Up or down?

[peter crabtree]

A friend and I have been fishing together for about 45 years.
We always have a mini match between us, timed start and finish.
Whoever loses has 1st pick of peg next time.
When we visit the Thames, or any wide river venue he always prefers to be upstream of me. I however prefer to be downstream.
He reckons the fish will come upstream to meet his loosefeed while I feel his loosefeed will feed my swim for me and the better fish will hang back giving me the advantage.
I'll point out that we sit within earshot of each other so no great distance apart.

Where would you pick in this instance?

 

[tilly05]

I think I would agree with you and be downstream, it would mean making the most of it as if they follow the trail then they'll soon move right on by upto his swim. But you have first chance of catching. Or if your bait holds them you have double the pulling power. But then your both feeding so would it matter you attract them upstream then he attracts from your area....
Interesting, the more I think the more I argue with myself.

Just sit opposite each other with walkie talkies

 

[barbelboi]

It would depend on who had the curry the night before and which way the wind's blowing.................

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

Generally I'd go downstream but would look at the flow

 

[sam vimes]

I'd prefer to be downstream unless there was a particular feature in the upstream peg.

 

[S-Kippy]

Always downstream as they've got to get past me to get to him.

Unless its Maidment on the upstream peg armed with his usual gallon of maggot in which case I dont care as long as its at least half a mile away

 

[peter crabtree]

Always downstream as they've got to get past me to get to him.

Unless its Maidment on the upstream peg armed with his usual gallon of maggot in which case I dont care as long as its at least half a mile away

Interesting reply Skip. So would heavier feeding by the upstream angler win the day?
I remember you and Phil coming down to Walton on Thames a few years back.
That day I was upstream from you both and as far as I remember I did quite well?

 

[S-Kippy]

Interesting reply Skip. So would heavier feeding by the upstream angler win the day?
I remember you and Phil coming down to Walton on Thames a few years back.
That day I was upstream from you both and as far as I remember I did quite well?

Can do....depends on how the fish respond to what the upstream man does and also what the downstream man does in response to what the upstream man gets up to. I can think of a few times when I've been done by the upstream man,most notably The Maggot Machine Maidment on the LIF when he most definately drew my fish past me to him.....but I know I was too timid with my feed that day. Phil did me on Throop once when he very generously allowed one barbel get past him to me. Whether by accident or design I dont know but I was convinced that the fish just were not getting past him. If you're upstream you might be able to draw fish up to you past the downstream man but its nigh on impossible to get them back if that happens and you're the downstream man. You have to hope the upstream guy gets his feeding wrong & loses them.

All this [of course] assumes that the fish are having a peck & responding to the feed...which they dont always.

As for Walton you knew the place & we'd never been there before so I'm not sure you can read too much into that. It didn't fish very well for anybody on that day as I recall.

I do think it can make a significant difference on certain days but a lot of it is in your head. I dont like feeling crowded or fishing in a line so I feel happier on the downstream peg where I have "command" of more water and [most importantly] I cant see anybody even though I know they are there.

But the presence/absence of features on any given peg blows all that theory out of the water. All I know is that given similar pegs [depth,features etc] I'd always opt for the downstream one, given the choice.

 

[ravey]

All other things being equal (which they never are...), I think that any end peg is an advantage, and the downstream one is the pick of the crop in my opinion. You have fresh fish to draw on, and can feed heavily and well downstream to 'defend' from having the angler upstream from pulling your fish past you.

However, so many things cloud the issue, some of which can include species of fish, section of river, varying feratures (some of which may not be obvious or apparent), quality of bait, and not least the skill/experience of the anglers involved.

The best anglers that I have had the privilege of sharing a river with have an understanding of the importance of correct feeding AND presentation. What can complicate the issue further is that it is difficult to tell how well you are doing without the benefit (skill and experience again) of correct presentation if you cannot actually see the fish. One complements the other.

Anyway, I digress...downstream end peg every time!

 

[aebitim]

Good question, rekon the upstream peg fishing up in the water and feeding down the run will give a good chance in the summer, winter lower peg and fishing deep with less feed.

 

[laguna]

If there's nobody near upstream from the upstream guy and nobody near downstream from the downstream guy and your a reasonable distance apart, then its probably even Stevens.
If your fishing within earshot of each other and your feed rates are the same, then I think the downstream guy will have the advantage at least initially (until the fish start to feed) because the downstream guy (in theory) will have more bait concentrated around him - his own bait + some trundled bait in and downstream from his area too. Holding them is crucial, as is time of year, method, presentation and the right amount of bait so as not to overfeed.... and all the usual get out clauses!

Oh and if all the big shoals are way upstream of you both its a lottery! :wh

 

[Peter Jacobs]

For me that would be the downstream peg every time. Not only that but I'd be piling the bait in to hold the fish from going above my peg and into his.

In some of those large river matches in France and Sweden you would see amazing amounts of bait being put it.

For a 5 hour match I'd never consider having less than 2 gallons ready for use if needed, plus several kilos of ground bait as well.

 

[S-Kippy]

For a 5 hour match I'd never consider having less than 2 gallons ready for use if needed, plus several kilos of ground bait as well.

Pah ! Neil would get through that lot in 45 minutes !

 

[nicepix]

I'd probably fish the downstream peg. And if there was nothing doing after an hour or so I'd wander about and look for another peg.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Pah ! Neil would get through that lot in 45 minutes !

. . . . . well, we are both ex match anglers S-Kippy, can't keep the hand out of the feed pouch . . . . . . . .

 

[no-one in particular]

Down stream however, I would fish away from my friend and try a different swim/method/bait altogether and catch up with my mate after an hour and if he's catching more than me, I would move downstream of him and ruin his swim. Tested many a good friendship like that. Seriously though, why not, mix it up a bit and see whats cooking.

When I fished with my dad and his friend, his friend being the expert would seek a good swim; usually a bend and/or trees. I would be put in a nice little easy glide. My dad being lazy and not well sighted would seek a big eddy so he could watch his big red float go round and round all day without any effort. Sixpence for first fish, sixpence for best fish and the same for most fish. The old man nearly always won best fish. Some big roach or perch lived in that eddy and after watching the bunch of maggots go past him for the 500th time would give up all his well learned guile and wariness and get himself hooked. It was always an education the way the three of us would mix it up.

 

[Jim Crosskey 2]

I have a different take on this.... if I'd gone to the river to have a social fish with a mate, then I'd want to find a swim that we can both get in - where there's room for us to get one rod in each, sit back, have a good natter and hopefully a laugh at each other efforts as we fail to catch a thing....

However, if i'd gone to the river with a mate and we were both serious about catching.... then I'd probably set up three or four swims away, as like others have mentioned here, I'd rather not feel enclosed by other anglers on either side.

Having said that, I don't have a preference on either scenario above - and enjoy both of them.

 

[terry m]

I am with the majority here. Downstream every time, assuming the run is straight(ish).

If it is a bendy meandering river then I would be less concerned and would be drawn to features instead.