I have $400 to spend? 2024
Bassmaster3616 reply :
Okay first of all sorry if this is the wrong category but I thought this would be the best. Okay so now my question. I recently sold my xbox 360 and Xbox one+games and got about $400. Keep in mind that I sold it specifically for tackle. So I was looking for a really smooth spinning setup (looking to spend $150-$200) and the rest in tackle. Any suggestions on some tackle? I'm also fishing in stained and clear ponds.
Darren. reply :
On 7/5/2016 at 9:40 AM, Bassmaster3616 said:Okay first of all sorry if this is the wrong category but I thought this would be the best. Okay so now my question. I recently sold my xbox 360 and Xbox one+games and got about $400. Keep in mind that I sold it specifically for tackle. So I was looking for a really smooth spinning setup (looking to spend $150-$200) and the rest in tackle. Any suggestions on some tackle? I'm also fishing in stained and clear ponds.
Well, for spinning gear, I like Shimano reels,
and St. Croix or Bass Pro Carbonlite rods.
There are plenty of great spinning reels on
the market including Daiwa, Okuma, Pflueger,
and others. Just get your hands on them in
a store and determine what feels best in your
hands. We all have differences and what I
like may not be what you like....
As far as tackle...for me, it'd be mostly wacky
hooks, wacky jigs, Senkos, Shad Shapedworms,
and a bevy of drop shot, TX bullet weights and
so on. I'm a soft plastics fisherman first, hard
lures a distant second.
Philo Beddoe reply :
On 7/5/2016 at 10:09 AM, Darren. said:As far as tackle...for me, it'd be mostly wacky
hooks, wacky jigs, Senkos, Shad Shapedworms,
and a bevy of drop shot, TX bullet weights and
so on. I'm a soft plastics fisherman first, hard
lures a distant second.
I'd add ned rig supplies as well so you'd could at least get some numbers.
OK Bass Hunter reply :
Spend it all on the spinning setup and get your tackle one quality piece at a time.
Gundog reply :
Just give that $400 to me and I'll send you some tackle and a very special fishing reel called a "Zebco 202". Its super rare, not many people have them. 
Now seriously, if you are fishing clear ponds light tackle is the way to go. Don't spook the little fishies. Go with down-sized versions of regular baits. Instead of big 10 inch worms, use 4 inch worms. You probably won't need heavy weights so stick with 3/8 ounce or less bullet weights. Senkos, craws, small swimbaits and one lure I honest would never leave home without, a single-tailed grub. Pair that grub up with a 1/4 ounce lead head jig and you have a very simple but deadly combo.
Rick Howard reply :
I really like my fenwick eagle and pflueger president. That would leave you some spare cash for the expendables.
that_ryan_kid_7 reply :
get a veritas for $80 on amazon and a Pfluger president
ww2farmer reply :
Bass fisherman can light $400 on fire faster than an arsonist at a bank...............
With a $400 budget, you can get everything you need to fish a pond effectively provided you spend it wisely.
I disagree with the people who say spend half of it on a rod and or reel. You can get good quality spinning gear that won't break the bank, be good enough to catch fish with for years to come, and never need to be upgraded unless you want/desire more high end equipment. I also would expand into casting gear............you WILL need it.
If I was starting from scratch, and had $400 to spend.........here is how I would do it:
A pair of Berkley Lightning Rod Shocks @ $40 each from Walmart............one 7' M spinning, one 7' MH casting for a total of approx. $80
A Pflueger Trion TR30 size spinning reel for $40, and an Abu Garcia Black Max casting reel for $50..were up to $170 and you have two decent quality all purpose bass fishing rigs.
$230 left to go............A spool of 50lb Power Pro braid for the casting rig for $15, and a spool of 10lb Power Pro braid for the spinning set up. Add a couple spools of cheap, but good quality Fluorocarbon for leader material , say 10lb for the spinning, and 15lb for the casting...also at about $15 per spool and were up to $230
The rest of the $170 that's left on baits and terminal tackle:
5 bags of Yum 5" yum dingers in the basic colors like Green Pumpkin and Black/Blue...$15
3 bags of 4" finesse worms in basic colors $15
3 bags of 7" Berkley Power worms in basic colors $15
5 bags of Berkley Havoc 4" Pit Boss's also in the same basic colors.....$15
A pack of VMC EWG hooks for the finesse worms...........$4
2 packs of VMC 3/0 EWG hooks for the dingers/worms..........$8
2 packs of VMC 4/0 "super line hooks" for the pit bosses............$8
4 packs of tungsten sinkers one 1/8th, one 1/4, one 3/8, and one 1/2 oz..................$20
A pack of 1/16th oz wacky jigs..........$4
A pack of 1/8th oz shaky heads........$4
Four 1/2 oz flipping jigs (2 brown, 2 black) $15..(use the pit bosses as trailers)
Three SK KVD 1.5 squarebill crankbaits.......one chart/black, one chart.sex shad. one bluegill,$18
Two Booyah Pad Crasher Frogs...one black, one white...........$13
Two 3/8's oz. chatterbaits..........one white, one black................$13
That's a good start to pond and bank fishing 101
and you'll have a few bucks of the $400 left over to play with.
