Where your fishing money really goes

Fishing gear you're overpaying for (and what to buy instead).

Nils

Founder of PREYSIGHT · Angler from Sweden · Updated October 2026

I've paid full price for most of the gear on this list. Some of it was worth it. A lot of it was a logo. Here's where I'd put the money now.

Five places anglers overpay. Price tags included.

You've stood in the tackle shop holding the $250 pair, telling yourself it's an investment.

Fishing gear has a logo tax. You pay for the brand name, the ads and the store rent, and the fish don't care about any of it.

Here are five places most of us overpay, ranked from the smallest to the biggest, and what to buy instead.

The list

#5
YOU PAY FOR: THE LOGO ON YOUR CHEST
Name-brand fishing shirts

Price: ~$80
A sun shirt is a sun shirt. The $80 ones are often the same UPF 50 fabric as the $20 ones, plus a logo.
- Buy instead: a plain UPF 50 sun shirt (~$20)
- You're paying ~$60 for the print
Verdict: Same protection. Quarter of the price.
#4
YOU PAY FOR: A FANCY BOX
Premium tackle boxes

Price: ~$150
A big branded box looks great in the store. On the water, cheap clear utility boxes do the same job, and you can see what's inside.
- Buy instead: clear utility boxes (~$5 each)
- Heavy, and you still dig for everything
Verdict: Spend the difference on line and hooks.
#3
YOU PAY FOR: TITANIUM YOU DON'T NEED
Premium fishing pliers

Price: ~$90
Unless you live on saltwater flats, aluminum pliers with replaceable cutters do everything the titanium ones do.
- Buy instead: aluminum pliers (~$20)
- Easy to lose overboard, and it hurts at $90
Verdict: Good pliers. Not $90 good.
#2
YOU PAY FOR: THIS YEAR'S MODEL
The newest fish finder

Price: ~$900
The newest model adds features most anglers never use. Last year's model, or a smaller unit, finds the same fish.
- Buy instead: last season's model or a compact unit
- Most of the new features stay in the menu
Verdict: Buy the screen you'll actually use.
#1
THE BIGGEST OVERPAY
$250 fishing sunglasses

The same water, without and with polarized lenses.
Price: Buy instead: 3 pairs for $88.50Pre-Black Friday offer
Full disclosure: this one's ours. Most big fishing sunglass brands now belong to large European luxury and eyewear groups, and most of that $250 pays for the logo. And it's one tint, so it's too dark at dawn and not enough at noon. The PREYSIGHT kit gives you three polarized pairs: Copper, Amber and Blue Mirror, one for every light. One lens all day is like fishing all day with one lure. The first grey morning you put on Amber, the weed edge shows up like someone switched on a light.
- A lens for every light
- A spare if one goes overboard
- Lost or broken? 1 free replacement (1 yr)
- Less than half the price of one $250 pair
- Only sold online, not in tackle shops
Verdict: Pay for the lens, not the logo.
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