Normally when heading for Scotland I feel I really need to pack a Salmon rod, a trout rod, a sea fly rod, a rock rod, a boat rod and any other rod I can cram in the car.
This last time with only a short trip to Skye the opportunities would be boat if the forecast came true or having a go for the Herring in the shelter of Armadale pier if it was a bit rough.
Saving space in the car was a good enough excuse to order us pair of NGT Marine multi-tip sea rods; via Fleabay from Paulsanglingsupplies one of my favourite suppliers on there.
Costing a very reasonable £24.95 each and offering a choice of boat or pier length with the optional mid section and 3 alternative tips.
As the weather forecast came good we got to use the boat length with the heaviest tips which proved perfectly able to handle a gentle under arm lob of an 8oz lead, enough sensitivity to know when Mackerel had jumped on the feathers and enough back bone to lift them up and aboard
For reels I took a chance on pair of new but dirt cheap NGT size 600 Carp bait runners I picked up for a surprisingly cheap £11 each from a shop in Aberystwyth loaded with 25lb mono and hoped they'd be strong enough for the boat and letting the rod do the lifting and winding up the slack they were.
Nicely enough made but I did have one fault to pick with one of the rods which I only noticed when threading up the line on the boat, a rod ring of a tip section was blocked with an overspill of resin and I had to poke it out to get the line through.
Second test was same reel, with the 4 section 8 foot combination and lightest tip proving perfectly OK for a 3 oz lead and short range Bass for Tina off the beach.
Third test a drop it down the wall session for minis and an occasional spin cast, in the 4 section combo with the mid weight tip and the same NGT reel. Side by side with an identically rigged NGT kayak rod ( both rods using sabiki rigs tipped with bits of rag worm) the multi tip won hands down, the stiffer tip giving more resistance to the takes resulting in much better hook ups.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/201160192433
If I was using it everyday or heading for Norway I'd no doubt take a rod and reel of higher quality and beefier spec but for a versatile keep it in the boot or holiday sea rod at a price that won't break your heart if it gets nicked from your tent I'd highly recommend it.
Oh and it's great knowing that if you somehow leave a rod tip behind at your B&B like I did you've still got two others to play with!
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