Shore fishing - need advice

Loobz

Hi guys,

I thought I would take the plunge and ask for some help. I need to get some gear so I can have what I need for shore fishing. I have been to my local angling store but I find the choice of reels overwhelming.
I would prefer to buy online if that's an option (hopefully save a few €€€). I will be fishing off the wexford coast if that helps.

I will try to break my needs up into the following:

Sea Bass
I have an 8 foot rod with a dodgy reel, needs to be replaced. Would like to use the rod for shore fishing for bass. What reel would I need without breaking the bank? I wouldn't mind stretching a few quid if I knew the reel was solid but Im not going to make a living off fishing either so cant invest hundreds.

Also can you also advise on what I should keep in my tackle box on the lure front.

Mackrel
I was hoping to get a new rod and reel for this. Telescopic would be handy or would a good two piece be a better option. Again would need help choosing a reel. Obviously feathers are the way to go, could go back to my se bass setup and spin for mackerel for a change too.

I hope I am not asking for much and I fully understand that the choice and combinations is endless. But I want to approach this as a blank canvas without spending hundreds and keeping the tackle box full of stuff I will need. Not stuff I will look at and end up not getting used.

I would hope to have a setup where I can beachcast and fish closer to shore when needed.

links would be nice so I can start researching online.

thanks in advance.

.red.

You could get something like a tronix pro rockfish ml rod which is around 7-28g casting weight. Paired with a shimano catana 2500 you would have a nice budget set up, stick on some 15/20lb power pro and off you go.
This set up should cost less than €100 and if looked after it should last. Both are as good as you will get for that money.

For the mack/beach set up there is loads of options. For chucking feathers all day you want a light rod but if you want it for the beach too you are limited. A rod of about 2-4 or 3-5oz and around 11-12ft would do for both. Shakespeare do some good gear in the salt or mpv range so have a look. A carp rod might do for both too but will need to be washed after every use.
As for reels then you really do get what you pay for. A cheap reel will have cheap componants and wont last, especially if using it for mackie bashing. Just make sure what you get feels ok on the rod and not too big or small for it.
Courtown angling centre is meant to be a very good shop, never been there but always heard good things about it. Online shopling isnt always the way to go. You might save a few €€ but a big uk shop doesnt have local info and wont tell you where is fishing well.
Make sure you haggle and the more you buy the more you will save. If you can only afford one set up now tell them you will be back for the second lot in a few weeks and try to strike a deal on price.
Have a look at jim hendricks website, seai.ie or seai.com. more info on there about lures than you can shake a stick at. Hes using one of the smaller rockfish rods and seems go be loving it.

Loobz

Thanks red. Sound advice. In terms of you get what u pay for with a reel, are there any features I need to look out for when choosing a reel. Dont mind spending a bit if I knew what to look for. Thanks

dmc17

I use this Mitchell reel for mackerel fishing. For the price I think it's hard to beat. Just the right size and very smooth. I also have the same reel in a size 4000 for spinning.

These Shakespeare Agility rods are the new version of the Salt range. It may be more than you were hoping to spend but they are good value for money rods and you could use it for beach fishing as well as mackerel fishing.

.red.

Yep. Forgot about the agility range. The 4-8 rod would be ideal for the beach but a bit heavy for mack bashing. The bass rod would be ideal for macks but a little light for all round beach work but for flats, bass and whiting in close, less than 50yards it would be ideal. If theres a bit of weed about the rod will be useless. In a perfect world youd buy both lol.

As for the reel, anything by shimano should be ok. The more bearings it has the better it SHOULD be but thats not always the case. The penn surfmaster 750/850 were great reels on paper but were worthless once you tried to fish with them as they just fell apart.
Pick which rod you think suits your fishing first and then pick the reel to suit that.

Loobz

That seems like a good reel dmc17. Would be a nice combo with the Shakespeare agility for beach fishing. However its hard to know if it would suit for contant casting for mackerel.

Like you say red, sounds like to cover all corners you would need a light spinning rod/reel combo for 50 yard shore fishing. Then an agility/Mitchell blade 6000 for beach casting. And another rod/reel for mackerel bashing.

If I could find a way of having a single rod/reel for beach casting and mack bashing I would be happy. Overall weight is the obvious factor here, with the majority of the weight being in the reel. I presume 12 foot rods don't vary too much weight wise?

.red.

Youd be surprised at the difference in weight between rods and reels the same size.
That mitchel would be a good size on a bass/mack rod but too small for a full on 4-8oz beach caster.
Different manufacturers have different size numbers for reels. A way to see whats similar is to check how much line they can hold

Loobz

Saw this Shimano Syncopate 2500fg reel on ebay. Thinking it would be a nice bass spinner.

dmc17

I use that 6000 Mitchell Alu Blade with a 13ft Shakespeare Salt for mackerel fishing as well as beach work. The Salt is rated 4-6 oz and is a nice light rod. The newer Agility though is rated 4-8 oz so may be a bit heavier.
I see a lot of people like a lighter/shorter rod for mackerel fishing but I find where I fish from sometimes the mackerel can be out a bit from the rocks and the longer rod can send the feathers out a good distance thus covering more ground. I reckon, for the money you won't be disappointed with that Mitchell reel and if you use Parcel Motel you could save a few € on the postage

Loobz

I can understand why you should invest a bit more in a good reel. Heres a photo of my broken Jarvis Walker Aurora 5500. I dismantled it today to find out why my spool was no longer moving in and out. Turns out that the cog on the left which moves the shaft in and out was screwed into the 'plastic' body (on the right). This completely sheared away from the body. Think it cost €30 some time ago but was maybe fished 5 times.



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