I am thoroughly confused now

Member Joined: Jun 09, 2008 Posts: 26

Hi everyone here is the news noob in town rolling eyes

I have just discovered the joy of fishing from the pier I was invited out by a friend of mine to Dover this weekend
but be4 I get my self all tied up in knots which I so convinently did I have got a few question I have to ask
1 I have been able to narrow it down that as for now it is going to be the free spool reels for me but what does it mean when you say a 3 ball bearing or One ball bearing reel I read some where that you should get at least 3 ball bearing reel

2 you got your self a reel what is the how can you tell what kind of line will be the best to use with the reel 10lb 15lb ..... how do you equate that to what weight of lead you shoul use to get the best cast espacially if you are fish from the beach.... and how doesthis link in to the kind of rod you buy

3 I was sold a rod reel and weights tackle bits on the pier the guy can of sholved it i to my hands for £40 with out really telling me anything
all thought it was alot lighter than the rods my friend gave me and I caught 4 of my 5 mackes usnig my new rod
big grin

here are the specs Okuma Razor 80 reel + spare spool 2 4 oz weight and 2 5hook feathers
have I been had
Hermes Beach rod 330

4 what do these numbers on the side of my new reel mean

kg/m 8/400 10/330 12/240
lbs/yds 15/430 20/360 25/260

thanksin advance

Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 6:13 pm

Breaking strain and spool capacity in metric and old money big grin

hope this helps cheers Darren cool

Welcome to the forum big hug

Member Joined: Jun 09, 2008 Posts: 26

Thanks a lot for the quick answer

Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 6:47 pm

Generally speaking, the more bearings a reel has the better quality it will be and I would not buy anything with less than 3 bb no matter who made them because I found to my cost in the past that the cheap reels are crap and don't last 5 minutes. Thus I have two Okuma reels with 3 bb ("Pro 365's") which have stood up to a fair amount of punishment but would not buy the cheaper Okumas because they just are not made well enough to stand up to me fishing with them virtually every week in all weathers.
Most sea anglers use 15 - 20 lb breaking strain line and this is not really to do with the fish, it's much more to do with the amount of punishment the line will get being dragged over shingle,rocks, etc.
In addition to that, if you develop a power casting technique which enable you to cast say over 80 yds, you should use a shockleader. This is a length of much higher breaking strain line (around 50 lb is common) which is tied on the front of your main line and will not bust if you cast a 4 oz sinker say 100 yds. There is no need to do this however if you are just lobbing a 3 oz sinker say 50-60 yds with 20 lb line.
I have never heard of a Hermes 330 rod and suspect you have been sold a Chinese cheapie. There is probably not much wrong with it for catching fish but it will have it's limitations and you will probably want to get something a bit better eventually. When you reach that stage, come back to us and ask before you spend your money because there is a lot of rod knowledge on this forum.

Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 7:20 pm

you caught some fish well done

any advice you need just post a question and someone will be able to help you free of charge

some tackle shops just want to sell things to you and dont give a s***
these places should be shamed on here

ask on here for local shops that can be recomended

good luck and welcome
if carlsberg did fishing sites then this is it

cheers steve

Member Joined: Jun 09, 2008 Posts: 26

Thank alot for your replies

I found these on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250254837571&ssPageName=MERC_VIC_RCRX_Pr12_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT&refitem=250253314268&itemcount=12&refwidgetloc=closed_view_item&usedrule1=CrossSell_LogicX&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget&_trksid=p284.m183&_trkparms=algo%3DCRX%26its%3DS%252BI%252BSS%26itu%3DISS%252BUCI%252BSI%26otn%3D12

are they any good has anybody used them the desciption sa 9bb

Member Joined: Jun 09, 2008 Posts: 26

sorry wrong link above

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250253314268&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=015

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 7:07 am

Go to Lidles or Aldi they have some cheep and useable gear in stcok. keith

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 7:10 am

The spool skirts are too narrow - run the risk of line being trapped underneath when casting/retrieving. Their are better reels at much better prices IMO but have not seen them before.

Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 12:54 pm

I think Big Pit reels are more for fresh water fishing for carp. Dont know if they would stand up to the riggers of salt water fishing.

Tight Lines