Completely new to sea angling

[mandzhalas]

Hi.
I am long time coarse angler, but I have always wanted to try shore fishing. I know some gear from freshwater can be reused, but unfortunately I don't have any rods or reels.Long story [emoji19]

I would like to buy some gear and try beaches around wexford/countdown. Įtrinkite į would like more bait fish rather than lure.

What equipment do I need to start?

How much basic starter gear would cost?

Is it possible to learn just by looking at YouTube videos and forums or am I better of hiring instructor for few hours, as I have no friends that are interested in sea angling and could show me?

Day time vs nighttime fishing?

Pier,rocks,beach?

Any help is really appreciated.

[kieran]

You best bet would be to join a sea angling club and head out on meets and competitions.
There's even one attached to this website.
People will happily get you started and you can keep your money in your pocket.

If you have lure fished for pike and perch, the same basic principles hold for a lot of sea fish, especially later in the year as they come closer in shore, for example mackerel, scad (horse mackerel), pollack, coalfish and ballen wrasse. Bass would be the main target now for lure fishing.

When you get to shore angling either on the beach or rocks or a pier etc, that is where it differs quite a bit.

You would probably best to start with a four metre / 12-13 foot beachcaster rod and a decent spinning reel holding 200 + metres of mono of 7 kilo / 15 lb line. Beaches tend to be less snaggy so you can go with lighter lines and gear on beaches.

Sea angling does require quite a bit of terminal tackle, so probably best to go to a competition and talk to the anglers / see what they are using.

A coming tide heading into darkness is often described as the optimal conditions, but it depends on the species you are targeting on a given mark.

Hope this helps...

[mandzhalas]

Thank you,that is very helpful

[mandzhalas]

What do you think, bait or lure more suitable for beginner?

[Rob Millard]

What part of the country are you?

[mandzhalas]

Carlow/Wexford border

[Rob Millard]

The beaches of east & south Wexford would be a good place to start. A trip to a local tackle shop would be advisable. I can recommend Joe in Courtown. A good tackle shop will give you sound advice, the correct gear & bait, and some up to date info on the local fishing. It's in their interest for you to succeed.

[ardinn]

Hey mandzhalas

I am also on the CW/WX border (near clonegal) and also recently started sea angling - if your up for a day of it anytime pm me.

I recently purchased a new beach rod from courtown angling for €80 and i'm delighted with it - so it's not horribly expensive to start, a decent reel from €50 will see you fishing.

Check my complete newbie thread for more advice as I had the same questions not so long ago

http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org/foru ... =1&t=47253

[kalimn]

I've only been fishing for a few months now, but I found there is some really good stuff on youtube that has taught me a lot (probably also some rubbish), I've been fishing from rocks and beaches and would say fishing at night is the best, but i guess you need to get a few more things for night fishing headtorches etc.

Mainly I have fished with bait, although lately I've been getting a few lures to try as it looks like it could be good sport, I'm sure there are people know far more than me though :p

[ShaneH]

Yous are best of buying the likes of sea angler mag total sea fishing mag and sea fishing magazine if you's want to learn. To much bad advice is given out on this forum

[mandzhalas]

Trips to courtown angling and local newsagent are planned for weekend

[kieran]

Yous are best of buying the likes of sea angler mag total sea fishing mag and sea fishing magazine if you's want to learn. To much bad advice is given out on this forum

well perhaps if you contributed some advice yourself, rather than making aimless criticisms backed up with no evidence, you could improve the standard of the advice offered! I know I know, don't feed the trolls...

[shortcircuit]

Yous are best of buying the likes of sea angler mag total sea fishing mag and sea fishing magazine if you's want to learn. To much bad advice is given out on this forum

well perhaps if you contributed some advice yourself, rather than making aimless criticisms backed up with no evidence, you could improve the standard of the advice offered! I know I know, don't feed the trolls...

I only started sea angling a couple of years of years ago and the amount of useful advice I have gotten from this forum is unreal.
I would go so far as to say it's the single most important resource I have for advice. I don't have the time or flexibility to be part of an angling club and none of my friends are into it, so this is my first port of call when I need some advice.

