[lobbit]

watching the fishing adventurer i was amazed to see this guy land 30lb +tarpon on a rod that most would scorn if used on a uk beach
it was a 9ft spinner ,he uses this rod for sea fishing river the lot
makes me wonder if all this stuff about needing big telegraph poles is needed
i use a spinner sometimes as a secound rod and can cast a 2oz lead out almost as far as i can with beach caster set up this wee rod has landed salmon no problem , why have i got beachcaster again ?
i mean if im going to get hung up on kelp or rocks the rod n reel arent going to free me if the line gives and theres little chance of landing anything that would break a spinner i could travel lighter with a spinner ok distance i could if need be double the range but most fish are caught within 50/60yds arent they ?
are we going about sea angling from piers estuarys all wrong here in the uk
prefering bigger heavier tackle than is actually needed
how do you justify your set up , i would say my set up is what most would consider a clean to rough ground mix but it does at times feel like overkill
i appreciate some need distance rods as beaches are the only place to fish and the extra distance might be invaluable but even so are you going to catch something 30lb + and think that might snap lesser rods when theres little chance of a 40lb snapping a rod

 

[kelvindavies11]

Good point mate. I have to admit the main reason i use heavy rods is due to the tide and the need to hold bottom. However there is nothing better than using light tackle.

kelvin

 

[Rich pickins]

Whatever suits you mate! I have a 5ft boat rod, but I wouldn`t want to try casting a baited rig with 150 gm lead out 200 yards with it!

Tight lines,
Rich

 

[dabcatcher]

in the med they use light rods for fishing at distance using light leads on clean ground in no tide.

i need my rods to get 7oz in horendouse conditions out to feeding fish that could be in a strong tide and mixed to rough ground. and hpoefully get it back. light rods wont do that.

if i,m after fish in an estuary over clean ground i will also use a light carp/spinning rod and light leads. if off a pier on to clean ground i like to scale down as far is practical. taking species, tide and lift into consideration.

when lure fishing we all like light spinning outfits.

so i dont think most of do too bad.

 

[TOM PARKER]

I know what you mean as i always watch people like Rex Hunt using light weight spinning outfits and catching big fish.

I'm going to try 15lb/20lb braid on a Bass rod and a light beach caster (2-4oz) as I should be able to get a reasonable casting range and hopefully hold bottom as the braid should cut through the tide.

If you use a light weight rod from a pier then if you catch a fish over two pound you would have trouble getting it up the wall/pier without a drop net and using a drop net by yourself is tricky.

 

[lobbit]

i understand that sometimes a grip lead 6oz + is required just to break even with tide and weather
but on the whole its becomming more and more necessary to recomend tougher rods n reels its like if your rod tip wont sit poker straight in a running tide with a force 4 blowing then its not that good for landing 3lb pollack or codling
granted theres a lot of days when a spinner wouldnt be up to the job
but something like a highlander and slosh30 or 525 would still be erring on overkill and to use such a set up in calmer conditions is like taking a boat rod fly fishing it seems
back when i started out sea fishing i was happy with a 10ft spinner and f/s the tip nodded like the fron row of a mettalica gig but bringing in a 3lb coali or duggy was
great sport and i soon learned to hold the rod and work it over the bottom
to be honest i think i upgraded to be like the "big boys" but saw ,and still do the odd guy with a sea spinning outfit coping just as well without the hinderence of heavy leads and heavy rods /reels but theres more heavy duty guys about these days some using 30lb straight through or the likes of 7000s from marks that require 2oz leads and 15lb line and they are adament that what theyre doing is the way forward
id say if your fishing from a pier or rock mark thats pretty calm try to tackle down a bit and if your just a fair weather angler then dont go spending a fortune on gear thats unsuitable there was mr gilbey recently fishing in africa ithink it was for sharks on rods that are common place here in the uk for codling and a spur or conger it doesnt add up yet magazines and forums tell the newbie get tougher
why theres no need , you could land a 10lb plus conger on a cheap kit rod for a fiver (ive seen it done off ayr on a boat) by comparision id say the bigger beach rods could land all but an orca and sit well in an ice flow

 

[dabcatcher]

when theres not too much tide and i have the room i liketo use my tip tornado ultralight and 3 oz lead of the pier or shore. i have lots of cod to 4lb on my bass rod and cod to 6lb on the ultalight.

i,m sure if we got the type and size of fish in open water that they get in other parts of the world then we would also be fishing for them using the same methods.

