baitdropper or feeder ?
- Thread starter nenboy
- Start date
I don't fish large rivers but if I did then I'd say that unless you are fishing around 1½ to 2 rod lengths out then stick with the feeder.
Your chances of being accurate much further out than your rod tip plus a bit with a bait dropper decrease alarmingly the further you have to cast.
So, in that case, I'd use the feeder and clip up, pick a visible point on the horizon and build up the swim like that.
peter crabtree
AKA Simon, 1953 - 2022 (RIP)
Agree with Peter J above, exactly what I was about to recommend.
smudger172
Well-known member
One thing i do is to freeze hemp in tin foil, about the size of a cricket ball so it can be thrown into the swim providing its not to far. maggots and casters can be put in a pva bag and cast to a clip.........
Judas Priest
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As Peter alluded to, on small rivers or fishing close in I'd use a dropper, on bigger rivers or further out (20 yds plus) I'd use a feeder or PVA sock to ensure I had feed near to my hook bait.
A feeder is slightly easier to fill and use as with PVA stocking you've got to choose the right one for the water. Stocking comes in various melt times and it's important to choose the right one as it no use using fast melt in deep water as by the time the hook bait gets settled the PVA is long gone, consequently slow melt is no use in shallow fast water as it sits around the hook to long. Also just to confuse the matter further water temp has an effect on melt times as well. Maggots, casters and hemp can all be introduced using a stocking or solid bag.
Me personally I'd go for a feeder on both the Trent and Middle Severn.
If, as smudged says, you are thinking of trying the frozen hemp idea then pop a stone into the hemp before freezing as ice floats. On this score though I'd mix a cheap crumb ground bait containing lots of hemp n caster pretty stiff and ball that in.
A feeder is slightly easier to fill and use as with PVA stocking you've got to choose the right one for the water. Stocking comes in various melt times and it's important to choose the right one as it no use using fast melt in deep water as by the time the hook bait gets settled the PVA is long gone, consequently slow melt is no use in shallow fast water as it sits around the hook to long. Also just to confuse the matter further water temp has an effect on melt times as well. Maggots, casters and hemp can all be introduced using a stocking or solid bag.
Me personally I'd go for a feeder on both the Trent and Middle Severn.
If, as smudged says, you are thinking of trying the frozen hemp idea then pop a stone into the hemp before freezing as ice floats. On this score though I'd mix a cheap crumb ground bait containing lots of hemp n caster pretty stiff and ball that in.
Jim Crosskey 2
Well-known member
Another point to bear in mind here is flow... so for example, fishing the thames in summer (when it resembles a long, narrow barely-moving lake) I'd be quite happy to ball in groundbait (frozen or not) with some form of crumb as a carrier for the hemp/ caster/ mini-pellet/ corn etc that I want to get out as loose feed.
However, switch to a river like the thames in winter or the wye (or as I understand it, the trent or severn with a bit of water on) and throwing anything in to the river would bother me in terms of accuracy - and I'd be back to the feeder cast to a clip as others have suggested.
In fact at the start of the session, I'll often mix up a small batch of dry-ish groundbait which I'll then use to plug either end of a feeder full or hemp or casters or pellets or corn (or better still a mix of all of em...) I'll then use a homemade feeder that I have that is really big but not weighted particularly heavily (about 0.5 ounce of lead). So fully loaded, it's proabably more like 2 or 3 ounces... after I've cast it to the clip, I'll hold the line with my left hand and keep the rod tip in the air... and because the groundbait is on the dry-ish side, it doesn't take long at all before it "pops" and all of the bait comes out. And when that happens, the feeder no longer has the weight to hold the bottom and it will start to more, which you'll feel through the line that you're holding. If you get the groundbait mix just so, this happens about 20 seconds after you've cast, so you can reel in and get another one out. Because the feeder is so large, you can get a good bit of bait out in just 10 or 15 minutes, and you can be confident that it's landing in just the right spot.
However, switch to a river like the thames in winter or the wye (or as I understand it, the trent or severn with a bit of water on) and throwing anything in to the river would bother me in terms of accuracy - and I'd be back to the feeder cast to a clip as others have suggested.