2 packs of
Holden.C reply :
QuoteOn 7/5/2016 at 11:51 AM, ww2farmer said:Bass fisherman can light $400 on fire faster than an arsonist at a bank...............
With a $400 budget, you can get everything you need to fish a pond effectively provided you spend it wisely.
I disagree with the people who say spend half of it on a rod and or reel. You can get good quality spinning gear that won't break the bank, be good enough to catch fish with for years to come, and never need to be upgraded unless you want/desire more high end equipment. I also would expand into casting gear............you WILL need it.
If I was starting from scratch, and had $400 to spend.........here is how I would do it:
A pair of Berkley Lightning Rod Shocks @ $40 each from Walmart............one 7' M spinning, one 7' MH casting for a total of approx. $80
A Pflueger Trion TR30 size spinning reel for $40, and an Abu Garcia Black Max casting reel for $50..were up to $170 and you have two decent quality all purpose bass fishing rigs.
$230 left to go............A spool of 50lb Power Pro braid for the casting rig for $15, and a spool of 10lb Power Pro braid for the spinning set up. Add a couple spools of cheap, but good quality Fluorocarbon for leader material , say 10lb for the spinning, and 15lb for the casting...also at about $15 per spool and were up to $230
The rest of the $170 that's left on baits and terminal tackle:
5 bags of Yum 5" yum dingers in the basic colors like Green Pumpkin and Black/Blue...$15
3 bags of 4" finesse worms in basic colors $15
3 bags of 7" Berkley Power worms in basic colors $15
5 bags of Berkley Havoc 4" Pit Boss's also in the same basic colors.....$15
A pack of VMC EWG hooks for the finesse worms...........$4
2 packs of VMC 3/0 EWG hooks for the dingers/worms..........$8
2 packs of VMC 4/0 "super line hooks" for the pit bosses............$8
4 packs of tungsten sinkers one 1/8th, one 1/4, one 3/8, and one 1/2 oz..................$20
A pack of 1/16th oz wacky jigs..........$4
A pack of 1/8th oz shaky heads........$4
Four 1/2 oz flipping jigs (2 brown, 2 black) $15..(use the pit bosses as trailers)
Three SK KVD 1.5 squarebill crankbaits.......one chart/black, one chart.sex shad. one bluegill,$18
Two Booyah Pad Crasher Frogs...one black, one white...........$13
Two 3/8's oz. chatterbaits..........one white, one black................$13
That's a good start to pond and bank fishing 101
and you'll have a few bucks of the $400 left over to play with.
2 packs of
That was a great read, nice job
burrows reply :
Go all out spending it on a rod and reel only! Great quality reel and great quality rod that's the way to go!
WRB reply :
TW 15 % sale ends 7/05 @ 5 P .
Suggest looking at;
Don Iovino Major Craft spinning rod
Shimano Saros FA or Tratic FK 2500 reel
Sunline Super Sniper 7 lb or 8 lb green line.
Tom
Fishinthefish reply :
Go into this knowing that 400 dollars is your NOW budget. An impatient man will spend double because he will have to buy twice to get it right, and impatience won't catch you any fish. I would personally allocate 250 to 300 for a rod and a reel, so as I aggressively dive into the sport I don'tfeel the need to basically get rid of my old stuff for higher end stuff. Start with the basics, two or three spinnerbaits, one or two top waters, one or two cranks, worms, craws, grubs, flukes and terminal tackle. I also listed in my opinion the soft plastics I'd buy first. But hey what do I know?
Outdoor Zack reply :
On 7/5/2016 at 11:51 AM, ww2farmer said:Bass fisherman can light $400 on fire faster than an arsonist at a bank...............
