Dog fish on carp gear

Anyone else a fan of fishing for doggies on relatively light tackle, Gave deal Pier a bash the other day christ they put up a struggle on a 2.75 tc carp rod and 20lb line TOP FUN

Yep but with 12lb line.

You're right they do scrap like hell and as sportfish are worth having a go for.
Wish more folks would ditch the beachcaster, 6oz leads and the like and scale down a tad. Most fish caught from our coastal waters (beach/rock) are a few pounds in weight and given the right gear are fun to catch.

The trend towards the Continental approach of quivertips and light lines is indicative of the state of our inshore fisheries in most areas unfortunately, but with a bit of thought catch rates and fun can increase.

I think it depends on the venue Phil.

A lot of the Mersey marks for example necessitate 4-6oz leads because of the flow, which then necessitates a beachcaster to cast out! You're right though the barkers aren't as much fun on the heavier gear!

Know what you mean Eddie about tidal flow, rough conditions etc and wouldn't dream of using the lighter stuff in those conditions, but there are many many marks in the North West, North Wales and Anglesey especially in summer where folks are definately overgunned and missing out.


Places such as the Mersey at Otterspool, because of the species present, require the bait to be pinned down in the gulleys and then the need to winch any fish up on to the walkway means a beachcaster is really the only option. By the same token flat calm, top and bottom of the tide, or cleanish beach lends itself to the lighter approach.


I do a reasonable amount of lure and float fishing fishing for Bass, Pollack, Wrasse etc and fish for these in rock gulleys and over weedbeds using light rods, lines etc, If I was to try fishing the same areas with a heavier set up and pinning the bait down I would lose no end of gear let alone missing out on the fun.

One last thought

Why as coarse anglers do we target Carp, Barbel etc some weighing upwards of 20lb with 1.5lb TC rods, 10lb line, 1oz leads etc in narrow waterways with snags, trees, flow etc yet on cleanish beaches or rock marks suddenly feel the need to chuck 6oz of lead skywards with a poker of a rod and line you could hang the washing off for fish which in the main are not going to weigh anywhere near 10lb let alone 20lb ?

If you get smoothhound in your area then you will really get some fun on a carp rod. Keep hold of it tho tho cos they are more than capable of dragging everything in off a rest(or boat) on the first run. Hermit crab is the trad bait bait but peeler is best and gets more interest from other species.

Rubio has been known to haul out some quality sea fish out using a ron thompson 'warlord'!!!!

I used to have a lot of fun with spur dogs while using an Abu Atlantic 443S, 11lb b/s line and an Abu 5001C. They gave real good fights on that gear as did the rays, congers and tope I also hooked on it while boat fishing in Brandon Bay in Ireland. While the spurs were never the intended quarry, there were some days that they were so thick, it may more sense to have some fun with them than try to get away from them.

Chevin

Would love to have a go light fishing from a boat but even an unsteady pier makes me throw up

As for the ABU Atlantic an absolute classic and way ahead of its time

Judas Priest said:

Know what you mean Eddie about tidal flow, rough conditions etc and wouldn't dream of using the lighter stuff in those conditions, but there are many many marks in the North West, North Wales and Anglesey especially in summer where folks are definately overgunned and missing out.


Places such as the Mersey at Otterspool, because of the species present, require the bait to be pinned down in the gulleys and then the need to winch any fish up on to the walkway means a beachcaster is really the only option. By the same token flat calm, top and bottom of the tide, or cleanish beach lends itself to the lighter approach.


I do a reasonable amount of lure and float fishing fishing for Bass, Pollack, Wrasse etc and fish for these in rock gulleys and over weedbeds using light rods, lines etc, If I was to try fishing the same areas with a heavier set up and pinning the bait down I would lose no end of gear let alone missing out on the fun.

One last thought

Why as coarse anglers do we target Carp, Barbel etc some weighing upwards of 20lb with 1.5lb TC rods, 10lb line, 1oz leads etc in narrow waterways with snags, trees, flow etc yet on cleanish beaches or rock marks suddenly feel the need to chuck 6oz of lead skywards with a poker of a rod and line you could hang the washing off for fish which in the main are not going to weigh anywhere near 10lb let alone 20lb ?

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Easy it's to with tides and resistance. You try playing a 10lb bass in 8.0 tide on a barbel rod and 8lb line and see what happens. Plus most anglers will use 18lb max on clear grounds and 30lb on rough.

