new rod

having scrimped saved and borrowed i have enough for a new rod mostly for clean beaches but still able to drag a big pile of Sligo kelp up through the surf. thinking of the Century TT match any other suggestions ?

I had a tt match and thought it was good but when i got a zziplex hsm i found what a real fishing rod is, loads of power with a great tip, you should pick one up on line for about €400.

Thanks Bigsod
that really is the top end of my budget, are zziplex rods really that good ? i cant cast pendulum so need something that is quite user friendly.
Looked at few online (ukhooks) couldn't find any prices will keep looking.
I will have to keep this ones invoice away from the wife!!
Cheers mike

They are quality i have to say, i dont pendulum cast either, im an otg man and it casts beautifuly and is very forgiving im casting much straighter since i got it.

the hsm is the most forgiving and user friendly rod ive ever used , the tip is very glassy so shows fish farts never mind bites, have a look on ebay,

have to agree hsm is one of the best rods i have ever used.

Hi Mike

Dont know much about all the bells and whistles type rods, personally wouldnt spend more than a 100 on a rod cuz at the end of the day I want to catch and its the bait rigs and line what do most of the work.

My Bro in law in England has told me to buy one of these 2 and reckons it will improve my catch rate, cant see it meself (Lol)

Frenzy !!

Triplex

Happy hunting and we must get out soon !!

Warren

have to disagree with u mate a decent rod makes all the difference ie casting bite detection and even the confidence it will give u

have to disagree with u mate a decent rod makes all the difference ie casting bite detection and even the confidence it will give u

Possibly but I spose it depends if your a pleasure fisherman, match man or whatever you want to be seen as. Me Im happy to be a skinflint pleasure fisherman who catches most times I go out some,you win some you lose but its just nice to get out and have some fun in the cold, wet, sun (occasionally) or windy weather.

Horses for courses as they say, I said what I would do personally not advising mike to be the same otherwise I wouldnt have added 2 links to greys or conoflex rods !!

Warren

i'd consider myself more a pleasure fisherman than a match angler, and i can see both points to the argument.
however, from my personal experience a good rod will give you more enjoyment out of a fishing session, for years i was fishing with a daiwa moonraker, and for long enough it did its job, i was getting a good cast and managing to pull out some good fish, then i had an opportunity to buy a second hand zziplex, so i bit the bullet and bought it.
the very first time i cast with the zziplex (3500s) my cast wasn't only going in a straight line but it was going where i aimed for and surpassed that mark by an extra 40+yrds, thinking it was just a fluke i tried another cast, and same again.. distance and accuracy, in slight disbelief i set up the moonraker and tried the same, but alas i could see now that the rod wasn't giving me everything i needed.. so now i had 2 rods out with bait.. this is where it gets interesting, i caught a doggie on the moonraker and reeled it in.. a good bend through the rod and brought the doggie in easily.. hten i caught one on the zzipplex.. first thing was a better bite detection, struck in to the fish and lifted the rod up to reel it in and noticed only the top section was bending and not too much at that, so with the extra height while reeling i was more able to lift the fish out of the weeds, and was well able to lift the fish clean out of the water without worrying about the rod doing something strange.. ever since that day the moonraker has been put into retirement and I now own a zziplex profile which really helped in my casting (due to lighter weight of rod) and an Ian golds international match (which i cant yet fault) and i had to do some serious saving to buy the last two, but its been well worth it, the confidence a good rod can give you while out fishing is unbelievable, you'll never know until you try.. then you'll never go back..

ok then.

my own two cents are a veritable collage of all your views in one. first of all i am a match angler, i have fished and casted a good few rods in my rather short time on this planet but i'd like to think i know a little bit about what im talking about. before we discuss multi rods, have you considered going down the long rod fixed rod fixed spool route. the multiplier in my opinion is fast declining in popularity for very good reasons. we still get the angler however, and im not directing this at you, that believes the latest 7ht mag and 900 euro zzippy will catch them giant mako sharks off the shore and put a bait well over a kilometer from the beah. dont believe everything you read in the magazines! i was a through and through multi man and a solid caster at that until last winter i started using a light continental outfit with braid inspired by a certain alby allen after using this outfit for fishing i was falling in love with this style of angling and the rather boring multi set up was getting used less and less, on top of this my cath rate and as a result competition results where vastly improving (i will say she still has her place in my rod bag and il come to that later)
the feel you get fishing a light rod with braid is outstanding, you feel closer to the fish, your bite detection is improved, longer rigs dont feel awkward and you can keep the rod tip high and weed free on those rougher days. this kind of set up isnt limited to balmy days its e'kew'ualiy at home in a surf and tumble. i remember fishing a competition last january on greystones south beach on a rather horrible sorf of day where weed was abundant in the surf line and keeping the rod tip high was essential. the rod was perfectly happy tossing out a 7oz lead and reelling in a good few pounds of weed everycast. however, i was not finding it a problem, other competitors were seriously struggling with their traditional set up and either walked off the beach or beefed up to 40lb straight through. with the braid i could i could still see a bite and could there for reel in when i knew i had a fish on.
hitting the distance isnt a problem either, smooth overhead thumps with 16ft rods go out surprisingly far and will leave the ordinary multiplier man dead in his tracks. on top of this birdnests are elliminated and you have a faster retrieval so you'l get your gear back faster. rods i could recomend for this style of fishing i hear you say?
well the new penn afinity twin tip is good place to start, i havent used one yet but some friends of mine do own the rod and speak very highly of it, to add to this its amazing value at only 300 odd yoyo's from veals delivered to your door, and as i mentioned it has two tips, one for scratching and one for getting out there. grauvell do some cracking set ups too, the dh all be it rare as hens teeth is awesome and zziplex's gb3 lite is also fantastic if you want an all out distance/doggie bashing machine who'l laugh at weed. not forgetting the triplex range from greys.
as fixed spool reels go the shimano ultegra is the bees knee's and on flebay you should be able to summon one for a little over 100 beans. there you go penn affinity and reel for just over 400 smackers. value!

if your a multi man then you've got loads to choose from. as you mentioned your gonna have to compremise between the lightness of a clean beach rod with the poke of something that can haul weight when needed. the zziplexx hsm would suit this to the tee, while also having the advatage of hammering a bait out if you know how to use it. aside from this a conoflex source might suit the bill depending on how much of a rigourous work out you intend on giving it. its a light enough rod with a savage tip for seeing those little flatty bites but its aint a weed hauler, it can do it when asked but it isnt made for it. the daiwa tdx 133pm sounds like it could suit you its all rounder i used to have one and loved her, not forgetting the new ian golds range with are very good value and very well made to boot.

spending money on rods is the individuals choice and is dictated by the the anglers needs. the more you spend the better 'kew'aulity youl get, in return it will have a good resale value should you ever want to part and will stand the test of time. should it brake the manufactures generally have a good return department. dont fall into the trap in assuming that spending top dollar will increase you distance straight away and will having catching an all maner of fish you never knew existed. that comes with techni'kew'ue, time and experience. hope ive been of some help and the letter 'kew' is broken on my lap top hence explaining the strange spelling to some of my words.

And i thought you were studying today Eric

And i thought you were studying today Eric

When saw the big reply I wondered how you'd manage without "Q"! Some good advice there except for recommending ebay. Full of crap and hard to find the real deal most of the time. For my two cents I'd buy second hand rods if you can get them until you feel your ready to fork out big books. Zippy is a big step forward financially!

Thanks for the advice and recommendations
Eric i have a SRE which i used with braid but always end up with big tangles were the leader knot seems to catch the braid on the spool pull loops from the spool there so bad you have to cut off and start again. Only way i have to over come this is to use a blob of knot glue and let it set with a smooth blob covering the whole knot, what knot do you use to connect the leader to braid ?

[eric]

must say ive never had that problem buddy, i do get the odd knot in the braid if its let go too slack while its in the surf. have you tried using a tapered leader, i use my power pro 30lb with a 30lb amnesia as a lead. never fails

the knot i use is a 7/8 turn grinner knot on the braid to a 2 turn blood knot on the mono

Last edited by eric on Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

Fantastic reply Eric, wisdom beyond your years!!

Yorkshireman that SRE is a cracking rod do you feel it's not giving you something that's making you want to change?

dont give him a big head kieth wont be able to fish beside him

dont give him a big head kieth wont be able to fish beside him

i already have a big head

dont give him a big head kieth wont be able to fish beside him

i already have a big head

an ear in each county

K staff i love the SRE but find the tip very bouncy in the wind ( which seem to be all the time in Sligo ) dont know if the way i set the rod in the rest or if its me.