With a $400 budget, you can get everything you need to fish a pond effectively provided you spend it wisely.
I disagree with the people who say spend half of it on a rod and or reel. You can get good quality spinning gear that won't break the bank, be good enough to catch fish with for years to come, and never need to be upgraded unless you want/desire more high end equipment. I also would expand into casting gear............you WILL need it.
If I was starting from scratch, and had $400 to spend.........here is how I would do it:
A pair of Berkley Lightning Rod Shocks @ $40 each from Walmart............one 7' M spinning, one 7' MH casting for a total of approx. $80
A Pflueger Trion TR30 size spinning reel for $40, and an Abu Garcia Black Max casting reel for $50..were up to $170 and you have two decent quality all purpose bass fishing rigs.
$230 left to go............A spool of 50lb Power Pro braid for the casting rig for $15, and a spool of 10lb Power Pro braid for the spinning set up. Add a couple spools of cheap, but good quality Fluorocarbon for leader material , say 10lb for the spinning, and 15lb for the casting...also at about $15 per spool and were up to $230
The rest of the $170 that's left on baits and terminal tackle:
5 bags of Yum 5" yum dingers in the basic colors like Green Pumpkin and Black/Blue...$15
3 bags of 4" finesse worms in basic colors $15
3 bags of 7" Berkley Power worms in basic colors $15
5 bags of Berkley Havoc 4" Pit Boss's also in the same basic colors.....$15
A pack of VMC EWG hooks for the finesse worms...........$4
2 packs of VMC 3/0 EWG hooks for the dingers/worms..........$8
2 packs of VMC 4/0 "super line hooks" for the pit bosses............$8
4 packs of tungsten sinkers one 1/8th, one 1/4, one 3/8, and one 1/2 oz..................$20
A pack of 1/16th oz wacky jigs..........$4
A pack of 1/8th oz shaky heads........$4
Four 1/2 oz flipping jigs (2 brown, 2 black) $15..(use the pit bosses as trailers)
Three SK KVD 1.5 squarebill crankbaits.......one chart/black, one chart.sex shad. one bluegill,$18
Two Booyah Pad Crasher Frogs...one black, one white...........$13
Two 3/8's oz. chatterbaits..........one white, one black................$13
That's a good start to pond and bank fishing 101
and you'll have a few bucks of the $400 left over to play with.
2 packs of
That about covers it. But instead of pit bosses I would get some brush hogs on sale somewhere for the same price. Or Christie Critters
Evan K reply :
I'm with the "Spend at least $300 on the rod and reel" camp. A high end rod and reel are a joy to use in themselves, whether or not the fish are biting, and will give you pleasure and good service for years and years. Mediocre, or "good enough" $40 Walmart rods and reels will work, yes, but you'll be missing a fun component of fishing: using and enjoying good gear.
For your budget I'd go with a Shimano Stradic FK and a $100 rod by the company we can't name, or a Dobyns Fury or Powell Max 3d. That setup will be fantastic.
Here's the idea; a big chunk of money is hard to accumulate. You happen to be lucky enough to have one right now; use it on something that requires that big chunk of money. You can always save $10 or $15 for some extra baits anytime. $400 takes longer.
bigbill reply :
$400? Spend wisely.
excaliber silver thread copolymers line. (It's the weakest link in your setup)
okuma Expitor spinning reel. ($70)
spinning rod length, strength your call. ($50 to $100)
bomber cranks, red craw, green, green craw, brown craw, Shad.
topwater selection, poppers, spooks, frogs,
weedless, timber doodle, top prop,
inline spinners, mepps Anglia, strike King, Panther Martin, joes fly.
bizzbaits c-rig (senko)
sieberts outdoors, jigs.
buy a little of each bait.
look for clearances, sales, holiday sales.
blckshirt98 reply :
If my placed burned to the ground and I only had $400 to spend on fishing gear to replace it all, I'd start off with (as a 100% shore guy) -
$175 Phenix M1 MXS72M
$30 Shimano Sienna FD (would upgrade this later as funds allowed)
$17 15# PowerPro Braid
$22 10# Sunline FC Sniper (for leader)
The rest would go to whatever tackle I could find on sale, but would start out with some 1.0 and 1.5 Strike King squarebills, and weights/hooks/plastics for dropshotting, since those are two techniques I'm most comfortable with. This will differ based on what/how you like to fish and what you are the most confident in, but don't feel like you need to have to cover everyt technique out there.
