Winter feeder fishing

Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA) · Dec 20, 2005

Good stuff Jeff.

Just one point in that when you are hitting as drop back bite would you recommend you dont hit it too hard on light bottoms and small hooks as you may snap off especially at close range?Often the fish has hooked itself against the weight of the feeder and is already moving off and therefore in my experience often you simply need to tighten too the fish.

I presume the fish-in venue would be a good one for this tactic?

Steve Spiller · Dec 20, 2005

Nice one Jeff,

Do you always position/face downstream and why?
When I fish the far bank I always position the same as you, downstream.
When I fish middle, to inside, I always face upstream at 45 degrees or straight in front of me.
Am I making a fundamental error? you've got me a bit worried...!

Peter Jacobs · Dec 20, 2005

Steve,

Then I assume that you sit directly behind your rod then?

I'd have thought that would make bites difficult to see.

Steve Spiller · Dec 20, 2005

Peter,

I sit with my rod on my right leg (right handed) hand on reel.
I am intrigued how that would make bites hard to see, as opposed to facing downstream?

Peter Jacobs · Dec 20, 2005

Steve,
With the rod pointing upstream at 45? I think your tip would be pointing downstream and therefore away from you - guess it depends on where you sit in relation to the rod.

Geeze, now I'm getting myself confused.

Michael Howson · Dec 20, 2005

Peter.
I think you may be confusing yourself without reason. In my experience while feeder-fishing with a loop and a shortish hook-length the bites do not have to be struck at. The fish especially chub almost allways hook themselves. Indeed you will sometimes have several turns on your reel before actually feeling the fish.

Steve Spiller · Dec 20, 2005

Peter,

Me too! Can Graham invent a drawing facility? :-]

Hmmmm. The Bristol A is slow and deep, so middle to inside I can get away with minimal weight, to hold at the angle I am fishing.
If I fish 45deg' upstream I am in direct contact, the tip has a slight bend.
If I turned to face downstream there would be a slight bow, but more resistance when a bite occurs, maybe resulting in dropped bites when the fish feels the weight of the feeder?
Make any sense?
;-)

Peter Jacobs · Dec 20, 2005

Maybe I am Michael, as I have fished the loop method almost exclusively on the feeder for about 12 years.
I tie mine using a bead between the power gum and the feeder. This way it almost acts like a 'bolt rig' for bigger fish.

Steve, yes I suppose that makes sense. maybe its one of those things that is easier to see or do than to decribe in words.

In any event, another nice informative article Jeff.

Cheers, now I'm off to the bistro for a beer and dinner.

Wolfman Woody · Dec 20, 2005

Right Nigel on all counts. Try it on the Thames, I am.

Steve (DB) always downstream unless there's a howling biting wind blowing in my face. Came third in an open once fishing pointing upstream, but by the end there were only three of us left

(

The artwork is up for sale. It was considered for the Turner Prize, but they thought it was the wrapper from a pizza delivery. Cheeky sods.

Rolf Harris, eat your heart out. I'm painting big Brenda next year.

Wolfman Woody · Dec 20, 2005

PS. Has anyone noticed, I haven't got any bait on that hook?

Steve Spiller · Dec 20, 2005

Jeff, you will have to show me at the Fish-in.
Is it deep and slow?

Wolfman Woody · Dec 20, 2005

Deep? Depends on the swim and what you call deep. Can be 3-4 metres, it is a navigational channel after all, but there are the odd holes that go to 7 or 8 metres.

Slow? Normally when it's running at up to 30 cumecs (1ozs tip). Medium paced up to 70/80 cumecs (2-2? ozs tip). Fast (hard to hold bottom) up to 100 cumecs (3ozs plus tip). "Where'd that go" when it's flooding, but then you won't get near the bank there.

Just one little correction to the title of the thread.
It's <u>anytime</u> FEEDER FISHING not just winter.

Steve Spiller · Dec 20, 2005

Jeff talk english mate!

13 foot deep, slow, hmmm? Fine, medium, heavy tip.

Holes to 25 foot? in flood!

See you at the Fish-in, hopefully you can point me in the right direction.

;-)

BAZ (Woody's twin, the nice one. · Dec 20, 2005

Excellent Jeff.
I particularly like the description of how to let the feeder settle when forming a bow.

Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA) · Dec 21, 2005

The theory is that in most instances when legering straight across on a feeder a bow will form in the line. If you sit with rod pointing downstream then you are striking with the bow as opposed to against it if you are facing upstream and to a lesser extent if you are facing down and across.

I suppose if the flow is slow Steve then I dont suppose the bow is that pronounced so I dont think it would make a significant difference.

Itsinteresting that in times of flood and strong flow actually feeding a bow out assists in keeping bottom wheras if you try and keep a tight line the pressure on the line will drag the feeder out of position.

It has hard to get that balance Jeff advocates but worth doing.I would reccomend a few casts without bait as if the feeder does move around a lot before you get the correct weight to just hold you may spread the fish about a little.

Wolfman Woody · Dec 23, 2005

Getting the correct bend in the tip is tricky in some situations.

When it's running very slow, you probably have to use the finest tip possible (?oz) and even set the rod low to the water.

If it's running very fast then heavier tips come into play and lifting the rod up helps as this keeps more line out of the water until it's travelling more upstream than just across.

Many matchmen actually stand to fish and Fred Starr (now sadly deceased, but one of the finest exponents of this method) used to stand on his box on occasions with his rod so far in the air it looked like he was launching a missile.

Pointing the rod upstream or tightening the line to the tip will just allow the feeder and baited hook to keep falling further downstream. You just make the job 10 times more difficult then.

CUMECS = Cubic Metres per Second. A Cubic Metre is 1000 litres (approx 220 galls) Therefore 1 cumec flow is 19,000,000 gallons of water per day. 53 cumecs is over 1 billion gallons of water per day. During the floods of 2003 the EA recorded over 280 cumecs before the needle shot of the measure, so to speak.

Wolfman Woody · Dec 23, 2005

Here's a demo of how a bow can help.

Most of the line should be travelling upstream for a start after it enters the water.

Take a round formed pencil and place it on a work surface parallel to your mout and blow. The pencil runs away from you easily without much of a puff.

Now place the pencil at an angle to your mouth and blow again. Now you need more puff to move it and even more with a greater angle.

PS sorry to bring puffs into this thread Nigel.

)

Alan Tyler · Dec 23, 2005

That was a brilliant article on a method I'd never really got to grips with ('cos no-one had written it before). Well done, and many thanks!

Steve Spiller · Dec 23, 2005

Hmmm, I can see what you're saying Jeff, but what if you are casting downstream middle to inside?
The angle to the tip is then reduced, where as, it would be 90degrees if fishing the far bank.
So, if I turned to face upstream (45degrees), casting middle to inside downstream, I could create a 90 degree angle.
Very good article Jeff, it's got me thinking!
We'll have to compare techniques in March.

;-)

Colin Worthy · Dec 26, 2005

can someone tell me about the fish-in i seem to have missed it

Winter feeder fishing

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