advice on coarse fishing

[alastair01]

New on the scene to fishing and confused about the amount of equipment available. I notice a lot of shops(internet) sell what they call combos where they seem to hoik a lot of gear together and sell it as a package. Is this a good thing to go for ? i.e. cost effective ?
Or is it better to buy reel, rod, landing net, unhooking mat, rod rest etc separatley and if so what would be reccommended.

Do let me know your views
Cheers Alastair

[Fish8myfly]

well it depends what kind of shop. argos i wouldent buy fishing tackle from there but if it is a fishing takle shop a bundle of all you need would be good for starting off and will save money or you could always buy last sesons stock which would be cheaper and still good

[fullcreel]

In some cases the 'combo' kits are pretty good, esp mail order, I recall seeing some good net/scales/sling/mat sets in some. I'm sceptical about buying rods or poles online tho, its nice to feel something in your hands before parting with money.
With cheap labour abroad in places such as china, you can get pretty good reels for less than £20, rods around £40, less but beware. See if your local tackle dealer will make up a package, but decide what kind of tackle /fishing you want to go for. Its a shame to spend money on something you won't be using very often.

[alastair01]

Many thanks to you both for your input, I really just want a general rod/reel etc for coarse fishing, i.e. not really targeting a particular species, like carp where it appears you need a more specialist rods/reels etc.
Do you reccomend any websites for this or perhaps second hand gear ?

Cheers

[fullcreel]

There is a place that does end of line, I think its called castaway tackle but not too sure.
One idea might be to try the more 'proper and organised' car boots, there's often some one with tackle at my local ones, that way you get to feel what a rod is like in your hands.
There are also various tackle fairs going this time of year, I would suggest you go for a light avon type rod, something light enogh to enjoy float fishing with, also you get a stronger top section in case you fancy targeting something abit more beefy.
Have you joined a local club? Members might let you have a feel of some rods, to get an idea of what things are like.
Have a hunt through the tackle reviews on the iste too.