wanderer
Well-known member
Yep, good post mate, I would also lengthen the hook link to 6- 8 inches, to close to the lead from the pictures.
Bolt Rigs Gone Awry (Long Post)
- Thread starter lakhyaman
- Start date
lakhyaman
Well-known member
Wanderer
Thanks for the advice. Am in the process of trying out all the advice given. Got driven off the water by a massive thunder storm (the bungalow is just up the hill fortunately) around midnight (3:00 am now).
Full report coming soon!
All the best
Lakhyaman.
lakhyaman
Well-known member
Just got back from trying out some of the advice given regarding my non performing bolt rigs or hooks to be precise.
Started with "pointngo's" advice above and increased the weight of the lead to 3 oz on one rod. However to test if it was just a case of not enough weight leading to not adequate penetration of the hook thereby putting all the pressure on the hook point leading to straightened hooks (phew!) I kept the old hook pattern - viz: Owner no.4 model 5111-071 cutting point upturned eyed bait hook.
I had two runs resulting in two Catlas of 5 kg and 5.5 kg. respectively.
Catla 5.5 kg.
Catla 5 kg.
Well, as you guessed, the hook did not straighten and the fish were landed. So, to an extent, problem solved; but experimentation as advised will continue!
As a counterpoint, I set up another rod with the same old 2 oz lead but with a size 10 hook on the grounds that if penetration was everything then maybe I could get adequate penetration with a smaller thinner hook with the lighter weight. Unfortunately, I did not get any runs on this rod.
The fishing was slow possibly due to the hot sultry weather with no breeze. It was also the period of the new moon. Bangladeshis have a long and hard held belief that fish do not bite during the periods of the new moon and full moon. I have caught fish sometimes many (one notable occasion was during a full moon complete with full lunar eclipse!) and sometimes few and am not convinced by this.
Mandan, our bailiff cum ghillie, who comes from the local fishermen community and whose family have traditionally fished a local lake/swamp (38 square miles)for generations with net and long line, says that in their (and his) observation the fish are either caught in very large or very low numbers during these periods and it is not possible to say which it will be. But it is always one extreme or the other. Observations are continuing!
I did not confine myself to bolt rigs alone but fished the margins with a peacock quill, "waggler" fashion, more or less at my rod tip. The float is set to slide up to a stop regulating the depth. In my case, this is a piece of rubber band tied round the line. This allows me to wind through it when it hits the top ring without damaging the line! The float is cocked by a single shot (BB or AAA) between 1 and 3 inches from the hook depending on the bite going at the time.
(I hope you can see the float! My photography lacks a certain something!)
This little chap picked up the bait (cornflour+wheat flour+cherry jello paste).
Mahseer 3.5 kg.
He did what Mahseer do - set of on a lightning run, absolutely blitzing it for a good 70 yards and then was reeled in more or less spent!
A traditional Bangladeshi two hook "running float leger" resulted in a clown knifefish grounding itself in the shallow heavily shaded corner of the lake where I put it in baited with worm. Actually I prefer not to use two hooks as they can injure the fish but gave in to Mandan's insistence on the traditional rig!
Clown Knifefish (Notopterus chitala)
Perhaps I speak too much.
Thank you all for your advice which I will continue to act upon
all the best
Lakhyaman
Started with "pointngo's" advice above and increased the weight of the lead to 3 oz on one rod. However to test if it was just a case of not enough weight leading to not adequate penetration of the hook thereby putting all the pressure on the hook point leading to straightened hooks (phew!) I kept the old hook pattern - viz: Owner no.4 model 5111-071 cutting point upturned eyed bait hook.
I had two runs resulting in two Catlas of 5 kg and 5.5 kg. respectively.
Catla 5.5 kg.
Catla 5 kg.
Well, as you guessed, the hook did not straighten and the fish were landed. So, to an extent, problem solved; but experimentation as advised will continue!