Kidflex reply :
Id atleast buy mid quality gear. Dont buy cheap and end up spending more to replace it in the future. Start off with decent gear. If you like the sport then your gear will keep giving you years of service. Look around and be patient, there are deals all the time. Here's a "cheap" combo that not only looks great but also performs great. DAIWA freams 2500 reel (blue, black and silver model) on eBay $110, okuma tcs 6'9" medium plus rod (also blue and black) on jet.com. With 15% off you get the rod for $90 shipped. The rod and reel matches in looks too, which is important when you become an obsessed anal fisherman who has to have all combos match up in looks! Lol. So for 2 bills you get a really nice set up with $200 left for tackle. Get some 15-20lb braid and your set up.
everythingthatswims reply :
A Mother
dsqui reply :
dobyns fury rod, lews spinning reel $200
gander brand 8lb floro $20
senkos(what ever brand u want in the basic colors i personally like the gander brand cause they are cheap)
$5-$8 per pack probably around $25-$30
stanley ribbits $6 $18
some frog hooks ewg hooks and wacky rig hooks ill say roughly $20
this brings your total to roughly $300 give or take some tax
this is just the basics i like to use in my pond this time of year and you still have around $100 to spend on some other lures that may work in your area
Mokujon reply :
Mitchell 300 pro reel with Tackle No 8 rod. The rest is up to you.
scbassin reply :
Save that money until Black Friday
burrows reply :
Keep us posted post pics!!!
GetBent reply :
I would vote pfluger. President on a nice $150 medium spinning rod. Too many brands to choose from. Choose one you like in an action you like but the reel mentioned above is a solid entry level reel. I use sustains when I'm bass fishing but use the pfluger for crappie. Reels never gives me problems and is smooth. Don't cheap out on the line. I would do braid to fluro leader. As far as lures go- get a ned rig setup. I use zman Trd and when I pay off my paypal balance I'm gonna order a bunch more. I thought that thing was overhyped. It doesn't look like much- I actually refused for a while because I thought it was silly. I took a chance and now it gained a spot when I go fishing. I use to leave my spinning reel at home all the time till I used it. Catches bass and crappie for me. I won't mention much else on lures cause I don't know where you're fishing. Ponds I would use small lures to catch numbers. Good luck
Bassmaster3616 reply :
So I have a few rods and reels but they're all anywhere from $50-$80. Well now I just found my sisters fenwick rod and shimano aero 1000 reel. She got it from this man years ago. Long before I was old enough to fish. She was one of the only young gals he knew that fished so he gave her all of his rods and reels and over $400 in tackle. Well I've been using that rod and reel setup and its sooooo smooth!!! I'm looking to spend about 250 for a nice rod and reel since I'm starting to fish almost every day. Any suggestions?
Fish4bigfish reply :
I just got a dobyns Sierra 702 spinning rod and a pflueger president for around that price. The Sierra has not been released yet but it's a sweet rod. I have also fished the Phoenix m1 and it's a nice rod. I am a dobyns fan and can tell you the customer service can't be beat. Great company owned by nice people.
bigbassin' reply :
On 7/6/2016 at 7:56 AM, everythingthatswims said:A Mother
I can't think of a more efficient way to spend it.
fishnkamp reply :
Okay so what are the specs on the Fenwick rod? We know the rod is probably a lite or Medium lite or the reel is too small for it. So how long is the rod and what does it say action and lure weight? This rod might fit into my suggested combos to start. If the reel is too small for the rod a simple change could make a nice combo
If I was starting over here is what i would want in my first two rods and boy this is hard since there are over 15 rods under the deck. With years of fishing and keeping quality and price in mind here are the setups I would look for. I also would by good equipment but be careful where I spent my money.
1. A 6'10 to 7'2 Medium spinning rod. I second the Berkley Lightning shock ( and yes I own 3 between my wife and I). We also own 6 G Loomis spinning rods, but I do not need $300 rods for everything. The Berkley would not be my first choice but it would be a good option. My first choice would be a Powell Inferno 6103MEF for $99. With Powell there are 3 series and the difference is very little between them so you could save a little and get the 610MEF in a Diesel series for $75, or bump up to a rod mentioned earlier the Powell Max3d 712MLEX or 713MEF. All of these are well made and feel great in your hand. In fact several were in my paws today at my local tackle shop. Along with Powell rods I love the Dobyns Fury series rods so a FR702SF or FR703SF are great too, they just cost a little more at $109.
