Basic Sea Fishing Equipment

Sea Fishing, the Great Adventure

EVERY trip to a shore, rock, or boat mark is a true adventure. Why? Because the sea angler is never sure what species of fish will bite next. It may be a small flatfish, or pouting, but it could be a record bass, cod or conger eel. It’s this excitement and uncertainty which appeals to people of all ages.

Shore fishing from estuaries, beaches and rocks puts you in a fascinating world of white-water surfs and dramatic scenery. You’ll be fishing for flounders, dabs, dogfish, bass, huss, rays, pollack, cod, conger and many more species. Even the hard-fighting, fast-swimming tope - a streamlined predator of the shark family - occasionally comes within reach of the shore caster, and they can grow to weights topping 50 pounds.

The choice of baits and techniques is equally large, ranging from fish and worm baits used on the sea bed to spinners, plugs and plastic imitation fish cast and retrieved through mid-water.

Boat fishing adds an extra dimension. The element of the unexpected is heightened further, but there’s also the thrill of the boat underway and the expectation of a great day afloat. Bottom fishing on the sea bed with fish baits can bring rays, huss conger, ling and colourful gurnards. Very popular are the long-range trips to sunken wrecks in deep water, the haunts of pollack, coalfish, conger, cod and ling - all of which grow to 30 pounds and larger.

You don’t need a licence to fish in the sea, and there’s no close season.

Nature’s seasons govern the fish you’ll catch. Spring and summer brings plaice, rays, bass, turbot, wrasse and mullet among others. The cooling winds of approaching winter drive these species offshore to be replaced by whiting, dabs and the ever-hungry cod.

There’s always something to be caught...and most make a fine supper!

SEA FISH

It would be impossible to summarise the huge variety of sea fish which swim around the coasts of the British Isles - more than 350 species have been recorded. They include flatfish, a term which covers small fish (such as flounders, dabs and soles) which reach only a few pounds, and giants like halibut, which can weigh several hundred pounds.

The cod family are round-bodied fish which include whiting, haddock, coalfish, pollack and, of course, cod. Some are small but others grow large — ling and cod of more than 50 lb have been caught on rod and line.

Some of the sharks can grow to hundreds of pounds, and their smaller relatives include dogfish and tope.

To Start You Will Need:

For shore fishing

For boat fishing

Beach Rods

Your chosen rod should be capable of handling 6oz (170g) leads; most good quality beach casters are designed to handle 4-8 oz (113-226g) leads.

The stiffness of the rod should match your ability to cast comfortably with it. An over stiff rod will be difficult to handle successfully and a soft rod will shorten your casting distances by absorbing the energy meant for moving the lead.

Beach casters break down into two sections by means of a joint, where usually the end of one length is inserted into the end of the next length in sequence i.e. Butt end into tip end. Some rods have a spigot joint, which means that both lengths are joined together by a short, stiff tube that is glued into the bottom end and fits neatly into the top end

The reel is attached by either independent screw holders called "Coasters" or a built-in reel holder called "a Screw seat". These seats are usually used for fixed spool reels.

By convention, the naming nomenclature of rods designed for use with Multiplier reels will be marked with a "M" while those designed for use with fixed spool reels will have an "FS" in their model code. By way of example only: RT0031FS or RT0031M.

The major difference will be the rings, on a rod designed for a Fixed Spool reel it will have a few large rings sited on the underside of the rod and rods for Multiplier reels will have a greater number of smaller rings. This is because when line comes of a Fixed Spool it does so in coils and therefore needs larger rings, whereas on multiplier reels the line streams off the spool in a straight line and so soesn't need such large rings. With a rod designed for Multiplier reels, the reel is positioned on top of the rod and so that line doesn't touch the rod as it is bent under load there are more rings to support the line.

The better quality of the rod, the better quality the rings will be. Beware of "Cheap Rods" the rings may rust in sea water and may be built into the body and can not be replaced if damaged or worn out.