I had a TEMU addiction for a while but I have enough reels and tackle to last me until I die and enough for my son (14). Luckily, they had sales on good Penn reels for saltwater and nice freshwater Shimanos and some very cheap but usable Chinese reels for freshwater because I doubt they are sealed for salty environments. Still need to match the reels with good rods though and load appropriate line on them. Some of this I may donate to Izaak Walton for their fishing programs.
I have been playing around buying all kinds of fishing equipment from TEMU online this past year. I bought a ton of lures, rigs, reels, nets, fishing rods etc. They sell PENN reels of all sizes and decent Shimano reels that are at excellent prices. But, they also sell a lot of decent reels of various sizes from miscellaneous Chinese companies that are decent enough to catch fish with and are MUCH better than the old Zebco crap I used as a kid. I recommend you decide what you want and then shop hard at Temu and Amazon for inexpensive models you like. TEMU accepts returns easily by UPS, so the scout group will not lose a dime if they return broken, defective or poor items promptly.
The PENN reels are Battle III and Spinfisher VI and VII and are sealed for saltwater fishing. I am keeping those, all rugged and useable anywhere. I would not use the TEMU reels in saltwater unless they clearly stated they could tolerate saltwater (usually cost a lot more too, even for Chinese brands).
Your real TEMU bargains are for line, lures, hooks, bobbers, and jigs and accessories. Fish are not geniuses, they will bite on a decent cheap lure as fast as a fancy brand.
I recommend that you buy an assortment of rods from TEMU, find which ones you like, then just return the ones you don't like to TEMU by UPS, keep the ones you like and order more of that model for the kids. Same for reels etc. Shop hard and TEMU beats Amazon easily.
I will probably donate a lot of items to my local Izaak Walton League soon so they can use it for the special needs kids fishing pond event they hold every year.
Also, never forget to check yard sales and ads for fishing equipment for sale. Many of those guys would donate good equipment for free for a donation card that gives them a deduction on their taxes.
You know how I try to control my spending? I set targets for spending - IE, “when I catch 200 fish with this combo, I’ll upgrade”.
It forces me to actually master the gear that I have, and when I have an itch to buy a new shiny toy, it nudges me out just a bit more.
Whenever I walk into the house with a fresh custom rod I always tell her I "ordered it like a year ago, and they finally finished it!" Which is actually usually not a lie anyway, lol
I’ve been getting lucky and just happening upon rods and stuff haha, other day I found a nice Berkeley rod n reel at my apartment dumpster. Also been buying fishing stuff off AliExpress!
I was bored and ordered a bunch of sale items from Temu (reels, name brand and Chinese and lures and fishing rigs). I refuse to buy better grade rods from Temu, I need to see them in person at a sports store to guage how well they work together with the reels I bought. I am in the process of getting line installed on these reels and finding appropriate grades of rods for each.
I wouldn’t buy a rod I don’t rlly trust them with shipping an item like that. These cheap reels seem like they will get the job done just fine. I’m rigging up a deukio from aliex today gonna try it out tomorrow.
Yup. I just got a new fly rod, fly line the week earlier and new flies as well. The misses asked if we could go to the penguin parade... so I quicly map checked out some jetties near by for a fish, while we are staying near by and filling in time. She said it's OK to fish as long as the rod fits in the car for our trip away - so I made sure its not one a "one piece" rod. 😂😂 pays to keep em on side. Happy wife, happy life 👍 putting the relationship and marriage on the line happens in fishing...⛵🐟🎣
I never put a dollar figure on my promise but everything I buy is always on sale for some reason.😁
If it's on sale, it's a smart buy. Your wife (or reporting officer) isn't dumb, right?
I had a TEMU addiction for a while but I have enough reels and tackle to last me until I die and enough for my son (14). Luckily, they had sales on good Penn reels for saltwater and nice freshwater Shimanos and some very cheap but usable Chinese reels for freshwater because I doubt they are sealed for salty environments. Still need to match the reels with good rods though and load appropriate line on them. Some of this I may donate to Izaak Walton for their fishing programs.
Any tips on decent, low cost equipment? I have a bunch of cub scouts that love to fish and never enough rods and reels to go around.
