At the suggestion of various members and given the magazines will run a mile from criticising a piece of kit, here is your chance to tell us what you really think about a rod, reel, line, lure... keep it legal please!
hi guys this my first post so help me out if yee can Ive been using a 12ft abu garcia viper and Aerolex 7000 xs to great sucess for the past 6 years.. The outfit has served me well for fishing the interior of clew bay where distance casting is rarely nessarary for thornback and bull huss and flatties... But i wold to fish other marks where more distance is required so ive desided its time to upgrade my equipment! I havent the funds to spend more than 250-260 on both the rod and reel. I have been Looking into Daiwa sandstorm 13 ft and abu garcia espirit which both look like quality rods within my price range. As for reels ive been lookng into either a 525/535 mag or slosh 20?? would the 525 be capable of handling large rays and posible hefty conger which are possibilty on some of the marks i fish and intead to fish during the summer months.. i.e rough/mixed ground. Could a 535 mag be used for beach work to effect, asweell as rough grund fishing??
Target for 2017: Tope, Bass, Specimen shore pollack, Specimen Sea trout, Turbot over 30cm, common skate
yeah Id say il go with either the mag 525 or 535! Could the 535 be used for all round work? I know ther bit big but want sumthn thatl handle rock work as well. Oh s*** man ya got stung there. Really interested in the abu espirit has got the fugi real seat on it. Looks a great rod for the price.
Target for 2017: Tope, Bass, Specimen shore pollack, Specimen Sea trout, Turbot over 30cm, common skate
if your looking for something for rocks that wont break the bank have a look for the Penn Rough Stuff. 14ft long and rung for multiplier. i paid €120 for mine over a year ago, might be cheaper now. i recently got a 525mag 2nd hand but in near mint condition for €60.
pair these together and you should have a set up that will suit you and still have about €80 left over.
i love the rod, one spot i fish is full of doggies but is very snaggy for the 1st 50 yards and it has no problems hauling 2 of them thru the snags. wouldnt recommend it as a rod for flattys tho, bite detection isnt bad, but its not brilliant.
Last edited by red on Sun Apr 25, 2010 9:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
Had a 535 mag for years, its just the job for rough heavy work, also use it on the boat. Great respect for it.
I've used it on the beach too at times in weedy wild weather, but the 525 feels better for more normal conditions.
Hard to get one outfit that covers everything, you could keep your original set-up for the lighter end.
penn 525 sounds like whats your after. Great shore conger reel, but it can cast well too for the likes of huss, ray ect. If you plan on doing conger fishing i dunno if the sandstorm would be up for it. I used to have one and although not a bad rod for the price, its not a conger rod. What ground will you be fishing over?? If its all conger, ray and huss fishing at distance you should look into a rod with a bite of "poke" in it. Especially to be able to lift the conger from the rocks and weed. If i were you i would look at second hand rods. The ones for sale on this site are generally in good condition and far cheaper then brand new. The 525 would be better all round reel then the 535 in my opinion.
red wrote:if your looking for something for rocks that wont break the bank have a look for the Penn Rough Stuff. 14ft long and rung for multiplier. i paid €120 for mine over a year ago, might be cheaper now. i recently got a 525mag 2nd hand but in near mint condition for €60.
pair these together and you should have a set up that will suit you and still have about €80 left over.
i love the rod, one spot i fish is full of doggies but is very snaggy for the 1st 50 yards and it has no problems hauling 2 of them thru the snags. wouldnt recommend it as a rod for flattys tho, bite detection isnt bad, but its not brilliant.
Have to agree with Red on this one i have a ruff stuff matched up to a penn 525mag extra, great rod and reel, the one bit of advice is as it happened to me if you are only starting off using a multi reel get a cheap one to start off with, i think i got a ron thompson for 50 squid to start, to be fair it took some abuse and by the time i was used to casting with the multi it was a bit worse for wear,
red wrote:if your looking for something for rocks that wont break the bank have a look for the Penn Rough Stuff. 14ft long and rung for multiplier. i paid €120 for mine over a year ago, might be cheaper now. i recently got a 525mag 2nd hand but in near mint condition for €60.
pair these together and you should have a set up that will suit you and still have about €80 left over.
i love the rod, one spot i fish is full of doggies but is very snaggy for the 1st 50 yards and it has no problems hauling 2 of them thru the snags. wouldnt recommend it as a rod for flattys tho, bite detection isnt bad, but its not brilliant.
Have to agree with Red on this one i have a ruff stuff matched up to a penn 525mag extra, great rod and reel, the one bit of advice is as it happened to me if you are only starting off using a multi reel get a cheap one to start off with, i think i got a ron thompson for 50 squid to start, to be fair it took some abuse and by the time i was used to casting with the multi it was a bit worse for wear,
Regards
I went the down the 'get a cheap multi first' route and wished i had just put the few extra euro with it and got a decent one. I find the cheap multis arnt well built and will break soon after, casting isnt that good on them either. Better off getting a well magged reel(525 mag is great) for an extra few euro instead of wishing you had'nt wasted your money on one that you wont use in a few months!
100% get a Penn 525 reel, they are without doubt the best all round multi on the market and have been for many years. if you can get a second hand rod with some backbone better again.
If you check around you'll find teh perfect set up well within your budget.
seank wrote:yeah Id say il go with either the mag 525 or 535! Could the 535 be used for all round work? I know ther bit big but want sumthn thatl handle rock work as well. Oh s*** man ya got stung there. Really interested in the abu espirit has got the fugi real seat on it. Looks a great rod for the price.
if you want rod for conger/rough ground i,d say the esprit is a bit bendy mixed ground or clean, why not get a secondhand sidewinder evo more distance and more backbone ,defo 525 got two second hand 6 years ago sold one and the other is still going strong prob 10 years old now just one new set of bearings in ten years
Ive been using a 12ft abu garcia viper and Aerolex 7000 xs to great sucess for the past 6 years.. The outfit has served me well for fishing the interior of clew bay where distance casting is rarely nessarary for thornback and bull huss and flatties... But i wold to fish other marks where more distance is required so ive desided its time to upgrade my equipment! I havent the funds to spend more than 250-260 on both the rod and reel. I have been Looking into Daiwa sandstorm 13 ft and abu garcia espirit which both look like quality rods within my price range. As for reels ive been lookng into either a 525/535 mag or slosh 20?? would the 525 be capable of handling large rays and posible hefty conger which are possibilty on some of the marks i fish and intead to fish during the summer months.. i.e rough/mixed ground. Could a 535 mag be used for beach work to effect, asweell as rough grund fishing?? 
