Fishing The UK, Fly Fishing in Devon, Exeter, South West

Over the next couple of months I have two boat trips booked on the Anne Clare a sea fishing charter of Toquay. The Anne Clare skippered by Kevin Tate is a Blythe 33 catamaran powered by twin 330hp Iveco Nef turbo diesels and capable of carrying 10 passengers plus 2 crew. Offering excellent fishing all year round for cod, ling, pollack, conger, black bream, bass, shark and many other species it is an affordable way to catch some big fish. On my first trip I will hopefully be catching some cod, pollack and ling so needed something suitable in the way of a boat rod and reel.

Although I love to sea fish it is not something I get to do very often, so like many of my other purchases I wanted something that was of excellent quality, finish and performance for a reasonable price. Speaking to Mark at Exeter Angling (familiar with my approach to buying fishing tackle) he recommended the Shimano Forcemaster boat pack.

This so called ‘limited edition’ shimano boat pack comprises of…

1 x 7ft 6″, 3 piece, 12-20lb Shimano Forcemaster boat rod
1 x Shimano TR200G multiplier reel
1 x 300m spool of Shimano Forcemaster 20lb mono line
1 x Limited edition Shimano rod sleeve

12-20lb Shimano Forcemaster boat rod
The 3 piece 12/20lb class 7′6” Forcemaster boat rod is built from a fine carbon crystal blank, making it very light, powerful while still offering excellent bite detection.  The rod grip is ergonimically shaped for comfort and control and also fitted with Shimano hardlite guides. Overall the rod looks / feels great and wouldn’t be out of place next to it’s more expensive counterparts.

12-20lb Shimano Forcemaster Boat rod

10-20lb Shimano Forcemaster boat rod

Shimano TR200G multiplier reel
The Shimano TR200G is an ideal light-medium weight boat reel featuring Shimano S.A.L.T technology, level wind and a corrosion-free graphite body. The reel is very smooth with excellent line lay making it ideal for the novice or as a 2nd reel for the more experienced angler. Like the rod the quality and feel is great, something Shimano always manage to get right. It is finished in matte black

Mark recommended that I use braid as a mainline. Using the Shimano Forcemaster mono as backing Mark loaded the reel with 135m of 44lb Power Pro braid. Sorted.

Weight – 374g
Gear ratio – 4.3:1
Line capacity – 365m of 18lb mono

Shimano TR200G Multiplier reel

Shimano TR200G Multiplier reel

The overall cost of this quality package is £99. Amazing value for such a high quality piece of kit, if you were to purchase the rod, reel, line and bag separately it would set you back at least £140-150. The only gripe I had with the package is that it appears to come in right hand wind only,  but I don’t think this will prove to be too much of a problem once fishing.

Happy with the rod and reel I now needed to concentrate on my end tackle. We would be using shads to catch cod, pollack and ling on the first of the two boat trips. Sidewinder lures have become incredibly popular amongst Sea Anglers. Combining holographic attractors in a robust plastic lure they are excellent for all types of predatory fishing. I purchased some Sidewinder sandeels, joeys, sprats and super-shads.

Sidewinder Shads - Sandeels, joeys, sprats and super-shads

I also purchased some 10oz cannon ball leads, Anti-tangle booms, Genie main line swivels, Sakuma 8mm beads in black and some Sunset Amnesia mono in 40 / 30lb for the leader and hook links. I will show the rig in more detail on my next trip report.

Shimano Forcemaster mono, Sunset Amnesia mono, Power Pro Braid

10oz cannon ball leads, Anti-tangle booms, Genie swivels, Sakuma 8mm beads

I am looking forward to the first trip, as soon as I get a moment I will make a post letting you know how I got on with the Shimano Forcemaster boat pack. First impression are good and hopefully I will be putting it through it’s paces with some decent size cod, pollack and ling!

If you are interested in purchasing any of the above please contact Mark Wills or James Moore at Exeter Angling – please make sure you mention this blog.
Tel – 01392 436404
Email – internetsales@exeterangling.co.uk

Shimano Forcemaster Boat pack - limited edition rod sleave

Shimano Forcemaster Boat pack - limited edition rod sleave