Beach rod advice for lure

[Gengar]

Hi raiders, with my recent conversion to lures I have been thinking of giving beach fishing a crack. Never really tried it except using nippers on 7ft rods which is great fun but wanted to give beach fishing with metal lures a go. Maybe catch taylors, salmon, etc. Been just waiting for the right rods to go on sale! ha

I recently bought a Penn Mariner II 10ft (composite, 6 to 10kg and 20g to 87g cast weight) which was on sale but felt a bit heavy. Then today noticed the abu garcia 9ft full graphite rod (6 to 10kg and 20g to 68g cast weight) for a good price. I haven't used the Penn yet so can take it back to upgrade to the abu garcia. However, I am worried the 9ft might be a bit short for beach fishing? Read previous posts but still not quite sure. Any thoughts/advice? Thanks all!

 

[dirvin21]

No expert on beack fishing but 9 foot graphite should have you covered casting slugs 

[Mr_clownface]

I cast metal from the beach with a 9'6 savage gear rod 10-15kg line rating in calm to average conditions,if its rough and or windy i use a 12ft silstar Diamanto 7-10kg line rating,i generally use 20pnd mono on both.,the savage gear 9;6  i use 20-30gram lures and the 12ft rod i use 30-50gram lures,i have found a good medium action is fine and both are graphite rods.

the silstar rod is discontinued now but its been a great rod its taken a beating,im not sure why more stores dont carry higher end silstar rods.

Edited June 1, 2021 by Mr_clownface

[Gengar]

Thanks for the replies.

Actually the abu garcia veritas is a 9ft2in rod so it sounds like its doable for not too rough wave conditions. Seems to be their higher end model but always hard to tell from the website description alone. Still not sure but maybe i would trade up to the 9ft graphite......

 

[JamoDamo]

daiwa seabass

[Gengar]

2 minutes ago, JamoDamo said:

daiwa seabass

Looks nice but unfortunately seems out of budget for me. Me looking at no more than $100.

Just not sure if 9ft2in is enough for casting from the beach. Any thoughts on that?

[little fisho]

9ft2 is enough for casting metals, especially on calmer days. rough days with big surf i wouldnt even bother off the beach without 12ft. all the rods i use are 9-9'6 and they are perfect for spinning off the rocks and beach for me

[Green Hornet]

8 hours ago, Gengar said:

 

Just not sure if 9ft2in is enough for casting from the beach. Any thoughts on that?

I do a hell of a lot of this style of fishing and my 3 rods are all between 9 and 10 foot. A longer rod will tire you out quickly.

My rods are top end, but from what I've read, Penn Prevails and Shimano Coltsnipers are popular.

Just try and find a rod suited to the weights you intend to cast and don't necessarily go by the manufacturer's rating. I find the ideal casting weight and these markings vary quite a bit between brands.

 

[DerekD]

Hi Mate,

Got some options to show you and think we can make it suitable for harbour fishing too. Give us a call when you can and please don't buy anything till you have tried the outfits I have.

Regards,

Derek

[savit]

Penn Mariner has a solid glass tip - I would choose graphite or at least full composite rod for better sensitivity for lures.

[Gengar]

Thanks for the responses especially derekD for explaining it over a call! Love this forum. I ended up getting the 9ft2in and look forward to using that on the beach and even in the harbour!

[JonD]

Im using a variety of 7ft rods to flick lures from the shore, most with 40g metal lures. Ive measured along the beach with my Garmin gps that I can reach 85-90m casting back down the sand (not out to sea). The distance is greatly reduced with heavier braids so I stick with 10lb in 8 strand or suffix 131. I have no idea on a rod under $100, the line alone on my reel puts me back $130.

I bought my son a Daiwa Saltist 802 (8.2ft) which has to be the most fun and easiest little rod Ive ever used from the shore but $200 . It casts like a bullet and has landed small sharks of around 15-20kg and even a massive 97cm tailor.

There are some reasonable low budget rods that perform really well. I picked up a Angler Advantage mt8120m from a tackle store for $60, a rod for simply lending to people I take fishing. This cheap rod casts remarkably well due to its soft low action (bends through the entire rod). It will flick small lures using light line but can also handle 4oz sinkers and big baits after dark (using a different reel with heavier line). This rod has landed lots of small sharks to 40kg and the fact it was cheap means it gets abused without much care and so far has handled  everything ever thrown at it.

