"A web site dedicated to Shore Fishing"
The Beginners Guide to Shore Fishing
By Simon Day.
This section of the site is for all you people new to shore and sea fishing or people who have fished for a while but want to improve the chances of catching fish. Page one is the real basics for when you have decided to start sea fishing but don't know where to start. Page 2,3 and 4 are for new and old alike with tips and tricks on baits, accessories and your welfare.
All these pages are ©2004 all rights reserved and you do not have permission to copy and display this work in any form. You may print these pages out if they are for your reading only. If you have your own website permission is only granted to link to these pages.
Also see: Winter Fishing Christmas Gift Ideas
Content Index
PAGE ONE - STARTING OFF
- Equipment you'll need
- Buying a rod and reel
- What line to put on your reel
- What tackle to buy
- What hooks to buy
- First aid kit
PAGE TWO - BAITS
- Types of bait to buy
- Setting up a mackerel into strips
- Setting up Peeler Crab
- Setting up Rag Worm
- Tip for securing sand eels
PAGE THREE - ACCESSORIES & CARE
PAGE FOUR - TIPS AND TRICKS
NEW CHAPTER - HOW TO CATCH FISH GUIDES
[More how to catch guides coming very soon]
Getting started
Yup it's a minefield out there with new products coming out almost daily. Do you need most of this to start off? No you don't. Here is a guide to getting you started on your new hobby.
The Equipment you'll need
I have a check list which I look at every single time I'm about to leave because you'd be surprised how often you'll forget something. For a normal trip out you will need:
- Your rod and reel
- Your tackle
- Your bait
- A sharp knife
- A chopping board
- A bucket to keep your catches in (optional)
- A cloth to wipe your hands and hold the fish
- Hat and Gloves (optional)
- Spare spool of line for making rigs etc.
- First aid kit
Now we'll look into these in more detail in case you need to buy all this equipment.
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Buying a Rod and Reel
There is no point spending a fortune because you may not enjoy it. When I started back up again last year after a decade gap I still didn't splash out on lots of equipment even though I could afford to. All tackle shops do combo deals of around £20 to £40 for a rod and reel. This is what you want to buy to start off with. The Rod will probably only last you 6 months to a year but the reel should keep going for longer.
Before you start you need to decide what type of fishing you'll be doing. The options are:
- Float fishing
- Fishing the bottom
- Fishing into rocks
- Fishing from cliffs
- Fishing from the beach
Decide the ones you think you'll most likely be doing and then go to the tackle shop and tell them what you plan to be doing so they can recommend the best cheap set for your needs.
Shore rods come in many sizes from 6ft to 14ft+ and depending on where and what you fish depends on the size of the rod. As an example I went to my local tackle shop and told them I was going to be doing float fishing from a pier but also wanted to fish from rocks. A 12ft plus rod would be good for fishing from rocks but useless for a pier so in the end I opted for a 9ft rod which was a rod that could do an ok job for both. Also if you're going to be float fishing a lot make sure the rod and reel isn't too heavy because you'll be holding them all the time and you don't want a set that is going to ache your arms after prolonged use.
Something else that's important is how much bend is in the rod. Because I'm up on cliffs and piers the majority of the time I need rods that don't have too much bend in them to enable me to haul the fish the 10 to 30ft up piers and cliffs. It's slightly harder to detect bites but the extra strength in top half of the rod more than makes up for this. When you're in the shop tell the person there what kind of fishing you think the majority of your fishing will be and you're concerned about the amount of bend a rod will give for your type of fishing.
To give you another example (both of these rods are not cheap!) I opted for a 10ft Abu Garcia called "Equalizer" for pier fishing and the 12' 9" Abu Garcia "Conolo Exodus" for my cliff fishing. Both these rods are very strong but also do not have bend you see on a lot of rods.
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What line to put on your reel
This is a little difficult to answer because what people use vary so all I can do is give you an indication and let you make up your own mind.
For the average sea fisherman who fishes from piers or isn't fishing for real monsters like conger then the majority of fisherman will use no more than a 15lb line. With a 15lb line you'll be able to cast quite a distance without the strength and thickness of the line hindering the cast. The move from 15lb to a 20lb line is quite noticeable when casting.
If you fancy more of a challenge from the small fish then scale down the line to a strength that more matches the fish. Go down to a 2 to 5lb line for the extra challenge.
Most reels come with a spare spool so you could always have a very small pound line on one and a 15lb on the other. Alternatively you could have 15lb on one spool and 25lb plus on the other if you fancy going for bigger fish like conger.
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The Tackle
Always make sure you have at least 2 of what you're going to need because Murphy's law always kicks in when you're 30 minutes away from your car after climbing down a cliff to fish. Also if you've just started fishing unless you know beforehand what kind of seabed you'll be fishing in you could end up losing a lot of tackle when you suddenly realise you're fishing in lots and lots of rocks.
Float fishing is simple because you can buy complete sets. These sets will also have a diagram on how to set the float up so don't throw them away because you can use this to build up your own sets next time. One thing you do need is proper stop-knots because rubber bands are next to useless. The tackle shop should have one or two other forms of stop knots which are much better. For a guide to setting up a float rig click here.
When you first go in the shop to begin the stocking up period a good list of things to buy will include:
- 2 or more floats
- 2 or 3 different sets of hooks
- 6 or more various weights (see below)
- Small and large beads
- 1 or 2 night sticks
- Packet of swivels
Weights will depend of the type of fishing you'll be doing. For calm waters with no strong tides a 2oz or 3oz weight should be fine. For rough seas or when you're casting inbetween rocks and do not want any drift a 4oz or more is a better option.
The small beads are more important for float fishing. If you buy shop stop knots which are normally tiny black rubber tubing or small white plastic the larger beads can get caught up or go over these stop knots. By using the smaller beads you won't have this problem. These small beads are also the best ones to use if you make your own rigs as they don't get caught up or go over crimps.
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What hooks to buy
Hooks are something that confuses many people and it is vital you get the right ones for where you fish. Bigger hooks do not mean bigger fish. If you have satellite TV watch the lake fishing programmes like the ones Matt Hayes is on you'll see monster fish caught on the smallest of hooks. Bigger hooks are only useful if you're only going for the big fish and don't want little ones hooking up (when fishing for Conger for example). This doesn't always work but you do limit the smaller fish.
The hook lengths are designed for the type of bait you might be using. For mackerel strips the length of the hook doesn't need to be long. The longer length hooks are designed for worms like rag which you feed up the length of the hook (more on bait later). Again tell the shop what type of fishing you'll be doing and what do they recommend. Never be afraid or embarrassed to take up their time because they get dozens and dozens of people every day asking the same things. If you don't ask then don't expect the best results when you go fishing. As another example when I first started I told the shop I wanted to go float fishing initially and they actually advised me to use a crab hook they had in stock which was proving popular. No kidding there, I caught loads that day!
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First aid kit
Doesn't have to be a huge great thing but common sense would say make sure you include waterproof plasters for grazes and other small cuts, sterile dressings for bad cuts (due to a knife slip for example) and some kind of cleaning agent. In the summer it would be a good idea to carry some sun burn cream as well.
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