Some (re)starting tackle

Not having a rod was a bit of a limiting factor for doing any fishing so we went to Dave's Tackle in Fakenham, Norfolk to take a look and see how much a small rod and reel would cost. Rob Parnell, the owner, was very helpful and recommended a short 8ft spinning rod and reel which the kids could handle. We said we were most likely just going for roach in the broads so he kitted us up with a small landing net, set of floats for trotting, weights etc. He threw in some mono filament line 5-6lbs main line and 3-4lbs hook link - I was surprised at how heavy this was having been used to 1.5lbs hook link and 4lbs main line as a kid but it seemed to be the right stuff given the range of fish and snags. A pack of size 18 barb-less hooks, bait-box and rod license (bought on line) and I was good to go. All in the kit cost me about 100 UKP - which is comparable to what it cost back when I was 13, given the intervening inflation, this is a lot cheaper now. Compared to my first glass fibre 12foot float rod, this spinning rod and reel weighed almost nothing, again the progress of composite materials technology being evident.