As a counterpoint, I set up another rod with the same old 2 oz lead but with a size 10 hook on the grounds that if penetration was everything then maybe I could get adequate penetration with a smaller thinner hook with the lighter weight. Unfortunately, I did not get any runs on this rod.
The fishing was slow possibly due to the hot sultry weather with no breeze. It was also the period of the new moon. Bangladeshis have a long and hard held belief that fish do not bite during the periods of the new moon and full moon. I have caught fish sometimes many (one notable occasion was during a full moon complete with full lunar eclipse!) and sometimes few and am not convinced by this.
Mandan, our bailiff cum ghillie, who comes from the local fishermen community and whose family have traditionally fished a local lake/swamp (38 square miles)for generations with net and long line, says that in their (and his) observation the fish are either caught in very large or very low numbers during these periods and it is not possible to say which it will be. But it is always one extreme or the other. Observations are continuing!
I did not confine myself to bolt rigs alone but fished the margins with a peacock quill, "waggler" fashion, more or less at my rod tip. The float is set to slide up to a stop regulating the depth. In my case, this is a piece of rubber band tied round the line. This allows me to wind through it when it hits the top ring without damaging the line! The float is cocked by a single shot (BB or AAA) between 1 and 3 inches from the hook depending on the bite going at the time.
(I hope you can see the float! My photography lacks a certain something!)
This little chap picked up the bait (cornflour+wheat flour+cherry jello paste).
Mahseer 3.5 kg.
He did what Mahseer do - set of on a lightning run, absolutely blitzing it for a good 70 yards and then was reeled in more or less spent!
A traditional Bangladeshi two hook "running float leger" resulted in a clown knifefish grounding itself in the shallow heavily shaded corner of the lake where I put it in baited with worm. Actually I prefer not to use two hooks as they can injure the fish but gave in to Mandan's insistence on the traditional rig!
Clown Knifefish (Notopterus chitala)
Perhaps I speak too much.
Thank you all for your advice which I will continue to act upon
all the best
Lakhyaman
thecrow
Well-known member
Thank you for an enjoyable post, never to much 
dann
Well-known member
Nice write up. Makes me want to plan a trip 
P
pointngo
Guest
Glad the change seems to be working.
I'd still lengthen the hooklink to about 7" though as that should give you even better hookholds. Short hooklinks are more suited to wary fish on a hard, gravel bottom and from what little I know about the species you have they aren't really shy feeders.
Looking at the water colour I'd suspect that there is a layer of mud or silt on the bottom and if your hooklink is too short the bait just gets dragged down into it.
I'd still lengthen the hooklink to about 7" though as that should give you even better hookholds. Short hooklinks are more suited to wary fish on a hard, gravel bottom and from what little I know about the species you have they aren't really shy feeders.
Looking at the water colour I'd suspect that there is a layer of mud or silt on the bottom and if your hooklink is too short the bait just gets dragged down into it.
lakhyaman
Well-known member
dann, you are welcome anytime.
pointngo
I did lengthen the hook link to 6 inched from the original 4. However the next time I will increase it to 7 inches. The bottom is actually pea gravel and sandy with a very thin covering of soil. Pretty hard but cant hurt to try the longer length. The water colour is from the heavy growth of phytoplankton and zooplankton and algae which we encourage in the lake as this is what the fish mainly feed on.
the crow
Thanks for the encouragement.
All the best
Lakhyaman
P
pointngo
Guest
If 6" continues to work there's no reason to change it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I said 7" just because that's usually the length I start with. If it works straight away, great, but if missing takes or losing fish I'd then change it.
If you want to keep experimenting to get the optimal rig it's important that you only change one thing at a time, otherwise you'll never know what made the difference.
I said 7" just because that's usually the length I start with. If it works straight away, great, but if missing takes or losing fish I'd then change it.
If you want to keep experimenting to get the optimal rig it's important that you only change one thing at a time, otherwise you'll never know what made the difference.