River Ribble. one rod or two?

[Keith M]

Keith you just can’t afford to roll any weight about on the Ribble, the gravel in it is the size of car tyres or bigger in many places. In fact in one swim I sometimes fish the gravel is the size of a family car. That swim is a one rod swim only, but you need two rods set up for the inevitable bum cast you make missing the clear spot in the feeder grave yard.

Sorry keith that's not a river that's a ditch

I've always imagined the Ribble as being a smallish meandering lowland river full of gravel beds and streamer weed; how wrong could I be LOL.
I didn't realise how rocky and wild it was.

However It would still take a lot to convince me about using more than one rod as I'm a confirmed addict of touch legering and hate having to worry about additional rods getting in the way LOL.

Keith

 

[tigger]

Ian if I catch that bar steward who’s leaving ever more coffins on the river for me to dodge, he’ll be wearing the next one.

It’s interesting you say about using the match tactic, less line strength hook link, and why I fish it the opposite way. The reason being in many cases it’s the pellet/boillie or the hook that gets stuck in the rocks and not the feeder. With the combo I use 95 % of the time I’ll get the lot back minus the bait. The two Kyrston brands are coated braids and the best abrasive resistant hook links I’ve ever found and I’ve tried a few over the years. Main line is always TE’s Pro Gold won’t use anything else for my fishing, still or running, these days.

Yeah Phil, you are right about the pellets getting stuck in between the rocks and many people don't realise that. I've found 8lb and above gives me ample pulling power to pull the bait from the hair. I usually use a rubber (attatched to the hair) pulled through the pellet rather than putting on a stop behind the loop, this allows the pellet to slide off under abnormal pressure.
Adding a small loop of lower B/S line to your feeder / lead does make it much better than just clipping them straight onto a clip etc. It helps to stop you leaving baited hooklinks in the river and means you only need to replace the weight rather than the whole lot when it does happen...give it a try Phil i'm sure you'll prefer it once you have.

Keith...lovely as it is, as Phil says it does look like a ditch lol .

 

[greenie62]

I've always imagined the Ribble as being a smallish meandering lowland river full of gravel beds and streamer weed; how wrong could I be LOL....

Hi Keith,
Here's one of the more gentle stretches of this "smallish meandering lowland river " - TBO and Tigger won't recognise it 'cos they would normally fish it a bit further down the opposite bank where you don't need climbing ropes to get to the water!

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[mickb]

The Ribble is brutal. Got to be the snaggiest river in the country surely.

 

[theartist]

The Ribble is brutal. Got to be the snaggiest river in the country surely.

No that would be 'The Rubble'

 

[Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC)]

Hi Mick

Sorry, just noticed you PMd me on this a while ago.

First feeders. Like others on the Ribble I make my own. I use a stiff plastic gutter mesh from b and q. It comes on rolls. It's rigid enough to make large feeders but it can be cut with scissors. I secure into a cylinder shape with two tiny tie wraps and clip. For lead I have used big feeder leads from Paul Fisk and also leads from another online site that I just can't remember. I also use thick flash for lighter ones.

As for two rods. I tend to use two- sometimes it had paid off but other times I was probably better focusing on one in hind site. I have never had two ho at the same time, although the prospect always crosses my mind. I have had them go one after the other on good days but never had a problem.

I tend to gush one as a sleeper and be more active on the other.

However, I'm starting to think like others have described and considering just fishing more actively with one rod.

I have sometimes fished one for barbel and one for chub, but again I think on the whole it is better to focus on one or the other for better returns.

Cheers

Matt

 

[barbelboi]

I prefer to go by the - When fish are feeding one rod is enough and when they are not one rod is too many way of looking at it ...........

 

[Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC)]

Haha yes good approach. There have been days when I could have put 4 rods out and I wouldn't have caught - cos they just weren't there.

 

[mickb]

Ha ha great answer barbelboi and hello again Mr Corker. It seems most people prefer the one rod approach and even the ones that use two rods don't really get any better results from it. In fact apart from the bad one the others doubt themselves why they use two rods. More than likely lose twice as much terminal tackle rather than catch twice as many fish. Each to their own I suppose. I do agree that the Ribble is big enough for the two rod approach and crossing lines whilst playing a fish can be avoided on a river that is so large. I own two rods but up to now have always decided to use one because I believe the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.