The gull's kit · a worked example
What Arty fishes with
Arty turned honest, so he had to buy his own tackle. This is the kit behind the guide, built up over a few years by the angler who writes it, matched to the jobs in Choosing tackle. It happens to be nearly all Penn, because that's what I started with. It isn't a shopping list or a recommendation: any of the jobs can be done just as well with other makers' gear.
Shore
Beach and surf
Two 13ft beachcasters (150–300g) with long-cast 7000 reels
15lb mono on the main spools and 30lb braid on spare spools for calm, clean beaches, always with a 60lb mono leader. I fish them as a pair: one clipped-down rig at range and one flapper dropped short into the first gutter.
Jobs: Beach and surf
Rock and kelp
A sealed 7000-size reel, on a dedicated rough-ground rod (100–250g)
25–30lb mono and an 80lb leader, with short 30–40lb snoods and plain leads on a weak link. The stiffer rod bullies fish up and out of the kelp before they can turn, so the beach rods stay on clean ground.
Jobs: Rock and kelp
Pier and harbour
A pier rod (75–150g) with a big, simple fixed spool reel
30lb braid for bite detection from height and a 50lb mono leader about two rod lengths long. Feathers, float, flapper or a running ledger. Always with a drop net.
Jobs: Pier and harbour
Spinning and lures
A travel spinning rod (15–40g) with a 4000 reel
PE 1.0–1.5 braid and 1–2m of 15–20lb fluorocarbon. It lives in the car for bass at first light, wrasse on soft plastics, or mackerel when they show.
Jobs: Spinning and lures
LRF
A twin-tip LRF rod (5–21g) with a 2000 reel
PE 0.4–0.6 braid and a 4–8lb fluorocarbon leader. The finer tip for 5–10g jig heads and drop-shot, the stronger one for small metals. Mullet and garfish on it are a proper fight.
Jobs: LRF
Boat
Boat fishing is outside the main scope of this guide, but for completeness, these are the boat outfits I take on charter trips.
Light inshore boat
A 7ft 12–20lb boat rod with a level-wind multiplier
20–30lb metered braid with a 30lb leader, and 4–12oz leads. Bream, rays, plaice, gurnard and mackerel. An older, smaller multiplier is my swap reel: it goes on this rod in the kayak, or on the 15–40lb rod for a friend.
Wreck and reef
A 15–40lb boat rod with a 4/0 multiplier
50lb braid over a mono backing, a 60–80lb leader, and heavy traces for conger. Ling, cod, pollack and big rays.
Big fish
A 30–50lb rod with a 6/0 multiplier
For targeted trips only: big conger, and tope and blue shark on circle hooks, all released. It's illegal to land a rod-caught tope in England.
What I'd tell my starting self
One rod is enough to start
A 10–12ft rod casting up to 4oz covers piers, estuaries and most beaches. Everything else came later. See Your first trip.
A casting lesson beats a new rod
One session with a qualified casting coach often adds 30 to 50 yards on a beachcaster and cures crack-offs and birds' nests.
Look after the reels
A gentle freshwater rinse after every trip and a service each winter keep reels going for years.
Kit reviews
Honest notes on the Penn rods and reels used in this guide, after real seasons on the coast.