Tackle
Opinions formed over thirty years and a great deal of ruined gear. I buy my own; nobody sends me anything.
Reels
The single most important habit is rinsing. Not soaking — a brief rinse in fresh water, then dry, then a drop of oil on the handle knob and the bail arm. Five minutes after every session, and a reel will last a decade instead of three years.
Once a year I strip and grease them properly, or take them to someone who does. The bearings go first, always, and they go quietly — you don't notice until the reel is rough and by then the damage is done.
Rods
Length matters more than power for beach work; you're trying to keep line above the surf, not launch a lead into the next county. For rock marks, shorter and stiffer, because you'll be lifting fish vertically and there's no beach to walk them up.
Rinse the rings. Salt crystals in a ring insert cut line, and a fish lost to a frayed leader on a rock mark is a fish you don't get another chance at.
Line
| Situation | What I use |
|---|---|
| Clean beach | Mono, 15 lb, shock leader for casting |
| Rough ground | Braid, and a heavier mono leader so the rock takes the leader not the braid |
| Wrasse in kelp | Heavier than feels fair. You're pulling them out, not playing them |
| Float fishing for mackerel | Whatever's on the reel. It genuinely doesn't matter |
What I'd tell a beginner to buy
One beachcaster, one fixed-spool reel in the middle of the price range, a box of leads, and a handful of ready-made rigs until you can tie your own. That's it. The gap between a mid-price reel and an expensive one is much smaller than the gap between a rinsed reel and an unrinsed one.
No affiliate links anywhere on this site. Where I name a brand it's because I own the thing and have an opinion about it.