Newhouse Farm

[Chrisf]

I have to admit to never having fished before in my life. Now I live 20 minutes from the coast and can see the benefit of a little beach fishing. Does anyone have advice on what lit to get?

[Ecocentric]

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.....

When I lived in landlocked Hertfordhire, I used to go beach fishing quite a lot then I reasoned that if the fish were not going to come to me, I was going to go out to them. Catching fish was generally considered a bonus - having a bit of fun with a few mates was the primary objective.

Shore fishing comes in various forms and depends on type of coastline and target species. I daresay some of the "essential" gizmos have moved on since I last wet a line (BTW the definition of a sea angler is a jerk at one end of a line waiting for one at the other... ) I would suggest you take a stroll along some of the local beaches and chat to some of the anglers. Find out if there is a local club, they are usually only too happy to welcome and help new members. If you fancy venturing out on the briny, check out facilities for Fishing Trips - many boats will provide required tackle at least the basic stuff until you learn more and work out what you may wish to buy. I would advise caution in walking into a tackle shop and asking them to sell you all the kit you need - you might as well open your wallet and say, "Help yourself"... I am an inveterate cynic but I reckon most angling equipment is designed to catch anglers rather than fish.

I now also live about 15 mins from Cardigan Bay but I am under strict orders not to even think about going fishing until the house and business are sorted ( if she reads this, I may be typing in a high pitched voice.. )

"Tight Lines"
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200 yr old farmhouse and land - a few hundred £k. Livestock, more buildings and kit - a few more £k. Greener business and lifestyle - ***king priceless.!!

[MrCJ]

If you are in Aberdeenshire, best advice is wrap up warm

The local paper will often have local fishing reports in, the 'journo' should be able to put you in contact with a local club. As mentioned before, a wander along the shore and chat with the local anglers is usually a good start.

If you just want to potter along the beach by yourself, you will probably need a beachcaster style rod (say 12ft long) with a fixed spool reel as these are far easier to cast with, and a few sets of the local tackle, which the local tackle shop can advise on. You should be able to set up for about £50.00 as most tackle shops seem to be able to offer rod and reel packages starting from about £30 - £40.00 . If you are in an area with strong tides you will need weights with grapple wires on them, something around 125gram is common. Again the tackle shop should point you in the right direction.

Learning to cast is the tricky bit! Book from the library on basic sea fishing usually covers the technique. I learnt in a field with a stone tied to the line which meant I didn't throw away expensive kit if the line broke when I cocked up the cast by leaving the bail arm down on the reel or having the line twisted round the top ring, or a dozen other easy mistakes!

If there is a local pier you have the advantage of just letting the line down into the water!

I noticed in Waterstones the other day a book which gave the supposed good local fishing marks all around the country, that might help.

Websites such as this one might help you too !

http://www.worldseafishing.com/

Esp. this article for instance

http://www.worldseafishing.com/shore/the_apprentice.html

Good luck
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CJ1's Green Footprint Group website

www.thegfg.co.uk