Paranoid about clipping up....

I do clip up, but have never put the line directly in the clip (except in my Solace ACS reels, or when spodding), preferring to tie a stop knot on the line, leaving one tag end longer than the other and tucking this in the clip instead.

I still whip the rod up to vertical at the end of the cast to get a few turns on the reel, but if a fast running fish hits the clip the stop knot pulls out cleanly every time. Stop knots are tied from braid (for mono/fluoro lines) or thin pole elastic/ powergum (for braided main lines). Braid stop knots on braided main lines are a sod to get back off without damaging the line.

Am I being a little paranoid, only I have visions of the rod going water skiing or a fish hitting the clip and flat-rodding/smashing me up when I can't get the taut line out of the clip in time.

How do you do it?

I don't leave the line in the clip with a bait in the water, mark the line with insulating tape or tie a stop knot as a marker, I know it means casting and clipping up after each fish before putting a bait out with the line in the clip but have never had a problem doing it this way.

Rob

What sort of fishing are you doing? Specimen carp? Rivers for chub and barbel?

My thinking on this tends to be dependent on distance. If I'm at 50 or 60 yards plus, then I think that it's almost impossible for the fish to get such a direct pull on you as to make the clutch give. Think about it... when you first connect with a fish (turn the baitrunner off, strike, whatever you do to make proper contact) how many times has a fish taken line off you straightaway? Fishing close in is completely different, the fish will often get enough purchase on you in a direction that means you do get flat-rodded and the clutch has to give. However, at distance, the length of line thats between you and the fish will mean that the fish kites round to one side, even swimming as fast as it can.

(I'm sure someone with some knowledge of physics will be able to explain the laws that are at play on this one... )

So if i was fishing at say 60 yards+ with 12lb line, I'd fish pretty confidently with the line still in the clip.

However, anything less than that and I'd be a bit more inclined to mark the line and clip/ unclip after each cast, to be on the safe side.

Incidentally, how have the solace ACS performed so far? I've been thinking about buying some of the Freespool Compact Baitrunners made by wychwood and I'm very curious to find out how the line clips have performed for you. I'm a clip-up addict too, and being able to do so guilt-free at 20 or 30 yards distance whilst river fishing for barbel would be great!!

I always clip up as my feeder casting is not too accurate distance wise. I generally target silvers and as of yet have had no problems. As i always clip up i don't forget this, so should i hook into something that runs, a quick flick of the finger should unclip the line before a break. Thats the idea anyway. :wh

Bit unorthodox but when quivertipping for double figure i tend to use 8-10 lb line clipped up i have a rubber O ring cable tied to the base of my rod i then clip a strap to this fixed to my seat box if i move away from my rod to get something 9 times out of ten i dont need to unclip but if a really big carp takes it i just unhook with finger

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Thanks for the response so far, gents. It seems that everyone has their own way of doing things, all of which are right for the individual and conditions.

Nicky and Daji.

You both appear confident that you can unclip in time if you need to; I'm not nearly so dexterous (cack-handed, in fact!)

Lord Paul and The Blanker.

The method I settled on was intended to avoid having to unclip and re-clip each time. Because of family commitments I'm limited to relatively short sessions, so I want to maximise the time spent with a bait in the water. (OK; I admit it, it's just laziness!)

Jim.

Most of my fishing's currently on small stillwaters (maximum 4 to 5 acres) with a reasonable head of fish, but not heavily stocked like the pack-'em-in style commercial venues.

A couple hold hefty carp and occasionally I'll set my stall out for them, but most of the time I'll fish in a more general way, but with the emphasis on bigger fish.

I have an awesome track record for losing big fish, clumsy git that I am, and clipping up seemed like just another way to improve on that tally which is why I spent years avoiding it, irrational though it sounds.
Now that it's a regular feature of my fishing, not only have catch rates improved, but so has consistency.

The longest chuck needed is about 60 to 70yds, and at that range the effect you describe is obvious, but I'd always put it down to extra stretch due to having so much more line out. Whatever the cause, by the time you feel the full weight of the fish there's usually a fair few turns of line back on the reel and the chances of a fish taking you back out to the clip have been much reduced.

Closer in - on my fave water there are a couple of really productive small patches of silt at about 20yds - with the more direct contact, fish fizz off with gusto and almost always unclip me, the clipped stop knot does it's job really well and the pitfalls I was so afraid of are avoided completely.
It works, so I've stuck with it. I'm pretty sure that the more direct contact close in means that the fish feels the full pressure of the rod almost immediately, hence the mad dash for freedom.

The Wychwood Solace reels. To a large extent, I'm pleased with them. They have a reassuringly solid, unburstable feel. Both drags are lovely and smooth, with a wide range of adjustment. Casting, due to the sensibly large (but not huge) spools and excellent line lay is as good as you would expect, although one reel had to be changed because of poor distribution - the line coned towards the back of the spool - but it's replacement is fine.
The ACS clip works as it should - once I realised that the spool should be rotated before casting so that the clip faces downwards - so no problems there.

The only bugbear (and it may be a personal thing) is that the gearing feels a little high. When you first start the retrieve it's like setting off on a push bike stuck in tenth gear. I'm a fan of double handles, so that's what's on the reels, and get the feeling that they should have been a bit longer. However, the solution may have been staring me in the face. It's possible that the single handles are a bit longer, which may ameliorate the problem once I get round to digging them out of the loft.
I shall let you know in due course.