I subscribe to sea angler myself, and I enjoy it as a nice read, but I think SEAI is a great resource, as are other forums such as WSF and to a lesser extent thelureforum.co.uk (tackle tart hype central!)

[ShaneH]

Yous are best of buying the likes of sea angler mag total sea fishing mag and sea fishing magazine if you's want to learn. To much bad advice is given out on this forum

well perhaps if you contributed some advice yourself, rather than making aimless criticisms backed up with no evidence, you could improve the standard of the advice offered! I know I know, don't feed the trolls...

Evidence have a read through your posts to start with. The s*** that's spewed out on this forum the Las few years is unreal you don't even see any of the old familiar names logging in or posting anymore. There used to be some of the best anglers in the country on this forum but when they gave advice they were shot down for been know it all's and now look this forum is a __ joke compared to some. It's now a tumble weed highway

[kieran]

Hi Shane

Well, at least your still engaged - my point was that people can criticise something or they can do something to change it for the better.

As many would know, I was very inactive here for several years owing to pressure of work / family etc. and would welcome a PM from you on how we can improve the forums and protect people who offer quality advice from unfair criticism.

Thanks

[Dave78]

when I got back into sea fishing about 4 years ago the first thing I did was went online and read everything I could find on cork harbour and the surrounding areas, next step I needed a rod and reel as my old gear was knackered .
I had weights , hooks , line and all the other terminal tackle.
I bought a 10' pier rod made by silstar and a Mitchell blue 7000 reel and 20lb line it cost me around 50 quid in total I was on a budget.
my reasoning for the 10' rod was I could use it anywhere beach , rocks, piers, walkways etc and for bottom fishing , spinning and for float fishing.
I used the rod for an entire season, at the end of that season I bought a Mitchell spinning rod and reel as I was getting a pain in my back from using the pier rod for spinning I spent about 25 quid on that set up which came pre loaded with 15 lb line.
next I was being outcasted on beaches so I decided on a 3 piece 13ft for the beach a few months later, that Shakespeare setup cost me around 45 quid.
I still have all three rods and use them on occasion the reels however are used for spare parts,
first lesson I learned the hard way look after your reels, hundreds of YouTube vids on that.

I have a number of 2 piece stiff 12ft 6 to 8 oz casting weight rods, they cost 30 quid each they are perfect for conger , bull huss , rocking on rough ground while still offering a distance on the cast.
I use these with shamano aerlux and Penn surfblaster reels , I personally don't compromise on reels I have a box of battered cheap ones in the shed to prove they don't last even with regular care.
the cheaper rods you can get away with for a number of seasons ,I'm constantly taking abuse and slagging over the state of my rods but Ive learned more from my cheap kit.

I now know what rod I need as opposed to what looks good , which helps me greatly with future more expensive investments.
I don't know much about the area your living in but i would be able to help you with terminal tackle etc and pass on a few tips I have got from others on this site.
first get yourself in the water and scout some ground you will meet other anglers out who will throw you a bone in terms of marks and what bait to use.
send me a pm any time you have a question mate, tight lines

Sent from my GT-S5830i using Tapatalk 2

[ShaneH]

Hi Shane

Well, at least your still engaged - my point was that people can criticise something or they can do something to change it for the better.

As many would know, I was very inactive here for several years owing to pressure of work / family etc. and would welcome a PM from you on how we can improve the forums and protect people who offer quality advice from unfair criticism.

Thanks

It would be nice to have the forum buzzing the way it use to but unfortunately the damage is done

[kieran]

One of the reasons the forum is no longer buzzing is that we don't have a presence in the Irish Angler magazine, so its hard to garner new members. Another is the downturn in the economy - a lot of people who did fish are not longer in the country. For anyone coming to the form new, like the new member here, what has gone before is irrelevant. It can be a positive experience if you want it to be...

If one of the mods is on, you might split this and put the second half of the thread into a different space? I'd do it only I don't know how.

[mandzhalas]

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Chuffed for response lads keep it comming

[keith]

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Chuffed for response lads keep it comming

The best advise I can give you is join a club it will fast track your fishing by years rather than trying to figure things out yourself. There are lots of clubs in your area with plenty of friendly and helpfully people