Shallow Water Trotting

Mark,

Thanks for that.

I have used the Puddlechuckers to reasonable effect especially the loaded versions where you only need a minimum of shot down the line.

I have seen some recent articles in the press recommending the small carp dibber pole floats for this type of fishnig also and wondered if you had ever tried them?

Could you also give a view as to the best way to shot a Trent Trotter.Didnt Billy Lane recommend them to be attached to small loop of line formed by placing a shot about an inch or two below the float?

Mark, I do love trotting shallow water. the float usually moves through pretty quickly and the fish are harder to land.

I mess around with different positions on the top float rubber (on top and bottom floats) until I can strike with minimum distrubance. It's amazing how much difference moveng the float rubber a couple of mm can have.

It's also worth replacing alloy stems on Stick Floats and Avons with a shorter length of bicycle spoke. Make sure you get stainless steel in the heaviest guage you can find. This means you can get away with less shot and therefore you should tangle less.

Eyeing up the Gade, eh, Nigel?

Seem to remember Billy Lane used a backshot to drag the bottom behind the float to slow it down,too. Ashamed to say I never got round to trying that!

Alan,

I think even the shallowest of shallow water floats wouldn't cope with the Gade at current levels! Are there really fish in the Cassiobury Park stretch?That said there are some good fish in the little side stream stretch to the canal at Kings Langley.

Backshotting - I think thats what I was thinking of.Its a while since read his encyclopedia.

Nigel,

The origianl shotting pattern was indeed to have the shot attached to a short loop of line.

The addition od a back shot will slow down the path of the float but too heavy a back shot and it impedes striking and makes far more disturbance.

On Britford I try to dispense with a back shot all together due to the usually very low water levels there.

Nigel,

All I can say is that the diagram shown by Billy Lane in his books doesn't work with modern shot unlike lead, as the modern shot will cut through the line due to the angles involved/ hardness of metal. It is worth experimenting as you go to see what is most tangle-free and causes least disturbance, as matt has picked up on. I have tried back shotting once or twice but mostly the type of water that Billy Lane fished is different (wide Trent shallows) compared to the sort of water that I fish (much smaller rivers/streams).

One suggestion that I have yet to try out is to attach a short (2") of line to the bottom eye of a Trent Trotter with a tiny swivel/rig ring at the end of the line and put locking shot either side of the swivel/ring. I don't think it will cast that well but that is not always an issue as sometimes the fish are very close.

I have caught on tiny pole floats in very shallow water, winning a sizeable match on the Seacourt Stream near Oxford with 160 fish from a foot of water, using a float taking 2 x no. 10. Again, experimentation is the name of the game.

I have found the Allerton sticks perfect as they are, Matt, but can see where you are coming from, and have made home made sticks using glass/carbon fibre stems to achieve perfect casting balance and very short floats for this type of fishing. All part of the fun of trying to master a situation.

Just had a look at Billy Lane's book - he did indeed create a loop of 1/2 to 2" by trapping both parts of the line in the same AAA shot, with a #1 tell-tale some 6" from the hook, a BB between the AAA and the #1, and a #4 backshot a couple of feet or more above the float. He stressed that this was his long-range shotting pattern, though. For the Gade, where everything is under the rod point or directly downstream thereof, a sawn-off stick, as Matt describes, or a short waggler do the job, choice being largely wind-dependent.

I haven't been to the Gade since autumn, but there were plenty of small roach and a few 2lb chub present then. Those chub know every twig that can be used as a disgorger, and in such a small water, have little touble reaching them. They must weave themselves into the reeds, because you seldom catch sight of them in open water!(and if you do, they see you and "Melt"...
To be realistic, a good two-hour sit-down session for me would be a couple of pounds of roach to 4oz(but don't faint if a pounder turns up) and two or three chub to 2lb - even from the better swims, it would then be time to move. Roving would yield more chub, but is only easy at dawn. Beware of no-brain dog-walkers, and keep your bait with you at all times!!! Not to be taken seriously, but good fun if you can keep your Happy Head on.

'Struth, aren't we all up early? Two posts while I was typing!

I think my method of shotting wagglers is well suited for shallow water floats, like I showed you at Clattercote Nigel remember? No shot on the mainline at all apart from droppers. This could be adapted to all types of floats for use in shallow water with a bit of thought, loading the float with lead is another partial solution as well but creates its own problems.

Casting shallow rigs can be an absolute nightmare too, made even worse if there is any wind and the further the cast the bigger the problem. Trotting off your rodtip with a very light stick is simple enough but faced with a situation as Mark describes where the fish are under the far bank you need a bit of weight to get there accurately.

Fishing shallow water is also very hard work I used to find and you can very easily spook the fish, especially when striking, as Mark pointed out but the temptation to strike is very hard to overcome. Bringing hooked fish back through the shoal can be another cause of spooking of course.

Has anyone ever tried the flat float. It can be deadly in shallow water, all you need is a piece of peacock quill attached top and bottom. the difference is that you put shot at the top of the float and at the base, this ensures the float lies flat, bites are indicated by the float eitherlifting or sliding across the surface.
This method is best on really shallow water where little or no shot is needed down the line, water usually 18 inches deep or less.

Filed away for future use, with thanks!

Richard, are bites hard to spot in broken water?

Not particularly, though sometimes the float simply stops as if snagged, rather than going under. The main advantage is that you have no part of the float protruding unnaturally under water like a stick float would.

Hugh Miles, the photographer from Passion for Angling used this method to great effect for spooky big roach.

That flat float method sounds superb, my local river has some lovely Chub in a very very shallow glide and they do not move away no matter how much food you offer them, and they are in too little water for a float of any length, will let you know how I get on...