Beach Rod setup

[GutterGuide]

I need some ideas on a Beach Rod setup, currently fishing on a javis walker 12' retail job I can say i'm undergunned when it comes to the tailor, salmon and occasional Jewie, (which i've had to run down the beach with).

I'm leaning towards a Alvey setup that can cast into those far gutters with weights of a 55g metal lure up to and including pilchards and cut flesh. Some say the MT7144 won't be enough while others say that the MT8144 is going to big, i was hoping for something around the 13 foot mark.

Any advice would be appreciated, Design me a rod.

[nigelr]

Check the Live Fibre 13'6'. You will definitely NOT be undergunned. Alveys are great if you don't mind the weight of the reel, ie you are young and strong! May not retrieve fast enough for spinning, however, although there is now a two speed model available, I believe. Don't worry about having to "walk" with a decent fish, take your time, patience will pay off, if you rush it, greater chance of loosing the fish IMO. Don't be to concerned just if your rod is a little sloppy, given you can cast with it to your satisfaction. A bit of 'give' in a rod is a great thing when a fish decides it's not quite ready to give up the ghost..... ;) If your need pure grunt and heavyweight casting power however, the 13'6''Live Fibre might be what you're after. It's not cheap, however, Wilson do a stock model, but if you want Fuji guides you may need to talk to a rod builder. You are probably looking at about $280 custom, Wilson's stock model will be $40 - $50 cheaper probably if you are prepared to shop. But as previously stated, if your current set-up is casting well, you may save yourself a lot of money by being patient, letting the rod do it's work. Cheers and good luck.

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

i too reccomend the Wilson Trophy 13'6 Live Fibre - absolute beast of a rod that I have matched to a 700C star drag - you may be better off with a 650C5 Alvey stardrag or the newer vented model.

The rod has a blue green tinge to it - the build on Wilson rods seems to have improved markedly in the last couple of years, better sealing around runners etc I always shop around but my last two purchases have been a Wilson for heavy duty saltwater sticks

Do not dispose of the light rod though - light rods catch 30cm tailor very nicely for live bait.

[GutterGuide]

Thanks for the heads up fellas, at this stage I am thinking about a custom made job to hopefully last me a few good seasons till i retire for full time fishing in about 40 years of 9 to 5's....
So a 13'6'' Wilson Live Fibre, coupled with as Alvey 6500BCV and 20-25 lb line will get me out with the fish? If it is a custom job, I will put the money into the Fuji guides etc, its just the smaller things that also play in my head ie. the first guide being a wire frame, a composite/aluminium reel seat(i find that my current one is taking a beating from the conditions), and a butt or small wooden spike. I want the best for under $400 (rod and reel), give or take...

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

my brother had the same blank built as a custom for about $50 more dollars & I couldn't see the worth. The Trophy 13'6 cost about $200-$250 & is beautifully built.
You want the Trophy Low - that means the reel seat is low to the butt end & suited to an Alvey - if you get an alvey forget about the wood spike etc it'll be to hard to use. Beach fishing is best done with a rod in the hand.

Nice fish by the way - must've hard that Jarvis Walker sweating.

[theoldlegend]

Yeah - I think Chris and Nigel have got it right. If you're getting a 6500BCV, careful you don't get the lever drag one. You're better off getting the BCV6500RR which has a large star drag and a rapid retrieve handle.

The old legend. ;)

[GutterGuide]

Looks like i'll be hitting the local tackle shops then.
Thanks for the help fellas i'll keep you posted..

PS: I was sweating just as much as the Jarvis.

[SURF_SNIPER]

the wooden handle can be used to increas the rods length which can benifit this means the reel seat can be lowered on the blank if custom built. the wilson rods are built as a mass produced item there for use cheaper thicker binding ( as it's easier to hide mistakes) they cut back on binding, such as doulbe under and over binding they use cheaper runners, which dont have the feet ground properly to accept the binding and may in the long run damage the blank, etc.

i havre a few live fibre rods and they are very nice rods but i have not brought them but have won them in comps. compared to some of the synder glass blanks i think they cant compare in quality and price. ( better built, better resins, better design ) your wilson live fibre blank would be much better and last a lot longer if it were built by a good custom rod builder.

I can build up a 13'6 graphite composite synder blank for use with an alvey 650,using duralon grips, fugi delux reel seat, high quality fugi runners includding a HH 40 high foot stripper runner, doulble under and over bound, three coats of resin, binding in any colours you want, add names on to blanks ect. for about $180- $190.

it will last ten times longer then the wilson factory made rod, will cast a house brick for ever and land the biggest tailor you could posible dream of.

[SURF_SNIPER]

not bagging wilson live fibre rods they stiil are a very good rod, i just belive there are better rods avalible for less dollars.

Drew :)

[GutterGuide]

So a cutom rod is the go, have you got any detail on this synder rod blank?

How does it handle against the occasional Jew and the like..

[SURF_SNIPER]

PM sent gutter guide

[nigelr]

Gutter Guide, that set-up Surf Sniper talks of sounds like excellant value for money. Have a couple Pac com rods, very nice. Worth investigating, IMO. Cheers and good luck. :)

[theoldlegend]

Surf Sniper
What you can do with a Snyderglas blank sounds interesting. There's a few blanks in the Snyder catalogue: S162 6W, S162FT 7W, S177 7W, FT 162 5W and so on.

I've got an Alvey 650 and a 700.

Don't know how to contact you privately. ??? I live at Birkdale.