Chasing daydreams?

My Daiwa 7HT is at least ten years old. Apart from a new pinion gear, it’s original right down to the bearings and drag washers. Owing to my own stupidity the main gear lost a few teeth last week, so I’m about to pension the old thing off. But what to buy?

All that concerns me in a fishing reel is reasonable performance and build quality, sensible price and decent after-sales service. Unfair and narrow minded as it may be, I also prefer to stick with the long established brands. Abu, Daiwa and Shimano, basically. Other reels are probably just as good.

Like practical beach fishing itself, this piece has nothing to do with tournament casting, advanced reel tuning and custom conversions. I make the point not because I’m anti-technology but because I hear from so many fishermen who can’t see the wood for the trees.

A guy emailed me just last night: “I cast about 120yd. I’ve just fitted ceramic spool bearings and they make no difference. Do I need to use special oil as well?” Another one: “My CT backlashes almost every cast even with the biggest brake blocks. Should I get a magnetic reel?”

Given that hardly anyone can fish at 150m, why are we so hypnotised by reel technology – or rod technology, come to that? You can cast a long way comfortably and consistently with something like an ancient Penn Surfmaster 100 tamed by nothing more sophisticated than a drop of gearbox oil.

So many fishermen spend a fortune on all the latest gear in the forlorn hope of gaining another 20 yards. They would do far better to stick with the old kit and invest in a few casting lessons. And by the way, 99 per cent of reel tuning problems disappear as soon as a caster’s skill improves. Fluidity of technique is the most effective spool controller of them all.

Good casting is all about understanding a few key steps, then making the commitment to master them. At which point I hand you over to Peter Thain, who’s just published another gem about improving your casting. This time he spells out some key basics.

Meanwhile, I’ll order myself another 7HT, stick in one brake block, and soldier on happily for the next ten years.

Cheap enough to lose…

I see no point using expensive rigs to fish dirty ground. Come to that, do complicated rigs armed with all the lastest technical wizardry actually catch that many more fish anyway? I’m not convinced.

This time of year when I fish areas so snaggy that losses are high, I use this set-up. The lead is a home-moulded 150g or 170g bomb with a single tail wire. Some have swivelling anchor wires. I used to form a ring in the wire for leader attachment, but now I simply bend the wire back on itself into an upturned “U”. The free end of wire is then bent into a bait clip.

The hook length is fixed to the leader with a clip made from about 50mm of 16swg wire. One end is formed into a closed ring of about 3mm diameter. The other end is folded over into a tight “U”. The stalk between the two ends is about 25mm long.

The closed ring slides on to the leader and is fixed by wrapping the leader three or four times around the wire stalk. The little “U” traps the leader and stops it from unwinding. The hook length is tied to the closed ring. Thus, the baited hook – and with any luck a fish as well – will stay connected even if the clip slides along the leader under pressure.

Lastly, I thread a piece of rubber tube on to the leader, tie the lead on, then pull the tube over the knot for protection. Made in 16swg stainless steel, the “U” withstands a pull of more than 200lb, so casting strength is not an issue.

If the baited hook doesn’t align properly with the baitclip on the lead, adjust the top clip up or down the leader as necessary.

I scrounge bits of old lead. A one-kilo roll of stainless steel wire cost me under a tenner about 15 years ago, and there’s still plenty left. Which means the entire rig is worth less than 20p including a good quality hook. Tight-fisted, or what!

All you need to know about proper arm action

Correct use of the arms in casting is poorly understood, which explains the constant flow of questions about it. I had planned to answer several technical questions about how best of get maximum value from that final punch and pull. But having read Peter Thain’s excellent piece on the subject, I’m confident he has covered the subject in as much detail as you’ll ever need:

 His other articles on casting are equally good, so I suggest you bookmark the site and keep going back there.

Zziplex boss Terry Carroll talks about surf rods

I thought you might like a couple of bits about Zziplex’s Terry Carroll that I came across in my archives. The video demonstrates the simple but deadly effective Brighton Cast, which is not that different from the Easy Cast. Terry’s comments about rods and casting come from an interview I did with him for a Sea Angler feature some time ago. But what he has to say about the important differences between casting and fishing is just as relevant today – if not more so. Many apologies for the sound quality!

CLICK ON THE ARROW to hear my interview with Terry Carroll:

Bring that old rod back to life

Frozen half to death during a Sea Angler photo shoot at Walton on Naze, I dragged myself into Richard Holgate’s tackle shop to scrounge a cup of tea and to have a snout at what’s new in the Meta-lite custom rod range. Richard’s latest creation is due to hit the scene when a few details have been finalised. This new beast, as yet unnamed, will join the range of superlative fishing and casting rods that includes the evergreen Flick Tip NG and the big-hitting Storm. More about this latest toy when I’ve had chance to try it.

