The power of advertising...

[Clem]

Hello all...


Hasn't fishing come a long way, I remember as a youngster being on the 90mile beach in the far north of New Zealand watching my mum head out towards the breakers with a hand caster ready to fish. The hand caster was loaded with 100lb mono (at least) hooks full of tuatua (shellfish) and 8 ounces of sinker, all tied directly on the main line. I would watch in awe as she would do her interpretation of a helicopter taking off and cast the lot well beyond the breakers..she would wait until the line had settled and then yell out to me to come and hold the line...

Not only did I learn how to hold the line and feel for a bite but I also learnt how to swim, as the sea swell and waves would lift you up as they passed by. There was no way I was going to let go of the line...we caught Snapper, Trevally and the occasional Ray..they were good times.

All in stark contrast to today...I guess I'm relatively new to forums but I do enjoy reading the opinions and experiences of others. I have fished for the better part of my life and enjoyed every moment of it; watching and listening to others has taught me a lot and I'm grateful to all of those people.

One thing I have noticed and at the core of this post is the "power" that marketing and advertising has on us in relation to fishing tackle..based on my earliest experiences all that was need to catch a fish was some line (even the old green twine), a sharp hook and a bit of fresh bait..today, you will need no less than 12 precision bearings, a reel housing made from the same materials used to build the shuttle and finally a sprinkling of oils and greases not previously known to man..(I'm making myself laugh) but you get the point and that's only the REEL!!!...don't get me wrong I'm on the band wagon...

I was reading a fishing magazine a while back and I came to the conclusion that I needed a new way to catch Kingfish...my first doubts arise...hmm do I really? I've caught plenty of King's over the years..."ahhh but not like this and not this big, says the article"...well yes they were?...but, pulled in by the glossy pictures and well written piece I kept reading and eventually forgot all of that and realised that I needed to go "Stick Baiting".

According to the magazine, I will need a new reel...what? ...yes and either a Stella or Saltiga...how much? who would spend that on a fishing reel...well me apparently...will also need a few hundred meters of Varivas braid or similar (at about $1.00 a meter)...some "super" supple everything proof leader at ($5 or $6 a meter), 300lb split rings and 12 handmade stick baits designed for varying sea conditions?..done (although try as I might, I just couldn't believe I needed all of those lures and went with 2 trusty old Halco's I had...not as silly as you may think)

However, all of that is no good without the right rod...surely I can use my old Kilwell 7 footer...or a heavy salmon rod I had?I could actually hear the editor of the article laughing at me..."NO"...you will need a new custom rod, built to cast a "specific" range of weight...WHAT?...Now I'm starting to think twice about all this mumbo jumbo...WHY I ask?..."you won't be able to cast the lure far enough away from the boat and you need to work the lure in a particular way"...hang on a minute...I used to cast a 6 footer further than any of my mates with 10 footers...but..maybe the writer knows more about me than I do...probably has special powers to detect such things... Ok...I guess I believe you..."I do need a custom rod"...what was I thinking?...ah that's handy, the writer has included a few suggested brands in the article...very kind...Nah, I will get a mate to make my one which he did and all was done...

So after all that, I was now the proud owner of the most expensive piece of fishing equipment I had ever owned...the moment somewhat clouded by someone screaming at me...huh? What do you mean darling...I really don't understand what you are saying...if you only read the article like I did...anyway darling, the boys are waiting and I've got to go and try this out

The rest of course is history...fortunately my wife loves fishing and makeup, so understands the power of advertising completely. I think a similar thing happened back home with "soft baiting"...happily fishing away and then someone creatively suggests you need something called a "gulp" to catch the same snapper you have been catching for years...

Ah well...as Justin says "horses for courses"...some of this new stuff really is awesome and those involved with it do a great job...for me, fishing will always be always about the experience...different for everyone but some of the best times I have had.

[Mooki]

 
So true...
I've got shelves full of "must have" stuff, just to catch less and smaller fish than I did as a kid 

[Keta]

I miss fishing for halibut with handlines and using my subsistence gillnet to get our years supply of sockeye and some days miss the constant rain of SE Alaska but I love my specialized fishing gear.  I still remember saving for months to get my first ABU reel and when I bought my first 30 I thought "That is a big reel, I shouldn't need anything larger", well it isn't and wasn't.

[Dominick]

Well done Clem.  You have hit the nail on the head.  I am now evaluating whether I really need that "umbrella lure."  After all it looks like a school of fish chasing my boat.  Yep, I need a lure that will bring hoards of fish leaping over one another to get to my fishing rod.  Wait maybe I "need" Bob's Spreader Bar.  Lot's of people on Facebook "like" Bob's.  If all those people like Bob's then I've got to have one.  I need to sell some of my wife's shoes on ebay to pay for them.  Help me. Hellllp meeee.  Dominick

[kapnd]

Shimano has got me in a tight spot, they have discontinued the $25 Saltiga poppers that I have (reluctantly) come to rely on for catching the same tuna we used to catch on a strip of T-shirt, or a rubber band, surgical tubing, or just about anything that would flutter and splash when dragged rapidly through the water, including a bare hook!