In fact at the start of the session, I'll often mix up a small batch of dry-ish groundbait which I'll then use to plug either end of a feeder full or hemp or casters or pellets or corn (or better still a mix of all of em...) I'll then use a homemade feeder that I have that is really big but not weighted particularly heavily (about 0.5 ounce of lead). So fully loaded, it's proabably more like 2 or 3 ounces... after I've cast it to the clip, I'll hold the line with my left hand and keep the rod tip in the air... and because the groundbait is on the dry-ish side, it doesn't take long at all before it "pops" and all of the bait comes out. And when that happens, the feeder no longer has the weight to hold the bottom and it will start to more, which you'll feel through the line that you're holding. If you get the groundbait mix just so, this happens about 20 seconds after you've cast, so you can reel in and get another one out. Because the feeder is so large, you can get a good bit of bait out in just 10 or 15 minutes, and you can be confident that it's landing in just the right spot.
Use a 'one hit wonder'
Its a giant feeder made from a section of plastic drain pipe and you sling it into your swim on a mono handline.
I have two, one around 5" long x 2" diameter with no holes and the other around 6" x 3" diameter with holes both on a section of 50lb mono with a wrist loop on the end.
If I think I need extra weight I have a strip of roofing lead folded through the middle.
BTW I always pack the feeder before I leave the car and fill the ends with bankside mud.
Using the above I can feed any swim I want within throwing distance, say 25yards or so and beats the pants off a bait dropper or bag.
Its a giant feeder made from a section of plastic drain pipe and you sling it into your swim on a mono handline.
I have two, one around 5" long x 2" diameter with no holes and the other around 6" x 3" diameter with holes both on a section of 50lb mono with a wrist loop on the end.
If I think I need extra weight I have a strip of roofing lead folded through the middle.
BTW I always pack the feeder before I leave the car and fill the ends with bankside mud.
Using the above I can feed any swim I want within throwing distance, say 25yards or so and beats the pants off a bait dropper or bag.
Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC)
Senior Member
Mick
Do you then fish with a cane rod and centre pin to restore the balance of finesse?
Do you then fish with a cane rod and centre pin to restore the balance of finesse?
Mick
Do you then fish with a cane rod and centre pin to restore the balance of finesse?
Actually the initial 'slosh' doesn't have a detrimental effect if the swim is left unfished for a short while.
I started using my pipe method only after finding all the other 'accepted' techniques unsuitable for the depth of water I was fishing.
I also tried to elicit advice from members on here but to no avail.
Yes it is a bit crude, but so is the 'filling in a swim' method used by our top match anglers......and they certainly catch fish......and don't use cane rods either
I am a little surprised to rarely if ever see a bait boat being used on a river.
I can think of many swims on my local Avon that it would be a real boon to use . . . . .
I can think of many swims on my local Avon that it would be a real boon to use . . . . .
Well, no, not really, as it is classified as a model boat and is not therefore governed by the rules for navigable craft. . . . . . . . . . .
[insert winkey thang > > > HERE]
I have the Viper Mk3 and to be honest it is a P.I.T.A as it has only ever worked properly the very first time out, but there are a few swims I know as I said where it could be very useful.
cg74
Well-known member
On slow flowing rivers all likely methods will work; pod, spomb, catapult, throwing stick and throwing by hand.
If the river is fast flowing and a carpet of bait is desired, then use a baitdropper and a spod rod, this will give you reasonably good accuracy uptp 40 yards.
If the river is fast flowing and a carpet of bait is desired, then use a baitdropper and a spod rod, this will give you reasonably good accuracy uptp 40 yards.
Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC)
Senior Member
I haven't used one Mick, but I know some anglers use metal mesh bird feeders for an initial feed.
Paul Morley
Well-known member
For such situations I made a large 'feeder / dropper' from what is used in shops as a 'cash bomb'. This cylinder takes as much as a medium bait dropper; holes drilled in the sides, some lead added, open at one end plugged with a bit of groundbait, casts Ok with a standard 1.75 tc rod. Just clip up and mark your line, replace with your normal feeder (most then rest the swim).