[slothparade]

I can support that the saltist 802 is a very good rod, I just got one a few months ago. casts reasonably when you put heavy enough lures or baits on it. If you don't mind second hand have a look at facebook market place, you can pick them up for $100, sometimes a little under $100

I also have a shimano aerowave 12ft, you can get them for $100. they are a bit heavy but there is a lure one I think. the aerowave casts very nicely, will admit mine is very heavy but I have a spinfisher on it but I actually like the extra weight. 

 

[Rebel]

I use a Dawia Sebass 10'6' and a Abu Garcia Veritas 10ft. Both great rods. No Problems.

I use one of the new Abu Garcia V4 12ft rods for bait fishing. Great rod and very light.

Cheers.

Edited June 2, 2021 by Rebel

[Gengar]

Thanks for the responses especially derekD for explaining it over a call! Love this forum. I ended up getting the 9ft2in and actually picked it up earlier today.

Look forward to using it on the beach and even in the harbour!

[DerekD]

Hi @Gengar

Was good to catch up with you yesterday and to give your new rod a run. Hope it hit home with what both @JonD and I were saying about the noticeable increase in casting distance gained when dropping down a line class or two. Your Veritas rod has a 6-10kg line and 20 to 68g lure rating so you you have some options available to you. If you were frequently fishing off the rocks I'd say go a bit higher (maybe 20lb) on the line but for what you have in mind with the beach and now hopefully the harbour I'd recommend a skinny 10lb (what we were using yesterday) or 12lb. 15lb would probably be a good all round compromise for that rod but you will sacrifice casting distance. If money were not an option I'd be looking at a Shimano 4000 reel (or equivalent in other brand) with 10lb all the way and a Shimano 5000 reel with 20lb all the way. That way I could switch between the two as circumstances dictate. I'd spool it all the way with whatever line you select. Based on past experience with that reel (and the colour changes every 10m) we were hitting about 100m with the longer casts. You will save a few dollars backing it with mono but not worth it for the peace of mind you have if you hook a cracker fish on a a long cast and only have another 50m of braid to play with before you see the backing traveling out through the guides. Additionally you will lose some line over time (birds nests) and you find you reach the point when you start to see the backing on most casts and risk having the joiner knot running through the guides so have to respool another 150m - easier just to run braid all the way from the start.

What I've found with some of my rods I do for casting is that there is a sweet spot in lure weight which is usually less than the actual rod rating. I suspect that 50gms will be the upper range of that rod although you could comfortable cast heavier.

The lures we used and what I'd suggest you buy in rough order:

1. Halco twisty in 30gms and then consider the 20, 40 and 50gms. Had a swivel (and maybe clip) and swap the treble out for a large eye single hook (e.g. gamakatsu large eye in 1/0 or 2/0 or 3/0 depending on lure weight - I hold the single alongside the original treble and try to match overall size).
2. Flutter type casting micro jig (e.g. Palms Slow blatt narrow/wide or oval or Hayabusa jack eye, etc)
3. Slapstix 9 inch (white or pink) matched with TT tournament jighead in 5/0XH hook or TT Headlockz in 7/0XH hook with weights from 3/8oz to 3/4oz depending on what is needed)
4. Slapstix 6 inch (white or pink) matched with TT tournament jighead in 3/0XH hook or TT Headlockz in 5/0XH hook with weights from 3/8oz to 1/2oz depending on what is needed)
5. Bassday Bungy cast 30gm
6. Popper (better in summer) - we used River 2 Sea Dumbell Popper 110
7. Rapala Xrap long cast lure in 12cm (36gm) or 14cm (54gm) with the single hooks
8. Shimano Ocea pencil lures (similar to the Bungy but on steroids)
9. Shimano Waxwing (discontinued)
10. Floating stick baits (more for summer)
11. A tackle box to put it all in.

Regards,

Derek

P.S. When you do get the line sorted get out some of the metals and spend some time on the casting. The extra distance I am getting with that gear is just technique. Once you get it worked out you should be hitting the same distances I can.

