Buying a Beachcaster, a few questions?

[DRoyal]

Am looking into buying a beachcaster and new reel and have a few questions. Have never beach fished before.

What size should the rod be?
What difference is there between a 12ft rod and a 16ft rod?
What else should I take into account when buying the rod?
How much money will I be looking at to get a good enough rod that will do the job for a beach fishing beginner?

Im siding with getting a fixed spool reel? (multiplier just looks complicated)
What should I be looking for in the reel?
How much money will I be looking at spending?

All help greatly appreciated.

[gfkelly1969]

first thing you should do is try a cast with some different rods,if you could try go to one of the compactions and ask the lads for a cast i am sure they wont mind,you can see what rod feels right for you

post the area you fish and some of the lads on site might meet up with you and might have spare rods that you can try to see if you like the beach fishing

if you are serious about fishing you would be better off buying a more expensive rod,better having one right rod then 3 or 4 crap cheap rods,i started like you i didn't know what to buy and ended up with about 8 beach casters before i got one that suited me

multiplier are a bit complicated but after a bit of time you would get the hang of them,they are better for distance,i like using the fixed spool reels as i don't worry about distance where i fish

dont be in a rush getting anything until you try them out first

if you are buying on ebay i will pm you a few tips

[righthook]

Droyal,

Just joined the site and like you only back fishing a couple of months after a fifteen year break.

I'd heed the last advice. I decided to jump in feet first and bought a sixteen foot rod. It felt good in the shop granted it didn't cost the earth. On the beach it doesn't get the results I had anticipated. The twelve foot rod retrieved from the back of the shed gets me to the same zone.

The fixed spool I got was good as like you the multiplier just seems like hastle.
Birds nest soup isn't fun.

I'd love the opportunity to try out a few set ups in real time, I'm based in Dublin and would love to link up with like minded fishers.

cheers

Righthook

[shamoo0804]

I'd heed the last advice. I decided to jump in feet first and bought a sixteen foot rod

A long rod is not just about gaining extra distance in the cast, there are other as important benefits.

For example, if there is a lot of weed in your swim, having a long rod will help to keep your line above the weed at the waters edge, its also handy if you are fishing a surf beach because you can get the rod/line above most of the surf, which in turn will aid bite detection.

Also handy for when you are using long traces,.....have you tried casting a 14ft trace with a 12ft rod

So I guess some of your decision needs to be based on what type of venues you will be fishing, and taget species.

I started my seafishing last year with a cheap fixed spool reel and 12ft beach caster, and it served me well for the first 3/4 months, but as my knowledge of the sport grew, so indeed did the amount of tackle I bought. I also realised that I enjoyed the sport and would stick at it, and not banish the gear I splashed out on to the garden shed never to be seen or used again.

I soon improved the quality of my rods and reels, and now have gear which will suit many different fishing environments. I still have the cheapo set I started with, and its great to let the odd none fishing friend use this when they come out with me. I'm not fearful then that they will damage my more expensive gear.

[taz]

where abouts are ya based if ya are in the west ya can have acouple of cast with mine to see which suites ya best

[DRoyal]

Thanks for the advice lads. Thanks Taz for the offer but im in Dublin.

Think I might just jump in and buy myself one and see what happens.

[bigsod]

Dont know where in dublin your based but check out viking tackle in Bray.The lads will show you the options and you can have a good look at the rods and try to find the one for you.I have a goods few rods to cover a variety of situations but if i had to pick one it would be the grauvell dh surf its 15 foot long and casts well and has handeld anything ive hooked on it so far.It does not come cheap though about 500 euro or so