Shore casting rig advice

Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 11:29 am

Gents,
Just getting into the fishing again and looking for a bit of advice.All the gear I have is for boat fishing,in addition to this i have a 13 ft boat no engine ( stolen and frankly the reason I gave up fishing for a while I was so disgusted).Any way champing at the bit and fancy a bit of shore fishing while I save up for a new engine.Could anyone advise me on a decent rod and reel for starting off from the shore in say the medium price bracket .Love the forum by the way the amount of info on site is brill !
Cheers
Peter

Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 12:24 pm

Hi Peter, Both Fladen and Shakespeare do a decent rod at reasonable prices. Shakespeare also do a decent fixed spool reel.
I would suggest going for a combo as this would be a cheaper option.

Welcome to the forums mate. Cheers
keith big grin

Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 12:59 pm

Veals are doing Abu Garcia 16 ft Hellbenders at present for £99. I recently bought the 14ft version and well pleased with it's performance so far. As is well known, I favour the Daiwa Opus fixed spool reels but you may want a multiplier.
BTW, try making yer own two hook clipped down rigs when you are ready to start, I find them to be good all round rigs.

Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 10:17 pm

Thats interesting,I had in my mind that the reel would be a type of multiplier ( no particular reason just my perception)yet you both mention fixed spool.What advantages does the fixed spool have over the multiplier ?
Regards
Peter

Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 10:28 pm

pter wrote:

What advantages does the fixed spool have over the multiplier ?
Regards
Peter

Virtually none in the right hands big grin

a fs is a lot easier to cast and operate for a beginner but guessing as a boat angler your used to multis and uptiding , fs will give you quicker retreive than most multis and walloping casts without the threat of nesting big grin

Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 7:01 am

I have both but prefer the fixed spool at night when I do a lot of my sessions because I am far less likely to get into trouble with birds nests and tangles. Also most beginners are advised to start with a FS reel because as the man said it is easier to cast with and has a significantly faster retrieve rate.
However for sheer cranking power you can't beat a good multi - I would hate to get involved with a seriously large fish using a FS but that is not very likely on most UK beaches.

Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 9:12 am

You cant go wrong with any of the Abu range of rods and reels, it all depends on how much you want to spend. The hellbenders are nice rods but are now discontinued and have been replaced by the ABU Atlantic 444 Surf Rod 13ft 8ins at about £130ish, ABU Atlantic 464 Surf Rod 12ft 4ins £140ish and the ABU Atlantic 484 Surf Rod 15ft 4ins £160ish, pair them up with maybe the Abu 6500 CT Mag High Speed at about £100 or Abu 6500 C3 CT Mag and you got yourself a nice rod and reel that will last you a long time. Or if you want to go alittle cheaper on the Rods and Reels maybe the Abu Esprit Beach 13ft at about £80 and Abu Ambassadeur 6500 CT Power Handle at about £60, if you shop about you could pick it up brand new for about £50 quid, these wont best as good tho and are more limited in what you can do with them.

Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 10:36 am

Peter, after reading you post very carefully, you state that you are a competent boat fisherman but are relatively new to shore fishing. My advice is to purchase a Fixed spool reel as they are a lot easier for the beginner and are far less trouble, but please stay away from the Penn 850 reel.
Cheers
keith big grin

Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 7:21 pm

excellent info guys ! I really appreciate the assistance
Peter