Bait Droppers

[Davy North]

I have never used a bait dropper, probably put off by the thought of something akin to frying pan splashing into my swim. However they are advocated by many. I can see the theory, the bait is put where you want it, and with particales like hemp and corn together if lobbed in by hand, depending on the depth and flow of the water will reach the bottom in different places.

So could you learned folk give me some advice, like types of droppers, best situation to use them, and a thing that's always bugged me, up to what distance can they be effectivly used?

Cos come the start of the new river season (whenever that may be) this dim wit might just start chucking a frying pan about.

 

[GrahamM]

Bait droppers are best when used close in, right under the rod end when they can be lowered down rather than swung out.

A rocket (spod) is better for more distant, shallow water, up to 6ft say, providing it isn't running to fast, and then I'm more inclined to use PVA bags. Just make sure that what you put in them isn't too wet.

Once you've got the fish going with some initial heavy (heavier) feeding then a swimfeeder is usually enough to keep them feeding.

 

[Andy Thatcher]

Go for it you won't be disapointed.

I've got 4 that I use. Two are the large Thamesley metal, one with the weight changed to an ounce. The other are smallish plastic jobs that I have had for soooo long I forget who made them.

I use them when ever I have a doubt where my free bait will end up. In practise this means most things even if the current is a quick or you cannot see the bottom large boilies, chunks of meat and pastes.

As regards distance I don't use them over a rod length as the beauty of them is consistent baiting in a specific area. As soon as you start swinging it out you lose this. I would use either a stringer/pva bag or a feeder if it involves casting. Mind you I have been known to use a spod into a slack.

Just keep you mind open.

Go with the frying pan !

 

[Richard Drayson]

Davy, you`ll find the bait dropper indispensible on the river. They come into their own when float fishing in heavy flows as they deposit the feed right where you want it, on the bottom. They can be swung a little way (couple of feet) away from you, ie you don`t have to literally drop the dropper directly under your rod tip, but on no account try to cast any distance with them.
The whole idea is for the loose feed to trundle down through the swim on the river bed. Amounts of bait deposited in any one drop can vary but you should try to ensure a constant trickle of feed through the swim. Good luck with it.

 

[Davy North]

Well I think you've all convinced me to give it a go. To think how many years I've fished rivers without giving droppers any real consideration.
The thing is I don't know anyone else who uses baitdroppers round here!

One of the main reasons maybe people seem fixated with always fishing the cover on the far bank, and ignoring the cover on your own. However in the last few years it has become obvious to me the catches you can make almost under your rod tip.

It's possibly a because of my match up bringing, that by the time you've clomped all that gear down the bank, any fish in the area are hiding under the far bank.
This is no longer my style, and I've begun to reap the rewards of a more stealthy approach. I hope a dropper will help even more.

 

[David Wass]

I use a baitdropper all the time as nearly all my fishing is done within a rodlength of the bank. Only thing I find with them is that when you buy them the rod that opens the baitdropper is too long and the weight too small, especially in fast flows.
All I do is fit a shorter rod with a heavier weight, in line leads are perfect, and the baitdropper opens very close to the bottom so in fast flows the bait doesnt trundle too far.

 

[Davy North]

Just a thought, has anyone used a pole to extend the distance you can put the dropper in. Even if you still fish with rod and line?

 

[Andrew Thomas]

I carry my baitdropper made up on an old 2.5lb tc carp rod with 10lb line. That way I don't have to re-tackle to use it or put my hook in the leather wotsit on the dropper, which always seems a bit of an iffy attachment to me. The rod is well capable of flicking the dropper out underarm a couple of rod-lengths or so. I can hit the same spot fairly consistently up to maybe 30 ft.

I don't see the splashing as a problem provided the swim is "rested" for a while afterwards.

 

[Stewart Bloor]

I do the same as Andrew, I also have a 2.5 carp rod and 10lb line set up that I use for baitdroppering...ah, a new word....