Beach & Pier Rod Help

[jeff]

Hi All,

Looking for some advice from some shore fishing experts as I spend most of my time afloat.

My mate will be fishing the shore with me in the winter. Mainly from easily accessible areas such as piers etc as he is disabled, (only one leg and 60 yrs old). He is an experienced fisherman but most of it done from the boat.

He is looking for a good rod. He already has a Penn 525Mag he uses for uptiding and will be using this as his shore reel. His budget is approx. £200.

Any suggestions?

Cheers in advance.

Jeff.

[KeithB]

As a novice, I was advised to get a Ron Thompson Axellerator (approx £100 from Billy\'s) , seems alright to me and canny valur for money.

[Chippy]

The Ron Thompson Axellerator is, in my mind anyway, a bit stiff for clean ground fishing. It\'s a great heavy ground rod though. A match rod or a Greys Orion or a Supro for that extra bit of beef would be more suitable. A century CM sneeks in at just under 200 notes as well.

[bribones]

just thought id jump in here as im looking for a better rod myself ,does a better stiffer rod give you greater casting distance ,i have a ron thompson 12ft beachcaster but its from the bottom end of the range £30

cheers

[Chippy]

Like a lot of things, it aint what you\'ve got, it\'s how you use it. I\'m not a casting guru, but I\'ve been led to believe that good technique will outcast poor technique with good kit every time. I actually find my softer rods, Penn Extreme Venom and Tip Tornado Lite and Ultra Lite easier to cast with than say my Reelsport Response/Longbeach or RT axellerator.

[TC]

Like Chippy, \"I\'m not a casting guru....\", but from what I understand, it boils down to being able to bend (compress) the rod during the cast which gives you distance.
The stiffer, \"rock rods\", aren\'t really meant for distance casting - when fishing rock marks, what you need is pulling power, rather than distance - often, just a short lob is all you need when fishing rock marks, I\'ve found.

The lighter (bendier) rods, such as the Greys Orion, are easier to compress when casting and you may find you get greater distance because of that. I use a Kompressor Sport, which I find is quite good for casting, as it has a soft-ish tip section - it\'s also strong enough though to cope with relatively rough or kelpy areas aswell.

Just had a look at one tackle dealers site to get a rough idea of prices.........

Century Kompressr Sport
£234 +VAT


Greys Orion
£114 +VAT





[Edited on 19/8/2004 by TC]

[tonybax]

jeff
go to veals web site they have some cracking offers on at the minute well under 200 quid.

[KeithB]

As Tony says veals have got some bargains, just spotted this mentioned on Jaybee\'s site:

Penn Nor\'easter 14\' 4-8oz
NOW HALF PRICE
A real powerhouse of a rod designed, as it\'s name sugests, for fishing heavy rock and kelp. Suits an easy casting style and will put a 6oz lead and a big bait well over 100yds. The firm tip helps to bully fish in but still shows those tell tale nibbles as a cod mouths your bait.
Fantastic rough ground / Bristol Channel type rod at a bargain price


Price: £85.10 Excluding: VAT at 17.5%

[jeff]

Thanks for the responses gentlemen...I now have some people to blame if we get the wrong rod.......Any further advice remains welcome.

Jeff.

[Ell]

jeff, some shops will let you try before you buy!

[Harold]

If only fishing from piers then an uptider will do fine, dont spend if you dont need to.

[bribones]

well after looking around i think ill be going for The Ron Thompson Axellerator looks like a good allrounder at a decent price just hope itl fit in the car

[WillW]

Bri

I have a R/T axellerator, I like mine for rough ground work and once you get it bent it casts well to! Have to say its good value for money when compared to some others out there.


Will

[KeithB]

Bri, I was advised to get the 13ft version of the axellerator, much better apparently!

[bribones]

hmm judging by the reviews ive read everyone seems to think the 13ft6 is the best of the 2,as ive no idea myself ill have to trust billys judgement as ill most likely get it from his shop

jump in here any time billy