New to fishing/pole/canal

[kimura88]

Hello all


(QUESTIONS IN BOLD TO SKIP THE BORING STUFF)
A bit about me , im a total beginner now to fishing,i used to fish as a kid and up to teenager but guided and never learnt to actually setup or sort problems,just got set up ,told where to cast to ,and caught fish haha

Ive got a little bug to get back into fishing every now and then for a chill,all my other hobbies are motorbikes,cars and martial arts

I plan to fish the canal mostly ,I am Wolverhampton based so the Staffordshire/Worscestershire canal runs very close to my house and used to fish parts of it.

However ive forgot everything

So I looked at cheap kit today online and bits of information on poles and whips as I think this is the simplest way to get back into a pleasure fish without spending too much money or getting too complex,except I still have tonnes of questions haha

First off I was looking at this whip Middy Baggin Machine Whip Ready-to-Fish Package

Is this ok for a complete beginner not looking to catch huge fish or bag up just yet?

Also,it has elasticated top kits so im not sure if this is classed as a pole or whip?

It has 3 top kits,highest is 24 elastic rating,is that really heavy duty and not needed for a canal or are different manufacturers elastics rated at different strengths ?

The top kits with elastics,do they all have a generic type of way to affix your rig ?

What is a good rig /elastic combo for just basic canal fishing.Probably going to try get another pre made rig to keep things simple

Ive kind of put together a little list of what I need for basic fishing,maybe you can add/ subtract


Pole/whip
rigs
shot
extra hooks
plummet
seat/bag
bait box
disgorger
unhooking mat
rod licence
landing net
bait

Realise its a lot of questions,and may have missed the obvious on some questions
Thanks for any help

 

[john step]

There are others better equipped to advise on canals/poles etc but one glaring omission is a landing net. Tight lines.

 

[kimura88]

youre right,missed it off my list i wrote but do have one saved to purchase :thumbs:

 

[valetudoguy]

Personally I would advise to go with a non-elasticsted 3 or 4 meter whip with a flick tip/ring connector. Available for well under £10, I have Daiwa and Leeda ones and they are both just as good.

I would then buy some pre made pole rigs, Leeda do some for about £1.60 that will be plenty good enough. Sizes 14-16-18, a couple of each.

Forget extra shot and hooks for now.

Definitely get a plummet, also get a cheap seat and a small tackle box or a seat box.... whatever you preffer or is cheaper.

Bait box... Yep... full of maggots.

Disgorger... Yep... x2. Small and Big or 2x double ended ones.

Forget the unhooking mat for now, spend the money on a landing net instead.

Licenses / day ticket.... for sure

 

[theartist]

Some good advice above about tackle above but also remember the canal. Keep your stuff organised and close when fishing as dogs may try to pee on your gear. Watch where you put your pole/whip as cyclists will appear out of nowhere so try to put it parallel to the bank when retrieved. Maybe stay away from trees for now to avoid pingin' into them and watch out for overhead cables, oh and dog poo on the banks if it's urban.

Sounds like a horror list but canals are a lot of fun so enjoy and good luck

 

[103841]

If it can handle a 24 elastic I wouldn’t classify that as a whip, definitely a pole, maybe a bit too strong and heavy for catching silvers, others will know better.

I disagree with the above comment regarding a mat, it’s a good habit to get into, always carrying a mat with you. Sooner or later you’ll most probably hook a Pike or larger fish and if landed you’ll need something to lay it on for unhooking, canal towpaths are normally gravelly, tarmac or concrete, not a surface you’d want to lay a fish on.

Having two of them I can recommend this whip, extremely light but still strong and great fun for catching fish up to a couple of pound. I wouldn’t think you’d need anything longer than 4m.

Preston Absolute Whip - Benwick Sports Angling Centre

 

[Keith M]

Whips
If you are going to get a whip to fish a canal I would get a nice 4/5 metre one as most good 5 metre and longer telescopic whips come with non telescopic base sections anyway so you can use it at either 4 or 5 metres and if you are using it at 4mtrs and hook something larger you can add the other section to make playing a larger fish and landing it a little easier.

Also a lot of anglers use Pole floats with their whips without any problems at all and you can fish with these quite happily, there's no hard and fast rule; but whips were not really designed for use with Pole floats and I think you could be limiting yourself slightly by using these all of the time; they were primarily designed to use small wagglers like the ones in the picture below which can be cast overhead or sideways or underarm (unlike a Pole) and reach a bit further even with a little wind.



Canals usually have a profile similar to the one below and the near shelf where it’s shallow can occasionally stretch quite a few yards out so it’s nice to be able to have a whip that can be cast a little further out when it’s needed.



Most modern whips come with both flick tip sections and elasticated sections because now and then you might be using it on a predominantly Carp or other large fish lake and need the added security of elastic, but if you are going to be using your whip on an average type of canal then I would much prefer to use a whip with a nice flick tip than an elasticated one; which can handle the occasional fish up to around 3lb*-ish plus every now and then when accidentally hooked.

