Simple tips.

[rayner]

I have a right struggle to tie 3" hook lengths, not any more with a simple trick I picked up from a John Arthur clip on youtube.
A figure 8 knot tied with a baiting needle rather than a loop tier.
Another tip from Des Ship for a waggler plummet is a simple bait band on a swan shot to find the depth rather than casting a heavy plummet into the silt. Two simple tips that never occurred to me.
I'm sure others will already know these tips but I didn't.
Any tips you've picked up on the tube or just know.

 

[wetthrough]

I usually use a swan for loaded wagglers but using a bait band sounds like a good idea, thanks. One of the best I picked up was tying a spade. I have much more confidence in this method than the matchman tied. I've posted it before but here it is again. Takes a bit of practice but works well once you get the hang of it -

YouTube

Hooking bread flake. This guy explains and possibly invented it Idler's Quest: My Way with Bread I don't do it quite the same preferring to cut the bread into strips and just pinch off what I need but it's the same general principle.

 

[mikench]

And I thought you were practicing semaphore all this time Gordon.

I'm going to try that.

 

[wetthrough]

Ha! The critical bits are getting the loop just the right size and keeping your left hand low. Hard to explain exactly but if you get the loop the right size you're off to a good start.

 

[mikench]

I can see it will require practice. It looks like just one strand of the loop is rotated round the shank.

 

[Aknib]

As already alluded to in another thread...

On hard days, particularly on big waters where they're not really having it due to the conditions and putting in bait isn't really doing you any favours, or even diluting your chances of a bite, go for a hookbait only offering but something that has enough pull to attract from a distance and the more natural the better.

Many people will break a worm in half and hook it so that the juices flow out but break it in half repeatedly and those juices flood out even more, add a couple of maggots for extra movement and bingo!

I prefer a maggot clip to a hair rig because it's not only easier, without the need for baiting needles and stops, but it offers a more compact offering which the fish has less of an opportunity to jab at than a linear offering on a hair...



Very versatile too, good on positive days over feed where you need a better offering to stand out and Tench seem to like it too, just something to bear in mind for all occasions really.

 

[Paste paul]

This is potentially a cracking thread........
I’m racking my brains to put forward a few ideas but I don’t know much and what I do know is limited!
In the winter every one was using bread with the bomb to catch fish...... I worked out that the floating corn that came free with the angling times was perfect....... I used a quick stop and put two pieces on every time I had a fish the corn was still on the hook and I was straight back in....... also I used the old fashioned ledger stops so I could change depth without changing my hook length and this paid off too....... basically I was in the top three in most matches and I used half a dozen bits of plastic corn all the match......
I will say you have to check you can use artificial bait !

 

[Paste paul]

Andy kinder showed me a little trick with the method feeder....... he only uses guru hybrid feeders or at least he used to.......
He slid the feeder up the line then tied a quick link swivel to the line....... the quick link bit was for the hook lengths ..... two advantages were he could easily change hook lengths and the hook length moved freely the theory being the bait literally jumps in the fishes mouth........
The clever bit is the swivel tied to the line pushes into the feeder and locks in creating a Bolt rig even though it was a free running rig....... it does pull out but sicks in enough to hook a fish....:
I thought this was pretty clever

 

[Philip]

Many will probably know this already but something it took me ages to work out was when fishing the slider with the bulk down near the hook, always stick a stop above your bulk shot for the float to rest on. Set it at a distance greater than the distance from the bulk to the hook. It will reduce tangles by a huge amount.

 

[wetthrough]

I do the same but it does reduce the distance you can cast to some extent. Worth the distance penalty though IMO.

 

[no-one in particular]

If your sea fishing off a busy pier or jetty-cast out a normal bottom holding weight, probably with a grip lead is best; tighten up to it. Have a float rig set up with a clip on the end. Clip it to your line and it should slide down to the water. Handy for when mackerel or bass are about in the surface layers and you cant cast a lure or your float wanders about in the current and you risk getting tangled with those next to you. The float is held in position and does not wander.
The downside is you have no striking power so your more or less relying on the fish hooking themselves and you don't connect to the fish until you have wound in to the weight. So, it is not great but sometimes worth considering depending on the circumstances

 

[no-one in particular]

Borrow an ordinance survey map from the library, note all the blue bits within your travelling distance, investigate them sometime, you might find a nice surprise and don't be afraid to ask people about fishing them.

