Any good ideas for a small sea fishing rod and reel? Either a short rod, a telescopic one, or one that breaks down into sections.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Compact sea fishing rod?
- Thread starter WittyUsername
- Start date
It’ll be beach fishing on the South-East coast. So anything from Bass and Dogfish to Dab and eels, I suppose.
With beach fishing you need to cast a good distance, this would need a longer rod that I doubt you will find in a compact version.
If you would be fishing off the rocks or harbour wall you could get away with a shorter rod.
If you would be fishing off the rocks or harbour wall you could get away with a shorter rod.
What's your budget? Anything shimano stc is awesome. I had the beast master, one hell of a rod I think it was 7 pieces
Do people fly fish your area of coast? We get salmon runs here, same as in Scotland, so lots of people do have these big heavyweight fly rods. I dunno, I find it more fun than pitching some bait out into a channel then waiting and just getting blown around by the weather (actually, that is rather nice). On the other hand, there are the fish that'll bite here. Fly fishing for mackerel etc. is fun and productive, and you won't need a 15' 12wt. 
Suggest a trip to your local tackle dealer, tell them your budget and what you want to do and they will see you right, they also have the benefit of local knowledge and years of experience.
Depends on what your targeting bass can be had feet from the beach , I seen a local down Portland fishing of the chesil with a spinning rod Around 8 ft and 1 lure , he was throwing mackerel back as he was targeting the bass , I sat an watched him he had 3 bass all undersized an returned an roughly 6 mackerel in 15 minutes .
The shimano Exage STC range cover everything from very light spinning up to carp type rods
I've carried the lightest one with me round the world for years and throw it at any available species
I'd hope that it is still the same quality as the ones I bought many years ago, sometime manufacturers do change materials and factories.
Shimano Exage BX STC Mini Tele Spinning Rod: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors
I've carried the lightest one with me round the world for years and throw it at any available species
I'd hope that it is still the same quality as the ones I bought many years ago, sometime manufacturers do change materials and factories.
Shimano Exage BX STC Mini Tele Spinning Rod: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors
Cheers mate, it looks great.
Can you use that fresh and sea fishing? What would be the minimal kit you’d take to accompany the rod if you were trying to survive for a week or two and catch your own food?
the Exage is a fine/light rod but i’ve managed some belting fish
I normally pack some small feathers/krill type lures
a handful of mini dexter wedges
100meters ten pound leader line to attach to light braid mainline
a couple of small surface popper type lures
a random selection of small hooks for making little bait rigs up if there is naturals bait around
i always take trebles off lures and use single hooks. The occasional loss of a hooked fish is better than loosing all your lures on snags with trebles
I’ll do a run down of my travel kit with photos if I get a chance
I normally pack some small feathers/krill type lures
a handful of mini dexter wedges
100meters ten pound leader line to attach to light braid mainline
a couple of small surface popper type lures
a random selection of small hooks for making little bait rigs up if there is naturals bait around
i always take trebles off lures and use single hooks. The occasional loss of a hooked fish is better than loosing all your lures on snags with trebles
I’ll do a run down of my travel kit with photos if I get a chance
+1 for the Shimano Exage STC. They're a bit spendy - but buy once, cry once...
They're fairly light rods, so for the sort of fishing you want to do, go for the longest/ heaviest which is the 2.70m 10-30g casting weight. It's the one I have and it's ideal for all types of shore fishing with lures - even surf (bass and mackerel come right up to the breakers when they're feeding). If you're looking to beach fish with bait, then you're going to need a longer/ heavier rod - which excludes portability options.
The casting weight covers pretty much all of the common lures you'll want to use - although at the lower end, you'll probably have to weight soft plastics.
It casts very well for a telescopic and packs down to fit in a day sack. Pair it up with a saltwater reel (around 3000 size) and some 15lb braid with 15lb fluorocarbon leader (no need to go heavier than this and you'll cast much further with lighter line) and Bob's your mother's brother!
Exage range, can’t fault them, I have the 7ft travel rod, tiny, packed down, wouldn’t use it for the sea though. The reel in the combo set is awesome and can’t fault it, only down side is the price but it’s quality. you may look down the carp rod route of telescopics, larger but still smaller than standard rod and use that from the beach. The only thing I would suggest is get two reels in the long term one for sea and one for freshwater, the salt will play havoc with the internals, so remember to strip it down at the end and give it a good clean.
