Line for trotting

[sam vimes]

Chris, i'm sure you know me well enough by now to know I really don't give a toss wether anyone else but me uses it, I try not to mention it's name as the same old crew instantly form a possey and start slagging it off?
At the end of the day I know it works well and am willing to fish along side anyone to prove it does.

It doesn't matter. I've fished with you, I've never disputed that you catch fish, or would beat me hands down. It still won't make me like the line you use. If the boot were on the other foot, I'd not expect you to use my choice of line either, because it would prove nothing. It's just a matter of preference. It's as irrelevant as me liking Chinese food and others hating it. No amount of me stating, or demonstrating, how much I love it is going to make others like it.

 

[tigger]

It doesn't matter. I've fished with you, I've never disputed that you catch fish, or would beat me hands down. It still won't make me like the line you use. If the boot were on the other foot, I'd not expect you to use my choice of line either, because it would prove nothing. It's just a matter of preference. It's as irrelevant as me liking Chinese food and others hating it. No amount of me stating, or demonstrating, how much I love it is going to make others like it.

I'm not a lover of chinky grub, next time we fish together i'll treat you to fish n chips lol.

 

[sam vimes]

I'm not a lover of chinky grub, next time we fish together i'll treat you to fish n chips lol.

I thought you were coming up for a potential headbanging session on the syndicate lake?

 

[tigger]

I thought you were coming up for a potential headbanging session on the syndicate lake?

I am, if there's any decent chippies round there i'll get 'em from there .

 

[sam vimes]

I am, if there's any decent chippies round there i'll get 'em from there .

There's one relatively close, as the crow flies. It was OK last time I was in there.

 

[tigger]

There's one relatively close, as the crow flies. It was OK last time I was in there.

We're sorted then ! :rockon:

 

[mikench]

All I can say is that if Tigger's abilities as a fishermen on rivers and still waters were being compromised by his choice of mono, then none of us would get a look in if he picked an alternative.

I use sensor and I also use progold, maxima and floatfish. Being a philistine I can't really tell the difference save that I do not get tangles with sensor, it casts well and at the price I cannot fault it.

I have had the pleasure of fishing with Ian and I know an accomplished angler when I see one. He has the best rods and reels so would hardly compromise on line. Each to their own whether it be line, football teams or beer. Vive la différence.

 

[tigger]

Oui oui, mon capitaine mg:

 

[108831]

The OP's question was 'best line for trotting',I cant see anyone trotting for big chub and barbel with one and a half pound line,that is for bits....I know he also mentions roach and dace,venue choice is an important consideration,I would not use such a light line on a river like the H.Avon,Wye etc,even for roach and dace,there were and are very good stick float anglers who didnt fish that fine...

 

[tigger]

45 years plus of fishing the stick, including many matches won with the method, and watching the best in the game using it long convinced me that fine lines give better presentation using a stick. Back in the day that was 1.7lb Bayer, then 1.5/2lb Daiwa Harrier. I still use the 2lb (the 1.5 long ran out) Harrier and also the new Dave Harrell line in 3lb which is a bit thicker at 0.14mm. I've used 4lb Sensor on a stick (it's really a 6lb line) but only when fishing for barbel on the Avon; also used 3lb Sensor though the 3lb Harrier is a better and finer line. I use 1.5lb Maxima as well on the waggler when circumstances allow it.

Thanks for the reply Mark, but as Chris has pointed out, what works for myself doesn't work for him.
The same goes for your and my opinions and methods. I have a feeling you don't think i've used a stick float, but I have on many occasions and for many years. I have used up to six pound mono whilst using a stick float and found there to be no problem with presentation at all.
I find using a thicker line better for mending and find I can throw it back across the river due to it being heavier. For presentation I would use a low diameter/breaking strain hooklength.
I prefer to fish as heavy a set up as I can get away with rather than as light a set up as I can get away with....just my preference is all.

 

[108831]

I can concur with your reasoning,match anglers however work on the basis more often than not fishing light lines,hooks,shotting etc catch more and bigger stamp fish,which of course they can,but then again there are times you can get a roach a chuck on 8lb plus mono...

 

[John Keane]

I use Drennan Floatfish for trotting and Daiwa Sensor for everything else. If floating for trotting is your highest priority, get a packet of those car dashboard wipe things and run your line through one when you next re-spool or use a bit of Mr Sheen on a rag. These contain silicone and I always run my salmon floating fly lines through one of the dashboard wipes before a major trip.

 

[sam vimes]

Half the issue might be that "fishing the stick" has become synonymous with any kind of trotting, with any kind of float. I've not fished a proper stick float for decades. They are almost a total waste of time on the rivers I tend to fish. However, I'll still use stick float rods. I may even refer to "fishing the stick" without a second thought, though I actively try to use "trotting" instead. No doubt "fishing the stick" or even "trotting" will conjure a different image to those fishing idyllic little lowland rivers. I also doubt I've used lighter than 4lb mainline in decades, going lighter doesn't offer any advantage when long trotting in broken, fast, water.

Long trotting is also vague enough to be interpreted in wildly different ways. I recall fishing matches on the Trent, Warwickshire Avon and Nene. A long trot in a match on those was no more than twenty yards. Sometimes trotting much more than ten yards would see you getting a disapproving growl from the peg downstream of you. On most of the places I'm fishing, an ill advised blink will see you miss five yards of your run through. Thirty to forty yard trots are common. Fifty to sixty (plus) are not unheard of. I can't see or control a proper stick float at anything approaching those ranges. They are simply the wrong choice for the job in hand.

