Zach asked about buying fishing rods and reels. I thought that others may find use of my opinions so I posted the reply here instead of simply replying to Zach.
Zach,
I am guessing you are not from the UK !
But my advice to you would be, rods in the £50 - £100 price bracket are very, very good value for money. ABU, Shakespeare, and Diawa all produce rods for this niche pricing zone. The rods will not be the best, but for somebody who enjoys fishing here and there this would be an ideal option.
You want a rod with a fine tip for bite detection!
Make sure the rod you buy suites the type of reel.
I don’t know what type of reel you are considering Zach, fixed spool or multiplier. This is the piece of kit that you need to spend on, I would suggest around £100 for a multiplier and around £50 for a fixed spool reel.
Fixed spool rods have larger rings to allow the line to peel from the spool.
I would not use a beach caster for boat fishing. When you are fishing deep water your line will stretch (when using mono) and the tide will also have a greater amount of line to effect and you generally need more weight to get the line to the bottom without the tide taking it to far. Therefore you need a rod that can handle the energy. Boat rods in the UK are short and strong. Generally they have a soft tip and absorb energy through the mid and but length.
Fibre glass you ask. Well glass rods are very soft and I use a very cheap fibre glass rod for shallow bottom fishing flounder and plaice fishing. They are very sensitive but considered by many to be out dated. I like the soft action and when kayak fishing if I snap it then I have not lost a huge investment. I know a few people who like glass rods for pier float fishing as you can cast soft baits easily without building up so much energy which can destroy soft bait.
In conclusion
Where ever you are in the world if you are a casual angler look for mid priced rods, spend a bit on the reels and do not get caught by the latest gizmos.
EBay is a great source of value fishing tackle.
