Novice

Hello,
I am what you would call an abolute novice at any type of fishing. I'm so bad I don't even know what shore fishing is, but I have been directed here advice and have been told that you don't mind being asked my billion questions because your a good old friendly lot. Before I start asking my questions I think I should give eveyone a little background on me...I have only ever been fishing three or four times and loved every minute. My first say two or three times, depending, I went with my uncle and we basically messed around only ever catching between us a few fish only one being my first ever wrasse! :) My grandad was talking about a fishing trip he might be going on and was moaning of lack of company so I joined him, It was brilliant and much better than the few times I'd been before as it was proper instead of having a laugh. I caught a plaice that day and have been trying to suck in everything I need to know about fishing after that experience. So without further or do...

1. I am having a few troubles with equipment. I have a rod but I think I may have got ripped off asit cost me £30 with it and a great big reel. I got told after that the od was too small and the reel was too big and the extra tackle he threw in as a 'bargain' was laughable! I am looking for all new kit with a limited amout of ££'s...any ideas for a novice mainly fishing in the sea?

2. Tackle is very hard to buy, I know the basics...weight, hook, float. Nothing else seriously and walking into a fishing shop thinking I'm going to buy some tackle I end up feeling sick, everything is stacked up to the nines with some many different types of weights, hooks and floats you could think of and a load of other sharp or prety objects I'm not familiar with...Any advice?

That is all for know, and thanks for all your help in advance...

-JDY-

Hi and welcome to the forum


What is the make and model of your rod and reel ?
A few details on your setup and we might be able to advise you better.

b0ogaloo

Fladen-Power Stick
195 cm/ 6.6 ft
Casting weight 10-30 g
Art no. 85-195-1

Thats all it had writen and I didn't know what to post here so I posted all of it :)

hey JDY,
it was myself who recommended you to check out this site. welcome firstly, secondly, on what kind of ground do you fish? from beaches, rocks, or piers? i'm guessing that becuase you've got wrasse, then you've been fishing rocky marks. you can tell yourself from a couple of trips to these kind of venues that the ground there can be very rough, with loads of weed beds, and other obstacles to loose tackle in, but the good news is these kind of venues can produce great fishing......you've already tried float fishing with some success, but that's only the tip of the ice berg. in these kind of rocky marks spinning can work very well, go down to your tackle shop and get a few german sprats
http://www.tacklecellar.co.uk/acatalog/ ... POONS.html

check out that link, german sprats are the 14th lure as you scroll down,
also pick up a few dextars wedges. i included the link so you have an idea what the lures look like so the guy in the shop can't pull any fast ones on you. he's sounds a bit dodgy, and it might be worth your while trying a different shop.
these two spinners are classics, and will catch a wide variety of fish for you, they are cheap(ish) and cast well, stick with these kind od spinners at first, and don't let the guy behind the counter try and flog you more expense, fancy looking lures, until you get the hang of fishing these they will only cause you trouble, and because you are fishing rocky marks you will end up loosing tackle, it's a fact of life, so stick ewith the cheaper spinners till you get a handle on the venues you are fishing. if the fish are there, yuo will catch them on german sprats and dextars wedges.......
i don't want to keep ranting on about stuff , and go into loads of detail as i'll probably end up confusing you. but any more questions feel free to ask as many questions as you want.

good luck,
Patrick

by the way it may be worth your while visiting your local library, there is usually loads of books on the basics of fishing, and it is a much more user friendly way of learning the basics, than trawling the internet to get contradicting advice

just saw your second post! that rod doesn't led itself well to sea fishing, it's too short, and a bit on the light side. how long do you have it? is there any chance of returning it? a longer rod(10-12 foot) with a heavier casting weight would be better for you.

I can't really return it but I am saving to buy another one, any ideas on makes and stuff so I'm not looking all confused in a new shop where some other guy's thinking hah they musn't know a lot about fishing...why not buy this dud aswell?! lol

well i would suggest perhaps buying a carp rod, these are designed to cast weights between 1 to 4 oz's depending on the certain rod. this style rod would allow you to float fish, spin, and also do some light beach casting.(there is no way you could put on a 6oz lead and a pile of bait, and try to belt ot out) however it would suffice as a starters outfit, and allow you to try many different methods on one rod. were you to buy and out and out beach rod, it would be too stiff to cast spinners/lures, or float fish, it would also be haeavier and less enjoyable to stand around all day holding. carp fishing is the biggest sector of the sport over in the UK so the tackle shops shuld have a good selection of rods on offer. with regards a budget, i'm sure you gould get a rod for £15 sterling, but it would be a crock of s**t. if you really do enjoy fishing and intend to keep at it, then try your best to put away as much money to get a decent rod, how ever there's no need to go nuts either. i'm sure 40 to 50 pounds should pick you up a good quality rod that will feel nice(there's nothing worse than a rod that weighs a tonne and you have to hold it all day) and more importantly you shuldn't have problems with rings falling apart, or chipping easily. below are a few links to some reputable rod manufacturers and budget rods

http://www.anglingcentre.net/acatalog/c ... arpxk.html

http://www.anglingcentre.net/acatalog/Carpcont.html

http://www.daiwasports.co.uk/proddetail ... 214&cat=43

other good companies to check out for budget gear are leeda,and browning

i probably shouldn't say this, but check out the argos catalogue! their new big one has some suprisingly ok bits of kit in it, alot off the stuff is crap, but some of the gear is ok.......

best bet is to check out the above links, and local in your local shops, if you see something you like, just pop back here, and ask, and get some feed back on it.

Patrick

hi m8
I too am a newbie to fishing again after not casting a rod since I was a nipper (about 20 years!).

I have bought quite a bit of tackle from a place called glasgow angling centre at reasonable prices eg:
ugly stik gold 9ft 10-60gram spinning rod £25
ugly stik custom boat rod 5FT9" 12-30lb class £60
ron thompson zensorflex telescopic 12ft beach rod + okuma beachcaster 80 reel for £25 all in.
The catalogue came free with a sea fishing magazine but their website prices ain't as cheap.

try picking up a few fishing magazines as most have big tackle dealer adverts in them.
I am not an expert!
others on here know a lot more and will give you 1st class advice.
I've been reading here for a while, about time I joined!!

best wishes
cky :)

lol
sorry but just registered. :o
best wishes all
cky

Thankyou...I will try all of this and tell you how I get on!