Joe468 Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 I couldn't agree more with big dog. Fish what h can afford and have fun doin it. I too look for the best ways to make ur dollar go farther. Also keep in mind the amount of time spent fishing and how serious I want to get with it. Once u start talking tournament fishing vs recreational gear becomes a difference. As for the original posts I always repair jigs and spinner baits as shirts and blades are easily purchased. Keep your old spinner baits for parts. I have plenty of spinner baits that came to be buy using parts from one bait or another. Also I have been know to use nail polish to fix colours on baits. Even crank baits that loose their shine using clear coat of nail polish brings them back. There's always that one bait in a tackle box that's been around for ages always seems to catch fish but never seem to find another one. I have heard of guys using permanent markers too on braided line to get rid I the faded look that can happen after extended use. Bottom line is have fun fishing no matter what u use. And if I'm out always ask if u see something u might like just like big dog feel free to try it out or get opinions on what guys like. And never be ashamed to buy good used equipment I have and still do to this day. Hope some of what u say helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron4blues Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 You mean the all purpose parachute cords?? They last forever. I've used it in a pinch to resew a net that a big pike ripped through Para cord is amazing stuff. Used to salvage all I could back in the days when I was in uniform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lively1 Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Guys this topic is near and dear although the title should be 'Dollar Store Angler' in this day and age... Here are some of the ways I do things 'on the cheap': - hair ties for holding rod sections together.. I use the kind with the two beads attached. Wrap around twice then once over the bead. - white or pearl plastic bead chain sold for decoration at the craft store - use for eyes on my bass streamers - free fly boxes... the plastic boxes that 'Handy Wipes' (baby wipes) used to come in with an insert cut from packing foam.. work great. (No longer sold in the states, they now have a flap in the lid which takes up a lot of space). - hook and hackle holders when tying flies.. Radio Shack sells little plastic push clips with a small metal hook for about $1 each - marabou and ostrich herl for streamer flies - you can get a big bag at the craft store for a few bucks. - 'day of the week' pill box from the drugstore (7 compartments, 1 for each day of the week).. great for holding several sizes of hooks, plus bobber stops and swivels.. Cost about $1. Look for the ones with the curved bottom.. much easier to slide things out with one finger. - free feathers and fur for fly tying.. from roadkill. (use judgement as to age and condition.. and know how to process to kill any bugs) - make a tippet holder from some shoelace lace, a plastic pen barrel, and a few washers. - make bead pegs from a silicone barbeque grill brush from the dollar store (suggested on this site in another thread..) - bead box? Nope.. I use a quart size ziplock bag.. put em all in there. Lot more spill proof than a box and can easily see all sizes/colors. - portable fly tying bench.. made from 2x4 and 1x6 scrap lumber.. drill holes for things like scissors and bobbins, add some nails for thread etc. - tape measure for measuring fish.. Fabric/Sewing stores and craft stores often have little plastic tapes for $1-2. Light weight, small, and cheap. Plus you can get useful stuff for free if you just keep you eyes open.. Over the years I've found all sorts of things lost or left behind or given away as no longer wanted by the owner, including: - nippers and a zinger - couple of stringers - cast net - boxes full of fly tying materials - couple of perfectly good spinning rods/reels - packing foam - all sorts of uses - plastic disposable centrifuge tubes.. was given a bag full of new unwanted tubes 20 years ago and still using them for split shot holders Now - there are a couple of things I'll say DON'T do for the sake of saving some money... that is tying your own flies, and building your own rods. They will end up costing you as much or more than store bought. The reason for doing those things is 1) so you can customize and get exactly what you want in terms of materials and designs, and 2) it's just fun making stuff yourself and then using it to catch fish. I also agree with earlier comments.. better/more expensive gear doesn't necessarily mean you will catch more fish. Location, and presentation, play a much larger role in your success. That said I do own some high end stuff and enjoy using it.. I do think it tends to be better built and will last longer for the most part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauly Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Great ideas lively. I love the dollar store. I have cheerleading pompom bucktails. Go muskies Go. Ra Ra Ra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadadude Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Great ideas lively. I love the dollar store. I have cheerleading pompom bucktails. Go muskies Go. Ra Ra Ra. Cheerleading pompoms.......some how that dosn't surprise me hahahahahaha, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordanl Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 In the D.I.Y spirit, I will be taking an old fly reel, And a heavy fly rod and making myself a centerpin setup, I will be testing it tomorrow with some trusted jigs. I'll take pics of the turnout Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasin_musky Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 Making your own Musky tackle box. Get a one of the boxes from Walmart for 8 bucks. A downspout pipe, plastic is best Cut the downspout pipe into 10" pieces Then places pieces in box and there ya go. I take no credit for thinking of this, just sharing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanook Posted December 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 All these ideas are great. I have been doing a lot of surfing for DIY fishing related stuff and all I really have to say is......PVC pipe. Awsome stuff. I was going to post a link or two but, A: I'm a bit of a numb nuts when it comes to attaching files