Towards the end of October, my lure gear starts to get left at home and is instead replaced by a pair of shore rods. Although lure fishing is certainly my preference, the prolonged spells of bad weather that winter often brings can certainly make work on the lures hard going on my local stretch of coastline.
What I do love about using bait is how it allows you to target many different species, and there is always that element of uncertainty as to what you may end up catching (something that unfortunately saltwater lure fishing here in the UK lacks).
Ready for another... dogfish?!
For the species I target over the winter months (Smalleyed's, Bullhuss, flounder etc), I am often fishing from rock ledges over clean or mixed ground. Often, this involves a significant run of tide, and combined with a decent swell, these conditions can put a strain on your rods. Up until recently, the rods that I have used for my shore fishing have been fairly traditional beachcasters - a solid build, but fairly pokey and heavy.
Sparkly blue certainly isn't your typical rod blank finish...
However, towards the end of last year I received a pair of the new Penn Tidal Elites (rung with K-Type guides). These rods are certainly not what I have been used to, and instead are much lighter, with fine tips and almost continental in style. At first, I did have some concerns about whether these rods would be up to the sort of fishing I do, or whether they were more suited to the beach/match style methods I imagine they were designed for. Nevertheless, I was very keen to give them a go, and have been using them ever since for all my shore fishing here in South Devon.
The Tidal Elites and Tidal reels make an awesome setup for general UK shore fishing
It hasn't taken long to for me to really start loving these rods. After many years of using much heavier gear, the Tidal Elite's light, crisp, responsive blanks make such a refreshing change. They compress easily, and with little effort you can punch a bait out miles.
I paired the Elites with the new Tidal 7000 reels, loaded with 30lb Berkley Nautil braid and tied to a 30 - 80lb tapered shockleader via an FG knot. This creates a lovely light setup (something that I wouldn't typically associate with a lot of Penn gear) that you can move through the air very quickly and which helps increase your casting distance.
A near 13lb huss from the rocks proved no problem for the Elites
All concerns about any lack of power were quickly put to rest after pulling some fairly hefty bullhuss out of rough ground without any problems at all. Whilst retaining plenty of power lower down in the blank, these rods taper up to a lovely sensitive tip, which when paired with braid, has proven to be fantastic for bite detection. I am also a fan of the bottom shrink-wrapped grip - looks slightly unusual, but feels really ergonomic.
I have yet to fish with them in heavy weed or in big swells, and although I'm sure they would cope, I would probably opt for a stiffer rod in these conditions, also with larger eyes. Equally, if you are a specimen angler looking to target big blondes etc, or someone who wants to fish over rougher ground, I wouldn't recommend these rods for you. However, for general shore fishing here in the UK, these rods have so far proven to be fantastic.
Overall, these rods are outstanding. They are a phenomenal choice for general shore fishing, as they seem to combine the lightness and sensitivity of a continental style rod with the durability and power of a more traditional beachcaster. If you are in the market for a high end shore rod, then the Penn Tidal Elites are definitely worth a look. I'm certainly looking forward to fishing with them a lot more...
