opinion on long rods

[avonmagic]

has anyone tried the various 'long' rods that are on the market.
i'm on the look for a new beach outfit, i've been fishing a 11.5 ft bass rod with fix spool and multiplier for the last 5 years now and fancy something new.
i am looking towards a new diawa longbeam 14 ft of possibly the shakespeare K2, with a distance fixed spool like the shimano biomaster loaded up with fine braid.
is anyone fishing this kind of combo? would love to know what they think of it.
most of my fishing is beach work with the occasional pier session.
thanks for any input.

[tonybolton]

I use a Shakepeare K2 with a Penn Avocet (15lb mono) or Shimano Aerolex (6 or 8000 can't remember) again with 15lb mono. I have used braid on both reels and although the casting feels a lot smoother I personally don't get much extra distance (no doubt due to my crappy style).

I originally bought the K2 as a quick fix to getting some extra distance in my casting and it definitely does outcast the shorter rods in my experience.

I tend to use the K2 when fishing clean ground and when there's not too much weed about, reason for this is that the K2 is quite "tippy" which whilst giving great bite detection can be a real pig when your trying to reel in 3lb of weed. That said loading one of the reals with braid might help cut through the weed a little but i would imagine the rod will still be working quite hard to retrieve.

I reckon that it definitely pays to have a longer rod "in the locker" for those days when the conditions are spot on and you want good bite detection at distance, however there will be days where very quickly you realise you've got the wrong rod with you for the session - it's just trial and error and a matter of personal preference.

I recently bought a 14ft Daiwa TDS for my multipliers (again can't remember the numbers) and this seems to deliver good distance, detection, and then on the retrieve in poor conditions turns into a broom handle to cut through the weed, I'm really pleased with it.

All that said, my best fish caught this summer, was caught on a £40.00 Leeda rod donated to me by a mate fished at about 30ft!

To finish, when I bought my K2 I did think it was going to fix all my problems; lack of distance, bite detection etc etc. It did help with the bite detection and the distance, but gave me other problems such as retrieving from distance through weed etc, that said I still use mine on about two thirds of all the sessions I fish, but probably wouldn't buy another I'd opt for nothing longer than 14ft. But who knows it does look good in metallic blue when the sun catches it, and being a bit of a tackle tart it would be missed!

[tonybolton]

I've just seen the comment you made in the original post about pier fishing, I meant to add that in my opinion the K2 is a definite no-no for pier fishing it's too floppy.

[Lewis 77]

Long rods are very good for casting delicate baits like red and white rag out a good distance. Also good on weedy beaches as you can keep your line higher out of the water

[gaz the great]

i use 12' aftershock rods with fixed spools and i can honestly say that it makes no difference to the casting length as i have used multipliers and also i have a 13.4 ' beach rod which i never use its all in the mind lol

[tonybolton]

Originally Posted by Lewis 77

Long rods are very good for casting delicate baits like red and white rag out a good distance. Also good on weedy beaches as you can keep your line higher out of the water

Agree that when the weed is close in the extra height coupled with an extendable tripod can keep you out of the muck.

[upnorth1]

I use a Century Carbon Metal BB - 15ft....absolutely fab...
Also a Century 125 Raptor - 15ft, this one basically for rough ground work, and I find the longer length helps me bully fish through kelp...
And a little shorter, Zziplex Primo Synchro - 14ft - this one's ideal if I'm fishing a crowded prom...

[..::Pike Pirate::..]

ive never used one but i can see the logic behind them, i suppose i never have needed one yet lol