[Nick1962]

:g:

A mate and I got back from a trip to The Island of Sark where the fishing, Bass in particular was fantastic . . . in no small part due to the excellent tips and info given by DeeperBlue et al.

However, on the last day (thankfully) my spinning reel gave up the ghost and the tip on one beach rod snapped. A few days after our return the tip snapped on the second beach rod. Both the same cheap models bought some years prior - so no complaints really.

I have, for better or worse just purchased a Penn Powerstix Pro Surf 15ft 9in. This is because I have always used a fixed spool reel but have bitten the bullet and also bought an Abu 6501 Multiplier. Hoping for some extra distance IF I can get to grips with multi.

The reason for buying the Penn Powerstix Pro Surf 15ft 9in was that it is rigged to handle both FS and Multi's. While chatting to the shop owner he did mention that a newcasting method involved braid and fixed spool reels.

Does anyone know anything about the theory as to why extra distance is achievable and if it is anything like a multi - assuming I can get used to it ?

 

[karlos]

Braid tends to have a thinner diameter than the same strenth mono. thinner lines cast further. so you can in theory fish much heavier line without increasing the diameter.And longer rods give more leverage through the arc of the cast. Long rods came over from the continent where fixed spools tend to be the norm, plus braid is suposed to be easier to handle on a fixed spool. I personaly find some of these long rods to long for me 15ft seems to excessive unless you have lots of space to fish wave the rod around. the majority seem to only handle the lighter leads no good for the areas i mostly fish. Plus braid is more expensive than mono and as i tend to fish the ruffer marks i dont wanna keep breaking off the stuff(something else quite difficult with braid).
On the plus side if you regulary fish clean beaches where there is a need for long casts and light tackle then this type of tackle can be a bonus. another thing braid has going for it is less stretch so in theory better feel to the fish, and as i stated can get away with heavier line, suposed to be good in fast tides due to thinner diameter. As i say this style of fishing came over from the continent this equals mostly fishing very shallow beaches for very small fish. This is no way conclusive as there are heavier "long" rods out there that will cope with heavier ground.
One other thing with the advent of modern fixed spools multis DO NOT necessarily give you any more distance, 20 years ago maybe, but no longer.
hope this helps you.

 

[Nick1962]

:clap:

Cheers Karlos . . . . the choice due to budget was either the Penn or a Shimano 13' LD Beachcaster.

Glad I went for the Penn - although a different type rod will I suspect allow me to go back to the fixed spool option if required.

Would I be able get good distance on a 10lb brade ? If so what reel recomendations would you suggest for the Penn Powerstix Pro Surf 15ft 9in ?

 

[karlos]

I personally wouldnt go down as low as 10lb(very thin) I think most use around 25 to 30 as this has a simalar diameter as about 15lb line(I think) if im wrong somebody can correct me on this.
As for reels i would personaly take a look at Diawa emcasts or Emblems and the like or Shimano reels they tend to be the best for reliabilty etc. in saying that i believe that fox, Grauvell and the upper end of the Okuma range can be ok. really depends on your budget. one thing is as braid can be quite costly compared to mono people tend to use a cheaper Mono backing on there reels and top up with a couple (or less)of hundred yards of braid. There are some reals on the market where you get a spare (shallower) spool for use with braid. Another thing knots used with braid tend to be different to those used with mono and you may need to get some special scissors to cut it? Been a while since i looked into the stuff so some things may have changed/improved. Do a search on this site and you should get more info on it.
Karlos.

 

[karlos]

Ps. Ive just tried the search thing myself and there does seem a lot of anoying Ebay listings for braid. maybe better to put up a thread asking about it if as i you cant be bothered to wade through these.

 

[Nick1962]

thankx matey