The moment has arrived. There is a soft hum of the line exiting the reel as the line smoothly flows through the eyelets of the hand-picked rod. A perfect cast places the lure on the back of a gently rolling wave. Within seconds, a crashing splash and the roar of line being jerked off the reel are all evidence that this is no dream. “What’s on the end of the line; how big will this monster of the deep be” all run through over-excited thoughts.

As the star drag of the saltwater rod reel is slowly engaged, the monster on the other end of the line begins to tug as if he knows his time beneath the waves is limited. You feel the saltwater rod reel beginning to take charge as the monsters energy reduces to submission. Carefully, you bring the monster of the deep closer and closer until you can net him. All of your thoughts have become reality. The monster of the deep is a beauty worthy of your trophy wall. A quick picture with your trophy and your trusty saltwater rod reel then its back to see what other trophy waits beneath the foam.

Again, the soft hum of the smoothly flowing reel and the gentle landing of the lure on the rolling waves tell the brain to get ready. What a great day you think as the sun breaks the horizon with a glisten off your trusty saltwater rod reel in hand ready for the next encounter.

When an angler decides to venture into salt water in search of good fishing, some specialized tackle is required. First and foremost among this specialized tackle are saltwater reels. While a general use reel could have just as much landing power as the saltwater reels, the general use reel has internal vulnerabilities.

Often the inner gearing of saltwater reels must be made of special corrosion resistant alloys. These special alloys tend to be far more expensive to manufacture than comparable parts made of non-corrosion resistant materials. This difference means a general use reel might serve adequately for a certain amount of time, but it’s performance will suffer as those non-corrosion resistant parts begin to deteriorate. The effect of such deterioration is not usually a noticeable, catastrophic failure in the early stages. Generally, the general use reel will feel less smooth during casting and retrieval. When the corrosion advances to the point of catastrophic failure, the angler finds the reel unable to perform at all – usually during an important outing.

Salt water reels, on the other hand, are designed to resist the corrosive effect of water with high saline content and continue to function optimally for years. Fishing tackle is an investment. Tackle is also something best matched to its intended use. For general fresh water fishing, any reel will serve the purpose for years if properly maintained. For salt water fishing, only salt water reels are designed to offer that same reliability.

Fishing tackle is one of the areas where a sportsman can truly save money in the long run by spending a little more up front for something that will outlast slightly less expensive models.