boat fishing

[welsh wizzard]

ok guys, after reading all your posts about fishing from a boat, im thinking of giving it ago again. i havnt done this though since i was a kid so i could do with some advice on the stuff i need to start, rods/reels etc

thanks in advance

[Drew]

Well Welsh Wizard,

Where do we start? Uptiding or Downtiding? the choice is yours depending where you are fishing from. What rods do you want to look at? If you are looking for quality that will last a lifetime then look no further than the Daiwa TDXB or Abu Suveran range.

For Downtiding you will require a boat rod, they mainly - generally come in three classes,12 - 30, 20 - 50 or 30 - 50 i.e. the poundage of line that the rod is recommended for. For normal use I would suggest that you use a 20 - 50, this rod should cover you for most of your fishing needs.

The reel is down to preference, star drag or lever wind? Once again there are some who favour one better than the other, both will do the same job. I would stick with the well known manufacturers i.e. Abu, Shimano or Daiwa.
The Abu 7000 range are great reels as are the Shimano TLD's or Charter Specials, not forgetting the Daiwa Sealine range.

For Downtide fishing I would recommend that you use Braid rather than mono. This enables you to use lighter weights. The other main reason is that you can detect the feel of the weight on the bottom, and the "bites", this is something that you have to experience rather than be told about.

For Uptiding you will require an Uptiding rod coupled with a reel capable of casting a baited trace up to about 20 - 30 yards from the boat. As before I would stick to the above manufacturers.

I am sure that you will receive other replys with a different point of view, however these are my thoughts as requested, I hope that they might help.

You are the one who will be spending the money, all I say is "Don't buy rubbish."

The Daiwa sea fishing rods are all British made.

Cheers

[A fluff chucker]

Originally Posted by Tasmanian Jim

The Abu 7000 range are great reels

Except the " Budget range Abu Seven 7000" which is cr*p. IMHO

The 7000 manufactured in Sweden (red side plates) is the one with the great reputation and getting more difficult to find. Some good ones on Ebay 2ndhand sometimes.

[Old Smoothound]

Good posts guys,

I concur with all that has been said. I use Abu 12-20 class and Shakespeare Ugly Stick Gold for 30 lb class Downtiders all on braid.

All of my uptide rods are Abu Conolons and I have had big and small fish on them and quite a few cod from the Bristol Channel, plus Skate to 16lbs and Conger to 25lbs with no problems at all. Very well built and they do exactly what they say they will do.

Most of my reels are Abu 7000's except my 20-30lb class reel which is a Penn.

Do not buy the budget Abu 7000 Black reel, it is Cr*pp as Fluff has said, why on earth Abu have done this I done not know, thay should stick with the "pedigree" the original Abu has..........

I have tried braid for uptiding, but have gone back to mono, as in the Bristol Channel with the size and race of tides we get, the rod never stops "nodding" and is a pain in the butt.

I hope this helps.

[audiracer]

hi wizzard
what's your budget????

for a good deal try 'tony's tackle' they are doing a shakespear ugly stick rod with a penn 320 gti for about £90.

the ugly stick rods are really good value for money and you will be able to get a 12-20lb or 30-50lb rod, all you have to do is decide on what sort of fishing you want to do? light boat or wrecking.

the penn 320 gti is a good reel, go for one with a level wind so you don't have to worry about making sure you load the line on the reel.

[welsh wizzard]

thanks for the help everyone.

ive never really thought about what sort of budget. i usually just buy what i like and if i dont have the money ill save for abit.
as for what type of rod. it will be the down tide rod as im just starting out again, just needs to be able to catch me more fish than whats coming off the shore atm

[Ben]

downtide is prob best, more people do it