Really cheap whips have thick tips with not much bend in them (see picture below showing the difference) so unless you are going to use elastic with it it’s worth paying a few quid extra for a decent whip with a decent flexible flicktip; they are not that expensive to buy anyway.



Tight lines
Keith

 

[kimura88]

Personally I would advise to go with a non-elasticsted 3 or 4 meter whip with a flick tip/ring connector. Available for well under £10, I have Daiwa and Leeda ones and they are both just as good.

I would then buy some pre made pole rigs, Leeda do some for about £1.60 that will be plenty good enough. Sizes 14-16-18, a couple of each.

Forget extra shot and hooks for now.

Definitely get a plummet, also get a cheap seat and a small tackle box or a seat box.... whatever you preffer or is cheaper.

Bait box... Yep... full of maggots.

Disgorger... Yep... x2. Small and Big or 2x double ended ones.

Forget the unhooking mat for now, spend the money on a landing net instead.

Licenses / day ticket.... for sure

Cheers mate, think I will do, are you sourcing the rigs straight from the manufacturer?

 

[kimura88]

If it can handle a 24 elastic I wouldn’t classify that as a whip, definitely a pole, maybe a bit too strong and heavy for catching silvers, others will know better.

I disagree with the above comment regarding a mat, it’s a good habit to get into, always carrying a mat with you. Sooner or later you’ll most probably hook a Pike or larger fish and if landed you’ll need something to lay it on for unhooking, canal towpaths are normally gravelly, tarmac or concrete, not a surface you’d want to lay a fish on.

Having two of them I can recommend this whip, extremely light but still strong and great fun for catching fish up to a couple of pound. I wouldn’t think you’d need anything longer than 4m.

Preston Absolute Whip - Benwick Sports Angling Centre

Think that is the one ill go for from the advice I've received in this post.
Yeah for the price of a mat and ease of storage I can't see why not to, I imagine if I get anything more than a handful I'll be quite clumsy at first so I'd rather lay the fish down and save any harm coming to the fish to be fair
Do you know if this whip comes with a Stonfo on the tip or do you buy them separately?

 

[kimura88]

Whips
If you are going to get a whip to fish a canal I would get a nice 4/5 metre one as most good 5 metre and longer telescopic whips come with non telescopic base sections anyway so you can use it at either 4 or 5 metres and if you are using it at 4mtrs and hook something larger you can add the other section to make playing a larger fish and landing it a little easier.

Also a lot of anglers use Pole floats with their whips without problems but whips are not really designed for use with Pole floats and I think you would be limiting yourself slightly by using these; they were primarily designed to use small wagglers like the ones in the picture below which can be cast overhead or sideways or underarm (unlike a Pole) and reach a bit further even with a little wind.



Canals usually have a profile similar to the one below and the near shelf where it’s shallow can occasionally stretch quite a few yards out so it’s nice to be able to have a whip that can be cast a little further out when it’s needed.



Most modern whips come with both a flick tip sections and elasticated sections because now and then you might be using it on a predominantly Carp or other large fish lake and need the added security of elastic, but if you are going to be using your whip on an average type of canal then I would much prefer to use a whip with a nice flick tip than an elasticated one; which can handle the occasional fish up to around 3lb*-ish plus every now and then when accidentally hooked.

Really cheap whips have thick tips with not much bend in them (see picture below showing the difference) so unless you are going to use elastic with it it’s worth paying a few quid extra for a decent whip with a decent flexible flicktip; they are not that expensive to buy anyway.



Tight lines
Keith

Really informative post, thankyou, I'm going to go with the 'true' whip with flick tip and try a pole later down the line I think.
Would one generally be fishing the near shelf slope mostly with a whip or short pole, aiming to fish the on the bottom on the slope?

Another question.. What strength line and hook sizes are suitable for this type of fishing?

 

[103841]

Think that is the one ill go for from the advice I've received in this post.
Yeah for the price of a mat and ease of storage I can't see why not to, I imagine if I get anything more than a handful I'll be quite clumsy at first so I'd rather lay the fish down and save any harm coming to the fish to be fair
Do you know if this whip comes with a Stonfo on the tip or do you buy them separately?

The whip doesn’t come with a connector, I prefer to use the silicone tube method.

YouTube

 

[valetudoguy]

Cheers mate, think I will do, are you sourcing the rigs straight from the manufacturer?

I got mine from a local shop, they go under the “Carp Match” range.

I just ignored the Carp branding, they come with a range of line strengths and hook sizes, lines are a little heavier than I would make myself, but it’s no bad thing to start and has never hindered me or the kids catching on them.

We just Fish to hand and have had Carp to about 4lb and more silvers than we can count.

The short whip is now my preferred piece of tackle to target Crucian with.

