Been coarse fishing for many years on and off, but have always had an interest in Carp fishing. There are alot of well known specimen lakes around me and I would love to get onto them.

I've been looking at gear to start off without going straight in and spending 1000's. I have also looked at second hand but for now I've put together a list of the tackle I've considered and need an expert opinion I suppose.

Rod - Daiwa Black Widow G50 x2
Reel - Sonik Vader X RS 8000 x2
Pod/Alarms - NGT Slider Rodpod Set (Comes with NGT VS Alarms)
Net - NGT Specimen Net
Cradle - Advanta Protector Large
Bivvy - NGT 2 Man Double Skinned

Any recommendations to improve without breaing the bank. This is around £500 I think depending on retailers.

Thanks in advance.

In reply to Post #1
Just starting out I would 100% buy second hand. Got back into fishing myself in September after 9 years in Australia and have kitted myself out almost solely with stuff from Facebook.

I'd avoid NGT if you can, they are extremely budget. I'd be spending similar money buying good brands second hand. I own 1 NGT item and it's their distance sticks (£11 delivered from amazon, I think). Apart from that I wouldn't buy anything of theirs.


I'd recommend Okuma INC 6000 reels, can be picked up for £30 each second hand.

In reply to Post #1
Agree with Post#2 - buy secondhand and steer away from NGT (though they are OK for small "non critical" items). If you see a particular item that looks OK, ask for an opinion of it on here.

The rods you have said are a good decent budget rod, I have a set of the 10 footers for small waters.

The reels, I'd be looking at secondhand Shimano, Daiwa or Okuma. Steer away from Sonik reels, not recommended on here, though their rods meant to be decent.

For a bivvy, I've just looked on facebook and seen a Chub one with a winter skin for £60 close to me. So there are bargains to be had.

In reply to Post #3
I'm forever surfing through groups on Facebook, its become an obsession but I never know what to look out for in terms of problems/known issues with tackle, so I'm always skeptical.

What is Fox like? I thought about getting the Fox Eos Pro Rods and Reels

In reply to Post #3
Agreed with the sonik comment. Have owned both rods and reels, I still use the rods all the time, the reels were sold within a month of owning they were that terrible

In reply to Post #4
Personally, I'm not keen on Fox gear. I would imagine the rods being OK, but my lad had a set of their reels and they were crap.

In reply to Post #6
Ok, some good info there fellas, thankyou.

One last thing, what Alarms and Pods would you guys recommend?

In reply to Post #7
ATTS alarms, definitely. Can get a set of 2 with receiver for £75-80 on FB.

I personally use bars and sticks, if you're trying to keep cost down Cygnet do great bars and sticks for very reasonable prices.

In reply to Post #8
Do you need a 2 man double skin biv, get a 1 man if thay do one

In reply to Post #1
As said below buy second hand.

You deffinetly buy twice if you buy cheap when it comes to fishing tackle.

I'd deffinetly steer clear of NGT for main items like alarms, bivvies, rods and reels.

It would be a good idea to narrow down what type of waters you will be fishing and days or nights.

For e.g. a lot of commercial waters these days supply nets, slings, cradles etc. So that could be something that you could buy later on when you need them for other waters and free up extra cash to buy better rods, reels etc.

If you don't plan on fishing nights then you won't really need a receiver and you could pick up a couple of fox microns for about £30-40. This could also be said for a bivvy and a lightweight brolly would do.

Definitely avoid NGT as said before, like the new badger tackle. Definitely get rods and Reels 2nd hand if your starting out, can get a pair of 2nd hand fox warriors and 2 shimano bait runners fairly cheep, Facebook is your best bet for 2nd hand gear 👍

From johnsonrosstackle
-Daiwa Black Widow 25A £52.5
-Sonik VaderX RS 10ft £45 12 ft £49.99
-Sonik Vader X Rod Pod 2 £45
-Nash Siren S5 Digital Bite Alarm £18.33 (Fox Micron X is the best buy in lower price but price x3)
-Sonik S1 Landing Net 42inch £29.16

From Angling direct:
-Advanta Protector Peak Fishing Bivvy 1 Man V2 £199.99
-Advanta Protector Quick-Cradle Large £37.49


Some alternatives
Angeling direct:
Sonik SK-TEK BIVVY 1 man bivvy £179.99 2 man £199.99
JRC Rova Camo Peak Fishing Bivvy 2 Man £194.99

In reply to Post #1
As said avoid ngt fox alarms mini micron or atts are good best look second hand or buy middle of range new eg esp Gardner fox if you buy new cheap gear like us all you will want to change once you see others set ups
as you get into it more cheap gear is cheap and you will waste money as you will get nothing for it when selling it that's if you can find someone to buy it

Must be horrendous the costs for anybody starting out these days, especially kids and parents who are funding it!

I'm with what has been said, buy second hand or my advise is buy middle of the road stuff. For example, I would personally avoid the cheaper Shimano and Daiwa reels and go for something like an Okuma or Penn, I think you will get much more value for your money around the same price tag

Rods, unless you are casting miles or big bags there's loads of cheaper options about

Fox alarms, bullet proof for me, maybe look at the new microns?

Nets, I have had quite a few, can't go wrong with JRC for the money

Ultimately the game is about catching carp so I would spend your money on decent bait and the last few meters that's in the water

In reply to Post #14
And it only gets worse with the current price increases