 

[lobbit]

i think if we had sharks 100lb in our waters we would be down the beach on mini jcbs lol
i cant help but wonder if uk sea /shore angling is slightly out of touch with whats availible to catch and the gear required a 6oz lead slung out in bad conditions is one thing but over a mill pond or in a harbour ??? most of the popular beach rod /reel combos simply drag fish to shore cause theyre way more powerfull than the species caught yet theres no end of enquirys about tougher gear
what sport is there in dragging a -5lb fish to shore on gear capable of landing a fish of 50lb i wonder if any anglers are actually scared of feeling a fish fighting or know how to play a fish on light gear properly so go for heavy gear with conditions the excuse , most fish ive seen landed have been under 10lb 3/4 being average id say and all reeled in with no detection of a fight , and that given the uks reputation as an angling nation is kinda worrying ive never seen similar on a river or loch
i totally respect anyone who fishes in accordance to conditions and species but
recentley im begining to question the ethics of some

 

[bassmad]

I think it's a case of each to there own. But having said that I do wonder if all sea anglers know what some of the light gear is capable of. I often fish for bass and bream with a carp rod and 8 lb line, and usually others assume I am after mullet, and express surprise that this is my bass gear. I figure that this is capable of landing a 30lb plus fish in a lake and therefore it will do the same in the sea. Converesly it wont throw a 5oz gripper into a tide race and I wouldn't fancy tackling the local conger with it.

 

[lobbit]

it would be good fun hooking into a conger on it ,i dont see why it wouldnt cope with one if the conditions were in favour of the rod
on average a lot of guys fish for under 10lb (a lot lower if you fish round here lol)
and i can only think of a few rods that wouldnt get your bait out and cope with that size limmmit for example here we see henry gilbey fishing a zippy and 525 catching 5lb cod in relatively calm conditions and then theres yibbida yibbida catching 10lb + groupers or such like in heavy surf using what apears to be a 10ft spinner
at any given time i can go fishing and big beach rods are considered the norm with some anglers using light spinners (light ? well in relation to the beach rod perhaps but capable of landing the same fish) as in close rods ,i do it myself
but its suddenly dawned on me that there i am fishing two rods and both will catch the same type of fish if i hooked into a conger or spur on the lighter rod i
would give it my best shot at landing the thing if using the bigger rod i would be comfortable in knowing the power resserves were there to make it a routine landing almost

 

[dean_gifford]

I use course gear most of the time im fishing, as im fishing in swansea the tidal rip off places like mumbles pier its difficult to hold bottom so i choose to use a 4 - 6 oz beach caster as i need to put a heavy gripper out in the winter, but in the summer i dont genrally go much heavier than a 2.5lb test curve carp rod and a ultra light spinning rod, both with 10lb braid, my misses bought me a 1.75lb test curve barble / chub rod that will be my new toy for this summers mullet and bass. broke her in last night with a 10lb carp off the surface with bread in dence reads, lost 2 in the 2 hours i was fishing but it was proper hook and hold stuff love it!

light gear and braid is the way of the future!

 

[lobbit]

i tell you mate im heading that way myself , i cant help but feel like im taking a hammer to an eggshell sometimes
and i use whats considered clean ground gear
i was out this morning at a mark (troon) and theres no way any rough ground set up wouldve helped free stickers or made the job easier
if i had taken along a float set up or even a baited hook lobbed out im sure i wouldve coped better
its the old sun and the wind competition