Not Catching

[TimPeters90]

Sounds very frustrating. I think, don't be offended, your basic approach and set-up need a re-think, but there's too much to go through on here. Decide what you'd like to learn eg how to floatfish on the bottom a short way out. Visit the water without your tackle; take something to sit on. Find people doing that style, and watch what they do. If you approach people without annoying them or getting in the way and explain, most anglers will be happy to show you how they're set up and explain how to make it work. A couple of hours doing this should move things on for you, and a lot of things will fall into place.

Don't worry I am not offended mate, I just feel very stupid, my head is baffled, it's why I come here to ask because I know monk lakes is well stocked and to not even get bites for hours I just have to come here to ask. All I want is to be able to go out, yeah fish close in on the bottom and I'll be over the moon to get just a bite every hour.

 

[thecrow]

Exactly this is what I just found so odd when plumbing, I am not even exaggerating when I say just a centimetre and the float would pop up, then reel in a centimetre and the float disappeared, as you said the bed just can't be that different and I tried so many times to find a spot where the float would stay up but I just could not, it's only a very tiny plummet aswell which I wouldn't think could even sink into silt, but obviously I'm doing it all wrong.

Are you mixing a centimetre and a metre up, i would find it almost impossible to reel in 1 centimetre.

 

[TimPeters90]

Are you mixing a centimetre and a metre up, i would find it almost impossible to reel in 1 centimetre.

No honestly it really is a centimetre, I know how bizarre it sounds but it really is, I also remember not even reeling but tugging my rod a tiny bit and then the float pops up a centimetre ahead/behind from where it would not pop up.

 

[thecrow]

No honestly it really is a centimetre, I know how bizarre it sounds but it really is, I also remember not even reeling but tugging my rod a tiny bit and then the float pops up a centimetre ahead/behind from where it would not pop up.

Well i am baffled then, i have never known this in 60 odd years of fishing. 1 centimetre is only 0.393701 of an inch.

 

[TimPeters90]

Well i am baffled then, i have never known this in 60 odd years of fishing. 1 centimetre is only 0.393701 of an inch.

Do you think it could just be a dodgy swim I have been in? I mean I pulled a huge tree branch in, I really don't know, maybe it was full of weed and it just could not be fished that close in? It was surrounded by reeds aswell but I try the margins because they're supposed to be very good holding spots for fish? Maybe my bait was just trapped in the reeds, tree branches and it just was a dodgy swim?

 

[binka]

I think, if the plumbing problem is indeed sincere, that I would be inclined to spend a few minutes before fishing and put a marker float on to map out the swim thoroughly, looking for some consistently even area that I could be reasonably confident of feeding and effectively presenting a bait over.

Don't get me wrong, features such as changes in depth can be and often are holding areas but as a general thing it's not a bad starting point.

In anticipation of the next question YouTube will return numerous results if you search for 'how to use a marker float'.

 

[TimPeters90]

I think, if the plumbing problem is indeed sincere, that I would be inclined to spend a few minutes before fishing and put a marker float on to map out the swim thoroughly, looking for some consistently even area that I could be reasonably confident of feeding and effectively presenting a bait over.

Don't get me wrong, features such as changes in depth can be and often are holding areas but as a general thing it's not a bad starting point.

In anticipation of the next question YouTube will return numerous results if you search for 'how to use a marker float'.

I'm going to jump on YouTube now and watch market float videos, thanks so much, just some more info on the swim I fished, very close in I could see a tree branch just sitting in the water, not floating but as if a tree had grown in the actual water and been cut down leaving just its root, ignored it because I didn't decide to fish that close in, and where I was getting different depths so extremely close (the centimetre) I did end up putting my rod in the water to see if there were any more
tree branches and scooped one up, I obviously chucked this onto the grass and did not put it back in the water.

So could this just be one of my problems, just being unlucky and fishing a dodgy swim as to speak? The swim next to me was full of what looked to be deliberately
chunks of reeds, not a natural break down, but big chunks of reeds just floating on the surface ready to drift off, something just does not seem right about this place but it is so highly rated!

Thank You for your advice again

 

[markcw]

Your question is not silly, the capacity is 3AA, when I plumb I have been using no shot at all, once I plumb (well tried to) I then put my shot on.

