weir pool presentation

[nenboy]

been fishing a local weirpool ,casting to the bottom of the sill in around 10 foot of water ,using casters and hemp in a feeder with a 2ft hooklength which 7 times out of 10 comes back slightly tangled around the top of the feeder ,having not caught that much just wondering whats going on with my hooklength under the water and can I improve the presentation, a fair amount of water comes down the weir and im fishing about 10 m from where the water pours in ,any advice ?

 

[barbelboi]

I often use hooklengths longer than 2' for barbel. If using a cage feeder I tend to bed the hook/bait in the groundbait plug in the end for easy easy casting and no tangles - it will obviously straighten itself out in the flow. If using a 'maggot' feeder then I often use an 'inline' with a very short hook length.

PS don't forget that the flow is much 'quieter' below the surface.

 

[sam vimes]

Casting upstream can cause all sorts of tangles with otherwise reliable rigs. Couple that with the turbulent water of a weir pool, and the seemingly inevitable plethora of snags, and such problems intensify.

 

[nenboy]

Casting upstream can cause all sorts of tangles with otherwise reliable rigs. Couple that with the turbulent water of a weir pool, and the seemingly inevitable plethora of snags, and such problems intensify.

im actually casting downstream and sitting level with the flow of the water ,the area im fishing is pretty clear , I do most of my barbell fishing on the trent with long hooklengths which don't come back with these small tangles around the feeder /swivel area ,just wondering if a heavier hooklength material might be more suitable .

 

[sam vimes]

Stiffer hooklengths, flurocarbon or coated braid, may help. Another possibility is the use of beads/tulips above the swivel and/or sleeves below it.

 

[john step]

It may be that in using maggots/casters you are getting the run around from small fish that are grabbing the bait and doing a merry dance and cat cradling your hooklink,( knit one pearl two) without the size or strength to take the bait properly or even show a bite in the turbulent water??
It happens in stillwater so why not in a weir pool?

 

[Philip]

My initial feeling was that your rig was spinning & tangling as it sunk after you cast.

However if your using the same setup on the Trent but not getting tangles then John is probably right that its probably small fish messing around with it once its hit bottom.

I would do as Sam suggests & put a sleeve of silicone below the swivel just to create a short “boom” type effect with a little bit of rigidity to hold it away and stop it twisting round the top of the feeder. Small tip if you do this …don’t use too thin a bit of silicone, maybe 1mm or 1.5mm bore something like that. If you go too fine it will still twist up.

Else do as Jerry suggests and just fish an inline with a short hooklink.

 

[flightliner]

Try a split shot or two half way from the feeder to the hook.

 

[rubio]

Try a split shot or two half way from the feeder to the hook.

That's good for restricting the amount of leaves and debris sliding to the hook too, and keeps your bait where the fish are looking.
Twizzled loops/droppers, heli-rigs or indeed any kind of paternoster set-up could all cut down your problems I think.

 

[Graham Elliott 1]

You could do it the way I have always looked to overcome the problem.
The hooklink is attached to a size 8 swivel.
Above this is a pointed tulip bead (rubber)
This fits over the swivel.
Above this you have an enterprise breakaway sliding link that your feeder is attached to.

This slid down over the pointed tulip bead kicks out the hooklink and prevents many tangles.

 

[Chevin]

Obviously I don't know how much rubbish there is on the bottom of your weir pool but whenever possible I used to prefer to roll a ledgered bait around a weir pool rather than present a stationary bait in a situation where nothing stays in one place for very long. Fish are used to their food moving around the bottom of a weir pool and will often be quartering it all day as they search for the food that is being delivered to them. Even on hot days when fish sometimes get to be a bit lethargic, the water in a weir pool is generally well enough oxygenated for them to be a bit more active than those in slow or still water. Indeed, fish will move up to a weir pool in those warm, still conditions. Mashed bread thrown into the river near the spill way can soon get barbel and chub feeding as it is often dispersed over a fairly large percentage of the pool. Touch ledgering is not the easiest of techniques to master but the effort of mastering it frequently pays in improved fish captures. I always used a substantial bait such as cheese or bread because eels also like weir pools and they can be something of a nuisance. I used to cast across the face of the spillway and then let the movement of the water take my bait where it would until it was back under my own bank. By working at that for a few hours you can cover far more of the pool than you ever will by sitting with a static bait all day.

 

[nenboy]

thanks for all your advice

 

[Jim Crosskey 2]

Hi there

This might be unnecessary advice, and if it is, forgive me... however (through personal experience) I have found that a lot of tangling issues when fishing this kind of set up are a direct result of casting technique.

So you may already be doing both of the things I'm going to suggest...

First off, when you cast, you need to feather the line as the feeder approaches its destination - so when it's about half way there, you gently apply a finger to the spool. Not to stop line coming off, but to slow it down. This has the effect of throwing the bait forward and away from the feeder. If you don't do this, the bait travels behind the feeder and is in a much better position to get tangled up when everything lands. Do it right and you'll clearly see the bait landing two foot away from the feeder.

