Rod Tip

[chris k]

I went fishing for Barbel the other day and I am still pretty new to it all. The flow was gentle in most places, I cast in with a 1.5oz lead which seemed to hold the bottom, but my 1.75tc barbel rod didn't really take on a slight curve, could this be because I was using too heavy a lead?

Also now and again I was getting really fast small twitches that I couldn't strike into, where these just line bites?

 

[cal_sutt]

There's not much I can say about whether or not you are using too heavy a lead, trial and error is probably all you can do to figure out whats right. However, the fast knock situation has happened to me before. It's usually where my line is too tight to the lead and when a chub or barbel goes for the bait, it feels the resistance and spooks. How long is your hooklength? Maybe try a longer hooklength or try and fish with your line slightly slack and leave at least 6 inches of space for the lead to run freely. This is about all I can come up with and I think it should help.

Cal.

 

[thecrow]

The curve in a rod that happens when fishing a river is caused by the flow on the reel line it doesn't matter what size lead is being used, in the case you mention it would seem that the flow wasn't enough to put a bend in the rod, I am intrigued as to why this bothers you.

The fast "bites" you mention could be a multitude of things, they may not be bites at all, only experience will tell you.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

I would tend to agree with The Crow on this one, and as you say there was only a gentle flow so not too much pressure on your main line, so therefore not much of a "bow" which helps to put the curve on the rod tip.

In which plane was your rod?

Was it positioned low down or high up to keep as much line as possible out of the water?

 

[greenie62]

Also - it depends a lot on whether you are fishing 'down' the water, e.g. in a weed channel or 'across' the flow, e.g. over a gravel bank.
Tight(ish) lines! :thumbs:

 

[chris k]

It doesn't bother me per say Crow, just wanted to make sure I was doing it right that's all. The rod was I would say classed as high as it was not low and parallel to the ground.

 

[john step]

My experience with barbel tells me that if the flow was so gentle that the rod tip was not bent as you describe, then there is a good chance you are fishing the wrong place.
You are from Hampshire? Was it the Avon? If so look up on UTUBE for John Wilson on the Royalty. There must be others.
I know its a different river but a good short video on UTUBE is " Jan Porter and Mick Brown on the tidal Trent" It covers much of the basics.hope this helps.

 

[chris k]

I was fishing the Throop John, it's like most of the way through at the moment.

 

[ru123]

When you cast out you want to cast slightly upstream & let out a little line so that when you get a bite it will be a drop back one & the fish will be on.

 

[Jim Crosskey 2]

Might also be worth considering using a quiver tip in these conditions. My mate outfished me the other day on a session on the wye where we were fishing relatively slack water - me with an avon top, him with a quiver tip. Most of the bites i had banged the tip and stopped whereas lots of his pulled the quiver a bit and then held on, I'm guessing because the resistance was not as instand and then built up progressively, giving him more opportunity to strike.

That said, we only got chub that day (so it backs up the theory that a quiver is always the best approach for chub) but interesting to see it being played out....

 

[jonogroats]

If they are only slight taps you are getting then they could be debris hitting/coming off your line

 

[Sean Meeghan]

I suspect you've probably been done. These quick twitches are often caused by fish picking up and ejecting the bait. In the conditions you describe I'd always fish with the rod top low and if there isn't enough flow to pull a curve in your rod top I'd tighten up until there's a slight curve then feed about a foot of slack.

In these circumstances I'd be tempted to use a quiver tip, not for bite indication but to give me better control over the tension in the line. A couple of swan shots or an eighth ounce bomb might help too.

In these conditions you need to fool the fish just long enough to give you time to strike so it pays to experiment to find out what works. There's an article on here somewhere about fishing low clear rivers.

---------- Post added at 21:48 ---------- Previous post was at 21:41 ----------

The article failed to make the transition to the new site. If you want a copy pm me with your email address

 

[chris k]

Jonogroats, not sure if it is debris may be wrong but, I'm casting onto a gravel bed, the river is clear and I'm not seeing any debris flow down.

Thanks Sean I suspect you are right, I think I'll try a 2oz glass quivertip and a link ledger, if the conditions are still the same, even though it may change with this rain on the way!

 

[jonogroats]

Odds are then you are being done. Only reason I mentioned debris was Iv been fishing the Severn last few nights I keep getting little 1 1/2 inch taps and most times I look at my line in the water and there is something right behind it floating off.

I imagine our baits get picked up way more than we realise.
The number of times while stalking carp Iv seen them pick up the hook bait and eject it and bolt off and if I hadn't seen them do it I'd never know.

 

[thecrow]

I went fishing for Barbel the other day and I am still pretty new to it all. The flow was gentle in most places, I cast in with a 1.5oz lead which seemed to hold the bottom, but my 1.75tc barbel rod didn't really take on a slight curve, could this be because I was using too heavy a lead?

Also now and again I was getting really fast small twitches that I couldn't strike into, where these just line bites?[/QUOTE]



Chris what bait were you using when you were getting these twitches? it could be that they were just small fish.

Have you tried just leaving the rod to see if anything develops? I have had these knocks and twitches before and they have some 5/10 mins later developed into a proper bite usually from Barbel. I put it down to the Barbel moving about the swim feeding on any freebies they can find.

 

[chris k]

I was using pellet and meat. It could we be what you say with small fish, I've had this before with a hoard of minnows attacking my bait! I did leave it for a period, but nothing developed.

 

[Keith M]

I fish for Barbel & Chub on a small local clear stream where I sometimes see hoards of Gudgeon swarming over my meat as soon as it hits the bottom; so there is a possibility that those small knocks and twitches your getting could be Gudgeon or Minnows attacking the meat. A way to confirm this (if you can't see the bottom) is to temporarily put a smaller hook/bait on and see if you can hook one then you'll know.

If it is shoals of small fish swarming around my bait it can often cause inquisitive Barbel to home in on my bait too so it isn't always a bad thing. LOL

Keith (BoldBear)

 

[nicepix]

Any crayfish in there?