Striking fish?

[no-one in particular]

Fishing yesterday I started to strike right to left with rod very low, the tip just above the water. Normally instinctively I strike upwards but miss bites whereas I did not miss many yesterday. I don’t know why I started striking this way but it worked a lot better.

Fishing for roach really with a 4lb line a big cork float with a swan and one bb on. I normally fish the swan two thirds down and the bb near the hook but there was quite a bit of surface drift/current so I bunched the two shot about 5ins from the hook and had that just on the bottom. Not finesse but I have got lazy and just like things simple and the float will trot like this although I do not do that much on this, a very slow almost canal like river.
I don’t suppose this would make much difference fishing at distance but close in on the river 6-8ft from the bank in about 6-8 ft of water. Most of the fish where hooked in the top lip and straight away where being dragged out of the holding area, not sure that helped but maybe a little, less spooking of the other fish.
Anyone else find this a better way of striking?

 

[peter crabtree]

I always strike to the left and low. If I struck vertically my light end tackle would end up flying at me if I missed the bite.....

 

[mikench]

If the float is to my left I strike to the right and vice-versa . Trees and other obstacles have a say in this and then I strike up if it is a decent fish or just lift the rod if small. I miss my fair share of bites.

 

[rich66]

That’s made me think! Normally I strike by lifting my rod tip up & 45 ish degrees in the opposite direction to the float.
However if you think about it a low strike in the opposite direction would probably pick up the line quicker than a vertical strike.

 

[john step]

Striking low is striking through the water whereas upwards is against the water and its tension on the line.

 

[Roger Johnson 2]

There are many variables on this subject, current, wind, distance, method etc, that will determine the most effective strike, but when roach fishing, particularly in shallower water I would tend to strike to the side, enough to connect to the fish, and then lead it away from the feeding zone whilst trying to keep it down in the water, as heavy strikes and splashing fish can spook the rest of the shoal. Sadly, my river doesn’t seem to produce many roach so not getting to practice this much at the moment.


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[108831]

If fishing a fixed waggler,I strike to the side,which way is dependant on which way my line is bowing,if right I strike to the right,and vice versa to the left,this is to get the quickest and most direct contact,on the slider however I strike upwards.

 

[no-one in particular]

I think distance and depth has a lot to do with it, I wonder if there are any maths to this. Optimum angle=distance, depth, angle of strike, water pressure, for quickest contact? Good luck with that.
Yesterday I actually stood up and a little to the left of my baited area and a low strike right to left produced more direct contact and hooked fish plus I was pulling them away from the spook area more quickly. I have fished this river a lot and hooking fish has always been touch and go especially with sweetcorn but I was hooking everyone almost yesterday, just seemed a far more satisfactory method of striking.

 

[Roger Johnson 2]

If fishing a fixed waggler,I strike to the side,which way is dependant on which way my line is bowing,if right I strike to the right,and vice versa to the left,this is to get the quickest and most direct contact,on the slider however I strike upwards.

Very good point about the slider, I used to fish the Bedfordshire brickpits where 15-20ft depths at 2-3 rod lengths are not uncommon, definitely slider float and upward strike territory.


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[rayner]

Up every time for me. I don't fish with fixed wagglers, I prefer to strike the line through the float.
Pole fishing is a lift straight up. Stick floats are out for me, rivers are not my
Feeder or bomb fishing is just to tighten the line, carp are very accommodating, they hook themselves.
Had to think about striking, I suppose it's just natural for me to do it the way I said.

 

[sam vimes]

The way I strike will be dictated by circumstance. The surroundings, method, weather conditions, distance and flow/tow (inc direction) will all have an influence. There's no single way to strike for all circumstances.

 

[bracket]

Sam Vines has this spot on. There is no single, cover all conditions, way to strike. The only thing you can say for sure is that when trotting on the River you need to strike away from the direction of the current. That's like telling your Grandmother how to suck eggs. I always stand when river fishing, with the rod in a horizontal position, or just off the surface if the wind is bad. I tend to strike from this position through a 45 degree plane. Don't miss too many. Pete.

 

[peter crabtree]

I strike up if it is a decent fish or just lift the rod if small..

How can you tell what size fish it is before you strike?

 

[mikench]

You can't but I know the difference between a carp and a roach- usually.

 

[Philip]

Striking, whats that ? ....my 4oz leads do it for me...

I jest ....I cant say I have really analyzed it that much. I basically strike in the oppoiste direction the float is going. If its close in I strike less hard and more to one side to stop it flying into the nearest tree. If its further out I will probably strike more upwards and a bit harder to allow for any slack in the line and the depth of the water and so on.

Basically after a while it becomes second nature & is automatic based on the circumstances in front of me on the day.

 

[Alan Tyler]

My most spectacular tangles have been caused by striking upwards and bumping a fish, so I try to strike sideways if possible. I usually use sliders, even in shallow water, because the strike is quicker, more controlled and silent, even with only a few inches of travel.

 

[no-one in particular]

Ok, but given the known variables, angle, depth fished at, water pressure, distance from the bait, through float or ledger, force applied and one or two more I can't think of; it must be possible to mathmatically work out the optimum striking angle. If two matchmen fished side by side and they had a hundred bites each and one struck at the optimum angle 100 times and the other didn't, who would take the most prize money over say 10 matches? If it was only 2 or 3 fish that could be enough for the most wins; as I understand it a match can be decided by such small margins. Would a matchman be interested in that; a mathmatician and a computer simulation program is all that it would need and I bet pleasure anglers would be intersted as well.
At least would it not be an interesting exercise just as a thought and just throwing it in there, I bet no ones ever taken it on like that.
Mike, when I caught that carp I just caught a glimpse of it about a foot under the murky water and did not get a real sense of the size or the look of it, just a bit of bronze and redish and the fact that I have only caught one carp in this river in 20 years, it just would not enter my mind that it would be a carp. I glimpsed enough of it to rule out a eel or bream and it fought like a roach and just for a wee moment I thought it might be huge roach, who knows where a 3/4lb roach might lurk. As soon as I got it nearer the surface I saw it was a carp and was very surprised.
But, back to my little exercise, given that I nearly always fish this river the same way with the same sort of gear and distances and generally catch mainly roach; the very low side swipe was definately an improvement on the upward strike. I am not saying I would apply it to every situation but most similar ones maybe. I imagine the further out and the deeper you go, less would a low side swipe make much difference or a upward one better in just a general way but how far and how deep, at what point does one take over from the other!?

 

[rayner]

Perhaps one of the worst terms for hooking fish the "strike"
Generally it's no more than a firm lift.
It all depends on distance and the amount of slack line to pick up. I see it has nothing more than picking the slack line up off the water.

 

[silvers]

Ivan used to write about trying to pull a tube (of line) through the water, to get the most direct contact to the fish. In practice this means striking to the side and the same side as any bow in the line.
However - In theory you could use the resistance to straightening the bow to set the hook!
In practice i use Ivan's method the majority of the time.

And with a slider - the biggest bow is surely the angle between float and hook/bulk shot at depth, so an upwards strike removes that bow quickest. In fact the same should be true with any deep bulk shotted rig. I think I do this intuitively when fishing a bolo rig.