Standardizing?

[Bushleague]

Now that I've got a my whole family fishing I've got about a dozen different rods and reels floating around. Right now its a pretty good mix mash of gear, but I've been considering moving towards standardising the gear to some degree. For sure with the reels I think purchasing all one model makes sense so that in the future I can cannibalise the old ones for spare parts, not really sure if doing the same with rods would be much benefit or not.

So what do you guys think? Make sense or not? If so what would you use? I want to keep decent quality gear around and it needs to be tough, but price is obviously a factor when you're buying for 4 people. Any suggestions would be welcome. For example, this winter we burned out 3 ice fishing reels. I obviously need to upgrade the reels a bit, but I'd rather not have several hundred dollars invested in ice reels.

[Okotokian]

Personally, I don't care if me, my kids, and wife all have the same gear. Frankly, I'm going to buy better gear for myself, and my wife is most happy with a simple thumb push spincast rod. I see no reason to replace anything until it is broken or otherwise no longer works.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Okotokian

Personally, I don't care if me, my kids, and wife all have the same gear. Frankly, I'm going to buy better gear for myself, and my wife is most happy with a simple thumb push spincast rod. I see no reason to replace anything until it is broken or otherwise no longer works.

I agree with the last statement, I'm not replacing anything until it breaks. But seeing as I now have some broken reels to replace, I'm considering replacing stuff as it breaks with all the same equipment for ease of maintenance.

[jednastka]

I'll preface my comments with the fact that I do all my own rod/reel/lure/other equipment maintenance and repair. Having said that, I have tried to standardize on brand and type, but not model. I start by buying quality gear. All my level wind baitcasters are Abu Garcia 5000, 5500, 5600 models. The oldest is almost 40 years old!. They are built much the same, but even within a single model (e.g. Abu Garcia 5500 C3) there are significant differences based on the model year which can only be ascertained by looking at the number on the reel foot. When I but spinning reels, I always buy an extra spool at the time of purchase. Easy to do then, may be difficult to find afterwards. I've never had any luck with push-button spincasting reels. They seem to require much more maintenance than any other type. I match my rods and reels) to the prospective fish target, and fishing style. For example, a good 9'-10' 2-piece downrigging rod with excellent flex to set the hook and release, is not good for much else, it is too whippy.
My go-to casting/trolling rod for large pike and lakers is a 6.5'-7' medium heavy action one-piece fiberglass rod. I'm not a big fan of carbon-fibre rods for those of my family that don't seem to exercise due care. I've repaired my brother's $200 10 years ago baitcaster at least 5-6 times. It is now probably twice as heavy, with fiberglass rod splints, and still does the job beautifully. But it takes several days work to fix it each time!

In the end, buy quality, brand-name products that have an established dealership/parts network, and be prepared to fix those parts that need it.

Vic