I basically carry the whip every time I go fishing for anything, it passes the time if other methods are slow and it provides me with fast reliable bait when I’m Piking.

 

[103841]

Ready made rigs are usually designed for pole fishing, you’ll be using a “long line” on a whip, with a 4m whip you’ll need 3m of line, this allows for and 18” hooklength still bringing you 18” short of the whip length, this allows for the bend in the whip when swinging a fish to hand.

Ready made rigs also come with pole floats attached top and bottom, I prefer a small waggler or Drennan Stillwater blue attached bottom only. Really easy to make your own rigs and a lot cheaper too.

On the subject of line, through experience I found using light lines e.g. 3 to 4lb troublesome, the line often wrapped around the tip on casting, I now use a stiffer length of 8lb fluoro with a longer 24” hooklength that may vary between 2 and 4lb.

 

[Another Dave]

Informative thread. Got some 5lb fluro so will try rigging up one of my whips with that and either the smallest Drennan stillwater blue equivalent or a 2" peacock wag.

 

[Keith M]

The small Stillwater blue equivalent should be fine however I’m not quite so sure about a 2inch peacock wag though, you’ll need a little weight around the float just to be able to cast it; unless you are fishing close in and using a very short whip of course.

Keith

 

[Another Dave]

Yes Keith, just for the little rudd on the drop at the local pond with a 3m or 4m cheapo whip. To be honest i don't have much problem whipping out a pole float to full range so long as the wind isn't being a pain, so a mini wag shouldn't be an issue.

 

[valetudoguy]

I have never used a waggler on a whip, I’m not saying it isn’t the correct way to go... just saying that the cheap pole rigs work fine and catch me and the kids loads of fish. If the rig is too short to fish to hand, you can add your own line to the flick tip and add the rig to that.

Anything over a 4m whip and the rigs will be too short.

No doubt building your own rigs is both cheaper and more versatile and I have no doubt it’s the way the op would likely end up going.... but why not just get a couple made rigs to see if he even likes the method?

 

[Another Dave]

I have never used a waggler on a whip, I’m not saying it isn’t the correct way to go... just saying that the cheap pole rigs work fine and catch me and the kids loads of fish. If the rig is too short to fish to hand, you can add your own line to the flick tip and add the rig to that.

Anything over a 4m whip and the rigs will be too short.

No doubt building your own rigs is both cheaper and more versatile and I have no doubt it’s the way the op would likely end up going.... but why not just get a couple made rigs to see if he even likes the method?

Yes that's what i started on - they were doing the pre-made rigs on winders in packs of 2 for 99p in the shop so i bought loads. Like you said, they are remarkably strong, and the winders themselves are so useful - i like to keep the whip tackled up and at the end of the day put the winder on the pole with a laccy band, ready to go next time.

 

[103841]

I have never used a waggler on a whip, I’m not saying it isn’t the correct way to go... just saying that the cheap pole rigs work fine and catch me and the kids loads of fish. If the rig is too short to fish to hand, you can add your own line to the flick tip and add the rig to that.

Anything over a 4m whip and the rigs will be too short.

No doubt building your own rigs is both cheaper and more versatile and I have no doubt it’s the way the op would likely end up going.... but why not just get a couple made rigs to see if he even likes the method?

It’s important to stress there is no wrong or correct way, it’s up to the individual to use a method that suits the conditions and the venue.

Most of my whip fishing is for rudd on a very large venue using whips between 6 and 8 metres in length, speed is of the essence when a shoal is present so my set up is most probably a bit more robust than what you might want to use on a canal where a larger degree of finesse is required. The beauty is, a rig can be changed in moments if you have a few made up or bought ready made.

 

[Keith M]

Back in the late 80s & 90s I used to occasionally use my whips in a couple of team matches on the Thames, when I could amass quite a good weight with 3, 4 or 5 small fish per minute on a good day speed fishing.

I used to carry various small waggler setups that I had previously made up at home and used long shank fine wire hooks without barbs so that I could hold the shank and with a quick twist of my wrist could turn a fish directly into my keepnet and get my float back out into the water again as soon as possible while feeding once or twice per cast and changing my hookbait when needed.

Over the course of a match it was often quite hard work; that’s if I could keep the fish coming of course which unfortunately wasn’t all of the time.
There were others in my team that could beat me hands down on the whip throughout a match but It was still good fun.

I wouldn’t have dreamt of doing this using a pole float but a small waggler type float was ideal. I could even sink my line below the surface when and if needed, when the fish weren’t taking my bait straight away.

The only time I use a whip these days is when I’m away on holiday and there is a small pond or a canal close bye and I want to have a quick dabble with a few pinkies, but I still carry my whip floats ready made up on winders when I go, and I still have 3 or 4 whips in my tackle room.

My days of speed fishing have long long gone. I’m getting far too old now for all of that

Keith