Autumn

[john ledger]

Must try that tommorow instead of those rabbit droppings

 

[Rodney Wrestt]

It doesn't get under you nails like the rabbit dropping John, and it doesn't stain the fingers like turmeric.

 

[Steve Handley]

Just love those early misty mornings, with the peace and quiet, when it's just me and the wildlife. Even better if the Roach are disturbing that stillness, as they roll on the surface in my favourite swim

A good time to take the camera out for some of those scenic shots..... I seem to be taking more scenic shots nowdays than fish shots, which is a bit worrying!!!

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)]

Tis a nice almost misty morn, the leaves are falling and the air has that autumnal scent.

Flask and pork pie packed. Tackle in car, I'm off to try and catch a roach.

 

[captain carrott]

do you mind ron, some of us have to work for a living and you rubbing it in while i'mn stuck here till 7 tonight is not nice.

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)]

Just got back from the Idle. 12 roach and 1 bleak caught on the stick, all on casters. 4 of the roach were netters. Best about 11 oz.

New rod Christened.

It was nice to take these fish with my new 17 foot rod and my 7 year old John Wilson Heritage centre pin too.

I am still missing too many bites. I am not happy with the way my stick float gear is rigged. Some work to do there. I felt a real biggie which got off.

But it was fun!

 

[Rodney Wrestt]

Hi Ron,
What make of rod have you aquired now???

As to the missed bites, how were you set up today?

Also congrats, you can't have been going far wrong after a dozen roach, I don't suppose you are still using the flurocarbon line I sent you a couple of seasons ago?

I still have some left and like you it's my favourite hooklength for river roach on the stick.

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)]

Rodney.

Rod was a 17 foot MAP Ultra II float which I have just acquired. Reel was my old JW Young John Wilson Heritage. Line was 2.6 lb Drennan Floatfish. Float was a lignum stick overshotted and held back. Hook was a Kamasan 20 B520 to 1.1.

Shirt buttoned style shotting and held back.

Still not happy - missed too many bites.

 

[BAZ (Angel of the North) aka Fester]

Why have you wasted all that money on a rod which is too long for the Idle? Obviously you don't have much control over it, so that is why you are missing so many fish.

 

[Rodney Wrestt]

Ron,
I realise you're an accomplished angler of various discaplines, but can I suggest, The shotting pattern can be adjusted to a bulk set at half depth and two or three No10 droppers evenly spaced which terminate just above your hooklength of about 10" ( your 1.1lb up to 1.7lb), this will see the bait in the bottom 3rd of water almost as soon as the cast is made and bites are regestered very quickly once the bulk settles.

 

[john ledger]

Ron
As i told you on the phone today try a different shotting pattern because as you know the Idle is a fine water river.
I always shot with No8 shot in groups of 4 then 3 then 2 depending on size of float finishing with a no 10 dropper.
Shot your float until it sinks then remove a No 8.
The reason i use No8 shot in groups is there is less resistance in the water on the strike.
Nothing wrong with what Rodney has suggested and i use that on faster rivers its just that the lower Idle is just a steady moving drain rather than a river

 

[Rodney Wrestt]

I bow to John's experience of this venue, I also use a bulk of No8's and tend to use the two rigs described dpending on the water condition on the day, there are variations but these basic rigs will cover most situations with slight adaptaitions.

 

[john ledger]

Another thing i like about Autumn is when i go for a tiddle i dont get 200 flies trying to land on my old todger(bluebottles at that)

 

[Rodney Wrestt]

200, big head )

 

[Michael Townsend 3]

I find the waggler works better for me on the lower Idle.
I use a 2AA straight peacock with the bulk around the float and 2no. 6s at half depth. Then from the hook up I start again with a no. 10, then a 9 another foot up, then pairs of 8s depending on the depth.
When I have them feeding hard (If) The 6s are moved down to the lowest pair of 8s leaving just the 9 and 10 droppers below the bulk.
This as Rodney says, has the bait in the feeding zone earlier and hopefully increasing your catch rate.
John mentions resistance on the strike which is another advantage of using a waggler. It folds on the strike so you hit in to the fish straight away with no disturbance unlike the stick which makes a splashy clonk before you connect.
Also on those frustrating days when the river stops and starts you can sink your line out of the wind and cast out to your strike zone where the fish have been intercepting your loose feed.

I hope I don't sound like a know it all, but this method works far better for me on this stretch so it may be woth a try.
At Bailey Bridge however the stick rules. What a crime it is that angling has lost this stretch of river.

 

[Rodney Wrestt]

Michael,
That's another valuable tip for anyone on a river which stops and backs up as the waggler is a more effective float in these conditions, I'm sure someone will be taking in these tips for their next session, don't worry you're not coming accross like a know it all, it's just a fact that you know a method that's not been mentioned.


There's only one big head on this thread..... 200 flies )

 

[john ledger]

It was 200 i counted ,i had to ask the rest to leave

 

[john ledger]

And they where horse flies

 

[Rodney Wrestt]

keep them off with your tail.... or the next best thing John )

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)]

Actually as the day progressed and the river backed up, I felt that the waggler might be a better bet.

Next time I shall rig two rods, one with stick and centre-pin, the other waggler and fixed spool.

Lets see how that pans out on Friday.