New fishing purchase

[MAIZEandBLUE09]

So I have some Cabela's gift cards after the holidays and so begins the process of figuring out how to spend them. So here's my ideas,

1. A travel rod/reel. St. Croix and even Ugly Stick have 4 piece travel rods. Thinking of pairing that with a Shimano Sedona 1000 size; medium rod
2. A jigging baitcaster with line counter built in. This is a far more specific use item; used a few times a year when I go jigging for walleye. My hesitation here is I can do it just fine with my current bass baitcaster but my rod is only a medium, so it can't handle some of the more heavy jigging setups very well.
3. A Garmin Striker 4 portable fish finder system. This would go well with my inflatable boat and allow me to use it for more targeted fishing.

All 3 end up being around $150-$200. I can't decide what I'll get the most use/enjoyment out of.

 

[Edisto_Tiger]

So I have some Cabela's gift cards after the holidays and so begins the process of figuring out how to spend them. So here's my ideas,

1. A travel rod/reel. St. Croix and even Ugly Stick have 4 piece travel rods. Thinking of pairing that with a Shimano Sedona 1000 size; medium rod
2. A jigging baitcaster with line counter built in. This is a far more specific use item; used a few times a year when I go jigging for walleye. My hesitation here is I can do it just fine with my current bass baitcaster but my rod is only a medium, so it can't handle some of the more heavy jigging setups very well.
3. A Garmin Striker 4 portable fish finder system. This would go well with my inflatable boat and allow me to use it for more targeted fishing.

All 3 end up being around $150-$200. I can't decide what I'll get the most use/enjoyment out of.

All 3 sound like random usage to me. NO? Although it's nice to have those items on hand, I'd still go with something that I get more use out of. If you have everything that you normally use to go fishing, then yes, go with those items, otherwise get something that you use regularly or something you could use more than one of. I wouldn't spend it on random items. I do a lot of crappie fishing, so I'd spend it on crappie. No doubt about it. Another ultra lite reel or rod, a bait bucket, a depth finder, rod holders, net, anything that I would normally use and could have a back-up for. Just my 2 cents.

 

[MAIZEandBLUE09]

All 3 sound like random usage to me. NO? Although it's nice to have those items on hand, I'd still go with something that I get more use out of. If you have everything that you normally use to go fishing, then yes, go with those items, otherwise get something that you use regularly or something you could use more than one of. I wouldn't spend it on random items. I do a lot of crappie fishing, so I'd spend it on crappie. No doubt about it. Another ultra lite reel or rod, a bait bucket, a depth finder, rod holders, net, anything that I would normally use and could have a back-up for. Just my 2 cents.

I have three rod/reel combos right now. An ultralight spinning, a medium spinning and a medium baitcast. So I am going more fringe with this one because most of my fishing is done with my baitcaster now.

 

[MAIZEandBLUE09]

Update. I opted for 1 AND 2. Lol. But rather than a new reel for the travel rod I often just for the rod and am going to just use my other sipping reels I have with it.