A few beginners questions/ help please

[mightyassassin]

Hi lads/ladies, new to the world of fishing but been wanting to try it for years.

My gf got me a 12ft rod and reel, plus some beginners set stuff.

But I have a few questions

is this a good size of rod for a beginner

what other stuff should I be looking to get, like floats, lures etc

Anyone know of a good book for beginners like me thats worth a read.


thanks for you time reading

[Twiddler]

Hi and welcome Mighty,

On the rod/tackle side, it all depends on what kind of fishing you thinking to take up.i.e predator fishing, carp fishing i.e. rivers, lakes canals etc.

So as more info about the type of fishing you want to do, would be helpful so we can give you some advice and tips what gear you may require.




Claudia

[mightyassassin]

thinking of loch fishing for the likes of trout,pike, perch etc A mate suggest to get a fly fishing rod and try that, but I want to use the float/bait like worms etc fishing

hoping im making some sense here

[Twiddler]

For Pike you would need a different rod to what you would use for Perch and trout fishing.

You could do fly fishing for trout, lure on bait fishing would be better for pike and perch.

Pike rod: a carp rod of 2-2.5 Test curve would be fine, there are a few different ways of pike fishing, i.e. dead baiting, live baiting, or spinning with lures.

For trout and perch fishing you would get away with a good quiver tip rod, which can be used for light ledgering or with the lightest tip you could even float fish.

[mightyassassin]

so with this beginners 12ft coarse fishing rod reel and float kit what type o fish should I be looking to go after.

There is a lot more to this fishing than meets the eye

[Twiddler]

What kind of rod is it? There are all different type of 'course rods'....is it a feeder or float rod? It could also be a carp rod...you need to identify the rod first to see what kind of fishing you can do with it.

For example, you couldn't ledger fishing with a float rod or visa versa.

But don't get confused, there are different float rods too, some for heavier and some for lighter work.

It's not just your rod that's important, the line on your reel also plays a big role.
Lighter the line for example a 2lb mainline would never catch you a 10lb fish.

There is a big world out there about fishing and can't be explained in 3 words. I would suggest you start of with float fishing, get used to catching smaller species like bream, roach rudd perch etc. keep it simple and get used to your gear and what it is capable off.

Read a lot in forums, go fishing with a experienced friend watch and observe...you will never stop learning when it comes to fishing.

[mightyassassin]

cheers for the info so far mate, I have a heavy float fishing rod, I thought it would be a case of get a rod go fish lol, seems im going to have to do a lot more reading

[Twiddler]

lol welcome to the 'mad world' of fishing and tackle tarting

A heavy float rod can take some heavier fish and slightly stronger line to about 6lb line I think.


Not sure if it would perform as well on smaller fish though like roach rudd though, you might end up bumping them off, as the rod might be a little to stiff.

I might be wrong though, as I have never tried my heavy float rod on small stuff

[barbelblanker]

My suggestions would be to get in touch with a good local tackle dealer (if anyone knows one nearby please advise). It's very easy to spend a fortune running around buying stuff that every tom dick and harry tells you to get. Watch out though as there are some rubbish dealers out there. You're a Glasgow man, I assume, so you can probably smell male bovine digestive gas a mile off. I used to spend hours making tea for my local dealer in Bath (Bacons Tackle box, hope they are still around) and hanging about. Saves so much time as you can also listen to what people say when they come in (refer back to BS warning ).

A heavy rod will always be able to cope with smaller fish but you will loose a few if you use "unbalanced" kit.

Balancing kit involves using a rod, reel, line and gear that compliment each other.

For example.

If you had a carp rod, a small match fixed spool reel, 2lb main line and 1 lb hook line, a size 8 hook and a two ounce lead and went fishing with it, you'd hit problems quickly. None of these in isolation would be a good or bad solution but together they just don't go. It's like having a formula one car and a fast hatch. Just about any moron on the planet can drive a hatch quick (and most metal box drivers in hatchs seem to :) ), try driving the F1 car and most of us would stall it or drive it like a twit.

So, find a local tackle dealer (a good one), look to fish with someone who knows what they are doing and above all KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS HERE. If nothing else you will get a good bunch of anglers giving advise that's , usually (and I mean me before anyone else says anything) listening to .

All the best and stick with it, it took me two years of flailing around to catch my first flipping roach. Some would argue my success rate has not improved much and who wouldI be to argue with them?

And when you finally do know it all , tell God, because you'll be stood next to him on a river bank in heaven.

Cheers,

Pete.

[barbelblanker]

Oh boy, anything that can be misunderstood will be.

That comment about peope having things worth listening to wasn't supposed to sound like I was saying I was and someone else wasn't . It was me trying to be self depricating and suggesting others were listening to but some would say that I was operating out on theory as I fish so irregularily so was being self ... oh you know.

I apologise unreservedly and can only offer the fact that Morrisons are doing 4 bottles of thatchers cider for a fiver and I am just unwinding after my birthday this weekend. That and the fact that I have a PHD in talking rubbish. Oh screw it, I've got the standby phone too....I just hope I don't get called out and have to save the world from illegible electricity bills again tonight. The excitement just gets to you ....ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZz