Fishin' with DOLLAR STORE Tackle

#fishing #shorefishing #canada
Sometimes fishing is just for fun, well 99% of the time it is. I got the inspiration for this video when a few weeks ago I tagged along with some family on a trip to Dollarama in Winnipeg. It is the biggest dollar store in Canada.
While walking down the outdoors aisle I could not help but notice some fishing tackle. Crank baits for 3 dollars? A fishing reel for less than $5? Even some other larger lures for $5? Are they any good, will they work? Watch and find out.
Cheers and tight lines every one!
#dollarstorefinds #dollarstore #tackle

[@FishBigAlberta]

Lures worked great and produced fish 🤙😎

[@differentfins]

Oh yeah I was super impressed with the $3 lures. I would buy a bunch for those good spots that have lots of snags. Less painful when they cost 1/4 what similar brand name lures cost. Good action and quality hooks!

[@freshwaterfishingwithadrian]

Surprisingly quite a loud rattle on those baits. And nice fish!!

[@differentfins]

Yeah I was impressed to be honest. Good quality for the price!

[@LarrysFishing]

Don't mind some good bargains, but have yet to find a cheap line that works well. That reel wasn't great, but still managed to land a few and not surprised those cranks worked, they looked good. Good video for the kids, shows they can get out without spending a ton of money and still have some fun. Nicely done!!!

[@differentfins]

True, I have never bought into the expensive fishing gear. Don't need to spend $100s when $20-50 tackle will get the job done. Sometimes high quality gear is needed but even at that level bargains are found.

[@placidpaddler]

The reel would be great for panfish and light line, a leaning reel for kids, or as an emergency backup with an equally cheap telescopic to keep in the trunk. I’d be interested to see it perform in the winter. All that plastic could be advantageous.

[@differentfins]

Oh yeah, anything that won't pull drag... it will work.

[@differentfins]

I actually really liked the locking feature on the reel handle. Push in the button and it folds right up!

[@theinvasivespecies1119]

You should have got some screw eyes and zip ties and used a sampling for your rod! Ultimate bushcraft budget rod for that reel

[@differentfins]

I could have done that yeah. A willow branch probably would do better lol. I could have just tied the guides onto a branch. Just scrap the rod all together. Cheers

[@HookinDinks]

Good job! I always try to peep the fishing stuff at dollarama, they all have different stuff I find but the lures are usually good enough to get the job done and they occasionally have some name brands discounted. That reel is a little too “budget friendly” for me though lol.

[@differentfins]

Haha yes sir that reel is low budget. It would work for panfish or perch but anything that pulls drag? forget about it. The lures were decent and there are spots i like to fish where i know i will get snagged and lose them. I just consider it a tax for fishing that spot lol, it will be less painful to lose $3 lures versus $12 lures!

[@UnderwaterFishFilms]

as long as the line or rod doesnt snap its all good :)

[@differentfins]

💯!!! Line is probably the most important part!

[@crystalblier1023]

I could feel the mosquitoes while watching this 😅

[@differentfins]

Hahaha yeah, they were horrible this summer!

[@AnglingSpiders]

I use Mako lures all the time. Some are great and others are poor. I picked up one of those reels as an emergency spare, but never tested it yet.

[@differentfins]

It would work fine for panfish or perch or something, weak point is definitely the drag settings. I was actually impressed with the Mako crank baits, just as good as those costing 4x as much.

[@chrisdaddy4637]

It doesn’t matter how much you spend on your lure. It’s the amount of fish you can catch with that lure that counts.

[@differentfins]

Yes sir!

[@RaulGarciaFishingandOutdoors]

I have one of those reels, I set it up for my trout pond rod with a 3lb line and works perfectly for that, but yeah, the drag is terrible (no, like I catch monsters on it) and those Mako lures the soft plastics pike love it, I have cough my PB pike on it, I use those for river fishing so if I lose them doesn't hurt lol

[@differentfins]

Haha yeah. I actually liked the Mako lures. There are some lakes that I like to fish that are full of snags. I would buy a bunch of these simply for those spots. It'll be far less painful to lose $3 crankbaits instead of $12-15 lures lol.

[@RaulGarciaFishingandOutdoors]

@@differentfins exactly

[@PointLife1]

Cant go wrong with those three dollar cranks. I'd like to see how that big jerk bait performs.

[@differentfins]

I'll definitely buy more dollar store lures in the future. Those big jerk baits look great and feel great, and I have an idea when/where to try them out. Even if they don't perform well... they were $5!!! Most pike or muskie lures that size run about $40 so it's definitely worth trying! Cheers

[@PointLife1]

@@differentfins My mind immediately went to trying it out on shallow water Lakers in the fall! I'll be staying tuned to see what you end up catching with it.

[@differentfins]

@@PointLife1 We don't get the fall lake trout fishing here in Ontario. Our regulations wont allow it. Lake trout closes last day of September, the water is still warm and the trout are still out deep at this time. Ontario also does not have max size regulations on lake trout so giants are super rare here. Case in point, 3 days ago a local guy miraculously caught a 41x27 lake trout, weighed 36.4 pounds.... it was kept. I've seen maybe 2 dozen lake trout over 40" caught in NW Ontario in my lifetime and every single one was harvested. We don't have the same opportunities for trophy lake trout as other provinces. They are hear but you need a lifetime to catch one it seems.

[@PointLife1]

@@differentfins Daaaang! Ya hate ta hear it. Best part of catching them old trophy lakers is seeing them swim away healthy. We have a small window here in NW Manitoba (2 or 3 days) before season closes where the trout come up into shallows, and its so much fun casting big lures onto reefs and shallow points for them. They aren't even hungry at that point, just super aggressive and ready to kill anything coming near their eggs.

[@differentfins]

Yeah I've seen that style of fishing, we just aren't allowed here. So basically the only time I target trout is in winter or the first few weeks after the ice melts. I need to target some big lakers in NW MB, Clearwater and Athapap perhaps. My wife is from The Pas so I visit the region at least once every year. When I am up there I typically go for the stocked trout because where i live in Ontario we don't have rainbow, browns, tigers, etc... Ontario fishing opportunities are weak compared to Manitoba.

[@brandonmaahs1087]

Where were you? especially that rapids spots

[@differentfins]

Hey Brandon! Next time you are in town maybe I will pop over to the construction site and while discussing engineering I'll show you a few spots lol.

[@brandonmaahs1087]

@@differentfins Thanks Joe that would be great! I just started fishing to have something to do up there lol

[@differentfins]

@@brandonmaahs1087 I know a few good shore spots not too far from town.

[@brandonmaahs1087]

@@differentfins Hopefully some close to Niobe. So far I've just been fishing in front of a cabin there

[@differentfins]

@@brandonmaahs1087 Best spot on that lake is probably the culvert on the highway. The spot with the falls in my video is about a 15 minute drive up 622. I'll text you directions.