I know you have had all kinds of suggestions for reels. I would buy a workhorse of a reel and that is a Pfueger President for $60, I would fill it with 1/2 of a spool of inexpensive but quality mono then finish it with Power Pro Spectra braid in 20 or 30 pound test. I also like Berkley FireLine Fused (same as original FireLine) in 14 pound test and then i like to use a 3 foot leader made up of 10 pound test P Line CXX which is strong and thin. Since you said you would love a really top notch spinning setup I would consider a step up to a Shimano Symetre 2500 or 3000 and if the Fenwick is usable maybe that is a good option for $99.00. My wife has a 3000 and it is smooth as silk. The Presidents are great and we have fished some for over 10 years, some of our 7 are between 1 and 9 years old and I know my worm rod has one much older than that.
2. My second combo would be a 6'10 to 7'2" MHF baitcasting rod. These are the main weapons on most boat decks. Again A Dobyns FR703C is a terrific rod or a Powell Max3d 723CF. The Inferno series would offer a great rod as well.
Before you spend a dime let us know the specs for the Fenwick maybe the answer is that will work just upgrade the reel and pick up a second combo with different specs to round out the equipment list leaving plenty of budget for other tackle. They sell some really nice tackle bags that hold Plano boxes and keep your tackle neatly organized. Start with one of those and have fun filling it up!
JayKumar reply :
Recommend getting baitcasting gear and learning how to use it. Way better than spinning gear. Either way get a Shimano reel if you can afford it, and Loomis or Kistler rods. Lots of good rods out there, recommend you handle several in person and make your decision from there. Some rods are good but feel way bulkier than others when compared in person. Good luck, and props for selling the gaming stuff!
Evan K reply :
Just learned from the deals thread that Cabela's has the Shimano ci4+ reels for $153. That's a complete steal for an amazing reel. Snap it up, OP!
Stingray23 reply :
Use $300 for your spinning setup and the remaining $100 for tackle.
FordsnFishin reply :
On 7/7/2016 at 2:36 AM, Bassmaster3616 said:So I have a few rods and reels but they're all anywhere from $50-$80. Well now I just found my sisters fenwick rod and shimano aero 1000 reel. She got it from this man years ago. Long before I was old enough to fish. She was one of the only young gals he knew that fished so he gave her all of his rods and reels and over $400 in tackle. Well I've been using that rod and reel setup and its sooooo smooth!!! I'm looking to spend about 250 for a nice rod and reel since I'm starting to fish almost every day. Any suggestions?
If you are still wanting to stick to a spinning setup...
A few reels to check out:
Shimano sahara **
Daiwa exceller
Shimano saros
Pflueger president **
I suggest spending a bit less on the reel and focus on getting a good rod.
St.croix avid or premier series
Dobyns savvy series
Or shimano crucial series rods
Go to tackle warehouse and check things out.
offsidewing reply :
If my son had just done this, this is what I'do suggest...
If you want to start fishing right away, head to Cabelas and buy the Pflueger President Special Edition spinning reel for $65 and Cabelas Tournament ZX Drop shot spinning rod for $99 (you can talk them down to $75 pretty easily). Then fire up tackle warehouse * and pick up some of the following tackle: 6lb yozuri hybrid fishing line, Gitzit 3.5 inch tube jigs with 1/4 jig heads, 4 and 5 inch senkos, Ned rig mushroom jig heads and Zman TRD baits, a couple packs of fat ikas, 4" rage tail craws, hula grubs, some Berkley ribbon tail worms, a pack of zoom super flukes, a pack of Keitech Fat Swing Impact swimbaits, and a pack of 4" robo worms.
Then GamaKatsu hooks: 4/0 and 5/0 EWG for senkos, ikas, hula grubs, rage tails; gamakatsu 2/0 octopus hooks for wacky rigging senkos and drop shot; 5/0 owner hooks for ribbon tail worms, flukes, and Keitech Fat swimbaits. Toss in some 3/16 oz drop shot weights and 1/8 ox bullet weights.
Learn to tie the palomar knot and read the articles and posts on this site while your tackle ships. You will catch bass on most bodies of water in all but extreme conditions with this tackle. I have a couple $600+ spinning combos and my son has what I suggested to you. When we both use our gear and tackle correctly, we catch the same amount and quality of fish.
trick worms reply :
Spend no more than 200 on the combo. That will get you a great spinning setup.
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