How to Set Up Alerts for Used Fishing Gear on Craigslist and eBay

Good fishing gear moves fast on Craigslist. A Shimano Stradic spinning reel listed for $60, a set of G. Loomis rods from an estate sale, a fishing kayak priced $400 below what they go for on Facebook - these listings don't stick around. If you're checking Craigslist once a day, you're seeing the leftovers. This guide covers how to set up alerts for used fishing gear on Craigslist and eBay so you stop finding out about good deals after they're already gone. ## The Problem: No Alerts on Craigslist Craigslist doesn't have a built-in notification system. If you want to know when a new fishing gear listing appears in your area, you have two options: refresh the search page manually and hope you catch it before someone else does, or use a tool that does it for you. [LurkMor](https://lurkmor.com) handles this automatically. Set up a search for the gear or brand you're watching, and you'll get an email the moment a new matching listing goes live on Craigslist or eBay. You stop checking constantly and start responding to things worth responding to. Setup takes about two minutes: 1. Go to [LurkMor.com](https://lurkmor.com) 2. Type in your search term - something like "Shimano reel," "fishing kayak," or "fly rod" 3. Set your location and radius 4. Enter your email address 5. Save the alert You can run multiple searches at once. If you're watching for specific brands, tackle lots, and kayaks separately, set up a separate alert for each. ## What Search Terms to Use Fishing gear shows up under a lot of different titles depending on how much the seller knows. Cover your bases with a mix of specific and broad searches: **Brand names** catch sellers who know what they have: - "Shimano" or "Shimano reel" - "Daiwa" or "Daiwa reel" - "Penn reel" (especially for saltwater gear) - "G Loomis" or "G. Loomis" - "St. Croix rod" - "Sage" or "Orvis" (fly fishing) - "Abu Garcia" or "Ambassadeur" (vintage baitcasters) **Category terms** catch sellers who don't know the brand: - "fishing gear" - "fishing equipment" - "rod and reel" - "tackle box" or "tackle lot" - "fly rod" or "fly fishing" - "baitcaster" - "fishing kayak" or "kayak fishing" **Lot and estate searches** are often the most valuable: - "fishing lot" - "fishing stuff" - "assorted fishing" A listing that says "assorted fishing stuff, $40 takes all" from someone cleaning out a garage could have a quality reel sitting in the bottom of a box. Sellers who don't fish have no idea what they're sitting on. A broad alert catches these. ## Why Fishing Gear Moves So Fast Quality fishing gear - good reels, name-brand rods, fishing kayaks - has a serious buyer pool. Anglers who know their gear watch Craigslist actively, and when something worth buying shows up at the right price, multiple people respond within the first hour. Tackle lots and estate sale listings are the worst for this. Someone posts a photo of a bunch of gear, asks $50, and it's gone the same day. If you're checking the app in the evening after work, you missed it at noon. The only consistent way to beat other buyers is to hear about the listing before they do. An alert that fires the moment the listing appears puts you at the front of the line. ## Setting Up eBay Alerts for Fishing Gear eBay has a "Save this search" feature that sends email notifications when new listings match. For fishing gear - especially specific reel models, vintage lures, and collectibles - eBay is worth monitoring alongside Craigslist. To set up an eBay alert: 1. Search for the item on eBay 2. Click "Save this search" on the results page 3. eBay will email you when new matching listings appear One caveat: eBay's notifications are often sent in batches rather than in real time, which means you might hear about a listing several hours after it went live. For time-sensitive finds, LurkMor is faster - it monitors both Craigslist and eBay and sends alerts as soon as new listings appear. On eBay, the completed/sold listings filter is worth knowing. Before responding to any local Craigslist listing, pull up eBay, search the item, and filter to sold listings. That shows you what the gear actually changed hands for - not what sellers are asking, what buyers paid. ## Fishing Kayaks: The Best Craigslist Alert to Set Up Fishing kayaks deserve their own mention. A new Hobie or Old Town fishing kayak runs $1,500 to $4,000 or more. Used ones in solid shape regularly show up for 40-60% off retail, and a rotomolded plastic hull that's been cared for fishes just as well as new. The problem: fishing kayak listings on Craigslist get spotted fast because everyone who's been watching knows the savings potential. A used Hobie Mirage Drive kayak at $900 (retails for $2,400) is not going to sit for two days. Setting up a "fishing kayak" or "kayak fishing" alert in your area puts you on notice the moment one appears. These are also large enough that local pickup is essentially required, so your regional alert keeps the results relevant. ## Gear Worth Setting Up Alerts For If you're not sure where to start, here's what consistently generates the best finds: - **Spinning reels from Shimano or Daiwa (mid-tier and up)** - Stradic, Stella, Certate, Exist models hold real value and get listed by sellers who don't know what they have - **G. Loomis and St. Croix rods** - premium rods that sell fast at any price under $150 - **Vintage Penn saltwater reels** - Senator and Squidder models have a collector following; they surface on Craigslist for garage-sale prices sometimes - **Tackle lots** - broad alert for "tackle" in your area, small effort, occasionally spectacular - **Fishing kayaks** - high-value finds that move fast; worth a dedicated alert ## A Practical Alert Setup Here's a starting point that covers most of the fishing gear market: - Alert 1: "Shimano" - catches all Shimano gear in your area - Alert 2: "fishing kayak" - dedicated alert for kayaks - Alert 3: "tackle lot" or "fishing lot" - catches estate cleanouts - Alert 4: "fly rod" if you're into fly fishing - Alert 5: Your specific target if you're hunting something particular ("G Loomis NRX" etc.) LurkMor runs all of these in parallel. When something fires, you decide in 30 seconds if it's worth pursuing. ## Get Started If there's fishing gear you've been looking for, set up the alert now before you forget. Go to [LurkMor.com](https://lurkmor.com), enter your search, drop in your location and email, and you're done. The next time a quality rod, reel, or kayak is listed near you at the right price, you'll be the first to know - not the person who finds out it sold three hours ago.