Beginner advice please

Hello all,

For years I have toyed with the idea of taking up fishing and finally I have decided to go out and purchase the all important rod and accessories. Im looking for any advice you may have keeping in mind I know very little about fishing at the moment. I would like to fish from the coast or shoreline, So whatever gear u can recommend would be great. Also if u have any links to Angling web sites. Im from Dublin so more than likely I would like to fish from Howth, or there abouts.

Thanks

Hi Fishfingers (like the name :wink: )

Welcome first of all and secondly try downloading the PDF file on bait from the front page (http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org). I think there are a few new anglers around, someone was posting about their first trip out to Dun Laoghaire recently, so I would recommend pier fishing for starters...

What kind of rod and reel did you buy as this will help people offer advice?

Tight lines

Hello,
I have yet to buy the rod and reel. Thats my main prob at the mo. I would be willing to spend up to 200 euro. I need some advice on what tackle to buy. Is there anywhere doing specials on a beginner kit. Although I wouldnt like to spend 200 euro on a setup that wont last long. Even if one of you guys could give me a breakdown on the must haves in starting out, that would be great. Starting from a peir is a definite for me. I wont be rushing into fishing from a clif or anything. There are some excelent posts here so far. Ill keep reading through them. THANKS AGAIN........ :D

Well if you can hang on til the 19th+20th Feb you can go to the Show centre in Cloghran, swords and get a few deals. Wide variety of stuff, and also there'll be casting demonstrations, which im sure you'll learn from.
Well worth the trip :wink:

To start off...

I reckon you get yourself a decent 10 foot spinning rod, a decent fixed spool reel like the Okuma I have just bought, most probably as a combo from one of the main UK online suppliers, like Veals, Birdstackle etc.

http://www.veals.co.uk/

Jarvis Walker are very cheap but not great, bulky and rather stiff, IMHO. Shakespeare is a good lower end value for money rods and I have heard that Ron Thompson is quite a good brand. Okuma make a lot of the components for the higher end reel manufacturers (so I am told) so you are getting good value for most of their reels. For the reels look at the quality of the build/brand, number of ball bearings is a good marker, line capacity, aluminium rather than plastic spools, spare spool (very useful), avoid front drags as they are difficult to use if you have a fish on, and whether the handle is right or left or adjustible.

Always try to buy as good as you can afford and then look after it. I have an old Daiwa reel that is 30 years old;; it is my backup and works fine (it just weights an absolute ton and has a front drag and no bail arm to it!).

http://www.mikestackleshop.co.uk/

Mikes Tackle Shop is in Edinburgh and ships in abourt 5 days. Very helpful and respond immediately to all email requests. The Zircon I bought is just 30 Sterling excluding P&P. I think you could go to the Oryz reel at 70 Sterling and still have enough for a good rod. They are doing a sale on Penn and Daiwa spinning rod for around 40 Sterling, which is good value.

Do not always look at the combos, as buying individually can be better.

Once you have decided on what you want to buy, go to Google and check to see if you can get it somewhere else cheaper. You often can...

Check the weight the rod can use in casting (2-3 oz is a fair compromise as you can use it off a beach) and check the line capacity. You should look at 250 yards of 10-15 lb line as a reasonable all purpose target. Less than this is possible but you will have to use braid and that's another ball game.

With 200 Euro to spare you should have no problem, and fill out the order with good quality 10-15 lb line, and some rigs. Buy the leads here or learn to make them yourself. Spark plugs are a very cheap effective option.

Good quality swivels are important. If you intend to cast any distance and are using 2 oz on a light line, you will need 30 lbs for shockleader, just to be on the safe side, although off a pier you will not need to be casting far.

To start I would buy a selection of rigs from someone like Procast, see his C-rigs range. You can learn to build your own using their patterns at a later stage! Keep the hook sizes relatively small for fishing in Dublin, say from 2s up to 2/0s. With an eye to the summer you should look at a few spinners like german sprats, salt water plugs for the bass fishing down in Wexford (do not buy fresh water plus as they rust away in days) and you can buy feathers for mackerel but be sure to use only two or at most three at a time - a full house on a light spinning rod would not be clever.

Do not go near conger rigs with a light spinning rod, a bad idea! :wink:

Hope this helps...

Thanks Kieran, Full of info, Just the way i like it. Ill go and check those web sites and post back before i purchase. Just incase im getting the wrong tackle. Cheers again m8 :D

noob question for u guys. Whats the difference between a spinning rod and a beachcaster????? :oops:

you can get very decent rods for a very decent price - I fully agree with kieran on the okuma reels they're fabulous value and as for rods, the abu garcia enticer range is a great choice for the money, they've been recommended by some top anglers. I don't know monkey's about rods but I bought one of these and feel it's perfect for a learner like myself.

remember that if you buy your rod online you will get killed on the postage, I would much rather buy reel, rigs and terminal tackle online and buy the rod in a local tackle shop.

keep an eye out for special offers, there's usually nothing wrong with them only last year's model making way for the new one - if you have budget of 70-100 euro for your first rod - be it a fairly heavy 10/11ft spinner as kieran advises or a light beach/bass rod as some people might - you won't go wrong as long as you stick to the quality brands like abu/daiwa/shakespeare (leave century and zzipplex to the experts for a while)

look up k2 extreme's recent pictoral guide to terminal tackle, posted up here somewhere, for an idea of what everything looks like. Refer as well to kieran's guide to tackle which is accessible from the home page here. That should clarify the difference between a spinning rod and a beachcaster.

also, don't blow your budget on the rod and reel - save buying the pricier models for when you have got to grips with the mid-range stuff.
Instead save 40 or fifty euro for clothing - warm gloves, rainproof jacket and proper footwear.
you need thigh waders at the very least if you are going beach fishing (graduate to chest waders later if you like) and you need a stout pair of waterproof hiking boots if you are going scrambling around rock marks.
don't go fishing in runners and a t-shirt, it's not wise.

