Owing to the massive interest in angling, it has become a stronger hobby with fantastic levels of support from manufacturers, suppliers and enthusiasts. In January 2009 a new united body called Angling Unity was established. This has been a huge step in supporting anglers, coarse and sea alike. Now angling has been recognised in the EU as a major player in sports and is receiving a lot of attention, some of which is unwanted!
If you are still reading, you are keen on having a go at or continuing your passion for sea angling. Here is a short guide to the basic requirements. Read through and take considerable care to make sure you decide which route to take, or indeed take more than one route if you choose! One of the biggest mistakes any new angler makes is buying too much of the wrong gear so be keen to ask questions when buying your tackle.
Given the wide variety of locations, fishing styles and species within South Devon, there is no definitive guide to Sea Angling. This guide is nothing more than a basic design for you to elaborate upon, and perfect your chosen styles or methods.
There are generally 3 styles of sea angling, each having it's own specific benefits and potential.
Float.
Float fishing is where the bait is suspended on a hook at a specific depth. This is a widely used style and is the easiest for beginners. The required equipment would be easily available, lightweight and low cost. Many tackle shops will sell a "Float set up" that will include all the required parts and instructions for use.
Bottom.
Bottom fishing is where the bait is placed on the bottom of the sea and held with a considerable weight. It can be adopted to be used for targeting many species owing to it's variables. The tackle requirements for this style is infinite. as you develop your own preferences you will find a need for new tackle. The basic essentials are a pier/bass/beach casting rod, a reasonable reel, shock leader and the terminal tackle. A basic set up is again available from your tackle dealer, who should inform you of the best equipment for your needs.
Spinning.
Spinning is where you use a lure and replicate a smaller fishes movement in the water, thus attracting predatory fish. This is a widely variable sport as a lure can be a set of feathers for mackerel to an expensive plug for bass. Generally speaking, this is a lightweight and active style, repeatedly casting and retrieving lures. Persistence is all that is required for 'feathering' where as mobility and knowledge are paramount for a successful plug fisherman. A light spinning rod and reel and a good variety of lures and weights will suffice.
Tackle.
Tackle is a very wide term for what is specific to it's use. For each style there is a huge market of different brands and designs. Much of the choice is down to personal preference, height, weight, colour even! Lower end gear is great for starting and deciding on your preferences but not necessarily the best foot forwards for prolonged tackle life. On the other hand you can buy expensive tackle that is of poor quality. Again, finding a good tackle dealer is paramount. There are many who will like your money more than your custom. If a dealer asks questions it is more likely they are sourcing something for you as opposed to selling you the best profit machine.
Rods.
Rods come in a variety of shapes and sizes. As per the story so far, they are all specific, some are multi taskers though.
Spinning rod.
A spinning rod should be a lightweight, flexible, whippy rod that will have the ability to cast a few grammes of weight using the flick as opposed to momentum of the weight. Many spinning rods are two sections and approx 10-12ft in length.
Pier rod.
A pier rod isn't to dissimilar to a spinning rod, just a little more weight capable and less flexible. More designed for being lightweight and holding a baited float of bottom fishing over the edge of a pier as opposed to repeatedly casting a small lure.
Bass rod.
A bass rod is possibly the best all round rod available. It is a more rigid version of both the pier and spinning rods. Again it will typically be 10-12ft yet a much more substantial construction allowing casting weights up to 4+oz therefore useful for beach casting.
Beach casting rod.
A beach caster is heavy duty rod, used for casting heavy weighted rigs from beaches. Typically 12-14ft and of heavy construction a beach caster is normally rated to cast between 4-8oz.
Rod rest. It will be important to have a rod rest for beach fishing and some pier fishing as continually holding the rod will become tiresome. There is a huge variety available on the market, most sporting some feature to better another. What you buy is entirely personal choice. Consider the places you are likely to fish, will there be wind that may blow over the rest etc. Most rod rests have a hook to hang some weight for stability.
Reels.
Reels come in three basic varieties.
Fixed spool.
A fixed spool reel is the most common reel for general anglers. It is straight forward to use and has few problems associated with it. Also it is a comparatively cheap alternative to the other options.
Multiplier.
A multiplier reel is a more complex, yet simpler reel. It has a direct feed through the rod as opposed to the fixed spool. When choosing a multiplier you need to take into account the sort of fishing you are likely to be doing (rough ground, sand, distance, depth), then whether you need level wind (Where a mechanism lays the line on the reel as you wind in).
Bait caster.
A bait caster is a simple, small multiplier. It is useful for spinning as the direct feed reduces drag and makes casting a small lure easier.
Shock leader.
This is a high strength shock absorber that is attached to the end of your mainline, before your rig/terminal gear. It is designed to absorb the force of casting a weight from standstill. The force applied by the sudden casting is immense and needs this important bit of safety equipment fitted. For the sakes of ease, use 10× the weight you are casting (i.e. 6oz weight = 60lb shock leader).The general amount fitted is 1½ times the length of your rod or if you use tapered shock leader then it comes in pre-determined lengths that should not be altered. At all times you should still have shock leader still wound on your reel before casting. If you haven't then it is not going to work as designed!
Terminal tackle.
Float fishing.
Float fishing requires the minimum of tackle and is simple to set up. Your requirements are a float, a swivel, a weight and a hook.
Spinning.
The easiest set up of them all. Your needs are a small swivel, a short piece of mainline and a lure!
Bottom fishing.
The gear you use at the end of your line is referred to as terminal tackle. This normally comprises of hooks, weight and a variety of smaller yet equally important components. You can buy ready made rigs that will simply attach to your shock leader via a swivel joint. There is a great deal of satisfaction and money to be saved from making your own rigs. We endeavour to include some patterns for the most popular rigs on this site.
Main line.
There are three varieties of main line, yet two are more common. Monofilament is by far the most common and braid is lesser used and then Flourocarbon.
Monofilament.
This is a common line material. It is strong, flexible and relatively inexpensive. The variety of makes, breaking strengths, colours and diameters is massive. Owing to the massive choice, before you purchase main line you should establish it’s use. Overkill isn’t necessarily beneficial!
Braid. Braid is an entirely different sort of line, more favoured by lure and boat anglers. Owing to it’s construction (several strong fibres braided together) it has virtually no stretch, unlike the elastic feel of monofilament, and gives excellent feedback through the rod with regards to what’s happening at the terminal end. Before you rush out and buy braid, take into account it is extremely expensive compared to monofilament and it is susceptible to ’wind knots’. When you cast there is a moment where the line is slack and with braid being such a low diameter line it can literally tie in knots, hence ’wind knots’
Flourocarbon. This is a lesser used line, more suited to ‘brown fishing’ (coarse fishing). It is a low diameter and relatively strong composite line but owing to it’s relatively low breaking strengths and expense it is only really useful for spinning and float fishing.
Never be afraid of asking questions you consider daft. If your tackle dealer is anything worthy of his trade he will inform you of every thing you need to know about what you are buying. Some tackle is extremely costly and buying what you think is right, might end up becoming expensive. Most importantly you must get the right gear for your desired style! The South Devon fishing forum is full of helpful sea anglers who will offer advice and help where they can.