Secondly, it's important to have the rod held up high during the cast. Then when the feeder lands, you simultaneously clamp the feathering finger on to the spool (no more line to come off) and gently drop the rod top. This means the feeder drops down in a straight line, on a tight line (no billowing slack behind to find a tangle). And because the hookbait was kicked out during the feathering, the flow of the river now keeps that nicely away from the feeder as it drops.

Ironically, it's harder to get this right with a short cast, as you have a little less time to go through all of the steps.

Hope I've explained that ok? And like I said, it could be that you're doing all of that already.....

 

[associatedmatt]

its all in well about feathering the line and feeling the feeder down but if the cast is lets say only 12ft out what would you do there with a long hooklink if cast out with a flick ?

 

[barbelboi]

its all in well about feathering the line and feeling the feeder down but if the cast is lets say only 12ft out what would you do there with a long hooklink if cast out with a flick ?

Shove the bait/hook into the end of cage feeder (if using a groundbait plug) to half the hook length and leave no weight to move around - it'll soon straighten out in the flow................

 

[associatedmatt]

I have seen on tv people like Trevor west and dean macey use short hooklinks around 9 inches , why so short ? Also could use method when chub fishing with liquidised bread in feeder too !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cg74]

its all in well about feathering the line and feeling the feeder down but if the cast is lets say only 12ft out what would you do there with a long hooklink if cast out with a flick ?

Slow the feeder's descent through the water and the flow will straighten out your hooklength.
To slow the feeder's fall simply underarm cast and as soon as you release your line lift your rod up to create some extra line once you've let off enough line, trap the line with a finger and keeping your line tight enough to feel the weight down but not so tight that it tows your rig out of position. Basically the same as fishing to a line clip, as your finger is acting as the clip.

That and I personally never fish with a hooklength longer than 30".

---------- Post added at 19:48 ---------- Previous post was at 19:27 ----------

I have seen on tv people like Trevor west and dean macey use short hooklinks around 9 inches , why so short ? Also could use method when chub fishing with liquidised bread in feeder too !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Shorter rigs are less prone to tangling and getting snagged, also if fishing a bolt rig set-up it aids hooking.

My preferred hooklink length for barbel on a feeder tends to be between about 12"-15".

And yes it works well for chub on bread, giving far better bite indication than longer hooklinks.

 

[Keith M]

I have seen on tv people like Trevor west and dean macey use short hooklinks around 9 inches , why so short ?

I occasionally use hooklinks as short as 5 to 9 inches in conjunction with a 5 SSG or half oz link leger when I need to be sure that my bait is keeping close to the bottom and not wavering off the bottom too much in turbulent flows or getting caught up in streamer weed fronds that are wavering above, and it works a treat in the right conditions; plus I rarely get problems with tangles (or with getting the occasional bite Lol).

If I am unsure about where my feed is going I sometimes attatch a small PVA stocking full of loose feed to my lead or to the hook as I've lost too many feeders in wierpool snags over the years Lol.

Keith

 

[associatedmatt]

Slow the feeder's descent through the water and the flow will straighten out your hooklength.
To slow the feeder's fall simply underarm cast and as soon as you release your line lift your rod up to create some extra line once you've let off enough line, trap the line with a finger and keeping your line tight enough to feel the weight down but not so tight that it tows your rig out of position. Basically the same as fishing to a line clip, as your finger is acting as the clip.

That and I personally never fish with a hooklength longer than 30".

---------- Post added at 19:48 ---------- Previous post was at 19:27 ----------



Shorter rigs are less prone to tangling and getting snagged, also if fishing a bolt rig set-up it aids hooking.

My preferred hooklink length for barbel on a feeder tends to be between about 12"-15".

And yes it works well for chub on bread, giving far better bite indication than longer hooklinks.

sounds easier said then done as never tried feathering or feeling a lead down yet as once cast seems to come in contact with the water fairly quick with the thinking of feeling led down etc , fishing commercials dont have much room to do that either, something il need room to practice . When been float fishing its normally close in so no need to feather . when casting underarm on a narrow river it seems to be over too quick .

 

[flightliner]

Remember that water falling over a wier cill often rolls back on itself how far from the cill depends on the width, depth and force of the river flow. On the trent all these factors are high up in the scale of things and the water can be seen running back to the overflow some eight or nine metres from its point of fall so try and extrapulate this to the weir that you are fishing when casting in as its this "rolling over" water that is causing your line/cast to spin and tangle which is why I suggested you use a split shot above your hook.
Barbel boys suggestion is one that you could use in conjunction with my split shot and while at it try another method I used for trent barbel with plenty of success back in the mid nineties.
Set up a cage feeder paternoster rig with the hooklink some three inches longer than the feederlink then after baiting your hook drop it thro your feeder so it hangs the three inches below it before filling your feeder.
Non if any chance of a spin up and weirs being weirs the fish tend to have little time to inspect a bait which is often shown by the savagery of the bite.
I often used wasp grub on the famous weir field in a feeder back in the seventies and the chub would often pick up a feeder and shake it like a jack russell shaking a rat to loosen the contents, with the method i,ve described fish are often wolfing down the freshley spilt feeder offerings before they are dispersed by the currant and your hookbait is taken in at the same time--- worked a treat for me, will for you!.
ps-- early method feeder tactics.