Judas Priest said:

Chevin


As for the ABU Atlantic an absolute classic and way ahead of its time

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Yes it was and it is still a good rod today though a little heavy compared to modern rods. I have landed fish far bigger than either it or the reel I use on it were designed for. Indeed, I have landed a number of over 100lbs and the most memorable was a hammerhead shark I caught on the rig. The fight took a long time and it put both me and the tackle to test, but we won in the end. Of course the fish was released at the side of the boat and it was good to see such a worthy opponent swim away to fight another day.

Chevin

Just had a good root around the tackle shed and unearthed my old 484. As you say compered to modern rods it seems antique in appearance and weight although in its day it was way ahead of the opposition.

Korum

You appear to have read only a small part of my post.

IF you read it fully you will see that I say that IF I fish with the gear pinned down then a heavy lead and beachcaster is going to be needed.

I have had many Bass off the Lleyn fishing into the surf with a 2oz lead and carp rod whilst letting the bait move with the flow, similarly I have had really good Whiting and Codling fishing off Bangor pier casting into the straits with the same gear yet those around me caught a lot less using 6oz spiked leads pinned down into the tide.

Lure/Light line angling from the shore is slowly making inroads over here but in other parts of the world has a massive following. Open your mind you may be surprised.

Judas Priest said:

Chevin

Just had a good root around the tackle shed and unearthed my old 484. As you say compered to modern rods it seems antique in appearance and weight although in its day it was way ahead of the opposition.

Korum

You appear to have read only a small part of my post.

IF you read it fully you will see that I say that IF I fish with the gear pinned down then a heavy lead and beachcaster is going to be needed.

I have had many Bass off the Lleyn fishing into the surf with a 2oz lead and carp rod whilst letting the bait move with the flow, similarly I have had really good Whiting and Codling fishing off Bangor pier casting into the straits with the same gear yet those around me caught a lot less using 6oz spiked leads pinned down into the tide.

Lure/Light line angling from the shore is slowly making inroads over here but in other parts of the world has a massive following. Open your mind you may be surprised.

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My apologies I'm after bass rods and spinners and it's Speci.

No need for an apology Speci it's a debate surely where different views can be discussed in a rational manner.

Just trying to make a couple points in relation to opening peoples eyes as to what is out there with a little thought and how much fun it can be.

Whilst on a point, why do people label rods. You know, Spinning rod, Flattie rod, Bass rod etc when in effect a rod is a rod.

Personaly I don't own a dedicated so called spinning rod prefering for most of the time to use a Wychwood 1.25 11ft so called barbel rod. I find it responsive, able to cast lures a reasonable distance if required, will handle bass pollack etc well and for £50 I can abuse it to a certain extent whilst climbing over rocks.

Judas Priest said:

Whilst on a point, why do people label rods. You know, Spinning rod, Flattie rod, Bass rod etc when in effect a rod is a rod.

Personaly I don't own a dedicated so called spinning rod prefering for most of the time to use a Wychwood 1.25 11ft so called barbel rod. I find it responsive, able to cast lures a reasonable distance if required, will handle bass pollack etc well and for £50 I can abuse it to a certain extent whilst climbing over rocks.

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I think that there is a reasonable argument for naming rods as many of them have their own uses. For example, I have my big game rods that are primarily for the larger fish. In fact they are useless for anything else. Spinning rods are ringed differently and generally have larger butt rings than other rods. Rods ringed for fixed spool reels are ringed differently to those ringed for multipliers. When it comes to fresh water, there are rods that are designed for different applications. When Alan Brown and I cooperated to make the "Chevin" we developed a rod that I wanted to fish for chub in one very difficult swim I had encountered. It worked well and I saw that as a chub rod and used it as such on many other waters. **** Walker designed the Mk IV carp rod for the carp he was chasing, though that also became a popular pike rod with many of us, deposing the classic pike rod that was not much more than a plain stick of split cane with the flexibility of a broom handle. However, that was recognised as being a pike rod.

I have many rods - somewhere about 40 of them I think - and while some are later models of the rods I had for specific purposes, I still have them for the same defined uses.

Of course, there are over laps and of course I have frequently hooked fish that were not the best for the rod I was using but I never buy cheap rods and so they have always been up to the extra demands to which they have been subjected. I guess as far as I am concerned, there is no such thing as an all round rod any more than there is an all round golf club for example. Some would say that I go a bit too far, perhaps I do, but I do know one thing, while I have lost a lot of good fish in my time, I cannot say that I have ever lost one because of the failure of my rod and reel when they have been being used in their intended ranges.