Hi! I sea fish having returned to the sport in the last few years and can offer the following advice:
1. If you can, go with someone who already fishes in your area and see if you like it. It can be great fun and exciting, but it can also be cold and miserable.
2. If you don't know anyone, try your local sea angling club who may even offer beginner's advice sessions. Casting is tricky if you have no experience and even one paid for training session will re-pay itself over and over.
3. I have not seen the Rover Cottage book, but as it is a middle-class cooking based franchise, I am not convinced of it's validity as a beginner's sea fishing course/guide - personally I cannot imagine Hugh Fairly-Wittering-on standing on a beach in the North East for hours on end in the rain and wind..... This book on Amazon is cheap, simply written and contains timeless advice on the basics of the sport, the equipment and more importantly the fish.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sea-Fishing-Pro ... 796&sr=8-1
4. For beachcasting, yes a 12-13 foot beachcasting rod with a fixed spool reel will get you started. You'll need line, a shock leader as mentioned above, some hooks and weights and a few other basics bits of tackle. Visit your local tackle shop and tell them what you want to do, how much your budget it and he will advise accordingly. You can kit yourself out via eBay for sure, BUT you have to know what your looking for and there will be no come back if what you buy is no good or doesn't suit what you want it to do. Less than £100 could set you up fine from you local shop, less if money is really tight - you can always upgrade the gear as you go. The thing you'll get from the local tackle shop which eBay WON'T provide is knowledge, experience and advice pure tailored to YOUR needs and budget. eBay sellers want to shift stock, your tackle shop wants you back again and again and to buy bait every trip - who's going to want to help you more?!
5. Enjoy it! Sea fishing is a great sport, however for me the jey is the word fishing and not catching. The fun part is in the mystery of what, if anything, will fall to your tackle, tactics and bait. If you go with the expectation you'll catch EVERY time or with the thought that you can put a meal on the table EVERY trip, you may be disappointed! For guaranteed catching, you'll need a trawler!
Let us know how you get on and tight lines!
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