Edit - I don't know if you're aware, but the lower half of the ACS clip functions as a normal line clip, so if you can't get along with the ACS system it ain't a major problem.

Hi Rob

thanks for that, its really useful! From the sounds of things then, you've got the original Solace ACS reels, rather than the "compact big pit"?

I forgot to mention line stretch but yes, that definitely comes into play at distance too. I use daiwa sensor in 12lb, its not really stretchy but at that kind of distance it would have a very positive effect on a hooked fish running hard.

Jim Crosskey 2 said:

Hi Rob

thanks for that, its really useful! From the sounds of things then, you've got the original Solace ACS reels, rather than the "compact big pit"?

I forgot to mention line stretch but yes, that definitely comes into play at distance too. I use daiwa sensor in 12lb, its not really stretchy but at that kind of distance it would have a very positive effect on a hooked fish running hard.

Click to expand...

Yes , Jim; they're the Solace 10s. By the look of the compact big pits, the spools are the same design. Whether they're exactly the same size is impossible to tell without seeing them in the flesh, as it were, but if you decide to take the plunge, there's something else to be aware of.

If you look closely at the spool on the uploaded photo from my previous post, you'll see that the line distribution isn't perfectly flat, with a small build-up to the rear. It's odd, because on the other 3 spools it's absolutely level.

However, even though I'm not the world's best in the technical department, I think I've sussed it. Directly behind the spool is a tiny fibre washer separating the spool itself from what I assume is the anti-reverse cog (correct me if I'm wrong, maybe it's just the drag clicker). The cog floats free on the spindle (presumably it's held tightly in position when the drag's tightened) and rides up when the spool's removed, displacing the little washer, which then has a tendency to stick (by dint of the grease coating it) to the central inner hub of the spool. This makes it easy to lose, but also, unless you physically push the components back down the spindle before replacing the spool, it seems that it's possible for the spool not to be seated perfectly, which would account for the less than perfect distribution of line on that one spool, if you get my drift.

Below the cog, there are 2 thin metal washers, so it's possible to fine-tune the line lay from front to back if you need to. Maybe I should have noticed that before returning the reel (that I assumed was faulty) to the shop, but hey-ho, these things happenmg:

I notice that the compact big pits have a slightly lower gear ratio than the Solace 10s: 4.8 as opposed to 5:1. Maybe Wychwood decided that the gearing on the Solace was too high, which would validate my earlier comments.

Don't let my whinging put you off, though, they're nice reels which have that "built to last" feel about them.

EDIT - I'll take a couple of photos and add them later to illustrate the points I've made.

Never ever clip up when big fish fishing, seen to many rods go in through it. Angler usually asleep in bivvy. But on my part I don't have to, my casting is so accurate ever cast I could hit a dinner plate at 120 yards every time

No seriously, Fox do a really good bright orange marker braid and I use that. You hear it rattling through the rings going out and can feather the cast down and stop it. I then reel the line back in and the stop knot to the tip ring. Bob your uncle, jobs done never going to lose rod or fish on a run.

The bad one said:

Never ever clip up when big fish fishing, seen to many rods go in through it. Angler usually asleep in bivvy. But on my part I don't have to, my casting is so accurate ever cast I could hit a dinner plate at 120 yards every time

No seriously, Fox do a really good bright orange marker braid and I use that. You hear it rattling through the rings going out and can feather the cast down and stop it. I then reel the line back in and the stop knot to the tip ring. Bob your uncle, jobs done never going to lose rod or fish on a run.

Click to expand...

You are clearly a casting legend, and I doff my cap to you

Lesser mortals - in which category I most definitely belong - sometimes need to find ways around it. By sticking the stop knot tag in the clip, I seem to have happened on a foolproof method of achieving that end, without having to unclip after each cast.

The first time I tried it, hovering over the rod from the first bleep, I watched the spool rotate, and the tag pinged out of the clip as clean as you like. I'm now confident (after an extended trial involving several reels) that I can daydream and nature watch to my hearts delight without the rod and reel taking a skiing lesson

I have baitrunners from Shimano, Daiwa, Okuma and Wychwood, and the method works with all of them, I'm pleased to say.

With my previously wayward casting taken out of the equation, I'm seeing more fish on the bank, too. Result!

BTW, I tried your method, after reading about it somewhere, and was still chucking gear into the herbage. Sometimes wonder whether I took up the right hobby!

There is no right or wrong way its down to what the individual is happy with but I agree with TBO about leaving line in a clip when fishing for big fish.

Jim. Here's the photo, as promised:

Rob, thanks very much for that - plenty of food for thought. What i really need to do is get my hands on some for a little play.

I think a lot of your reliance on a clip will depend on exactly what sort of fishing you're doing, i.e. lots of casting whilst feeder fishing for carp or shoal barbel and it all becomes very attractive, particularly given the fact that you'd be sat on your rod(s). But for a more specimen orientated approach, i guess you'll be casting less often and given the longer session involved you're going to need to be a little away from the rods (or asleep) in which case the clip is a definite no.