Meanwhile, for anyone with a dog-eared but otherwise healthy rod that needs sprucing up after a few hard seasons, Richard’s rebuild service could be worth a look. Quality blanks last a long, long time. Some may soften a little after years of belting out big leads, but even they remain perfectly serviceable for decades. Being thrashed often makes a fast and powerful rod more user friendly anyway – yet another good reason to grab any old Zziplex, Conoflex or Century that might come your way. For no matter how old and tatty it is, almost all these rods are worth bringing back to life.

At £100 all in, the rebuild alone is fair value for money. The icing on the cake is that the rod will be picked up from and returned to its owner at no extra charge. With courier fees unlikely to be less than £15 each way, this makes Richard’s deal particularly tempting, especially for fishermen without a local custom builder to call upon.

More details at Meta-lite Rods.

Some old rods never die.

A question from Rob Allen of Bristol (and echoed by many more fishermen): What is it about old-time beachcasters that appeals to the modern generation? My mate bought one of the original Penn Sidewinders at a boot sale for £25, and he reckons it’s great.

Apart from the joy of picking up a classic for peanuts at a boot sale or in some tackle dealer’s secondhand rack, there’s a real prospect of getting hold of what could prove to be the finest rod you’ll ever use.

What’s so special about old-timers such as the Zziplex GS series, Conoflex 240T, the occasional veteran Daiwa and Penn, and even the daddy of them all the Abu 464? In a word, usability.

Back then, fishing and tournament rods and methods were more closely aligned than they are now. Many of us used the same rod for fishing and field work. And with minor adjustments, we used the same pendulum style – the style known as the fishing pendulum in contrast to the flat pendulum methods now dominant in competition.

I don’t want to go into the pros and cons of pendulum styles except to point out that excellence with the modern flat style usually requires a long and very stiff rod. This is exactly the kind of casting style and the design of rod that the average guy on the beach struggles to master.

The fishing pendulum cast – like the majority of us beach fishermen – does best with a less savage rod. Nice tip, fairly stiff butt and a progressive middle section; a maximum of 13ft 6in long; speed and stiffness balanced for smooth delivery of 150-170g leads and baits across a broad band of distances. That’s why 1980′s golden oldies in particular continue to be such wonderful fishing weapons. Of course there are modern rods that measure up. Trouble is, they’re often lost in a forest of lesser products where the emphasis is on marketing hype and designer bling rather than on solid, appropriate engineering.

To braid or not to braid?

Questions about braided lines come in all shapes and sizes. Performance and price are the big issues. And how well does braid cast compared with ordinary 0.35mm monofilament?

After years of playing around with all kinds of braided lines, my opinions remain split. Extremely low diameter compared to nylon of the same breaking strain is a telling factor for fishing in fast, deep water – hence braid’s popularity in boat fishing.

Owing to minimal stretch and the way these super-lines transmit the tiniest of vibrations, braid is excellent for bass fishing with plugs and spinners. You can feel every nuance of a lure’s action. Bite and fight are way superior to anything experienced on ordinary line.

But for everyday beach fishing, braid gives me serious issues. First off, the price. On almost every beach I fish regularly, losing tackle is part of the game. Pulling for a break is expensive enough as it is. Bearing in mind that one reelful of braid costs as much as a bulk spool of mono that lasts me a whole season, here’s one expense I’m not prepared to accept.

I don’t mind admitting that I find braided lines of around 20lb breaking strain – indeed any ultra-thin line – difficult to cast from a multiplier unless the spool is damped with big brake blocks or maximum magnets. On the bright side, though, braid’s low diameter certainly boosts distances.

Thicker braids are easier to handle on multipliers, though they seem rather prone to scorching. On the other hand, the breaking strain of these more multiplier-friendly braids is pointlessly high unless you are cranking conger and big rays up the side of a cliff. Bear in mind that 35lb-odd line used hard on a small CT will soon find any shortcomings in the gears and drag washers.

Casting thin braid from a fixed spool is lovely… until the inevitable web of twisted line comes off the spool. Here’s another key difference between everyday beach casting and, say, lure work at short range. You can usually unpick a tangle when you’re bassing. But the web of line flying off a beach reel takes no prisoners. Definitely a snap-off. Maybe ring damage as well.

On balance, then, the sensible plan is to proceed with caution for routine surfcasting. But if you’re into lures and other short-range work, treat yourself to a spool of braid. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.