I don't know about you but I catch all my fish on either fly or bait gear! You must use a net or buy them at the market!
greyghost,
I meant that as in gear doesn't catch fish, the fisherman does. It doesn't really matter what gear you use if you do your homework.
I hear a lot about how you have to buy the most expensive gear the money can buy and we have been trained like sheep by the media and marketers.
We have all become branded.
While in fact if you practise on the cheap gear and hone in your skills you will be much better when you get the good gear.
If you practise jumping with weights on your legs and can jump 4 feet high, when you take the weights off you will be able to jump 5 feet high.
Expensive gear will have better warranty, I'll give them that.
Many of these high end gear companies actually have draconian rules for their suppliers to maintain exclusivity.
I will pay top dollar for a Cpin reel for example that is hand made because I know what has gone into it.
But I don't think I would pay $800 for a rod because I know that the materials are probably just as cheap as the mid range rods and the markup is astronomical.
Novelty sells so if someone has discovered a new material to make a rod and is marking it up high just because nobody else knows it, I won't buy into it.