Sea Angling for Spearos

[atomichaggis]

Originally Posted by foxfish

Mr x you might be interested to research eyeless rods?
I use the Daiwa Interline models now but also liked the Silstar range, I find this type of rod superb for use in my small boat. There is a trade off from the beautiful action & feel you get in that they are a bugger to thread the line through in the first place.

Those rods look fantastic... can't help wondering if weed gets trapped inside tho?

[Magpie]

It was a fun event at a casting comp. Granny Smiths and you had to pass the leader through the apple and tie it off at the bottom, the only concession allowed was a 12" bit of tube on the leader.

You could cast an apple a lot further if you just wrapped it up in tape, the main problem was keeping it on the line because the leader just slices through it so it had to be smooottthhhh or it'd end up sliced and you'd end up on your face.

Sorry mate, as you suggested, I disagree. In my experience, a short rod will not compete in distance terms with a longer rod provided they are of similar standard and the caster is able to use the rod effectively. And there are many other benefits of a longer rod too. To me 10ft is short, indeed that is the length of the shortest rod I own. But to each their own eh!

Don't know how I managed to smile for the picture, I was somewhat pissed off!

[Pastor]

Originally Posted by atomichaggis

Ouch!... and you posed for a picture with it lol... I'd have been crying.

My thoughts exactly.

[atomichaggis]

I still imagine it would just slice through sending sliced apple off right... I have to try it tho.
Pendulum or OTG?

Sorry mate, as you suggested, I disagree. In my experience, a short rod will not compete in distance terms with a longer rod provided they are of similar standard and the caster is able to use the rod effectively. And there are many other benefits of a longer rod too. To me 10ft is short, indeed that is the length of the shortest rod I own. But to each their own eh!

Thats the usual response but i'll bet the opinion is never based on medium/heavy lure fishing.
Certainly with surfcasting and super lite spinning a long rod will almost always outperform a shorter one but a spoon of 25 grams has an optimum speed that it can travel thru the air and that is where the baitcaster comes into it's own. I've yet to see anyone punch my usual selection of lures any further... as soon as I do I'll be buying whatever they've got... however long it is.

I tried to convert my girl's dad, who is quite handy with longer spinning rods but he can barely cast in front of himself with a baitcaster... He is also hopeless with a flyrod like you say... Each to their own!

[atomichaggis]

Originally Posted by Pastor

My thoughts exactly.

I couldn't smile if I broke my cheapo picasso gun, breaking that rod is a bit like You breaking that shiny gun of yours... We'd all suffer terribly

[Magpie]

Exactly the problem! Pendulum mainly, a flat style being far more effective because the sudden direction change of a high style was usually when the apple would part company.

Thats based on my experience plugging with lures from 15 to 40grams. When I need to get a bit of extra range lure fishing I'll use one of my carp rods at 12 or 13ft, but most of the time I'll use my 10ft shimano lure rod because its more comfortable and easier to impart a decent action on the lure.

I use a baitcaster on occasion, an Abu Revo STX which I got for 18g plug tournament casting, but usually I prefer a fixed spool to be honest.

[atomichaggis]

Originally Posted by Magpie

Exactly the problem! Pendulum mainly, a flat style being far more effective because the sudden direction change of a high style was usually when the apple would part company.

Thats based on my experience plugging with lures from 15 to 40grams. When I need to get a bit of extra range lure fishing I'll use one of my carp rods at 12 or 13ft, but most of the time I'll use my 10ft shimano lure rod because its more comfortable and easier to impart a decent action on the lure.

I use a baitcaster on occasion, an Abu Revo STX which I got for 18g plug tournament casting, but usually I prefer a fixed spool to be honest.

I'm putting granny smiths on my shopping list. I might try taping the apple a bit at first tho.

wobblers and the likes are even less aerodynamic than stickbaits and spoons so I can see the case for a longer rod... but carp rods... fixed spool... Shocking! The Revo STX is a wee beauty of a reel.
I'm a fan of shimano lure rods even long ones, i just wish they'd ship more trigger grip ones in this direction. 9-10 foot double handed baitcaster based on any number of their lure rods would be ideal for me.

[Mr. X]

Wow, you guys have been busy while I've been away! I must admit I am quite taken by those American-style baitcasters, with the small multiplier reel & trigger. Saw a very neat little multiplier in the store at the weekend, I think Abu 6500 on sale but still quite pricey (is this the one you use atomic haggis?) They also had a few combos & the store owner seemed pretty helpful when a woman went in to buy a decent beachcasting set up for herself. Outside the store they had a beachcaster set up with reel, float, weights & hook £35! (I suspect it was not of the finest quality ).

Made a trip down to Swanage Saturday, didn't catch anything. Mainly we tried out the Flounder spoons (maybe Wrasse offcuts was a poor choice of bait!). One of the team tried a weighted jelly shad. The spoons were a tad light (at perhaps 30g-ish -- I've since rebuilt them with a little more weight), so I switch to a big (140mm) clear Maria Angel Kiss towards to end to get a bit closer to what looked like an off shore reef - they cast really well.