links and pics and B: it is just as easy to type in DIY fishing and you will get pages and pages of really neat ideas. All these ideas are great. I have been doing a lot of surfing for DIY fishing related stuff and all I really have to say is......PVC pipe. Awsome stuff. I was going to post a link or two but, A: I'm a bit of a numb nuts when it comes to attaching files links and pics and B: it is just as easy to type in DIY fishing and you will get pages and pages of really neat ideas. I have no idea why this was underlined............"Numb Nuts"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron4blues Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 I have a piece of PVC pipe that I use for my fly rod when travelling. Almost indestructible! I actually saw a baggage handler drop a shipping crate on it with no damage. Definitely a good option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishfight Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 http://i223.photobuc.../IMG_0003-5.jpg Except for the glitter sticker I got on sale at BPS for $2, every other item used to tweak cheap lures are from the dollar store. All my lures have caught fish at the river. 1, Adding the Glitter sticker on lures works even better than without it. 2. I also add a touch of Fluro pink or red paint on lures to resemble blood. 3. Orange buck tail material came from fake hair attachment used by girls,tied to 3/8 oz jig head to fish Niagara river or Port Delhousie. 4. Pom-pom for salmon or trout, tied the same way either drop shot or 2" above the hook, an option from beads. Add scent if needed. 5. Ice cream spoon- cut up, shaped, attach with epoxy, then sealed with urethane , added to the lip of cheap $1 crank bait lure bought from Dollar store, to allow the lure to dive deeper. 6. Glitter nail polish added to most of my lures. 7. Larger visible Fake eye shown on the red rattler, top left 8. Foam , cut up foam pad from kids toy section, to prevent hooks from intertwining each other on my tackle box 9.Red Foam beads added inside roe or to beads for additional buoyancy. 10. 4 penny coins, bent and glued with epoxy glue to the cheap 50 cents light spoon from Le barons, fished with it at whirlpool, since cheap tweaked lure has to be heavy enough to get close to the bottom and to not worry of losing them when it get snagged, more fish eventually gets landed. 11. Soldering lead(not shown) wrapped around the top section of 3 prong hooks for added weight. 12. Split shot crimp on the three prong hook on the crank bait(shown at the right) for added weight, to force the nose of the lure to dive first during retrieve. 13. Leather or swede material from old wallet or gloves bought at Goodwill stores can be used and cut to the size of reel washer drag as replacement for inferior washer. Sand slightly the surface that has paint on it. Add a pinch of sewing machine oil. Use nail clipper to cut small holes at the center of the leather washer. I bought a $15 unknown brand china made reel with extra aluminum spool just to experiment with today's china made reel, the reel was well made and smooth with 10 bearings, except the drag washer was crappy, after replacing the reel washer with leather, tested the reel drag with trout fishing on the river. I was happy with the reel. I do own many brand name good reel and lures, and used un-tweaked lures on areas that are not snag-gable. I lost enough lures fishing Niagara or Port D in years, that entice me to find alternative inexpensive solution to not cost me too much when I fish there. I told many anglers that it is a matter of how much we are willing to sacrifice/lose to get our fish at snag-gable water. I call the technique Controlled Aggression. By being more gutsy to bring our presentation close to the bottom without losing them, we have more chance of getting our fish. Many mistake of anglers losing their lures, they lost confidence in slowing down their presentation after losing enough without understanding what had transpired, then trying to master or feel our lure move the right way under the unpredictable moving current/flow/direction, with our cold frozen numb fingers. Having to wake up early to get there by twilight hoping someone else have not taken our spot, to cautiously walk on slippery muddy trail without slipping, finally, the tough hike back up with the added weight of carrying our limited trophy catch, are all added challenges to make one think twice from being persistent in fishing the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanook Posted December 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 http://i223.photobuc.../IMG_0003-5.jpg Except for the glitter sticker I got on sale at BPS for $2, every other item used to tweak cheap lures are from the dollar store. All my lures have caught fish at the river. 1, Adding the Glitter sticker on lures works even better than without it. 2. I also add a touch of Fluro pink or red paint on lures to resemble blood. 3. Orange buck tail material came from fake hair attachment used by girls,tied to 3/8 oz jig head to fish Niagara river or Port Delhousie. 4. Pom-pom for salmon or trout, tied the same way either drop shot or 2" above the hook, an option from beads. Add scent if needed. 5. Ice cream spoon- cut up, shaped, attach with epoxy, then sealed with urethane , added to the lip of cheap $1 crank bait lure bought from Dollar store, to allow the lure to dive deeper. 6. Glitter nail polish added to most of my lures. 7. Larger visible Fake eye shown on the red rattler, top left 8. Foam , cut up foam pad from kids toy section, to prevent hooks from intertwining each other on my tackle box 9.Red Foam beads added inside roe or to beads for additional buoyancy. 10. 4 penny coins,bent and glued with epoxy glue to the cheap 50 cents light spoon from Le barons, fished with it at whirlpool, to not have to be too worry of losing them when it get snagged. Since our lure has to get close to bottom hoping to not lose them. 11. Soldering lead(not shown) wrapped around the top section of 3 prong hooks for added weight. 