new rod and reel for rough conditions

After the amount of gear i lost in the leinster league on sunday i've decided i need to get some gear to cope with those conditions next time round. i was thinking of getting a fixed spool reel and loading it with 60lb braid then i'll need a rod to go with it something stiff i think. any suggestions would be welcome ive been using multiplier and mono for years so dont have a clue about fixed spools, braid or fixed spool rods.

regards,

Samo.

Samo, I find a really (17 foot...) long rod the best way of coping with weed, lash it out and stand it up as high as you can. It will buy you a bit of time. I have a century SRE 5m that I use when its like that. Braid deff the way to go too, 50lb power pro for me.

Cheers Pete has the SRE got much back bone in it?

Its definitely no poker with a through action suiting the FS use it was intended for, however, on saying that, I would have no bother cranking and pumping the bejaysus out of it. I didnt buy it for that purpose, I got it more for using extremely long traces on the surf beaches but it fits the bill nicely. I find when fishing in weed, sole priority is keeping as much of your main line out of the water as possible, this is where that length kicks in. A heavier weight you can lock down to, Wade to cast, Tripod as close to the water as you dare and when walking back to the tripod, keep a tight line and the rod held up straight as high as possible above your head. Stand the rod up as high on the tripod as you dare, you may need to weight the tripod to keep a rod of this size stable. Any bit of slack and one bit of weed htting the mainline straight away and sinking it and you're goosed before you even start. Its often possible to cast over it and as long as you keep your mainline away from it as much as possible, you can get that bit of extra time on your casts.

Cheers Pete,

i'll defo have a look at it cause thats the problem i had on sunday the weed was just building up on my main line from the start and snapping it at the leader knot it was crazy even had 30lb line on had to walk off the beach with my tail between my legs. what reel do you use with the rod?

Got a few FS, all similar TBH, Zeus, Daiwa Emcast etc. There are better FS reels out there than those though, see the thread on SHimano reels for example. Anything big and meaty really should do it.

hi samo,pete
i have the cm sre 5m great rod,would not go to the shore with out it
i agree with you pete but i find for the conditions that samo is talking about
he would need a stiffer rod the sre is maxed out with 6oz lead
the condition last sunday you would need 8oz plus to hold bottom long enough
i agree fs and braid but imo a stiffer rod than the sre 5m

What about the Century BB?

was using my 15ft ian golds fx1 on sunday with a egg beater loaded with 30lb power pro, lost three sets of gear on the awt and made a decision to opt for the long rod high up tactic, worked a treat, was basically weed free compared to other lads

samo you need to avoid the weed in the first place. rod high, little or no slack, fixed wire grips can help too. breaking 60lb. braid takes a bit of effort and you cant just break it with your hands like mono. long rods definately make it easier a lot of the time. most average beachcasters have enough pull/ strenght to deal with harsh conditions.

cheers for the advice lads much appriciated.

Century Kompressor is your man for hauling..

have to agree with century man,
or else im using a primo synchro xl at the mo for my rough stuff gotta say i love it, cast like a dream and can haul in tope,

Samo dont be so hard on yourself i was talking to a few lads on sunday including a few internationals who gave up after a few hours, conditions were extremely bad and hopefully you wont encounter to many like it throughout the year. Fella beside me was using 5Olb braid under severe pressure aswell losing gear.

Samo just get a fixed spool reel and long rod anyway? a good buy for loads of reasons...