Cheers Rocky,

OK, Just been browzing around. How about this
REEL
Okuma Inspira Rear Drag
8 ball bearings + 1 Quick-set 1 way clutch bearing
Aluminium machine cut handle, 3-pcs aluminium machine cut spool
Aluminium spare spool, Titanium coated spool lip
100% perfect line lay, Machine cut handle
Super sensitive drag system, High modulus carbon body.
Model : IX 50 , Ball Bearings 8 + 1,
Ratio : 4.5 - 1 , Capacity:12lbs / 250yds
Its roughly 70 euro.

I reckon ill take ur advice Rocky and get the rod in my local tackle shop.

If looking for a light rod and reel outfit Viking tackle in Bray are doing a pike spinning kit by Grauvell for 70 euro, half the recommended price. Rod is 12ft with 2 1/2 lb test curve. Nice looking bit of gear for spinning,float fishing and light bottom fishing. although i have no first hand experience of Grauvell, they seem to make decent stuff and the rod and reel looked god quality and great value.

Check out the advert in Irish Angler.

also, if starting out it is good to have spent a few quid in a local shop as advise on what is happening might flow a bit more readily!

that sounds like a savage reel, fishfingers.
If you're paying that kind of money and it's one of the reputable brands, you can't really go wrong although I think as far as mid-priced fs reels go okuma are way ahead.
team it up with an 10 or 11 foot rod with a top casting weight of between 2 and three ounces (the heaviest lead that the rod can comfortably cast)
56 - 84 grammes.
with a rod like that it's a fine line between whether your tackle dealer will call it a heavy spinning rod or a light beachcaster - or even a carp rod. But with a rod like that (whatever label it's under) you should be armed for rock fishing, spinning with all but the lightest of lures, and light bait fishing in the surf or in estuaries.
If you want to do heavier beachcasting (longer distances, with bigger leads and baits) you're going to need another one, a twelve or 13 foot rod casting up to 6 or even 8 ounces teamed up with an even bigger reel, but that should be enough to get a good start.

Excellent. Yeah ill go for a 10 - 11 ft rod. like u said it covers the type of fishing ill be starting with. :lol:

another way to get kit all you need and cover cost is to order from bowlands on line or from add in sea angler. friend got 2 rods and 2 reels both diawa, tripod and suit for cold nights and pair of thermal moon boots for about 120 sterling this was delivered 3 days later. The best bit was he sent 6 cheques just split cost 6 ways and send the 6 payments at once for equal amounts adding up to the total and the company take them out 1 every mnth over the 6 mnths so spreads the cost. everyone gets no gredit check to worrie about and he says the advice and customer care was a 1. He snaped a rod tip and they covered cost and replaced rod within 2 days. try find them and see what you think i have tried his rods and they are great such a suprise for the money

Fishfingers,

From what you said you'er going to follow Kierans advice and get a spinning rod and FS reel, that's good, I'd have advised the same thing. But, since you've never fished before there's a risk you might not like it, so, I wouldn't go mad spending to start with.

You can get a pretty good spinning combo (Or seperates) for a lot less than €100. Buying a cheaper rod on line doesn't tend to save you anything and may cost you more than in the local tackle shop due to the high cost of shipping, something to watch out for.

With regard to buying a reel, don't buy one that's too big for spinning, you can get a fair idea of the size of the reel by the weight, for spinning get something about 22oz or lighter (Weight of Daiwa Jupiter 4500 or Daiwa Emblem 4500), Certainly no bigger than that. You will see people with bigger reels for spinning but I can guarantee they don't spin with them for long periods of time (Unless they have arms like blacksmiths).

Ebay (US) is fantastic for getting bargain reels, but only buy new ones unless you are prepared to take a risk.

ebay Uk is excellent for okuma reels, too.
I got a great reel for 12 sterling at auction, while Epix baitrunners (10ball bearings) are 36 sterling. Check out item number 7133288366 if you're into the whole ebay thing.

Hello again,
OK, Just got my first rod and reel and was wondering if what i bought is ok.
The rod is an Emerald Pier-Beach 270, 150-200gr.

The reel is a Okuma Impact im50. 10lbs - 320yrd
12 lbs- 240yrd
15 lbs- 180yrd

Like I said in a previous post, ill more than likely be fishing from Howth.
So will my Rod and Reel do the job. Thanks for the help :D

The reel should be good enough seems about the right size, the rod was probably fairly cheap but should be OK for your current needs. Good luck.

Thanks m8 :D