I thought I’d pop back in now I’ve got most of the stuff.
I bought the Shimano STC 2.4m that can cast up to 100g. I’m just waiting on my reel (ordered the 2500 Daiwa Ninja) and some fluorocarbon leader.
Now for some silly questions:
Could I potentially use this set up for bait fishing, too? I’m sure it’d be fine freshwater but I’m assuming the limited casting weight would stop me throwing large sinkers out for sea fishing.
How do I set my line up with the lures/spoons? I was going to guess at braid on the reel, 2-3 feet of fluorocarbon leader attached to the braid with a swivel, and then the plastic lure/spoon on the end?
Any help would be much appreciated. The advice has been great so far.
Are you planning on using braid for you main line on your reel? I would highly recommend using a monofilament line on the reel, that way you can use it straight through without needing to add swivels and leaders. If you have braid though, a swivel will work, just use a short leader of around 3ft and be careful not to wind the swivel back through the rod eyes as this will damage them. I've seen it happen hundreds of times, no exaggeration and I've done it a bunch myself!
Dexter wedge lures work well and are fairly cheap. They will catch bass, pollock and mackerel, go for a 30g size.
For bait, there are two simple rigs. A single paternoster, which can be created by tying a large loop, then cutting to create two tags, one longer than the other. Tie a weight to the long one, and a hook to the other. Bait elastic can be a god send for bait fishing btw. With your setup you will probably be able to chuck quite heavy weights, maybe upto 5 or 6oz but I wouldn't be trying to power cast.
The second rig is a carolina rig. This uses a drilled weight that slides on the line, down to a swivel, then add some leader material, then a hook. A long hooklength works well from sandy beaches, for flatfish etc, and a short one works well in deep rocky water for wrasse. You can also use soft jelly type lures on the rig, this works well for pollock on deeper rocky marks.
Dexter wedge lures work well and are fairly cheap. They will catch bass, pollock and mackerel, go for a 30g size.
For bait, there are two simple rigs. A single paternoster, which can be created by tying a large loop, then cutting to create two tags, one longer than the other. Tie a weight to the long one, and a hook to the other. Bait elastic can be a god send for bait fishing btw. With your setup you will probably be able to chuck quite heavy weights, maybe upto 5 or 6oz but I wouldn't be trying to power cast.
The second rig is a carolina rig. This uses a drilled weight that slides on the line, down to a swivel, then add some leader material, then a hook. A long hooklength works well from sandy beaches, for flatfish etc, and a short one works well in deep rocky water for wrasse. You can also use soft jelly type lures on the rig, this works well for pollock on deeper rocky marks.
Thanks, I’ll order some wedges and some bait elastic. I’ve bought braid after reading it’s better for 80% of things.
Yeah, I’m fully aware that I won’t have a proper beach casting rod on my hands, I just wanted one small, portable rod setup that can do a bit of everything. If I’m honest, I prefer spinning/lure fishing because it’s a bit more active, bait fishing bores me a bit. If I was planning on going somewhere for the day I’d take a big beachcasting rod and my new setup and do a bit of both. While the bait’s in the water I can flick lures around with the other rod; best of both worlds.
Thanks for the help. I’ve used the carolina rig for bait fishing before so I roughly know what to do, I’ll just get some lighter sinkers for sea fishing.
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I like my little Rovex 9' spinning rod that breaks down into 4 sections. It can cast up to 50g so I can cast a simple baited rig if I don't want to spin with it.
I prefer the narrower metal lures rather than the thicker dexter wedges as they can be cast further when it's windy, and it's often windy down here.
I could really do with something a little longer these days as my local beach is very shallow and I could do with a travel rod that'll cast that bit further.
I prefer the narrower metal lures rather than the thicker dexter wedges as they can be cast further when it's windy, and it's often windy down here.
I could really do with something a little longer these days as my local beach is very shallow and I could do with a travel rod that'll cast that bit further.
Have a look at .....
riggedandready.net
I have one for taking on holidays , works a treat
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riggedandready.net
I have one for taking on holidays , works a treat
It’s a bit early for me to recommend this Shimano, seeing as I’m yet to use it, but it sounds like the exact thing you’re after. It can cast up to 100g and it’s 2.4m long when assembled. It packs down into 4 pieces too.
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