Sea fishing: gear, tips etc?

[muttleymacclad]

Hi all
I went to Dorset at the weekend and decided to have a crack at sea fishing - caught nothing lol. I was using a normal 12ft match rod with some 5lb line! A really helpful guy at a local tackle shop said I may be lucky and sold me a small lure for a couple of quid and gave me a few tips and hints on the area.

Anyhow, I really enjoyed it and as we plan to do more uk coastal holidays in future I quite fancy getting some kit. I'm not a serious / keen angler but i do enjoy it.

Now on eBay there are lots of tackle shops selling 2x 14ft rods and 2 reels with 20lb line for about £55. Obviously they're not going to be great quality. My question is: are these going to be ok for beach fishing just a few times a year? Or would they be like the kits you get at the petrol station / fairground!!!

Also any tips for beach / pier fishing. Going to South Wales in the summer?

Cheers
Mml


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[jw_2000_uk]

I bought all the cheap junk off ebay when i first started sea fishing.

within weeks i realised its cack lol.

By cheap by twice in this game mate.

i spend bout £190 for a rod and reel. And thats peanuts compared to others. But its a decent shakespear rod, and shimano reel.

i really wouldn't touch the cheap bundle deals from ebay nowdays.

[I Black Belt]

Have you been deep sea fishing? Well worth a day trip and you'll be able to pick the boat blokes brains about cheap kit etc.

[burner1]

If you have a go outdoors store near you, have a look in there or online for them. They have some ok gear but as JW says, you would need a bit more quality than most of the ebay cheapo stuff as you'll be lucky if it lasts one outing imo.... you get what you pay for, but saying that, you can occasionally get some good deals at go outdoors.

The bonus of using them is if it does break/ snap within a short time, they would probably replace it.

5lb line isn't strong enough for beach fishing either mate. More like 20lb would be my minimum to allow for a decent cast/weed/ stuck in rocks etc. Is the match rod a beach rod or a carp type fresh water rod? Does it have a casting weight on it? I'd say 4-6 ounces would be needed for a beach rod of about 12-14 foot.

IF however, you also want to fish piers etc. then something like a 10 foot rod of casting weight 2-4 ounces would do the job as an all rounder for a bit of beach and pier etc. with a 5-6000 size reel (the reel size is usually in the model name of the reel).

For occasional use, moderate costs is the way to go, but I would advise washing everything off in fresh water after an outing (including the rod and the reel spool of line)... I've been doing that for years now and my kit is as good as new in that respect.

[muttleymacclad]

Thanks guys.
I had a sneaky feeling it would be a daft move but as it's only going to be 2-3 times a year I was tempted.
My current rod is a Shakespeare fresh water rod 2-4 ounces I think.
I'll keep an eye on eBay for proper gear as I couldn't justify a large outlay.


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[crocodile13]

Heres a cheap set up suitable for occasional angler
http://www.fishingmegastore.com/fish...mbo~10571.html
This kit will be more than ok for occasional fishing trips off piers breakwaters rocks etc

[muttleymacclad]

Looks like a good deal croc, although my only gripe is it's a 12ft 2pc rod. For convenience and being able to take it on holiday with all the other camping and family gear, a 3 piece rod would be better for me.

cheers
mml

[rusty]

don't a lot of folks do light rock fishing now, know its only for fun fishing
but if you are just going for sport it could be ok
when on holiday I go to the sea wall at goodrington (paignton), use spinners and feathers, its just to waste a few hours for so don't mind if I don't get anything

[burner1]

don't a lot of folks do light rock fishing now, know its only for fun fishing
but if you are just going for sport it could be ok
when on holiday I go to the sea wall at goodrington (paignton), use spinners and feathers, its just to waste a few hours for so don't mind if I don't get anything

Me and my lad do light rock fishing this time of year mate and like you say, it's for the sport and having very light gear is cracking fun even catching something of a few ounces puts a nice little bend in the rod and you can feel the fight. Saying that, a fairly cheap carbon rod should also be able to cope with some bigger fish as well. My HTO tronix ML has landed me some nice fish of a few pounds.

[muttleymacclad]

Thanks guys, I went for that deal crocodile linked to. £45 with postage, going to Tenby area for family holiday so will see what the score is there.


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