Stay in one swim all day or move regularly >

[keora]

How do forum members decide when to stay in one swim all day, and when to move regularly ?

For example, I fish a stretch of river with sizable barbel, but you might only get one or two bites in a day. I've tried both static and roving fishing without really being able to sort out which is the best alternative.

 

[The Monk]

the first law of fishing, First find your fish, they wont always find you and fish dont always stay in one swim all day

 

[Tee-Cee]

I think The Monk is about right but no hard and fast rule.....If possible I might drop my gear in one swim known for big fish and fish it for a few hours(say very early morning)but move maybe only a dozenyards(if the sun comes up)to a swim with(say) more lillies where the fish may gone to for the overhead cover....I can do this as I only fish during the week when other anglers are not around.

That said I would probably go back to the first swim later in the day particularly if I'd pre-baited...

I suggest a lot comes down to water craft-not just sitting staring at the rod top but watching the water and always trying to mentally work out where fish might be to make a change worthwhile.I've moved many times whilst barbel fishing to catch a few chub just to enjoy a bit of action-I'm not proud!!

Didn't someone famous talk about the '6th sense' many years ago...something that tells you to move or try a different spot,that a big fish is on the cards.....

Go where your head tells you Keith2-nothing ventured,nothing gained!!!

 

[Keith M]

the first law of fishing, First find your fish, they wont always find you and fish dont always stay in one swim all day

I think that Monk has hit it on the head.

Unless I am fishing a popular stretch where I don't have much chance of rotating between swims; I usually start by looking for signs of Barbel moving then feeding two or three swims where I have seen a Barbel or two; or if I can't see the bottom clearly I look for Barbel flashing or Barbel type features then after the initial feed I wait to give them enough time to get their heads down over my feed before I make the first cast. Alternating between swims if I think it needs it.

But either way It is the features that normally decide where I look for Barbel, and you wouldn't normally find me fishing blindly in a featureless stretch of water.

 

[Mithrandir]

baiting a few swims and moving around can be a good tactic, easy to spook fish by casting into the same swim all day.

If you can't move , fishing different parts of the same swim can pay off.

 

[keora]

Thank you all for the advice. The rivers I fish are spate rivers. In the barbel swims I fish, I only occasionally see barbel, and they are only visible in the shallower swims, and even then they may be hard to spot if the water is slightly coloured.

 

[The Monk]

Its alway stuck in my mind on an occassion I was perch fishing from a boat on a large lancashire reservoir, after scanning the water with a good quality fish finder, I couldnt help but notice loads on anglers on one side of the lake without a fish from miles and all the fish being stacked up on the other side of the water with not an angler for miles, haha, (we`ll apart from us above in the boat, obviously)

 

[slime monster]

The old matchman in me keeps me rooted in one spot, do or die I was the one who chose it wether I knew it or not . that in it's self is an advantage you don't get in competitions , the rest is up to me to make the most of it ..something can be learnt from any peg even if it's only don't go there again .

 

[The Monk]

In carp fishing of course, particularly in winter, many of us use a roving rods, thats one rod thats cast into different locations say every half hour, on quiet waters the odd 130 yard cast might not go a miss

 

[Tee-Cee]

Monk....do you mean to say that you didn't row over and offer to ferry them across??

Slime M...I can see where you're coming from with your post....the matchmen background does tend to keep one fixed to one swim-done it myself in the past.
I agree that staying with one swim ensures you do everything you can to get the best from it-or die in the attempt,BUT you do learn all from that stay!!

On my club waters(hard as it is to walk by the'producing'swims!)I do occasionally try a spot that is known to be poor just to satisfy myself that its just not worth fishing-at any time.
It is always very easy to drop into known spots but I think it becomes boring and without a challenge,although I have to admit I do have bank-time to spare so I can indulge in a bit of trial and error.....not possible for those with limited fishing time!!

...matchmen habits do die hard......

 

[The Monk]

Monk....do you mean to say that you didn't row over and offer to ferry them across??

Not every half hour, haha

I can remember once walking round to a far bank and dropping my hook bait in when all of a sudden I heard a buzzer going off, ah somebodies got a run I thought, then realising I was the only person on the lake, haha, I ran back round the lake and actually landed an 18lb mirror after winding in about two miles of line, must have dropped the bait right on its bludi head, haha

 

[coelacanth]

Does courtesy play a part at all? If, say, on a hypothetical small Cheshire river, a hypothetical angler was sat on a bend with a prominent snag (a swim where you can feed for 10 minutes, place your bait and catch a decent chub or barbel, bait for another few minutes, make another cast and catch again, couple more like that then move on and leave it for someone else), telling anyone walking past he'd been there for the past 12 hours, caught two fish but lost a load more in the snag (leaving the swim difficult to fish due to being festooned with lost rigs and line, with damaged and nervous fish), including nearly losing his rod at one point, would there be justification in having a bit of a grumble to yourself?
Said hypothetical river is ideally suited to roaming, so there are always more fish to aim for, but on such a river is monopolising a single spot for over 12 hours actually reasonable behaviour?
(I later went back and hypothetically removed several lengths of of line from around the snag, including end rigs, so that it would be fishable again)

 

[klik2change]

I couldnt help but notice loads on anglers on one side of the lake without a fish from miles and all the fish being stacked up on the other side of the water with not an angler for miles,

I have seen this a few times. I arrive to see fish rolling and crashing and topping all over the place, right in front of me, but by the time I have set up [and i am very quiet about it] thay all seem to be doing their exercises on the other side of the lake! So much for following the fish!

As for moving or staying I find I have to arrive ready to do what ever it is. I go with a car full of stuff to sit in a swim all day. If i intend to wander, I set everything up at home, and go with just a few bits and pieces. If I intend to move around I have to plan for it and take tackle with that in mind. This must be the same for others surely?

 

[barbel liam]

Personally I like to stay in one spot but that's mainly because I'm confident that there's fish in that swim. I think the place you fish is a very important element of weather you should stay or move around swims, if you find fish holding areas i.e features or shelves under water that hold a good head of fish then its a good idea to stay. However if your fishing in spots with no great knocks or bites I think there's nothing that should be stopping you from trying the mobile approach.

 

[keora]

Although I usually fish the swims which are known to produce barbel, you can get those days when there's nothing happening. That's when I get itchy feet and move around !