I'm new to sea fishing after many years of freshwater (mainly fly fishing for trout) and I'm looking for a resaonable quality beachcasting setup as I most of my fishing in the UK will be done from Suffolk or Northumberland beaches. I feel more comfortable with the idea of a fixed spool reel as I'm very familiar with them and don't have the time to invest in learning new tricks with a multiplier, so what I think I need is a fairly long rod and a reasonable quality fixed spool reel. However, I really really would prefer a three (or more) piece rod as I intend to travel with it, probably to the USA at least once per year, and it's much easier to transport a shorter package by air.
My budget is round about £150 for the rod and reel, but doubtless the guardian of the bank account would prefer something cheaper. Anyone got any suggestions?
The reason I want to take the kit to the USA is that I've just returned from two weeks at Chincoteague Island, which is on the eastern shores of Virginia (find Chesapeake Bay and it's on the Atlantic coast). The fishing there is nothing short of amazing both in quantity and quality. Hired a small boat and took the family out in Chincoteague Bay and in the space of a couple of hours caught three decent flounder, a small shark and thirteen clear-nosed skate. The skate were all above 18 inches, the biggest running to 28 inches across. This one took 20 minutes to get into the boat as we were using very light gear and the kids thought this was just about as much fun as it could get! Eventually had to give up as we ran out of bait. According to Donna Rae, the doyenne of the fishing community, this was about an average catch...........
The beach fishing on the Atlantic side is probably even more fun. The fishing is done from Assateague beach, seventeen miles of glorious unspoilt sand on the edge of a fabulous nature reserve where you can watch the ospreys fishing in the saltwater lagoons. Bluefish were the order of the very sunny days while we were there, many fish running round about 2 foot long (apparently weigh about 10 pounds at this length). They fight like fury, generally taking the opportunity to steam off in an approximately easterly direction, dragging everything behind them. Unfortunately I didn't have the kit to get among them this time, but I'm making plans for the return, hopefully next year.
Gordon
My budget is round about £150 for the rod and reel, but doubtless the guardian of the bank account would prefer something cheaper. Anyone got any suggestions?
The reason I want to take the kit to the USA is that I've just returned from two weeks at Chincoteague Island, which is on the eastern shores of Virginia (find Chesapeake Bay and it's on the Atlantic coast). The fishing there is nothing short of amazing both in quantity and quality. Hired a small boat and took the family out in Chincoteague Bay and in the space of a couple of hours caught three decent flounder, a small shark and thirteen clear-nosed skate. The skate were all above 18 inches, the biggest running to 28 inches across. This one took 20 minutes to get into the boat as we were using very light gear and the kids thought this was just about as much fun as it could get! Eventually had to give up as we ran out of bait. According to Donna Rae, the doyenne of the fishing community, this was about an average catch...........
The beach fishing on the Atlantic side is probably even more fun. The fishing is done from Assateague beach, seventeen miles of glorious unspoilt sand on the edge of a fabulous nature reserve where you can watch the ospreys fishing in the saltwater lagoons. Bluefish were the order of the very sunny days while we were there, many fish running round about 2 foot long (apparently weigh about 10 pounds at this length). They fight like fury, generally taking the opportunity to steam off in an approximately easterly direction, dragging everything behind them. Unfortunately I didn't have the kit to get among them this time, but I'm making plans for the return, hopefully next year.
Gordon
