That's a fine fish, did it taste good ?
I think I've stuck with a light line because most of my fishing was in small lakes and tarns where small trout were common but plentiful
It makes sense to up the strength though so I'll do the switch and see how I get on.
Don't know, it's in my mates freezer (what's left of it as it was chopped into stakes and given to the old folk), hopefully I'll try a few stakes before it's gone.
I think there's an aweful lot of folk go into fishing and buy whatever Ray or Lars or whoever says is the best or what they use. TBH to fish successfully, your most reliable piece of gear is your reel. You can fish with a cheap reel but if you want to fish with less hassle, buy a good reel. The rods, well to be fair telescopic rods are not that great. Your better off with a 4 or 5 piece travel rod or two piece or very tough telescopic. I've went through 4 telescopic rods in the last 3 seasons and in every case except one where the rod snapped, the eyes went. (usually the last at the tip). I'm not even convinced with shimano exage telerods either...~~(I think that's partly why they come in a hard travel case
)
The fact is that if you are carrying your rod in a rucksack or in a canoe, sooner or later it will get damaged so there is some sense in being realistic in buying cheaper rods. At the moment I'm experimenting with a very cheap 2 piece shimano sea spinning rod which looks very tough indeed yet only cost me £12 (on offer). I use a hard homemade case. My reel on the other hand was daft money...
which can be used in the sea and in fresh. But you can get a very good reel for £20. My only other expense is my spinners. I do an aweful lot of wilderness (if there is such a thing here in Scotland) fishing, from the fly to the spinner and very occassionally bait. If I catch a fish or two I take them to eat and stop fishing for the rest of the day. No need to be greedy.
Fishing does not need to be complicated, expensive nor difficult. It mainly uses laughter (you need a sense of humour when you are not catching!) common sense, knowledge and luck...