If I seem sceptical forgive me, but in one post is was a 4BB float, now it is a 3AA. How far are you casting to plumb up ? how long is your hooklength ? you say you are using a 14 or 16 hook to nylon hooklength, is this a bought one or made up on the bank?

 

[Keith M]

A quick beginners guide to waggler fishing:

Note: Make sure you are using a rod that’s suitable for waggler fishing and finer lines.

1. For catching Roach, Rudd, Bream, smallish Tench, Crucians etc: a main line of around 4lb max and a 2.5lb or 3lb hooklink tied to a size 18 or 16 hook should be fine for a beginner.
(If there are a lot of bigger Tench or smallish Carp in your swim then you can try stepping up to 5lb main line and 4lb hooklink tied to a size 14 or size 12 hook.)

2. plumb the depth:

NB: Plummets differ in design and some are clip on ones so when you buy one ask the tackle dealer how to temporarily attach it to your hook to find the depth.

3. shot your float correctly.
If you are fishing at a depth of 5ft or 6ft or shallower then the following shotting pattern should get you plenty of bites.


The above should get you plenty of bites but if not then get someone on the fishery to show you what you are doing wrong.

best of luck and tight lines

Keith

 

[markcw]

Well i am baffled then, i have never known this in 60 odd years of fishing. 1 centimetre is only 0.393701 of an inch.

It would be like plumbing up on a lake bed full of egg trays,

 

[Tee-Cee]

Does anyone else catch anything?? If so, go have a chat with them - most will offer some help...

Perhaps if you go with someone more experienced. Some folk on FM do just this and from what I understand and fishing with others can only help you I my opinion.

That line is far too heavy and not balanced at all and this is where fishing with the more experienced will help - always a reason for everything!!

Think about joining a club ?? Great source of information!!

 

[Alan Tyler]

A thought on plumbing - if you're trying to drag the plummet along the bottom to get a continuous depth profile, you'll drive yourself barmy; the float will pull under every time the plummet digs in and pop up like a Polaris missile when it pings free.
Take a depth reading, then make an upward lift of the rod to lift the plummet clear of the bottom, let it swing in towards you a bit then sink on a slack line (i.e. lower the rod tip again) and so get a depth reading closer in.
Some obsessive types might make a "plumbing-up" float from a bit of drinking straw, balsa dowel or peacock quill, painted with alternate one-inch bands of black and white. Obsessive types do have a nasty habit of catching more than the rest of us... or over-thinking it and worrying too much to just go fishing.

 

[markcw]

A quick beginners guide to waggler fishing:

Note: Make sure you are using a rod that’s suitable for waggler fishing and finer lines.

1. For catching Roach, Rudd, Bream, smallish Tench, Crucians etc: a main line of around 4lb max and a 2.5lb or 3lb hooklink tied to a size 18 or 16 hook should be fine for a beginner.
(If there are a lot of bigger Tench or smallish Carp in your swim then you can try stepping up to 5lb main line and 4lb hooklink tied to a size 14 or size 12 hook.)

2. plumb the depth:

NB: Plummets differ in design and some are clip on ones so when you buy one ask the tackle dealer how to temporarily attach it to your hook to find the depth.

3. shot your float correctly.
If you are fishing at a depth of 5ft or 6ft or shallower then the following shotting pattern should get you plenty of bites.


The above should get you plenty of bites but if not then get someone on the fishery to show you what you are doing wrong.

best of luck and tight lines

Keith

A surefire way if you want to fish say 6" overdepth is to put bottom dropper "tell tale" shot 6" from hook, clip the plummet to the bottom shot, plumb up and adjust float accordingly,

 

[TimPeters90]

If I seem sceptical forgive me, but in one post is was a 4BB float, now it is a 3AA. How far are you casting to plumb up ? how long is your hooklength ? you say you are using a 14 or 16 hook to nylon hooklength, is this a bought one or made up on the bank?

Sorry it is definitely a 3AA waggler float, about 5 inches long. The hooks to nylon i Use are already made up, bought out of tackle
Shop and I just attatch them to the swivel, these are 30 centimetres long.When plumbing I'm only casting a maximum 8 foot out but I usually just try very close in as I have read that fish are very likely to be in the margins (I must be wrong tho) but yeah at the very most only ever 8 feet out from the edge of the bank.

 

[TimPeters90]

A quick beginners guide to waggler fishing:

Note: Make sure you are using a rod that’s suitable for waggler fishing and finer lines.