12. Split shot crimp on the three prong hook on the crank bait(shown at the right) for added weight, to force the nose of the lure to dive first during retrieve. The foam bits on lure hooks, I really like. And the extra weights on the cheap light stuff. Good job Fishfight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickyy33 Posted December 15, 2012 Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 PVC is awsome, I have endless amount (work) take a 2' piece of PVC cut the one end on a sharp angle, use a 45* tee on the other end and add a 6" piece off that. Now cut a hole on the back side of the tee so that a rod end can slide down and through and u got a perfect shore rod holder to stick in the ground Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishingNoob Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Great ideas so far everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted December 18, 2012 Report Share Posted December 18, 2012 I decided to fish for trout today at Port Dal . using my old Browning 11.5' light rod & an old Pinnacle Dead Bolt reel which has a decent drag .(anyone use these reels) ? I used a 3 way set up as in roe bag fishing , but used minnows today (1/2 oz sinker) . I have been using the larger size floater balls used inside row bags for elevating the minnow off bottom . I simply push a pin through them & string 1-3 on my 8lb.mono leader then tie the hook on . I have also used the styrofoam balls after breaking apart cheap insulation sheets & using a pin to make a hole , & also the same to make thin flat ones by using a cheap binder paper hole puncher . I caught a very scrappy 5.5 lb. brown today .....couldn't believe the power this fish had which hugged bottom & took me 15 minutes to land ! I really thought I had a 10 lb.plus fish !..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blairwelsh Posted December 18, 2012 Report Share Posted December 18, 2012 Smerch .... those OLD ARMS of yours would make a sunfish seem like a whale! ha ha .... *SMILES* Nice update and good catch. I have to go out and find some decent CATS this year. They love to hold bottom like no other fish. the 2-3 lbs ones can truly seem like monsters. The 10+ lbs ones .... SCARE ME! *screaming like a little girl.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bites Posted December 18, 2012 Report Share Posted December 18, 2012 Home made vice that helped me start tying my own flies, cost nothing and actually works fairly well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron4blues Posted December 18, 2012 Report Share Posted December 18, 2012 Home made vice that helped me start tying my own flies, cost nothing and actually works fairly well I like it! I've tied with unusual tools too. Try a pair of hemostats as a streamside vise (should have a pair all the time anyway). I'm using a Danvise now on my table and can't imagine going back to my old Sun vise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauly Posted December 18, 2012 Report Share Posted December 18, 2012 Love the vise. Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammercarp Posted December 18, 2012 Report Share Posted December 18, 2012 For those that fish for carp. Dollarama sells yoga mats for $3. That's a far cry from the $35 to $125 it costs for a carp mat.Also bait making utensils like measuring spoons, bowls, spatulas, measuring cups, zip lock bags, and collapsible buckets. from the dollar stores Plastics beads for rigs used to be available at dollar stores and craft shops til the steelheaders bought every last one in Southern Ontario . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry b Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 I made tip ups pretty cheap. A short piece of 2x8 bout 14in for a base ,a 2x4 about a foot long fastened to the end with a v cut on the top. Then a 16in approx dowel maybe 3/4in diameter .put a couple short screws a foot apart and a cup hook on the end .wrap the line around the screws and over the cup hook. Set up would have a weight on bottom and a snelled hook about a foot up. Drill a 3 holes near the center to run a wire through n hang on the 2x4.notch the 2x4 so the wire will rest there,I use a piece of coat hanger wire. This is a very sensitive settup ,and cheap lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blairwelsh Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 For those that fish for carp. Dollarama sells yoga mats for $3. That's a far cry from the $35 to $125 it costs for a carp mat. . . LOL Lorne, this summer when I was Sight Fishing Carp (Free line stalking with bread, down at the harbourfront) a nice guy walks up to me after I just landed a good 25lb+ carp. He was from England, and started explaining the whole "mat thing". Was polite ... but mentioned his mat cost around $100+ english pounds.. (They take their "Carping super serious over there.." No worries can respect that) I laughed (not rudely) ... but quite frankly said: Are you kidding me? These are some of the toughest fish I have ever caught ... super strong and healthy. We chatted a bit more ... and I could tell he really did think that i should use a mat, but to each their own.. After a couple of minutes, I gave him my rod and said: GO FOR IT! He caught and landed a beautiful Carp! You should have seen the SMILE on his face. We netted, took a pic and released (Over the 8ft harbourfront wall) lol He said this was the BEST DAY he had in his whole visit to Toronto. I figure things are all a matter of PERSPECTIVE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry b Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 Did this topic die because someone thinks it should? I think the creativity in this post is awesome And I am a devoted angler lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanook Posted December 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 Did this topic die because someone thinks it should? I think the creativity in this post is awesome And I am a devoted angler lol Even I am a little surprised by the logevity of this thread. It has slowed a little but there is still some action. The signs for Anglers post is an important one but a little younger than this one so the numbers are naturally skewed and I believe it will get the attention it deserves over time. As long as folks have idea's for DIY stuff or cheap bead alternatives etc...this thread will survive. That is what it is here for after all. Don't really see the point in killing a thread just because another one hasn't yet had the attention someone thinks it should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanook Posted December 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Classic Red Green. Home ducting pontoon boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry b Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Gotta love duct tape!lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.