Spoke to an older gent that said some decent bass were caught at the far end of the beach last week. A younger angler thought that was probably during/after stormy weather. He also suggested "half-moon shaped slipper limpets" as bait -- must look that up -- he said regular conical limpets were not good though. The local fishing store suggested a couple of very nearby spots. I suspect they might be good night spots as they are under big lights. We were fishing in the middle of the day -- probably the worst time but we wanted to get some fresh air & sun light after the Christmas hols.

I think I have probably got my spinning rod/reel set up sorted now, it worked faultlessly and I didn't have to think about it at all. Just as well, too busy helping others get set up!

Ringless rods?! Foxfish -- you like to be on the cutting edge don't you Is that the shape of things to come? I read a 20 year old fishing book this weekend (Express Fishing Guide) -- it talked about how great the new hollow glass fibre rods are compared to the old solid glass fibre rods & cane rods. It did mention that some thought carbon fibre was the material of the future but the author seemed sceptical because of the extremely high price of the few available at that time.

[Magpie]

There's many many different models of 6500's mate, would need more info on that one in particular.

Erm, yes, really you need worms of some sort to trail behind the spoon.

Slipper limpets are a reasonable bait, often used after storms as they get washed up on the shoreline. Had bass and bream on them myself.

Ringless rods aren't that new, there was one called the Cyclops in the 70's iirc, was used at casting tourney by backcasters but was a beach rod primarily. Daiwa have done their Interlines for many years but they don't seem to have taken off over here. Don't know why because as I think Mart said they are well used elsewhere in the world. I'm waiting for a cheap carp one to come up on ebay myself.

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by Magpie

What like this one? (That was a Daiwa Amorphous Whisker Tournament, which hasn't been made for a while but good secondhand ones still go for 300quid easily).

I've now got a very expensive handle for my pond weed scooper!

Making your own travel version?! (Were you exceeding the specificed casting weight or was it just your super strength?)

Worms - yes, should have visited the shop first, I expect they carry them. I see they had mackeral in their freezer.

Another beginner question: We discussed flattie rigs recently. I made up some rigs per atomichaggis' design. Presumably these should be cast and left in position - as if ledgering - rather than retrieved slowly like a Flounder spoon or lure?

BTW I have made up a couple of power ball rigs for casting rubber eels (powerballs 1 pound for a pack of 10 I think in Woolworth -- the hard ones not the soft pastel ones). One with a 1m hook trace, the other with 2m...apparently you can just stick the hook in the ball when casting. I haven't got round to trying them yet. So far I have just trolled eels behind the kayak -- seem to work well. I finally found a shop (Swanage) that carries the spiral leads (Jardine?) that you can twist your mainline around (recommended to me by a Kenyan/Cornish colleage) - expensive but I got 2 to try out: 18g & 30g. I'm thinking the 18g could be used up-line of a light spinner or lure to improve casting and the 30g up-line of a rubber eel, instead of a power ball (I would use a bored bullet but don't want to mess with my current lure set up: braid->15lb mono->swivel-less mini clip set up). I also got a couple of the red slider clips suggested previously for ledgering flattie rigs; flicking through Sea Angler today I see a boat crew out of Llanelli use a big America swivel clip for a similar purpose -- although I suspect that would not be suitable for casting(?).

As well as the spiral/Jardine lead, there are a couple of other specialist leads that appear in all the books but I have yet to find in the stores: I think one is called a Wye of Wyle lead & the other a fold-over lead. I think the former was intended for trolling. It looks like either can be used on the main-line side of a swivel connected to a Flounder spoon or spinner, to ensure the mainline isn't twisted by the spinner.

[Magpie]

Its not strength, its technique

[foxfish]

Interline style rods are very cutting edge in my opinion - not new though! I built my first one about 25 years ago? certainly before I had come across a cyclops! I think I still have it somewhere (you know how I store thing Maggers) I owned a cyclops casting rod at one time but they did not work that well as any leader knot would not fit down the end eye! This still applies with the modern versions of eyeless boat rods but when using braid is of little significance.

[atomichaggis]

Mr.X,

I use an abu 6500 ct premium mag elite for surfcasting... I've seen jerkbaiters use 55's but it's mega beefy for regular baitcasting tho. The abu revo stx that magpie has is perfect for trigger grips. i use a little daiwa viento low profile nowaday's.

The rig i described is for kicking along the bottom, hence the short, stiff snood to preven the tangles that occur when you fish a paternoster of regular dimensions actively. fish it with a couple of pops on the tip or winds on the reel to disturb the substrate pause a little while before before moving off again... think of it like half lure half bait. flatties are quite predatory, I often take flounder on the fly... it's fun to sightfish them like trout.

[Mr. X]

I was looking through some sea angling magazines today, Total Sea Fishing magazine had a couple of articles that might interest forum members. There was one on fishing in Norway & another of kayak fishing for bass. Not very indepth but the pictures of the kayak fishing gear was interesting e.g. huge handline-style winder used for the thin anchor line & chain, drogues. Also, the suggestion of using a condom as a waterproof case for cellphone/VHF radio.

They had some interesting looking lures too, including a very slim one, like a Rapala Sliver but slimmer with, I think, just a single treble hook on the front half. Looks very sandeel like.

[atomichaggis]

softcore... this is some hardcore kayak fishing...

YouTube - Kayak Fishing for Salmon Sharks, Alaska...