sam vimes
Well-known member
Just because the HDYGO thread seems to be getting a little swamped.
I'm generally fishing fast rivers where the fish seem indifferent to bigger shot. The fish don't usually have time to be overly fussy. Large olivettes and AA/BB bulk shotting is often the order of the day unless I visit slower stretches to fish for dace and roach. I well understand the value of the slow/controlled/natural fall of bait that more complex shotting patterns can give. However, it didn't take too long for the teenage me to work out that shirt buttons with number six shot was a bit of a waste of time.
I'm not shy of using bulk shotting and olivettes in any situation where I'm fishing for bottom feeding fish. I'll do it on rivers and stillwaters or when using top and bottom floats and wagglers.
I'll usually work on the KISS principle and reckon that a good ninety percent of my float fishing involves bulk shotting. The exceptions invariably involve fishing for the smaller species up in the water or when they've got fussy. Shirt button or single number eight dropper (or micro-swivel) are the only real alternatives I bother with. As far as I'm concerned, an awful lot of the really fancy shotting patterns are just too fussy for real life and don't offer enough to be really worthwhile.
I'm generally fishing fast rivers where the fish seem indifferent to bigger shot. The fish don't usually have time to be overly fussy. Large olivettes and AA/BB bulk shotting is often the order of the day unless I visit slower stretches to fish for dace and roach. I well understand the value of the slow/controlled/natural fall of bait that more complex shotting patterns can give. However, it didn't take too long for the teenage me to work out that shirt buttons with number six shot was a bit of a waste of time.
I'm not shy of using bulk shotting and olivettes in any situation where I'm fishing for bottom feeding fish. I'll do it on rivers and stillwaters or when using top and bottom floats and wagglers.
I'll usually work on the KISS principle and reckon that a good ninety percent of my float fishing involves bulk shotting. The exceptions invariably involve fishing for the smaller species up in the water or when they've got fussy. Shirt button or single number eight dropper (or micro-swivel) are the only real alternatives I bother with. As far as I'm concerned, an awful lot of the really fancy shotting patterns are just too fussy for real life and don't offer enough to be really worthwhile.
Last edited: