One Rod to cover all situations?

I'm looking at getting back into sea fishing after 20 years away.

I would hope to fish from piers, rocks and the occassional beach.

What sort of rod (length, rating etc) would u suggest.


Thanks,


Alan.

zziplex primo synchro, a great all rounder

Hi NoBuzz

It depends on how much you want to spend.

You might go for something like a light bass rod rated for 2-3 ounces, as this would just about give you the option of beachcasting. At 11 or 12 feet it can be a mite trick for spinning, but it can be done and it should be able to handle anything you will contact float fishing like wrasse /macks.

If it is mostly rock marks, you may need to look for something heavier as you can encounter bigger fish in deep water and heavier species like congers if you are fishing off the bottom. A decent one will have loads of fun with you on a light bass rod - the rod would probably not survive...

If you do a search online you will come up with options but avoid anything less than a minimum length of 10 feet, anything this short and you will find it difficult to fish effectively from a beach, bar into the surf. Equally do not go beyond 12 foot, 11 preferably if you want to spin effectively - for short sessions. Long rods will get very heavy very quickly spinning!

Something like one of Mike Ladle's 11 foot light bass rods - called Surespin - would cope with most of what you are looking at... you could go another foot longer and look for a 12 footer rated to maybe 3 ounces.

[url]http://www.mikeladle.com[/url] good site with useful information...
Hope this helps...

I was in the same position as you a year and a half ago, I came back to fishing after a 20 year lay off and was unsure what type of fishing I was most likely to do rock, beach, pier or what. I eventually bought an Abu Enticer Beach 10ft and an Okuma Impact 65 reel which I thought it would give me the most versatility for a reasonable outlay. The rod is rated 3 to 6 ozs, its very light but strong rod and the reel though cheap was a great buy as it is a no frills workhorse. During my first year back I used them for just about every type of fishing that I could from ledgering to heavy floating to lashing out feathers with a couple of ozs of lead The only thing that I regret about buying the Enticer is that I didn't get the 12ft version as I thought the 10ft was a bit lacking on the beach. If you are interested you should be able to get the reel from pretty much any tackle supplier but they have both available on Baumanns if you have problems.
http://www.baumanns.ie/product_info.php ... 35ef550424
http://www.baumanns.ie/product_info.php ... 0ae18b64bc
Best of luck and tight lines,
Derek

I have a 2.5 lb TC Carp rod.

Does anyone know how that equates with casting weights/ratings. (Not sure that makes sense).

Daiwa Sandstorm would be a good all round option, got enough backbone for some light rock work and can cast if you can put the bend in it.

Daiwa Sandstorm would be a good all round option, got enough backbone for some light rock work and can cast if you can put the bend in it.

one of these or look at the supercast range a power model should cover most situations, it has more backbone than standard but less than a rock rod and they have a nice tip

If I was buying one rod to cover everything then it would be the Daiwa TDXS130XM, enough backbone for the rough stuff and a great tip for bite detection. Cost approx £230 new.

Lee

I have a 2.5 lb TC Carp rod.

Does anyone know how that equates with casting weights/ratings. (Not sure that makes sense).

I use a carp rod for a fair bit of my rock fishing ,mainly wrasse and pollack either float fishing ,spinning sandeels or ledgering ,2.5lb tc should be fit for 3oz leads ,you'll also be able to use it on the beach for in close fishing 20-50yrds ,doggies and flatties are great fun on light gear ,beachcasters take the fight out of most fish you get on beaches unless your lucky to be hitting decent sized stuff .

I have a 2.5 lb TC Carp rod.

Does anyone know how that equates with casting weights/ratings. (Not sure that makes sense).

I use a carp rod for a fair bit of my rock fishing ,mainly wrasse and pollack either float fishing ,spinning sandeels or ledgering ,2.5lb tc should be fit for 3oz leads ,you'll also be able to use it on the beach for in close fishing 20-50yrds ,doggies and flatties are great fun on light gear ,beachcasters take the fight out of most fish you get on beaches unless your lucky to be hitting decent sized stuff .

.......about 6 years ago i got a carp rod a 12'/2.75lb, have being using it off piers and rocks and now off the beach. for me it works great on the bottom, float, and light enough for spinning, from the beach i put out a 4oz lead with no problem and it has great bite detection. it has handled double figure pollock/conger and huss. i use it with a solara skp multi: loaded with 15lb main line....

I'd say a 3oz weight would be more balanced for a 2.5lb TC

Thanks guys, very helpful.

I've got the offer of a 12ft "beachcaster" rated for 3-6oz leads.

I'm going to check it out at the weekend.