Confessions of a plonker( novice)

[mikench]

Went fishing today even though the weather looked far from promising! I set up at a local lake on my card along with two other members. I cannot resist starting with the float and duly did.

It started to rain heavily and I put up the brolly and kept reasonably dry. I was still wearing shorts and flip flops. I quickly changed the latter for some old trainers with some grip as the wooden pallet type peg was more slippery than ..... I had better not name names

I tried corn, meat laced with hemp oil and chilli flakes and bread but without success. I was selfishly gratified that my fellow fisherman were drawing blanks also! I then returned to bread coated in some goo or other and cast out some distance. I admit I wasn't paying attention and was trying to text my preferred evening meal to er indoors when I felt the rod go and I saw the float move rapidly across the lake like a Uboat in the Atlantic. I struck and knew I had a large fish on the line. I had prayed for a "bend in the rod" and believe you me I watched my rod bend almost double!! The fish was taking line and I adjusted the drag( I think) and played it like a veteran ( I think). It rose to the surface and I could see it was a carp but as to type and weight I have no idea. I reeled in and it took more line. I had it to within 10 ft or so of the net when there was a twang of Robin Hood proportions, the fish was off and as the rod returned to the vertical , the line with the float headed over my head and into the tree above where it refused to budge!! What a disappointment : my very first decent fish and I had lost it through sheer incompetence. My fellow anglers consoled me with assertions of how big it was and that some commons ran to 20 lbs or so!!

Just wait till tomorrow and I will be back. My hook length was supplex about 3.6 lb and it was this that broke. I think I will try stronger tomorrow just in case! Thanks for reading: Mike

 

[103841]

You're only a plonker for going fishing in flip flops, get some proper footwear for fishing, you'll be much safer. As for the rest? I think we've all been there.

 

[robtherake]

Where fish of that size exist - and especially if there's a snaggy area for them to make for - a 6lb hooklink would be better. A spool of Gamakatsu G-Line (now Super G-Line) lasted me for years (for hooklengths) and has only just run out so I'll be trying the new stuff when it arrives, though it seems pricey at getting on for a tenner a spool (150m). The 0.16mm diameter is as thin as the 3lb lines of the past and I rarely feel the need to go any lower than this where the chances of a biggy are good. If it's the Middy MM float rod, you won't believe just how much stick it will take when you use it with heavier lines.

As for losing a few... that's why we all keep going back, Mike; it's the ones we don't land that keep us keen.

...and as for being a plonker: I never stopped being one of those, mate.mg:

 

[mikench]

Thanks Rob. I was using a Drennen 10ft 7 series puddle chucker float rod as the lake is surrounded by trees and bushes and overhead casts are impossible. I will change my hook length bs! I was excited though

 

[peter crabtree]

I admit I wasn't paying attention and was trying to text my preferred evening meal to er indoors when I felt the rod go.

Just wait till tomorrow and I will be back.

Almost an award there Mike...

Quickly reconsidered after your final sentence...

 

[mikench]

......and the significance of my final sentence is?

 

[itsfishingnotcatching]

I suspect we've all lost fish due to tackling down when bites are scarce, happened to me Saturday on the Wye and on the Arrow the back end of last season when a decent Barbel creamed my 2.5lb hooklength. Rog Hill said to me on Saturday that I probably wouldn't have had the bite on the stronger hooklength and that my friends is the law according to s*d. I've landed a 5lb Pike and a Carp pushing double figures on an 18 to 2.5lb Kamasan Animal, it's just the luck of the draw, on the day, for me anyway. Some guys on here would probably have done better. I just have to believe I'll do better next time

 

[mikench]

It was nice just seeing a real bend in the rod and knowing that it was a big fish!

There is always tomorrow- weather permitting!

 

[peter crabtree]

......and the significance of my final sentence is?

Admirable dogged enthusiasm innit...

 

[mikench]

It sure is! I can still see that fish breaching! It reminds me of the whale I caught in the Birmingham canal: I put it back there were no spokes in it:wh typed in a brummie accent!

 

[ciprinus]

/*

It was nice just seeing a real bend in the rod and knowing that it was a big fish!

There is always tomorrow- weather permitting!

if you manage to get that little monster on again then i would just take it easy, let it take whenever it wants and as soon as you can turn it toward you just reel like a dervish, if it wants to take again just let it but keep a finger on the reel to apply a little drag, yada yada yada!! hopefully it will tire before you do and then it belongs to you.
let it rest in the margins till it wants to go, a few strong kicks of the tail will tell you when.
i have hooked and landed a 20lb carp on 4lb line and a 2lb hooklink before now, took half an hour tho and it was hard to tell who was the most kn@€kered me or fishy
of course if you already know all this then er!! ooops mg:

 

[robtherake]

Almost an award there Mike...

Quickly reconsidered after your final sentence...

You'll have to get some more made up specially for me - there's a new pratfall every trip.