Maybe its not such a bad thing, the Saltiga poppers sometimes only last for a few vicious strikes before the paint is gone and the scoop head is so busted up that it twists like crazy.

At least I will still have the $800 reel and $250 rod to winch them in with style, heaven forbid I should be seen hauling them in on a handline!

[redsetta]

Some classic memories in there Clem - nice one.
I remember fishing off the wharf in Russell with the old green 'twine on a stick' and those plastic-tube bait-catchers; and catching my first snapper in Tapotupotu Bay with a heavy mono hand-line in the '70s - good times. 
I think it was Quint's Penn 10/0 in Jaws that kicked off my passion for reels - as you say, the power of advertising...
Tom summed it up well a while back:

"My greatest fear is that when I die my wife will sell my reels for what I told her I paid for them..."

Toys are good. 
Cheers mate, Justin

[alantani]

that's why there is no adversiting here.  oh, and dominick, i have an umbrella rig if you want one. 

[Clem]

I just read the post from reelynuts on the 40GLS and I just want to elaborate on one of the points he made.

It seems to me that many people are "strongly" influenced by what they read or are told, ultimately having a significant effect on their decision to buy. I'm relatively new to forum's but have quickly come to the conclusion that forums are a very effective means of advertising, both directly and indirectly.

This is for many reasons, but generally speaking you have a captive audience who are "likely" to be interested in whatever is being posted. It is not necessarily a bad thing, but if not managed (in my opinion) can and will lead to some people making decisions to buy things that they don't really need or aren't fit for the job. Don't get me wrong, I believe its ultimately its up to the individual to decide what they want to buy or not..

I didn't need to buy new knobs for my Stella, that was my choice, the point I want to make is more about the perception some people have as a result of what they are reading (advertising/forums) and seeing (you-tube etc). Let me give you an example; my young teen age nephew loves fishing like I do..he has been saving his money to buy some new fishing gear and been emailing me about a few things he has been looking at. He has been sending me pictures and and links to various sites showing me what he wants, it seems he has his heart set on what the jigging fraternity refer to as "noodle sticks"..the newish 50, 100gm rods made by various manufactures for lightweight jigging..

One of the forums at home have a topic called "high sticking".. amongst other things, it shows pictures of these rods at or near breaking point..to some extent, showing what they can do. His impression of all this is that he needs one ($500-$1000 ea) as they are, "what you need if you want to catch big kingfish". I have reassured him that this is not the case and given him one of my old 10-15kg Jellytips I still had at home. I quizzed him about all this stuff and he thinks its cool..and what you are supposed to do, we had a laugh when I told him that I would have got a clip around the ears if mum or dad saw me do that to one of my rods.

Anyway, i don't want to go on but this had been on my mind.."nuts" had discussed quality and the association to a high price, I agree with him..just because it's expensive its naturally assumed to be of excellent quality..indeed time will tell

[Keta]

It seems to me that many people are "strongly" influenced by what they read or are told, ultimately having a significant effect on their decision to buy. I'm relatively new to forum's but have quickly come to the conclusion that forums are a very effective means of advertising, both directly and indirectly.

This is for many reasons, but generally speaking you have a captive audience who are "likely" to be interested in whatever is being posted. It is not necessarily a bad thing, but if not managed (in my opinion) can and will lead to some people making decisions to buy things that they don't really need or aren't fit for the job.

You got it. 

One good thing about forums is there is a diversity of opinions/ideas and BS generally gets pointed out.  The large Pacific NW forum I waste too much time on has people that use "gold reels", people that like to tinker and fish with old Penn reels, people that just fish and are clueless about reels and many in between.  Everyone gets a chance to "sell" their favorite and if there is advertising hype or untruths it gets pointed out.

[Dominick]

that's why there is no adversiting here.  oh, and dominick, i have an umbrella rig if you want one. 

I don't know if I ever posted a picture of the junk I travel with to Baja.  It costs $100.00 in excess baggage fees.  But let's discuss a price for the rig anyway.  Since everyone likes pictures, check this out.  I take all this plus 5 reels and rods, plus all the usual vacation clothes.  Dominick

[pietropesca]

So true,
it seems nobody remember it's the fisherman who gets the fish, not the gear.

[wallacewt]

x2  you gotta find em!

[whalebreath]

The Good News is that a person becomes older the need for new shiny things lessens a tad-never completely leaves though.

[BonitaBch]

Wallace, X3 ... you can't catch any fish if you are not where they are ...

[Brendan]

And there are times when you are both there that it doesn't matter what you throw out you will get bit. Prime time to make the video for your magic widgit lure.
Brendan.