The good thing about work is it sometimes gives me time to think about other things. During those lulls my thoughts nearly always drift off to fishing or Uma Thurman. One such time of contemplation happened recently,and I got to thinking about tackle. Everybody has their own favourite rod or reel, but what really makes a good piece of kit?

Hmmmm Uma is a godess!

I'd been reading with interest on some of the fishing forums, the views of different people. On one forum a guy using a Century Kompressor sport said he'd been outfished by somebody using a Fox rock runner therefore the rock runner was the muts and Century were crap. Not the exact words but that's what the message boiled down to. Obviously the example is a bad one, Century rods are great pieces of kit, as I'm sure are Fox rods, what it did illustrate to me was the criteria we use to judge a good or bad piece of tackle. All too often fishing is the last thing we actually think about when we're considering a new rod. How often have you heard somebody say "Its too soft " or "Its too stiff", "Its too heavy", "The build quality isn't what it was" etc etc. We should be considering only three things in my opinion, 1) Will I be able to use it properly (cast with it), 2) Is it suited to the majority of my fishing (ground, species, tides), 3) Can I afford it. The last one is probably the most important for me, I have sleepless nights if I think I've spent more than I have to, PK would be apoplectic.

Karl had a pair of Greys rods when we first started fishing together. Lovely looking sticks, probably not best suited to our bit of coast, but perfectly good functional rods. I very nearly bought a pair of Syntra's off Tony Anderson the marketing director at Greys. I liked the look and feel of them and he offered me a good deal when we were in Ireland. At the time I was having a love affair with a pair of old Daiwa Supercasts, I still miss them occasionally and feel a little bit like I cheated on a girlfriend when I upgraded them for a new model. I loved the fact that if my casting was a little off (quite often then) the supercast was soft enough to compensate. I could see flattie bites well out and in general they were a joy to use. So I declined Tony's kind offer and carried on with the supercasts for about another year or so before finally handing them to a guy on the quayside at Orford.

So why did I sell them and buy a new pair? Well in honesty, they didn't have to compensate my bad casting quite so often by then and they were getting old. Add to that the fact that two or three of my regular fishing partners were going through the same process and you start to get the picture. I wouldn't say I'm a tackle tart becasue I couldn't afford to be, but I could see how people become one.

I could've gone back to Tony and had a pair of Greys, I could've tried a pair of Zziplex or Century, Conoflex etc etc instead I stayed on safe ground and went for Daiwa TDXS's. I love them but whenever people ask me about rods I always mention the supercasts as a great fishing rod.

Soon after I got them Karl changed his for the 13'3" version after having a chuck with mine and seeing the fishability of the rods. Its always a personal thing, a top quality angler would probably catch with any old rod and reel but he feels more confident and at ease with what he knows and the tackle that suits him. That doesn't mean to say I reckon if your a competent angler you could just go and buy any kit. It doesn't matter who you are, you have to go through something like the criteria I mentiond above even if the rods from a sponsor. No point in getting a short stiff thing if what you need is a long soft one etc.

I thought it might be interesting (for some saddos!) if I listed what me and some of my mates use as their front line rods so here goes:

1. Me: TDXS 129pm's


2. PK: AW's 122's


3. Johnny: TDXS 129pm's


4. Karl: TDXS 133pm's


5. Smudge: Metalite Flick Tips (Its an Essex thing!)


6. Nobby: Original Supercasts


7. Pete: He has so many rods he could open a shop!


8. Gary: I dunno! He had some Greys when I first met him, I think he has some Zzipi's, I'm not sure I haven't seen him in ages and he changes them more often than I do my kecks.

These are the rods we would use in 99% of our fishing situations. We all have bass or flattie rods for lighter close in work, but as most of our fishing is done at distance in the 4-6oz range over clean to cleanish ground, these are our stock in trade rods. With the exception of Smudge and Gary it looks like an advert for Daiwa, its not. Pete has all manner of rods and models but I guess his stock rods would be his backcasters, though I know he has TDXS's and AW's.

Its strange to think how popular the AWT's and B's are still that Daiwa don't get the mandrels out and rebadge them, they'd sell like hot cakes. There is one thing I don't like about Daiwa rods and thats the coasters. £200+ for a rod and you get the most poxy coasters in the world, of what I've seen and handled Century make the best coasters, when I can bring myself to pay another £8 a pair I'll order some and fit them to my Daiwa's.

I have friends who are vociferous about Zziplex and there's no disputing they are a lovely rod. One of the biggest advantages always quoted for Zzipi's is that they hold their value. I look at it slightly differently to that, they do hold their value but I think your paying for that residual value up front. Whats the point in the rod being worth £100 more secondhand if you had to pay £100 more for the new one against a comparable model? I sometimes think that too much emphasis is placed on casting with Zzipi's too, speaks volumes why they're so popular with tournament casters.

The tackle I use is suited to the areas I fish and I haven't found anywhere from the Humber to the Thames where I needed more than I've got. It'd be a different story if we were fishing 50 yards out from rock ledges into kelp or shallow, gentle estuaries for flatties. Whatever you use, the most important considerations are to be comfortable with it and have confidence in it. You can't underestimate the importance of being confident in the kit and your ability to use it. For me that's what my new rods have given me more than the old supercasts. I feel like I'm going to catch everytime I go, of course I don't but it's important that I feel like that, it keeps me trying.

Fashions a fickle thing, only a year or 18 months ago I'd see a lot of those long "continental" rods on the beach. I don't see so many nowadays? PK gave Nobby one to try, he bust it inside 3 sessions. Thats no reflection on the rod, more of an insight into the two footed tackler! Bless him, lovely bloke but you wouldn't want to hold the nail while he had the hammer.

Right enough waffling, I've bait to order for a session on Tuesday where hopefully I'll be out with Smudge and Karl. I'm going to try and get some of my mates (the litterate ones!) to write some stuff for here I'm sure a change from my inane ramblings wouldn't be a bad thing.