Fishing from the coast is a very special type of fishing – and the UK has plenty of coastline to do it from. Because the water near the beaches is often shallow, you have to make long casts to get your bait close to the fish. A beach rod or beachcaster is specifically designed for this. The rod is built in such a way that extremely long casts with a heavy lead are possible with relative ease. Beach anglers can easily cast their 150-gram lead over 100 metres, because of these rods. The blank of a beach rod is perfect for making long casts and the large eyes on the rod ensure that the line glides through easily.

Beach rod sets

A beach rod set is actually a simple combination. You need a decent beach rod and a large, saltwater-resistant reel – a big pit reel is ideal. A nylon main line about 0.40 to 0.45mm thick is often used for beach fishing, possibly with a thicker weft to cushion the blow of the hard cast. A beach rod set can be bought ready-made. Often these sets include a rod, reel, line, some leaders and of course some lead weights.

Buying a beach rod

When you want to buy a beach rod, first determine what you are going to use it for. If you mainly fish at spots where you don't need to cast very far, then a light 3.90 metre beach rod will do just fine. Do you need a real casting gun because you often fish on the beach where the depth starts far from the shore? Then take a 250 gram rod with a length of 4.50 metres. After a fishing session, it is a good idea to rinse the equipment you use in saltwater under the tap or shower – this is so that the saltwater and the sand do not corrode your precious equipment.