New to river angling

[Mrnab]

Last week i had my first go at angling on the river, although i didn't catch anything i did have a few knocks. The river i fish is the Anker which didn't really have a lot of flow on it. So i was wondering if trying to roll meat is a complete waste of time and should i fish static instead.

 

[barbelboi]

To roll meat you need a decent flow to make it move................

 

[Mrnab]

hence why i mentioned going static

 

[itsfishingnotcatching]

………….mg:

 

[Stalker]

Regardless of whether or not there's enough flow for rolling, it's not exactly the best tactic for a river newbie to start on as 1) it's nowhere near as easy as the old hands make it look, and 2) you're more likely to put yourself right off river fishing altogether after lots of blanks and/or losing tackle in weed and opposite bank vegetation.

The best thing to do is, as you say, go static but also go mobile, that is give each swim 20-30 minutes before moving onto the next one. That way you get to know your river and you can start to get a picture of what best to do in each particular part of the river.

More generally, rolling is a devastating technique, BUT in my (admittedly limited compared with others) experience it's very very limited to certain rivers - it's not really suited, for example, to very deep rivers, those with huge rocks and stones on the bottom, small rivers with frequently changing courses and undulating banks, etc etc etc. It's ideal for those with fairly uniform bottoms and depths (to about 5 or 6ft) and flat banks - that way you can walk along with the bait as it goes. Rivers like the Hampshire Avon and Kennet (which is where rolling is still common-place) are ideal.

I don't know anything about the Anker to suggest whether any part of the river is suitable but, as I said, start simple and start static and get to know the place first.

 

[theartist]

What he said lol

When I've fished the Anker it's been a bit slow for rolling and the streamy bits quite weedy, where it joins the Tame it carries a bit more flow but that's been polluted a couple of times recently, hopefully it's recovering down there

 

[Mrnab]

Great replies, guess ill go travelling light with the basics and try a few different spots running rig style.

 

[nottskev]

If you're thinking of meat baits I guess you must know there are some big fish, like barbel and chub, in your river? Meat's a relatively selective bait, and if you don't think there are viable chub and barbel numbers, you might have better luck with smaller baits like maggot or caster?

My local little river gets very shallow and weedy in summer. Chub are the main species, and they are pretty sparse, but link-legered or freelined bread or crust is the best bait, fished in any bits of deeper "dark" water you can find, especially near cover like overhanging trees and bushed. The river has long barren stretches, and then you'll find a chub or two where the habitat suits them.

Big meat baits can catch fish on the bigger river I fish, too, but so far this year the best approach has been small pieces of punched meat - the sort of thing people fishing for carp on commercials might use - hair-rigged and link legered near to bankside features like trees and bushes. With a bit of hemp or hemp and caster mix trickled in to draw fish out of cover, that's caught quite a few barbel.

Asking locals or in a local tackle shop would be a good idea - if you haven't already. I imagine we've all spent a bit of time fishing for things that aren't there or using methods that won't work.

 

[Mrnab]

There has been a few decent barbel out in the past up to 15lb odd and chub to 6lb. Though as I've only just started fishing this river i'm not sure what the numbers are like. I believe theres quite alot of minnows and roach around so i avoid using the smaller baits as I'll catch them all day long.

 

[barbelboi]

For chub minnow is an excellent bait (especially if you want to avoid the minnows) also good for early season barbel................

 

[no-one in particular]

Could just try freelining some heavy baits like meat and cheese if your trying to roll with some weight on the line.. Nice way to fish watching the line for bites and they can be cast a fair distance with the right rod and a well loaded fixed spool reel. If it rolls it rolls, maybe up to a good weed bed where the fish might be laying underneath or if it stays static, the fish might smell it and come out for it.