 

[john step]

When I fish a place where I need a certain amount of finesse but there is a good chance of hooking a bigger fish during the day I use DRENNAN SUPER SINKBRAID as a hooklink.
Small swivel as a bite indicator/bottom shot.
You can tie on spade ends with 6 or 8lb no trouble. B911 are good.

Coupled to 6 or 8 lb mono you can stop some biggies.


PS. Don't worry, we all do plonkerish things at times. Some of us even fall in the drink during a December and take our mobiles and electronic car keys with us for a swim.

 

[robtherake]

Thanks Rob. I was using a Drennen 10ft 7 series puddle chucker float rod as the lake is surrounded by trees and bushes and overhead casts are impossible. I will change my hook length bs! I was excited though

That's a plenty strong rod. I was in the local shop when the Drennan rep came in when they first came out and he insisted I take the Puddle Chucker rod and give it some while he held the tip.

The more I pulled, the more he insisted I kept going, until it was bent in a truly ludicrous hoop and my arm was burning with the effort. I thought it was a bit heavy compared to the rod I was using, but there's no doubting its strength.

 

[mikench]

That rod and the middy suit all my float fishing purposes I feel. You cannot practice playing a large fish on a simulator! I am easily bored and sometimes when there isn't a great deal of activity I check my phone or pour a coffee. That is when Murphy's law operates and the fish of a lifetime comes along C'est la vie!

John , how does the swivel work as a bite indicator? I assume you use the swivel to connect the hook link to the line rather than a loop to loop connection!

Now where is that 60lb bright yellow mono I bought :wh

 

[tigger]

That's a plenty strong rod. I was in the local shop when the Drennan rep came in when they first came out and he insisted I take the Puddle Chucker rod and give it some while he held the tip.

The more I pulled, the more he insisted I kept going, until it was bent in a truly ludicrous hoop and my arm was burning with the effort. I thought it was a bit heavy compared to the rod I was using, but there's no doubting its strength.

Surely the ammount of pressure it takes to make a rod bend round is more important that the fact that it's bending right round.....if you get my meaning. It is impressive to see a rod bend right round but unless it's putting enough pressure on a fish it's pretty pointless really in'it .
It doesn't actually take much pressure to make your arm burn when testing the rod like that Rob.
To find out how much pressure it takes to bend a rod round I started to put weights in placcy bags, set the rod up and tie the line to the bag. Then lift the bag until it comes off the deck. Doing that gives me a little more idea of the real strength of the rod and how much pressure i'm putting on it rather than just having someone hold the tip while I lift the rod. Also the angle of the rod makes a huge difference to the amount of pressure you apply (to a fish in water) as when you drop the tip the reel takes more of the strain....if you get me point .

 

[mikench]

I missed the fish through incompetence although the relatively weak hooklink may have contributed. I cannot blame the tackle only me

The whole experience made a change from 2oz roach

I almost paraphrased the line in Jaws" you're gonna need a bigger landing net"

 

[john step]

John , how does the swivel work as a bite indicator? I assume you use the swivel to connect the hook link to the line rather than a loop to loop connection!

:wh

Perhaps bad wording on my part. The swivel takes the place of the bottom shot which when lifted by a fish gives the lift bite.
I take it you use a small bottom shot when wagglering?

Also the reason is that braid requires a swivel to join to mono is to stop the braid cutting the mono which doesn't happen mono to mono. BRAID requires a special knot to stop it slipping. I do the Knot but I am not good at names of knots. It may be called a 5 turn grinner or some such thing . Plenty of examples on line and in the mags and books.

Sounds fiddly but is not in effect.

There are waters where due to bigger fish present or weed where I want to use 6lb or 8lb but require the finesse of a 16 or 14 hook for roach .

The braid has a thickness and softness of a much lighter line and I have no problem getting roach bites.

Should I hook a tinca or carp I stand a good chance of not leaving a fish trailing a hooklink!

The other advantage is in the name. SINKLINK. The hookling lies flat to the bottom. I like to leave 6ins on the deck. 12 inches if there is a tow.
Hope this explains it.

 

[greenie62]

I missed the fish through incompetence although the relatively weak hooklink may have contributed. I cannot blame the tackle only me

The whole experience made a change from 2oz roach.....

Hi Mike,
Sometimes you need to decide what you are going for - and tackle-up accordingly!

I occasionally hit into the chunky carp when Crucian fishing - and can have a hairy time consequently

If I'm after 2-12 oz roach - and I hit a chunky carp - it's not going to end well!

 

[john step]

Hi Mike,
Sometimes you need to decide what you are going for - and tackle-up accordingly!

I occasionally hit into the chunky carp when Crucian fishing - and can have a hairy time consequently

If I'm after 2-12 oz roach - and I hit a chunky carp - it's not going to end well!

Yes I am afraid this is a consequence of many more carp stocked. It was never much of a problem before this proliferation. Times change and our tackle and methods have to adapt to cope.