1. For catching Roach, Rudd, Bream, smallish Tench, Crucians etc: a main line of around 4lb max and a 2.5lb or 3lb hooklink tied to a size 18 or 16 hook should be fine for a beginner.
(If there are a lot of bigger Tench or smallish Carp in your swim then you can try stepping up to 5lb main line and 4lb hooklink tied to a size 14 or size 12 hook.)

2. plumb the depth:

NB: Plummets differ in design and some are clip on ones so when you buy one ask the tackle dealer how to temporarily attach it to your hook to find the depth.

3. shot your float correctly.
If you are fishing at a depth of 5ft or 6ft or shallower then the following shotting pattern should get you plenty of bites.


The above should get you plenty of bites but if not then get someone on the fishery to show you what you are doing wrong.

best of luck and tight lines

Keith

Thanks so much for this Keith, this has definitely got me thinking and a lot more confident for my next trip. Definitely makes sense why I'm not seeing bites, the only thing is although I don't see bites, everytime I reel in the maggots are still on the hook, can a bad setup still not even get them to take the bait?

Thank you big time tho I will save this diagram to my phone and copy it when I next go.

 

[TimPeters90]

A thought on plumbing - if you're trying to drag the plummet along the bottom to get a continuous depth profile, you'll drive yourself barmy; the float will pull under every time the plummet digs in and pop up like a Polaris missile when it pings free.
Take a depth reading, then make an upward lift of the rod to lift the plummet clear of the bottom, let it swing in towards you a bit then sink on a slack line (i.e. lower the rod tip again) and so get a depth reading closer in.
Some obsessive types might make a "plumbing-up" float from a bit of drinking straw, balsa dowel or peacock quill, painted with alternate one-inch bands of black and white. Obsessive types do have a nasty habit of catching more than the rest of us... or over-thinking it and worrying too much to just go fishing.

Aha, now that is indeed what I have been doing, I'll find the depth at one spot, thinking "great, I've got it, I'll just check a centimetre to the side, infront, and behind where I see my float, then it disappears, then if I either give my reel a strong wind or tug my rod to pull it closer it then appears, and again these short tugs and winds are literately a centimetre and just baffles my mind how the depth can change just like that, but ok I think now I'll just cast to a spot, get the depth and then do what you have advised me and to not drag or reel it, just reel it all the way back in and cast out again to the left or right of where I originally see the float visible?

 

[nottskev]

Aha, now that is indeed what I have been doing, I'll find the depth at one spot, thinking "great, I've got it, I'll just check a centimetre to the side, infront, and behind where I see my float, then it disappears, then if I either give my reel a strong wind or tug my rod to pull it closer it then appears, and again these short tugs and winds are literately a centimetre and just baffles my mind how the depth can change just like that, but ok I think now I'll just cast to a spot, get the depth and then do what you have advised me and to not drag or reel it, just reel it all the way back in and cast out again to the left or right of where I originally see the float visible?

That could be a eureeka moment! You've stopped looking at your float and being baffled, and started to imagine what's happening under the surface ie you have been dragging a weight big enough to hold your float down along the bottom, so naturally it goes under if you pull your float to you a bit. Picturing what's going under the surface, and "reading" what your float is telling you is a big part of fishing. I hope your plumbing up goes a bit more smoothly now. I still think it would be a good idea to sit with another angler or ask them to sit with you for an hour - it could really speed up learning a lot of things that can puzzle us when we're starting off. I say this as someone who taught himself to fish, and I wasted a lot of time! I could show someone in an hour things that took years to cotton on to, as can most anglers.

For a starting point, choose a spot near the bank. Plumb the depth. Set your float a couple of inches deeper than the water, as in Keith's diagram. Cast in and let your float settle where it will remain still. Then throw a few maggots, pellets, bits of corn or whatever bait on top of your float every 10 minutes or so. It's a basic, generic approach, but if that didn't get you some bites, it would be very surprising. Let us know what happens. Good luck

 

[markcw]

Seems to have gone quiet.. last post was 12 days ago. must not have been fishing to let us know....
mustn't have been sure whether to use maggots or pellets ...:wh

 

[thecrow]

There seem to be large parts of this thread missing, where have they gone?

 

[markcw]

There is a similar thread started by the OP called "pellets or maggots" in the Tackle,Rigs and Bait section, Lots of that are missing.