Long Casting? Multiplier or Fixed spool

Lads,

I'm new to this, up until now any sea fishing I've done involved spinning from rocks with lures or feathers. Recently I bought a multiplier on ebay for trolling behind a cruiser on lakes for pike. It's an Olympic Dolphin 625 L/W, from what I can gather it could be as old as I am but it looks relatively new. These reels are regarded as casting reels but on two occasions recently when looking at beach casters I was pointed towards large fixed spool reels. I'm guessing you could cast further with a fixed spool but the multiplier would take a lot more abuse.
What do you guys find works better?

Starting out use a fixed spool. If you want extra distance with this you can use braid later on you'll also get better bite detection. When you want to go onto use a multiplier you need one specially designed for the task with brakes otherwise it will break your heart (this is from personel experience).

Donagh

Hi

I would agree with donagh - using a mulitplier first out would be a disaster. I converted to them for beachcasting last year and it is still only coming along - I still get crack offs and the dreaded birdsnests and that is with mono, rather than braid. I suspect the reel you have, given it has a levelwind (L/W?) was built for precisely what you will use it for, sport fishing on the troll behind a cruiser. Most people who use multipliers from a beach will tell you to remove the L/W but start with a fixed spool reel.

Really! :D

Thanks lads, I reckon you've saved me a lot of greef with that info. What length/type beach caster would you recommend for a beginner?

Hi Adrian

It is very much a personal choice based on what feels comfortable - try to get your hands on as many models as possible and try them out. Look to join a sea angling club and check them out at a meet or competition. If you explain why, many if nto all anglers will let to "test drive" a rod. You might pick up the right rod second hand for next to nothing and have had the benefit of test driving it beforehand. In the absence of anything else, I would say to start with something that is relatively stiff rather than with a floppy tip and keep it under 13 feet, in fact keep it at 12. Go second hand. I had an old shakespeare profish that last 20 years until I snapped it up at Rathmullen. I know the K2 is getting loads of praise currently but waving a 5 metre rod around is something you need to learn how to do, especially when there is 175 gram of leading shrieking around the tip!

FWIW...

i agree with lads Adrian. go for a stiff rod. fixed spools are very underated and a good casting technique is what sends a lead out a long way, regardless of the reel. it took me about 2 years of heartache before i had my multipliers running properly, and a small fortune spent on line. keep it simple and put your efforts into good bait collection and a good rig wallet- this way u will become successful very quickly.

Hi Guys, while i sgree with most of whats already been said can i stress that distance comes with practice and technique, if you are just starting out into beach casting then a 12 to 13 foot rod with a moderate yto stiff tip is ideal also i wwould agree go with a fixed spool as this is gonna give you much less hassle than the multiplier, in my experience there is very little distance difference between either reels in the right hands. but the fixed spool comes into its own at nite when you have far less to worry about than gettin birds nests and snap offs join a local club as has been suggested they will put you on the right road hope this helps cheers Rod. :wink:

A great rod to start off with is the 12ft ron thompson superior beach rod, which is rather stiff and a great all round beach rod. Don't go too cheap on your first reel , maybe a Daiwa Jupitar, Rt amplifier, or a Shimano Aerlex.

Oh the Joy, They Joy,, You've been looking foreward to that late night trip, Your rigs are Clipped on, You've decided to bring the Abu 6500... You tee up for the Cast..... Realeasing perfectly.... the lead flies with what you can only assume is the grace of an American Missile aimed at Talibani stronghold.... Then Suddenly there's a noise, You know the Noise, You dread the noise.... Its the Sound of line rubbing on reems of loose line, YOU DIDNT THUMB EARLY ENOUGH.... But wait, a Savious lies in the Wings, Your trusty egg beater, it can do no wrong.... So motto of this short and pretty unnecessary story is, Learn to cast with a Multiplier in a field during the day.... Once you get a feel for the way the reel runs, by all means use one... But not before it... We've all seen the Pro's fak them up... It happens to us all...

In reply to Distance with Rods.... I was down donaghadee pier with the 14ft K2 tonight firing feathers.... Gave me that extra 30yds I needed to find the Fish...... 37 Coaly... 2 Pollack.

Talking of fixed spools, I was in Exeter at the w/end and had a look at the Okuma Beach casting reels, looked and felt brilliant. Just a bit dearer than an Aerlex but the spools are mega. With practise I reckon even I could get 150 yards or more.
Have a look on Google.

Colin

Thanks again everyone for all the advice.

Going to Galway for a week at the beginning of Aug. I have one of those sandcastle building little people so I want to get myself sorted before then.

George,
When you mentioned "Daiwa Jupiter" are you talking about any particular model? 5500 or 6000 seem to be the ones to go for.

The best advice anyone can give is to spend as much as possible on the reel. The Daiwa Jupiter is perfectly fine, and costs in the region of 60/70 euro as far as I remember. However spending an extra 50 euro will mean you are getting a better quality reel with all the latest functions, whereas the Jupiter has been around, unchanged, for 10 years now. The reel could last ten years, so over this time it only works out as a few euro extra per year.

