Beleiving magazines

Should we always beleive what we read ....

When you read a Sea Fishing magazine, many take what it says in the articles as "Gospel", however very often these articles are written by mis-informed journalists. Some don't fish, some are freshwater anglers but thankfully a few are true Beach casters.

One of the most common items on which incorrect advice is given is on the suitability of rods. If they are telling you a rod with a very flexible tip will give good bite indication, then they are wrong. In most cases a rod with a too flexible tip will cost you a lot of missed bites.

Most UK beaches require you to be able to cast a decent distance to get into deep water. It is generally recognised that the "Pendulum cast" produces the best distances. Try doing a pendulum cast with a rod with a soft tip and you are heading for disaster. When the rod is swung the lead will head of with a mind of it's own, accurate placement will be impossible.

A well balanced rod will not distort in the cast and accuracy will prevail.

The problem is not limited to Pendulum casting only, when performing an "of the Ground" cast you need your weight to start traveling as soon as you start your swing, if it is left "bobbing " around on the end of a bent up rod then momentum and accuracy will be impossible goals.

So presuming you have mastered the cast you may have 150 to 200 yards of line out in the water, this creates another problem. If you have on an 18 lb line it will be sitting there like a giant elastic band, when the fish takes the bait, instead of giving an indication on the tip the "Knock" will be absorb by the stretch in the line and you won't se a thing, unless the fish picks up the bait and makes a run for it. So 18 lb line may give you extra casting distance but it will also result in missing bites.

To prove this for yourself, load your reel with 30 - 40 lb line and make your usual cast, distance will be lost but as there is less stretch in the line, even a small fish will give you a good "Knock" as it takes the bait. If you only cast out 40 - 50 yards you will be amazed how much stronger those "Knocks" will be.

Traditionally lines were thicker, usually around 0.4 mm, but to gain distance in casting competitions line thickness were reduced and as these reduce line thickness became the standard for competition benchmarks, all the magazines told us to use them.

Now we see thinner lines coming onto the market and we are told they are the best, but the truth of the matter is that if you were fishing a gentle "Mill Pool" like conditions they would be great, but how often do you fish in those conditions here in the UK or Ireland ?

So our recommendations are simple:-

• Choose a rod with a firm tip, not to soft and not too rigid.

• Unless you are worried about achieving super distance casts, use a heavy line.

and finally

• Don't always believe what the magazines tell you !