The
following notes comprise our suggestions for fishing tackle for beginners who
are mainly going to fish rivers. We will give you our ideas of what rods, reels
and equipment that you
should buy to begin river fishing.
All of the items are available from the discount fishing tackle shop on our site, and the staff at the shops will be pleased to help. Just explain that you've been reading the beginners pages on the web site, and that you need a bit of help.
As with all of our tackle suggestions, the secret is that the whole set-up should be balanced, and should be suited to the style of fishing, and the species that we are likely to catch.
Float
Fishing (Roach, Dace, Perch, Chub etc)
A 12ft 'match rod' - There are lots of these advertised
in our shops ranging in price from around £20 to over £100, the
Silstar Konnekt or Reakt models will do the job. As the rods increase in price
they become lighter, better balanced and with better quality fittings, obviously
if you can afford a little more then go for it....but remember, we've a lot
of other bits and pieces to buy yet, so don't go overboard.
A small fixed spool reel - look for one with a capacity of about 100yds / 6lb B.S. line. There are lots of these advertised, and they offer amazing value for money. Around £20 will get us a good one. Try to find one that comes with one or more spare spools, so that we can load each spool with a different breaking strain of line, for example 3lb line for float fishing, 4 or 5lb line for legering, and 8lb line for a spot of carp fishing. Whilst we are on the subject of line, there is a huge range of line available. For our style of fishing we are not looking for the latest high tech lines with little stretch in them. They are built for pole fishing where there is an elastic shock absorber built into the pole. We should be buying something like the standard Ultima line for fishing the stick float where a floating line is needed, and Maxima for legering or fishing the waggler when we need a sinking line. Don't forget that we need the line to completely fill the spool, so if we are loading a spool that holds 100 yds of 6lb line with 3lb Maxima, we must put some backing on the spool first (old line, wool, string), before loading our new line.
A seat box - essential for storing reels, end tackle, flasks etc and of course to sit on whilst you're fishing. The Shakespeare model is very popular, but give our shops a ring and find out what they've got in stock, they might just have a bargain. Expect to pay up to £50 for this essential item.
A landing net - the first time that you go fishing without a landing net you will hook the fish of your dreams, there will be nobody about to help, and you'll lose the fish. Get one with a telescopic handle for when you're fishing over reeds or on steep banks with a big drop to the river. That's another £30 we've spent.
A keep net - many stillwater fisheries don't allow the use of keepnets, the fishery owners prefer their fish to be returned to the water at once, but these restrictions don't apply on rivers, and it is certainly nice to see what you've caught at the end of the day. Just remember to ensure that the net is fully extended in the water, and don't keep the fish in them for too long, I'd say that six hours is the most, less in the summer when oxygen levels in the rivers can be very low. If you see any sign of distress in the fish in your net then you should release them at once, we should never knowingly contribute to the death of a single fish. If you are going to use a keep net it must be a sensible size, 2 metres at the very least, 2.5 or 3 metres is better. Expect to pay around £30 for a 3 metre model.
An assortment of end tackle including hooks, split shot, floats and a DISGORGER (the cheapest, but most important item in the list. The plastic ones are the ones to buy, get an experienced angler to show you how to use it, then practice with it until its use becomes second nature). Floats for fishing rivers should be 'stick floats' or 'wagglers'. See the Bankside shop for a huge range of floats. Hooks will be needed in sizes 12 (for fishing bread or other large baits) up to size 18 (maggots, casters, hemp). You can buy hooks already tied to nylon, but you really should teach yourself to tie spade end hooks so that you can vary hook pattern and hook length strength when you need to. Swifty's shop has a huge range of hooks for sale.
Legering
(Roach, Dace, Perch, Chub etc)
Almost all of the tackle specified above is equally useful
for legering in rivers, all we need to add is a quivertip rod and some weights
and feeders.
Quiver Tip Rod - Unless you are fishing a very small river, look for a quiver tip rod of 11 or 12 feet, preferably with interchangeable tips, so that you can use the lightest when fishing for roach in light flows, and the heaviest for chub or barbel fishing in more powerful rivers. The Shakespeare Onset Feeder (£29.40 from Swifty's) or Shakespeare Onset Multi Feeder (£45.95 / 11ft - £48.95 / 12ft from Swifty's) will both do the job admirably.
Weights
& Feeders - We will also need a selection of leger weights, open ended swim
feeders (you pack them with groundbait), and maggot feeders of varying weights.
Talk to one of our shops, tell them where you will be fishing, and they will
sort you out.