 

[nottskev]

Half the issue might be that "fishing the stick" has become synonymous with any kind of trotting, with any kind of float. I've not fished a proper stick float for decades. They are almost a total waste of time on the rivers I tend to fish. However, I'll still use stick float rods. I may even refer to "fishing the stick" without a second thought, though I actively try to use "trotting" instead. No doubt "fishing the stick" or even "trotting" will conjure a different image to those fishing idyllic little lowland rivers. I also doubt I've used lighter than 4lb mainline in decades, going lighter doesn't offer any advantage when long trotting in broken, fast, water.

Long trotting is also vague enough to be interpreted in wildly different ways. I recall fishing matches on the Trent, Warwickshire Avon and Nene. A long trot in a match on those was no more than twenty yards. Sometimes trotting much more than ten yards would see you getting a disapproving growl from the peg downstream of you. On most of the places I'm fishing, an ill advised blink will see you miss five yards of your run through. Thirty to forty yard trots are common. Fifty to sixty (plus) are not unheard of. I can't see or control a proper stick float at anything approaching those ranges. They are simply the wrong choice for the job in hand.

I agree. And the flip-side of "fishing the stick" becoming synonymous with any kind of trotting, is that "trotting" can also encompass very different forms of moving water floatfishing. It's no wonder we occasionally end up at cross purposes. For me, there's a big difference between running a heavyish - a few grams - float a long way down a river with some pace, maybe targeting bigger fish, and teasing a dotted stickfloat with a few small shot down a swim that is creeping through or pulling through gently and you expect to get bites from mixed smaller species withing a few yards. I tend to think of the former as "trotting", but I don't expect everyone to think like that. I'm happy to use a heavy line for the former, but it would feel odd to me to use anything but light lines for the latter.

 

[trotter2]

Must admit I fall into the lighter is better category. But the mainstay of my catch is smaller fish dace and grayling. A heavy reel line for me fishing the loafer would be 2.6lb Bayer. For light fishing stick float fishing I use a 2.1 Bayer mainline which is surprisingly strong on the acolyte ultra rod I use. A big fish for me would be a 5lb chub I have no problem netting a fish that size on an open swim on 2.6 line. But I do appreciate under different conditions you may have to up this. But for the fishing I do it's fine stuff compared to sum.

 

[108831]

There is nothing wrong with any approach,but if you are using a loafer,say 6bb plus,i would be interested to know how you got on with 4lb bs main line and a lighter cast,imo you would catch exactly the same 9/10 times,but...its what your happy using that counts.

 

[tigger]

There is nothing wrong with any approach,but if you are using a loafer,say 6bb plus,i would be interested to know how you got on with 4lb bs main line and a lighter cast,imo you would catch exactly the same 9/10 times,but...its what your happy using that counts.

My thoughts also. I haven't been grayling fishing at all this year but have done quite a bit in years past and heavier lines up to 6lb have not stopped me getting one a trott on venues where they are plentiful. Regarding dace, I struggle not to catch them when targetting barbel and chub during the summer months. Infact, if I scaled down my catch rate definately wouldn't improve (i've done it) but the loss of my target species due to break offs most certainly would.
Another thing I dislike about low diameter and lower b/s lines is the regularity of it getting twisted on the retrieve. This can happen regardless of however fancy a swivel you incorporat in your set up, and especialy on faster flowing water.

 

[108831]

I agree Ian,lines below 0.14 diameter twist alarmingly when using double maggot,no matter how you put them on if there is more than a little pace and thats on a pin and i struggle to wind/bat at any speed as you can Ian...

 

[S-Kippy]

Has anyone that doesn't like Sensor ever tried to suggest that you can't/won't catch anything if you use it? I've never noticed it if they have. It would be quite ridiculous to do so. As ever, I couldn't care less how many people love it. I don't care how well they do with it.

Good luck to those that do love it, but I'm never going to like it. It's just a matter of preference. I do occasionally revisit the stuff, just to be sure, as I do with many things that people rave about. I did find it marginally less objectionable when spanking new on a centrepin, but I still don't like it.

Occasionally I've changed my mind in such revisiting excercises. Centrepins and Acolyte rods both fall into that category. Tried both and was distinctly underwhelmed. Only after giving them second chances did I come round to them. The Tri-Cast Allerton rods are an example of something I tried because people raved about them. I occasionally revisit to make sure, but I still don't like them, and it's unlikely I ever will.

I know that plenty of folks will not share my opinions and preferences. That's just fine, I've no desire to change their mind. As long as they are happy with their choices and they work for them, that's great.

That's exactly my position too. It matters not to me whoever uses Sensor if they get on with it....all I've ever said is that I dont ( at all) and that there are (imo) far better lines out there. Its pointless naming them as I use different lines for different jobs.

That said...For " light" trotting I've yet to find anything I like better than Sufix Dura Flex but it is increasingly hard to find in the lower bs/diameters and it would not be my 1st choice for feeder work. I've got a few spools in stock but when they're gone they're gone and I'll probably have to find something else to use.....it wont be Sensor though.

 

[108831]

That's exactly my position too. It matters not to me whoever uses Sensor if they get on with it....all I've ever said is that I dont ( at all) and that there are (imo) far better lines out there. Its pointless naming them as I use different lines for different jobs.

That said...For " light" trotting I've yet to find anything I like better than Sufix Dura Flex but it is increasingly hard to find in the lower bs/diameters and it would not be my 1st choice for feeder work. I've got a few spools in stock but when they're gone they're gone and I'll probably have to find something else to use.....it wont be Sensor though.

That said though,if you and i fished sensor we would catch fish on it,its just a preference thing,thats why its a bit of a standing joke with Ian from me,its certainly not meant to be taken seriously...