to $300. I paid $40... It was a combo rod/reel and the rod was broken..So I haggled and got the lot for $40. Of course that does not happen every day...

The smallest of the Shimano reels is the 2000. I have two of them... You should look at them for your kayak ! The model I have is IX2000R. I got one years ago for catching live bait then found the second one again as a combo with a broken rod. Brilliant reel...That is all I can say BRILLIANT...No bearings to stuff up, it's all brass bushes. One hand, thumb open bailarm for one handed casting, rear drug with a large knob for small young hands or older sore hands...Price new? about $25.

The most expensive reel that I actually paid retail price for is an Alvey. Model 6000BCVRR V series Turbocast model with 2 speed retrieve and drag. Price was close to $150.

I'm a fishing gear junkie. I've been collecting rods and reels for years - different ones for different kinds of fishing and different species. These rods, paired with reels, were stored all over my garage.

This summer, I decided to do some organizing, and built an overhead rod-rack. Started out pretty simple and it held 12 rods. Then I started counting what I had left and added a second level to the rack that held 14 more. That left me with only 3 misc rods without a home (these three are waiting for me to find bargains on reels for them) - I just put them on top of the top level of the rod rack. So all-told, I have 29 rods hanging in my garage. I don't hang the two I bought for my grandsons, so full count is 31.

Why so many? Well here goes.
I have downrigger and diver rods for great lakes salmon and trout fishing, UL combos for panfish, some specialty combos for walleye fishing, catfish gear, surf gear, Pier gear, bass combos (baitcaster and spinning), a fly rod for stream trout fishing, and a couple general purpose spinning combos. My wife and son each have a spinning combo in the mix too.

Lots of Ugly Stick rods, some Eagle Claw and Heartland in the mix. Reels range from Bass Pro brand to Diawa and Shimano, and a couple Pfleugers in the mix because I found them at garage sales for under $5.

I'm thinking of getting into ice fishing - which means I'll need to get a couple of those little ice jigging rods into my collection. not sure where I'd put those. They're too short for the rod rack.

Everyone tells me I have too many rods, but I' can think of at least a dozen more species or tactic specific ones I'd like to get. :)

As to the question of high end vs less expensive stuff - all of mine is on the low end of the mid-grade gear, and it all works and has for a long time. You won't find a reel that has a retail price over $40, except for the ones I found at garage sales. Speaking of garage sales... those, and estate auctions are the best way to build a collection of decent fishing gear. That's how I got a lot of mine 😊 There are no StCroix rods in my collection. I'm a recreational fisherman, and there simply is no way I can justify to myself spending that kind of money on a rod. Ugly Stick is my favorite, with models for most every kind of fishing you can think of. They're good quality rods. Reels, I go for value. Decent quality and bargain prices. Bass Pro brand reels are on a lot of my rods and they work great. As long as you maintain them properly, a mid-grade reel will perform well for years. If it does eventually wear out, you can replace it several times before racking up the $300 you would pay for a high-end reel.