Bream bites on the feeder

[mccn]

hi all

I am constantly told to sit on my hands and wait for the tip to go right round before lifting into the fish when feeder fishing for bream however I've been hitting bites that have moved the tip only an inch and keeping it there! What type of bites does anyone wait for and why?

 

[peter crabtree]

Those slow steady pulls on the tip are usually liners or line bites where the fish leans on your line. My remedy for this when using method feeder or cage is to mount an olivette a couple of feet up mainline to pin the line down. Much the same as a backlead for other methods.....

 

[binka]

I tend to wait for the slow steady pull but have often experienced that slight pull and hold that you mention in which case I will hit it if it stays there for more than a split second.

By far my favourite bream bites are when fishing a long tail and they're taking it on the drop, some really nice pull rounds.

 

[caelan]

I am over my feeder rod with hand on the butt I try an hit almost the smallest
touch/pull I have had clonking dustbin lids that only just moved the tip but you do learn all the time whats working on that water/river tight lines

 

[mccn]

Thanks Guys,

I have recently come up with a nice little trick, similar to the olivette idea?

Basically i have been using a 2 ft length of lead core with loops at either end to which a free running method feeder sits at one end with the mainline tied at the other, i then fish this with a slack line which pins the line to the deck. The bites i am getting now are full fledged pull rounds plus i am losing far less fish?

 

[mats]

Surely it depends on how the conditions and how the fish are feeding and how this impacts on your choice of rig. Sometimes they will pull the rod of the rests others you will hardly see a bite. I remember winning a Match with 52lbs of Bream and I doubt my rod tip moved by two inches all match.
The sensitivity of your rig will have a lot to do with the type of bites you get. If you use the back-lead or a bolt type approach then you are less likely to get the small bites so wait for a proper pull, the rigs are chose to keep line out of the way to make the fish more confident or to scare them into running off. If you can use a more sensitive rig then you will able to see small bites that will not be seen on a cruder rig so take advantage and hit them.
The only definite thing in angling is that nothing is definite.

 

[john step]

Mats, are there any carp in the water/is your tackle strong enough should you hook one when bream fishing to negate it breaking off and it towing leadcore around?

Also sometimes the bream will bite off a long hooklength if the feed/ baited area is too tight and they are happy to munch on the spot. This is stopped by using short hooklinks. Used to happen frequently in Ireland.

 

[Titus]

I remember Trefor West telling me that a bream will give you three little knocks on the tip. The first tap is when it picks the bait up, the second tap is when it swims off and the third tap is when it falls over.

 

[mats]

John Step

Please read my post again.
I didn't say that I had ever used lead core, if I want to keep the line out of the way a couple of AAA has always been OK for me, I've been using this dodge long before lead core came on the scene. That said if I did use it, it would be as part of a properly balanced set up strong enough for situation I found myself in.
I don't think I mentioned any one type of water so there might be Carp there might not be, but If I need to use strong tackle I would.
As for Bream biting off it It's never happened to me in 40 years of fishing though I do know of it happening with Chub. Shortening the hook length would be the obvious first course of action.
If you read my post properly you will see that my main point is that there is no one way of doing things. Sometimes small and sensitive is right sometimes a more crude sit on your hands approach is needed.

 

[john step]

John Step

Please read my post again.
I didn't say that I had ever used lead core, if I want to keep the line out of the way a couple of AAA has always been OK for me, I've been using this dodge long before lead core came on the scene. That said if I did use it, it would be as part of a properly balanced set up strong enough for situation I found myself in.
I don't think I mentioned any one type of water so there might be Carp there might not be, but If I need to use strong tackle I would.
As for Bream biting off it It's never happened to me in 40 years of fishing though I do know of it happening with Chub. Shortening the hook length would be the obvious first course of action.
If you read my post properly you will see that my main point is that there is no one way of doing things. Sometimes small and sensitive is right sometimes a more crude sit on your hands approach is needed.

Mats...actually I must apologise for upsetting you. Due to a senior moment I put your name by mistake at the start instead of the originator which also begins with "m".
Never thought for a moment it was youmg:Sorry again for rattling your cage.

 

[nicepix]

hi all

I am constantly told to sit on my hands and wait for the tip to go right round before lifting into the fish when feeder fishing for bream however I've been hitting bites that have moved the tip only an inch and keeping it there! What type of bites does anyone wait for and why?

The idea of sitting on your hands and waiting for the tip to go round is the best tactic I know of for bream bites. If you wait long enough they might go away. Whereas if you strike at every twitch you'll spend all day unhooking the slimy creatures.

 

[mats]

No problem John, that makes sense I just couldn't match the comments with my post.

 

[mccn]

Thanks for your replies guys.

The lead core i use is perfectly safe as the feeder is inline and slides off the lines if broken above or below (basically the fish will never be trailing either a foxed feeder or the leadcore! bit hard to explain in writing, but believe me fish welfare is of paramount importance to me).

 

[Beecy]

lift into any movement on the tip, bream bites can be anything from a tiny twitch or pulling it off the rests

also the ones i call 'think bites' - as in i think it moved but not sure !

dosnt matter if its a proper bite or not, keeps the feed going in if its not anyway