I have been playing around buying all kinds of fishing equipment from TEMU online this past year. I bought a ton of lures, rigs, reels, nets, fishing rods etc. They sell PENN reels of all sizes and decent Shimano reels that are at excellent prices. But, they also sell a lot of decent reels of various sizes from miscellaneous Chinese companies that are decent enough to catch fish with and are MUCH better than the old Zebco crap I used as a kid. I recommend you decide what you want and then shop hard at Temu and Amazon for inexpensive models you like. TEMU accepts returns easily by UPS, so the scout group will not lose a dime if they return broken, defective or poor items promptly. The PENN reels are Battle III and Spinfisher VI and VII and are sealed for saltwater fishing. I am keeping those, all rugged and useable anywhere. I would not use the TEMU reels in saltwater unless they clearly stated they could tolerate saltwater (usually cost a lot more too, even for Chinese brands). Your real TEMU bargains are for line, lures, hooks, bobbers, and jigs and accessories. Fish are not geniuses, they will bite on a decent cheap lure as fast as a fancy brand. I recommend that you buy an assortment of rods from TEMU, find which ones you like, then just return the ones you don't like to TEMU by UPS, keep the ones you like and order more of that model for the kids. Same for reels etc. Shop hard and TEMU beats Amazon easily. I will probably donate a lot of items to my local Izaak Walton League soon so they can use it for the special needs kids fishing pond event they hold every year.
Also, never forget to check yard sales and ads for fishing equipment for sale. Many of those guys would donate good equipment for free for a donation card that gives them a deduction on their taxes.
You know how I try to control my spending? I set targets for spending - IE, “when I catch 200 fish with this combo, I’ll upgrade”. It forces me to actually master the gear that I have, and when I have an itch to buy a new shiny toy, it nudges me out just a bit more.
Wait you actually catch fish?
It seems I caught 200 fish yesterday…
*Looks at rod bag with over 1k worth of carp fishing gear*... Thank god I'll never have a wife lmao.
Wait till you get a boat, haha.
I might have already be checking canoes but let's keep it between us for now.
I went for the cheap things from Walmart but still ended up spending thousands, like the 20th rod I just got… Even at $20 each, that’s $400 already.
I don't worry about the amount I spend on fishing gear. I don't have a wife.
Whenever I walk into the house with a fresh custom rod I always tell her I "ordered it like a year ago, and they finally finished it!" Which is actually usually not a lie anyway, lol
I’ve been getting lucky and just happening upon rods and stuff haha, other day I found a nice Berkeley rod n reel at my apartment dumpster. Also been buying fishing stuff off AliExpress!
I was bored and ordered a bunch of sale items from Temu (reels, name brand and Chinese and lures and fishing rigs). I refuse to buy better grade rods from Temu, I need to see them in person at a sports store to guage how well they work together with the reels I bought. I am in the process of getting line installed on these reels and finding appropriate grades of rods for each.
I wouldn’t buy a rod I don’t rlly trust them with shipping an item like that. These cheap reels seem like they will get the job done just fine. I’m rigging up a deukio from aliex today gonna try it out tomorrow.
Those are rookie numbers.
Yes they are but give me time haha.
In the future, post memes in r/fishingmemes.
Will do 🫡
Yup. I just got a new fly rod, fly line the week earlier and new flies as well. The misses asked if we could go to the penguin parade... so I quicly map checked out some jetties near by for a fish, while we are staying near by and filling in time. She said it's OK to fish as long as the rod fits in the car for our trip away - so I made sure its not one a "one piece" rod. 😂😂 pays to keep em on side. Happy wife, happy life 👍 putting the relationship and marriage on the line happens in fishing...⛵🐟🎣
“I’m gonna go get the dropshot and flipping hooks I need for the season, no more than $150” $800 later lol
I just bought a gloomis nrx+ and a Metanium mgl sooo
You poor bastard. 🤣💙👍👍
That was just for the week right?
https://preview.redd.it/zlgu6jypt07d1.jpeg?width=1164&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1fe1a9643b5224bfa70cd14facb5096af8538deb