 

[no-one in particular]

deleted topic

 

[wetthrough]

Not so much a tip as a plea for a better way. I use swivels on my hooklengths but like to pre tie them and this is the only way I've found of storing them:



The swivel is tucked under the tab bottom left.

 

[Philip]

Not so much a tip as a plea for a better way

I have the same issue & have never really been happy with anything. I really don’t like the plastic sort or the rig boards as they are too big and fiddley. I'd be interested in peoples ideas too.

I used those plastic wallets you keep credit cards in for ages..as long as it’s a tight fit they keep the hooklinks separate and untangled and weigh nothing...




Just recently I started to use these and they are quite good. I use tiny map pins to hold the swivel and the hook (I don’t like pushing the hook into the foam)...

 

[Robbie C]

Many will probably know this already but something it took me ages to work out was when fishing the slider with the bulk down near the hook, always stick a stop above your bulk shot for the float to rest on. Set it at a distance greater than the distance from the bulk to the hook. It will reduce tangles by a huge amount.

What about if I want a couple of small shot between the bulk and the hook, say 2 no 8s ?

 

[no-one in particular]

What about if I want a couple of small shot between the bulk and the hook, say 2 no 8s ?

I think Robbie Phillip means about the float resting on your bulk shot when you cast and the hook etc flies back around the float. I used to have this problem when using a deep slider rig and like Phillip I solved it by pinching a small shot about 5ft away from the bulk shot so the float rested on that when i cast. It kept the float well away from the hook length and it didn't fly back and entangle with the float. You could probably use a leger stop of some sort to the same effect.

 

[ian g]

What about if I want a couple of small shot between the bulk and the hook, say 2 no 8s ?

You would usually add a tell tale shot to tell if you had a bite on the drop , say a no 4 or 6 . You just need to space the shots below the bulk so the gap between the bottom shot is smaller than the gap between the bulk and the second shot . Feather as you cast then let the line drop through until the float settles . It's not a real finesse method so I don't really use no 8 droppers . I think there are some rig diagrams on here . Hope this makes sense.

 

[markcw]

Pointy end of rod facing g the water
Dont use rubber hooks

 

[iannate]

Not so much a tip as a plea for a better way. I use swivels on my hooklengths but like to pre tie them and this is the only way I've found of storing them:

View attachment 8980

The swivel is tucked under the tab bottom left.

I have the same issue & have never really been happy with anything. I really don’t like the plastic sort or the rig boards as they are too big and fiddley. I'd be interested in peoples ideas too.

I used those plastic wallets you keep credit cards in for ages..as long as it’s a tight fit they keep the hooklinks separate and untangled and weigh nothing...


View attachment 8981

Just recently I started to use these and they are quite good. I use tiny map pins to hold the swivel and the hook (I don’t like pushing the hook into the foam)...

I struggled to find anything I was happy with for storing hook-lengths, then I found the MAP storage box, not cheap but very good:

Fast forward to just over a minute.

You can put your hook over a pin; even with hair, bait band, paste spring etc. etc.; and pull your loop, swivel etc. taught and push down into the foam and it will hold under slight tension (if you want it to).

If you do have something bulky for attaching to the main-line, then you'll need to make sure that the length allows this to fall between the foam slots.

You can continue to put one on top of the other and if the lengths are slightly out, the foam will still pinch it and keep it in place.

If, like me, you have banana fingers, then you can use something (gate latch needle?) once the hook is on a pin to pull on the loop, swivel etc. and push the line down into the foam with your finger tip starting at the hook end.

It may be a bit on the expensive side, but you can literally get hundreds of hooks tied and ready to go of all sizes and lengths*. Get one of those labellers, I think I spent longer writing out all the labels than tying hooks.

It's also got an adjustable measure thingy that you can use to lock and once mastered means than you can tie consistent lengths.

*My problem is that I can never decide what I want to use to load it and then I normally end up tying them on the bank anyway since I haven't got the right hook size, pattern, line length, strength, make, hair, band, scrunchy, alice band, spring, clip, stop mg: