storm boy

Ausea, I can see why the rods snap when they are used to lift the fish as in the YouTube clip :-)I use UK made Century rods but they are hard to get over here. I'd be hesitant to use them on rock walls though, the old school glass rods definitely rule here.Regards,SB

Another vote here for a Shimano Raider (I have 6 of them including the older 2-4 kg Finesse Bream )and a 2000/2500 sized reel, with 4lb braid, 4-6lb flurocarbon leader. This setup is also quite capable of sending out lighter metal lures (up to maybe 15 grams) for salmon and the like.Regards,SB

I use Mustad Demon in size 6, also from SFS, works for me Regards,SB

mrballs is on the ball

Alveys are not for me BUT I do think they are a great beach reel, tougher than anything else, simple to service and maintain, and easy to cast. They do have a lot going for them with their simplicity and ease of use.Regards,SB

My two favourite surf rods are 13' and 13'6" by Century (UK).I am also into distance casting, and these particular rods work well. However, rod length does not always equal distance when surfcasting. There are a number of factors that affect distance, the biggest one is technique used, Cal is spot on here.I would suggest for a normal caster that 12" is a good length, which as stated previously, also helps keep the line out of the surf. However one thing to also remember is that when you have a big fish on, the length works against you as the rod is acting as a lever, with the angler on the wrong end of it Cheers!SB

IMHO, An essential upgrade will be greased Carbontex drag washers. Use Shimano drag grease or preferably Cal's grease.Makes a massive difference to the very average stock drag although everything else about the 7000's is great.Cheers!SB

They'd both be worth fixing.The Alvey is easy for anyone to do, just place the parts in order on the bench as you pull it apart and make sure it goes back the same way.If you're not sure on the Abu, I'd be happy to do it at no cost, only cost would be for parts like bearings if required. I've serviced stacks of Abu's, I enjoy doing it.Regards,SB

Sportfishing Scene for 95% of my gear, with the exception of rods and reels that have no equivalent in Australia (UK long distance surf rods, overhead surf reels with magnetic cast control and no levelwind).Good prices and more importantly, good service.

My favourite combo would be my beach snapper setup. The rod is a Century Tip Tornado Low Diameter Super Match (TTLDSM) 13' matched with a Penn Squall 12 overhead, 30lb braid, fished low mount.I also fish alongside it it's bigger brother, the Tip Tornado Super Match (TTSM) 13'6" with a Squall 15, also fished low mount with Ultima Power Steel mono in 15lb.For lighter work, my bream/ST combo is a Shimano 3 piece 2-4kg travel raider, about 6 - 6'6 long, a Shimano Stradic 2500 (older gold/silver model)'with 6lb Fireline.All great combos and have caught me good fish and good memories Regards,SB

tonyb,Yep, had my fair share of birdsnests Incidentally, the rods are the ones I use for fishing and the reels are finely tuned which when combined with a smooth casting technique ends up in fewer birdsnests than you might think.For fishing a more conservative tune is used (i.e. more mags) and I would only lose a rig to a backlash maybe every other outing. Practice helps Cheers!

Hi all,First time poster here I have had a little experience in field casting, which teaches you fairly quickly about distance casting as you measure the casts - it's rather embarassing when you first try, as the casts somehow measure a lot shorter than what they seem on the beach The rod is on the short side for casting long distances. A longer rod (12-14') would be much more suited to distance casting. Having said that, distance can be improved with the right reel setup and the right casting technique.Reel setup includes things like different grades of bearing oil, removing the levelwind where appropriate, having or adding a magnetic cast control, types and thicknesses (very important!)of line. Casting weight needs to be matched to the setup.Technique involves learning how to load the rod correctly, there are several good techniques, all of which need to be practiced - Off The Ground, Pendulum (as has been previously mentioned) amongst others. If you do a search on these you should be able to find some videos that demonstrate it. Be aware that it does take practice, and some tuition goes a long way.For those who are interested, here are a couple of pics of reels that I have modified for the field, both are Abu 5000s.The level wind has been removed, a new cross bar installed, the levelwind plastic gear removed and a "bullet" installed to hold the bearing/spool in place, a magnetic cast control added ("knobby mag"), hybrid ceramic bearings installed and 0.28mm diameter mono (around 8lb)installed. This then goes to a shock leader of around 60lb, and leads from 5-6 oz clipped on to the end.Cheers!