Edited June 14, 2021 by DerekD

[big Neil]

21 minutes ago, DerekD said:

Hi @Gengar

Was good to catch up with you yesterday and to give your new rod a run. Hope it hit home with what both @JonD and I were saying about the noticeable increase in casting distance gained when dropping down a line class or two. Your Veritas rod has a 6-10kg line and 20 to 68g lure rating so you you have some options available to you. If you were frequently fishing off the rocks I'd say go a bit higher (maybe 20lb) on the line but for what you have in mind with the beach and now hopefully the harbour I'd recommend a skinny 10lb (what we were using yesterday) or 12lb. 15lb would probably be a good all round compromise for that rod but you will sacrifice casting distance. If money were not an option I'd be looking at a Shimano 4000 reel (or equivalent in other brand) with 10lb all the way and a Shimano 5000 reel with 20lb all the way. That way I could switch between the two as circumstances dictate. I'd spool it all the way with whatever line you select. You will save a few dollars backing it with mono but not worth it for the peace of mind you have if you have a cracker fish and you see the 150m traveling out through the guides. Based on past experience with that reel (and the colour changes every 10m) we were hitting about 100m with the longer casts.

What I've found with some of my rods I do for casting is that there is a sweet spot in lure weight which is usually less than the actual rod rating. I suspect that 50gms will be the upper range of that rod although you could comfortable cast heavier.

The lures we used and what I'd suggest you buy in rough order:

1. Halco twisty in 30gms and then consider the 20, 40 and 50gms. Had a swivel (and maybe clip) and swap the treble out for a large eye single hook (e.g. gamakatsu large eye in 1/0 or 2/0 or 3/0 depending on lure weight - I hold the single alongside the original treble and try to match overall size).
2. Flutter type casting micro jig (e.g. Palms Slow blatt narrow/wide or oval or Hayabusa jack eye, etc)
3. Slapstix 9 inch (white or pink) matched with TT tournament jighead in 5/0XH hook or TT Headlockz in 7/0XH hook with weights from 3/8oz to 3/4oz depending on what is needed)
4. Slapstix 6 inch (white or pink) matched with TT tournament jighead in 3/0XH hook or TT Headlockz in 5/0XH hook with weights from 3/8oz to 1/2oz depending on what is needed)
5. Bassday Bungy cast 30gm
6. Popper (better in summer) - we used River 2 Sea Dumbell Popper 110
7. Rapala Xrap long cast lure in 12cm (36gm) or 14cm (54gm) with the single hooks
8. Shimano Ocea pencil lures (similar to the Bungy but on steroids)
9. Shimano Waxwing (discontinued)
10. Floating stick baits (more for summer)
11. A tackle box to put it all in.

Regards,

Derek

P.S. When you do get the line sorted get out some of the metals and spend some time on the casting. The extra distance I am getting with that gear is just technique. Once you get it worked out you should be hitting the same distances I can.

As usual Derek, a very extensive assessment of the solution to Gengar's question. Good onya. bn

[Gengar]

@DerekD

Mate another incredibly valuable session for me on Sunday and a real eye opener especially when we got to the slapstix. I remembered I asked why you need such a massive lure and was honestly shocked how incredible lifelike they were whether on the straight retrieve or on the bouncing retrieve. 

Unfortunately I can't quite remember all the different types of lures you used after the slapstix or the different kinds of retrieve techniques. Definitely need another session once I get my lines and have had a few casts with the 9 foot rod. 

The only downside to Sunday's session was that the fish weren't playing their part but we did see this red/orange flash from a fish that was following one of our lures. Not sure what it was but it seemed a good sized fish. Would anyone know what it could have been?

Anyway can't wait for summer but until then i can start to get some of these lures you recommended and go out for a flick during winter and see if I find any salmons cruising around. Next time we can hopefully catch some pelagics together!

[DerekD]

Hi Gengar,

I talked to a few people about that red flash and the fishing encyclopedia known as @wazatherfisherman came up with a very viable option. While that strike was so quick it only gave us a glimpse, if it wasn't for the red flash I would have called it for a salmon.

Waza's thoughts were that it is a salmon and that the red was actually from the gills flaring out as it slashed at the lure. He said they can often miss the strike and we were at an angle that when it turned that is when we would have seen the flash.

Regards.

Derek