rod length

Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 7:36 pm

hello all, am about to buy some kit and was wondering what size rod is best suited to a beginner? ive fished before (carp fishing) would i be asking for trouble going straight into a 16 ft?
cheers

Member Joined: Feb 04, 2009 Posts: 96

personally i wouldn't choose a 16ft rod straight away as you may not be able to cope with it. A 14ft beachcaster should do a treat.

Hebby happy

Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 8:29 pm

Your build and strength will have a lot to do with how big a rod you can handle. If you are 6ft 6" and built like a brick outhouse you may be ok with a 16ft rod and 8oz of lead. If you are 5ft and 7 stone it isn`t gonna be a good idea to go over 12ft.

Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 10:36 pm

5'11", 13 stone, always done OK with 13 ft, don't see the point of bothering with anything longer, too dam awkward.

Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:50 pm

ill get an 8 footer then big grin

....thanks for the replies has anyone tried either sonik or salt rods?...........

Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:22 pm

Got two salt rods. Not bad for the money but the tip paint/laquer soon starts coming off and my two year old salt 12 ft two piece has now started splitting at the tip. The other is a 13ft Salt Long Surf which has turned out to be a bit too floppy for me and now has one cracked ring. Have heard that Soniks can bust when put under a lot of pressure but don't really know.
Anyway, have now changed over to Firefly Rods which seem to be better quality than the Shakespeares for similar prices. I understand that they will be producing a new uprated rod early in the new year and from what I know it should be a real cracker for the money but we'll have to wait and see.

Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 9:49 pm

cheers eccles would you consider telescopic rods ? and would 6oz be enough?

Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 9:55 pm

ive had 2 12ft salt beach rods for just under a year and the tip paint has started to come off, and also the tip rings on both break very easily.
they both cast well thou confused

Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:31 pm

spunky wrote:

cheers eccles would you consider telescopic rods ? and would 6oz be enough?

Ask yourself this question:- Have I ever seen experienced anglers using telescopics for serious beach fishing?
Well spunky, I never have. I did buy one years ago and it fell to pieces when I first tried to give a real belt. There are supposed to be some better ones about these days but I don't think I could bring myself to try them. Why would you want one anyway, except perhaps to take on an aeroplane on holiday. Most three piece rods can be fairly easily transported - even on a push bike as I often do. Oh and by the way I only use 6 oz sinkers when out in the boat, 4 or 5 oz sinkers I find quite adequate on the beach.

Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:22 pm

cheers eccles top man i asked because they were on offer
http://www.anglingcentre.net/acatalog/Clearance_fishing_rods.html
about half way down the page ............do you fish the bristol channel much mate?

Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 9:17 am

As eccles says telescopic are a no no, If you need to buy something compact then have a look at Shakespeare travel beach casters. I have 2 of them and use an Abu 7,500 reel on each of them.

They may not be top of the range but they do the job and I don't have to put anything on the roof of my car as my tripod is also compact and the whole lot fits in the boot of my car.
Cheers
keith big grin

Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2009 6:46 pm

thanks rabbi i think ive settled on shakesper salt but dont know weather to go for 14ft-15ft long surf 4-6oz or 13ft salt beach rod 4-8oz..........what would be better a longer rod with less weight to cast or shorter rod that can cast more weight ?..............bit confusing this big grin

Occasional Joined: Sep 06, 2009 Posts: 187

Get the 13ft. It will cover every aspect of beach/shore fishing and will put a 6oz lead a decent distance.

Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 12:39 am

hi, i had a 15ft salt about 4 year ago i ended up giving it away i couldnt get on with it. i think you should start with a 13ft and see how you get on with it. good luck with wot you chose

Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 9:52 am

13ft every time. The longer the rod the more power you have to put into it
Cheers
keith big grin