Rods for Real Fishing

Member Joined: Oct 27, 2005 Posts: 27

Is it really worth buying a top quality rod eg. Zziplex, Century etc.. if you really only want to use for proper fishing. It seems that alot of hype surrounding some rods is purely based on how far you can cast a lead in a tournament field miles from any water!. I am new to fishing and have no intention -whatsoever- of going to a field and trying to launch a piece of lead into another country. I do however want to visit a nice clean sandy beach and launch a lead into the surf and hope that something comes along and takes a fancy to it. Therefore, when I draw up my shortlist of quality BEACH rods should I include Zziplex, Century etc....or should I just use an old curtain pole with a wire hanger at the end?. If so I particularly fancy the Zippy.

All thoughts welcome.

Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 11:28 am

I find with anything you get what you pay for , you try a cheap rod compared with a top of the range rod you will notice the difference :wink: you will find with better quality rods that they can retrieve better .... hold the tide better and yes in some cases cast further. They will also have a far better overall build with quality whipping and rings etc :wink: . Its all down to your funds and how seriously you take the sport of sea fishing I suppose :?: If you can its nice to treat youself at least just the once :lol:

As for the best rod for you thats down to your height / build and casting style really, I have used many top rods over the years I own a Daiwa AWB 129, Penn Viper and a few other lower ranged rods. I have tried varius Zziplex rods but they were not for me even though they are a great set of rods :wink: If possible its far best to have a selection of rods to try as quite often you are suprised what best suits you :wink:
Cheers
mrix

Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 2:03 pm

I would agree you get what you pay for in most cases, but I would still recommend including Greys on that list as I believe their prices are low compared to rods with similar performance, plus the quality is equally good in my view...

It's a bit like Hifi really - the sound quality difference between a £50 and a £300 system is huge, whereas the difference between a £300 and a £5,000 system is a lot less easy to quantify (let alone justify)...

I hope that makes sense?

Tight lines
Tim

Occasional Joined: Dec 02, 2005 Posts: 144

agree, you get what you pay for.

there aren't actually that many rods that are designed fro tornament casting, there's alot more that are designed for different fishing situations.

imo it really depends on how often you're gonna go fishing-

if it's just when you can be bothered then a £30 touch will be ok.

if it's once or twice every month then the medioka rods (£100-£150) will do the job.

and for every weekend or more then invest in the top range rods.

Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 11:33 pm

As you might expect from me you guys, I almost completely disagree. My boat rod is a 20lb Shakespeare Mustang bought 8 years ago for £25 it has caught lbs and lbs of fish, including cod and ling up to 25lb. I have two beach/pier rods - an carbon Abu which cost £30, now 6 years old and still catching bass up to 8lb (personal best) and now a chinese all carbon 3 piece with two tips costing just £15. I can cast a 4oz lead with it well over 120 yards which is certainly far enough for most species which knock around Hayling. I conducted a recent survey with the bass in this area and none of them have the faintest idea which rod they have been caught by! :lol:

Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 8:55 am

Eccles, you're my kind of guy - er....not in a funny way you understand big grin

For me there's nothing better than finding a rod that you immediately feel comfortable with, that catches fish, didn't cost the earth and is of such good quality that it will last for years.

It's true to say that the fish don't care about the rod we use, but it's equally true that nor do other anglers when we catch a good fish - I mean, the questions they ask are always about the bait, the rig used and the distance we were casting at - never about the rod we used....

Lastly - and it's only a thought really, so no fighting please - do our thoughts turn more strongly towards new rods when we are catching less?

Tight lines
Tim

Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 9:14 am

It is hard to explain but lets just say if you buy a top of the range rod and use it for some time I dont think you would ever want to use anything less :wink:
Its all down to how you are going to use it really at times you may require casting technics like pendulum casting etc, which is a great tool to reach those fish you may have been not able to reach before :?: most cheap rods will not give you the option to progress.
But yes you can use equipment that is lower down the range and you will catch fish this is totally true big grin

Cheers
mrix

Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 9:36 am

Agree Mrrix.

But I must correct Bigguy with one thing: £100-150 doesn't always buy mediocre rods, some yes, but some can be terrific value for the money...

Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 11:19 am

I luv these debates,

At the end of the day isn’t it down to available funds, prestige and enthusiasm that are some of the ingredients in the decision making process, oh and of course the products available from your suppliers.

It’s a bit like buying a car…. 4x4 is best in some eyes…. in my opinion they are ok for farmers and people in the mountains not designed for central London… or is it the car for a family or a sports car, a limo’ … I know you got the point!

My £15 12’ beach caster catches fish, but whether or not I would increase productivity with £250 cost/worth of rod I may never know… but saying that maybe the dearer rods do gives a smoother ride casting and retrieving. Unfortunately though unlike a car you can’t hire one or test drive one before you make your purchase.

But there again I am a novice angler….. but from observing fellow anglers, very often the one that lands THE FISH either in species, size or quantity is not doing anything different to other the anglers… …… so, I know this maybe a dirty word, is there large element of LUCK for the majority of anglers me very much included….

HoOkEd

Occasional Joined: Dec 02, 2005 Posts: 144

Tim wrote:

Agree Mrrix.

But I must correct Bigguy with one thing: £100-150 doesn't always buy mediocre rods, some yes, but some can be terrific value for the money...

fair play there mate, i was generalising a bit.

when i started to get into fishing (years ago) i went from a cheap leeda rod to a daiwa TDPK, which i consider a medocer rod (in both price and quality). it was far better than the cheap rod but no where near the quality of say the daiwa AWB (top of the range). don't get me wrong it was a very good fishing rod and i could put a lead 180 yrd on the field.

but comparing it to the century tip tornado match and lite (which i've got now) it's a bit soft for casting and pumping fish/ weed back. and the bite detection isn't as good imo. but still a good rod.

i guess i'm just a perfectionist when it comes to fishing and maybe a bit of a tackle tart. LOL.

Member Joined: Oct 24, 2005 Posts: 31 Location: Midlands

I started fishing with a second hand k-mart 7ft boat rod with a reel out of a dumpster. Caught plenty of blues, stripers and weak fish with it on the beach.
Now I have alsorts of rods and reels. Some cheap 'n' nasty, some quality gear. To be honest, the k-mart rod did everything I do now with muliple rods and reels except distance casting. So really, as long as your catching fish....

Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 9:02 am

Hey jce, great to get a post from NYC, love to know what blues and stripers are. Went fishing in the US once (down south) but despite the promises of the boat skipper I drew a blank. I started with a hazel rod cut in the local woods and a victorian centre pin reel which my grandad gave me. I screwed curtain rings into the rod for line guides. It did actually catch a few small roach in the local lake, can anyone beat that?

Member Joined: Sep 29, 2005 Posts: 84

Yes, ive tickled trout. LOL big grin

Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 4:05 pm

That's nothing Dungyjim - I hooped a goldfish on a hoop-la stall once.... big grin

Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 4:18 pm

I met the Guy on Deal Pier last Thursday who got himself in the National Papers about two years ago for catching an 18lb Cod on a Jelly Baby.

It seems the skipper of the boat they were on dropped the packet of sweets on the deck, the angler said I'm not eating them now so used one as bait for a joke.... this caught him the fish.

HoOkEd