I find the “connection” to a lure rod more involving than I used to find the connection to a beachcaster

Yep, it’s a Monday morning in early January, the tides are very small, the weather ain’t great, I have got a lot of work to be getting on with, and my brain is bouncing away with fishing related stuff for the year ahead. And I also remain absolutely fascinated by lure fishing rods. I guess I have always been interested in fishing rods as such, and I remember for example when I saved up and bought my first pair of “proper” beachcasters for the sort of shore fishing I was increasingly doing when I started at Plymouth University and finally got to live close to a lot of good saltwater fishing. Life was never quite the same again!

At the end of the day you tend to use a beachcaster/shore fishing rod somewhat differently to how we might use a lure fishing rod. That might sound rather obvious, and it’s meant to, but those fundamental differences are why I find a lure fishing rod more interesting than I find a beachcaster. Not better or worse I guess I need to add, just different. I accept that lure fishing has got me in its grip completely, but so did bait fishing for many years, and I fully expect for it to creep back into my fishing life at some point down the road.

Lure fishing to me arguably shares more with fly fishing than it does with bait fishing. I don’t mean species or locations here, rather that with fly fishing and the sort of lure fishing most of us do - trolling etc. aside here - casting repeatedly is a principal part of the actual fishing. Therefore you are always holding your fishing rod. If you do hold your bait rod for something more subtle like tough-ledgering for bass or mullet then there is more crossover here, but the reason why I tend to find lure fishing rods so interesting is that my/our fishing requires a sort of intimate connection between the angler and a length of carbon fibre. Casting and retrieving, casting and retrieving, plus the lighter rod element comes into play when you are hooked into a fish of course.

I think it’s fair to say that most of our (shore based) saltwater bait fishing revolves around casting a bait out, then putting your rod or rods in a tripod or resting on the rocks, and waiting for the signs of a bite. A fishing rod is a vital bit of equipment in any fishing, that goes without saying, but for most of the bait fishing I did, my rod or rods were out of my hands for most of the actual fishing time. With lure fishing though, unless I am taking photos or drinking some coffee or water, my fishing rod is in my hands nearly all the time. Not to get too deep and meaningful here, but that one rod feels like a part of me when I am actually out fishing. How that rod feels in my hands is an important part of my lure fishing so I can’t help but be interested in different lure fishing rods.

Casting is also be a very important part of bait fishing, but the simple fact is that you are doing it way less. You are not casting and retrieving constantly because you are not using a lure or a fly which requires action on behalf of the angler to bring it to life. With lure fishing we are essentially hunting for the fish rather than laying a scented trap and waiting for the fish to come to you. In no way am I trying to say that one type of fishing is better or worse than the other because I am really opposed to that kind of thinking within fishing, rather that the constant connection to a lure fishing rod when I am actually fishing quite naturally gets me thinking and analysing. You might well not and that’s just fine. A modern beachcaster is an incredible tool that is also a vital tool, but a lighter rod which I am constantly in touch with is what interests me the most I guess.

I recognise that via my work I get to play around with a bunch of different rods so perhaps that feeds and grows my interest more than other anglers, but it’s incredible what some of these tackle companies are able to do with various materials. I have just got hold of what I reckon is the fastest, sharpest and most precise 9’ lure rod around that “standard” sort of 7-35g casting weight that I have ever fished with, and I have also stumbled across a very good value for money lighter lure rod that I think is pretty damn good for the lighter estuary fishing. I dread to think how many lure fishing rods I have tried to date, but my interest hasn’t diminished, and no cynicism has crept in at all. It’s all an important part of fishing to me and I hope that you kind people who take the time to read this blog will continue to enjoy it all with me………………..