Fishing Victoria Forum

Hi all,
I've just gotten into fishing for the first time since fishing as a kid 15 or so years ago.
I'm looking to start with pier fishing for squid, whiting and flathead as a start.

I've got my eye on a cheap 2nd hand shimano graphite 2-4kg 7' rod and looking to pair it with a suitable real and line for cheap. From doing a bit of research I think a 2500 reel is suitable.
Ideally I'd be happy to get a cheap 2nd hand real in the $20ish range just to get a start but I realise this may be a bit hopeful and may need to fork out a bit more, like $50 for a shimano sienna 2500fe.

I have no idea if I should be looking at braided vs mono line either.

Can anyone point this newbie in the right direction here so I don't end up blowing my limited funds on something that's not suitable? Happy to do my own research as I have already done but feeling a bit overwhelmed on making a decision.

My main focus at this stage is getting started for as cheap as possible and potentially upgrade later.

I dont know exactly what the new Sienna is like as to how long it would last but I looked at one recently and its gone from 3 ball bearings for the previous version to 1 ball bearing with the new one. So a drop in qaulity. The 3 bearing one turns easier. I have a 5 yr old Sienna 1000 thats casted and retrieved thousands of times and turns free'er than a new one. Not massively but noticeable. Steer clear of the Sedona, I got one today not realising it only had 1 lousy felt drag washer instead of what used to be standard multi disc. Its crap too the drag on it and I'm just lucky I had an old reel with some good drag washers that fitted it and fixed the problem. If your lucky someone here may have the original Sienna they could sell you. Not parting with mine though. May have been cheap but its a little gem of a reel.

Thanks for the input Brownie.
I noticed the Sienna has a 10yr warranty which far exceeds the use I would expect from it. Or is this likely not worth the paper it's printed on and likely to be voided by the use of salt water or some other technicality?

I believe warranty are only up held if reels are serviced by Shimano every year

smile0784 wrote:I believe warranty are only up held if reels are serviced by Shimano every year

Looks like your right there mate. Looks like I've blown my Sedona warranty on day one
viewtopic.php?f=85&t=17054

Been using Penn assault...very reliable n drag is good.

Thanks Bowl, that's exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for. I've got my eye on a very cheap 2nd hand combo I think will be a good start but if that falls through I'm thinking the penn assault looks good for the money... In fact I reckon I'd probably even upgrade to that in the near future if I'm still keen after getting a bit of use on this cheap setup.

Now to get stuck into researching line!

Get some of this Jarvis Walker mono line only $3.95 delivered for 1400m. It is super strong and I've never had a problem with this line :thumbsup:
https://www.dinga.com.au/jarvis-walker- ... 31700.html