Not that I'm tight

Now I'm not tight ,but when it comes to waders and boots I've wasted time and money in the past dealing with sub standard garbage that has failed first time out. In addition, continued to do so when replaced. Following on from this, the last waders I bought were a pair of Visions from Diver Dave in Aberdeen. He sells returns which are fixed, actually quality checked and retailed again by Dave at a decent price.

These have been a great buy for £100, season 5 I think. I did notice a few leaks here and there at the weekend so brutally repaired them with Neoprene Queen. I've used this wetsuit repair material on feet before as well as these waders last season. I didn't expect to get another year out them but I'm now intending to finish the year with these. Yeah, a disgrace, I know. I'll treat myself to a new pair from Dave before I go to Denmark in April 2019. Barnacle covered rocks/saltwater knocks the shit out of this kit.

Neoprene Queen might provide a handy leak solution in the field if you're not fussy about the look.It dries faster than the clear alternatives, especially in the warmer months.

My boots aren't any better. The soles are OK, still intact with studs, not sure how they've survived. Second pair of Scierra Riptides in 8 years, not bad going. The insole collapsed last time out and recess for the stud burst the stocking foot, again, Neoprene Queen sorted that. I drew around my foot on an exercise mat and made some inserts. They might not last but I've about 6 feet of it left :0)

I'm sure if you're reading this thinking about gently treading through gravel on a chalk stream in a pair of £600 Simms you'll be laughing. Wait till the barb wire fence gets you! These will be going cheap in November, you can get in touch and I'll throw in a free box of hankies....

I've also rinsed the last of the value from my Daiwa Certate 10 3000. It's still working but I'll break it for spairs maybe? At £90 for a spare spool( I have this one and a spare) and an RCZ double handle. This was £75 when I lost the original walking to a mark! Believe it or not, the standard handle was also £90 to replace, the RCZ was a bargain eh? It's been a good reel but me, along with a lot of others are over the Magseal nonsense. In addition to that ,at the start of last year Daiwa were looking at £300 to put it right, almost the same price as a new reel. Daiwa did fix it year 1 after it ended up at the bottom of Cork harbour for a wee while. At that point they replaced the the gears in it under warranty, kind of strange it needed this done in year 1 though? It's now 6 years old, caught a lot of fish so I shouldn't complain too much I guess, or should I, at nearly £400 when it was new?

The now retired Certate at the front and its better value little brothers up the back

I like Daiwa reels/products and I want to support jobs in Scotland but I'm done with high end reels for fishing in this country. There is adequate specification at a much lower price point for my fishing. With that in mind I've added another 2 Excelers to the stable, a new 2500 A and 3000 HA to add to my 2506.These reels have a decent specification and both come with spare spools. I bought both of these last week for £110. I did consider the new Daiwa BG, looks the business, great reviews but no spare spool.

That should be me well covered for reels and line options without breaking the bank- happy days!