Have you thought of ordering by mail order from the UK? You could pick up a good quality reel for between 100 and 125 euro including p&p. Take a look at the Angling mags (Sea Angler especially - it's 90% adds!), and you'll see decent reels like the Ron Thompson Crucifier (50 sterling plus p&p), Simano Aerlex (60 sterling plus p&p), and the new Daiwa Emblems (The emblem cast is the lowest in the range, priced at 60 sterling plus p&p, yet still has 7 ball bearings).

There was a thread a while back on FS reels - take a look at it:
http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org/bull ... .php?t=468

Re the rods, you don't have to spend an absolute fortune to get a decent one, but again it's worth spending the few extra quid. You can pick one up for 50 euro, but will end up upgrading it within a year or two. The Shakespeare Odessa Fixed Spool model is absolutely perfect for you - it's a rod you can bend (very stiff rods are useless unless you have a good casting style) and it retails for 100 euro in most of the shops here. It's well made and will last for years. If you don't want to buy the reel mail order try buying the rod and reel in the same shop and ask for a discount.

Happy shopping!

I'm a multiplier man, although I'll confess it took me a long time to master them and I'm still way short of being the world's best caster - I just find them smoother and more pleasant to use. If you do ever decide to try multipliers for shore fishing, I'd recommend you start with a small 'baitcaster' like the Abu 5000, teamed with a bass rod or similar light beachcaster. Don't bother removing the levelwind unless you're of tournament casting standard - any minimal advantage in distance will be offset by a loss of confidence in your cast. Levelwind reels still need to be 'thumbed' at the appropriate time, and this comes with practice. You'll have your share of crackoffs and birds' nests, but it's worth persisting, and one day it'll all come together, a bit like learning to ride a bike. Cheap multipliers are a complete waste of money - like cheap fixed spools they fall apart in a year or two, but unlike cheap fixed spools they don't even do a decent job to start with. Just in case anybody thinks I'm being a bit high and mighty, I always carry a 'mangle' just in case!

I had a look at the other thread. I noticed that there's no mention of Shakespeare, Are their fixed spool reels not up to the task when it comes to beach casting?

Also, I don't want to spend a lot, So far this year I've spent a fortune on rods, reels, lifejackets, boat bits and tackle. :?
I did a quick search on some of the reels mentioned, The best bargain I've come across is the Daiwa Jupiter, I can get a new Z5500 on ebay for $20 -$25 + $15.50 shipping. That works out at less than €33. Maybe they are cheaper due to the fact that they don't have the bells and whistles that newer models have.

I would agree with Steve regarding the Odessa rod which is highly recomended. Get that or the G-force they are both in the same price range. I would go for the larger capacity fixed spool as it will be more versatile.

Ah, so there you are, using your good old "new" multiplier

first cast, poetery in motion
second cast, looking cool,
third cast, wam bam thank you ma'm, 50yds you have had a snap off with a small bird's nest left on the reel.

what went wrong???
retackle, recast and away you go again. nothing on the settings had been changed, this you ponder over.

On the orther rod, now coming onto its 5th cast, bang!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! same again, you look at, disbelieveing what has happen"again"
[at this point the air turns a nice shade of blue, bit like my spell'en]

what the f#ak is wrong???? again a small bird's nest, mags set mid way (5).

The reels had been running perfect, or as well as you can get them over the last five fishing trips out, as smooth as a drop of the black stuff on a Saturday night, but what going on.

maybe its because you look after your gear, "some thing to do with the fact that it ain't cheap, and her indoors knows this" and that when the trip is over and back at base, we give the rods and reels a wash down with warm water from the taop and air dry reels on a cooling raditor.

Ain't no oil left on the bearings,
So to any boby out there, how often should we reoil the reels to keep them as smooth as silk??

Dave :?

8)
:lol:

DMTC, Hi m8ty in answer to your question, everytime you wash your reels and dry them you should re oil thge bearing one drop of yellow rocket feul is all thats needed, however as you say gear today is expensive and needs looking after,myself have been using this method for years and it works, take out your spool and wipe clean wirh dry reg, then spray the whole of the reel cage outside with wd40 try not to get any inside the reel housing, smear a little rocket feul onto spool shafts both ends job done reassemle of you go once a month strip the reel and wash the bearings in lighter feul, place onto kitchen towel paper and let the excess feul; absorb into it never try to blow excess feul out of beraings as this is putting moisture back in the bearings not good?? relube with 2 drops of yellow in each bearing job done this i have done for the past 20 odd years and the reels have severed me well its also worth mentioning that if you run blocks its wise to clean these with lighter feul again as well as the brake drum they run against hope this helps cheers Rod.

Adrian .

I would advise a cheap rod with a fixed spool reel good line and sharp hooks. You may or may not like this type of fishing. If you dont nothing lost and vice versa you can always progress. Go into rigs and tackle on this site. Plus the fish dont know what type of tackle you have.

Good luck
Dingbat