When not to feed...

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binka

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There's been much written about when to feed and feeding patterns but..

A question which occurred to me after yesterday’s session on a very difficult, low and gin clear river… When do you deliberately not feed and why?

Certainly the better fish were ultra wary yesterday in their probable state of exposure due to the conditions.

Hindsight’s always a great thing but looking back and thinking about it I reckon the best option yesterday would have been a roving approach with a simple, natural bait such as a worm presented as a natural opportunity to a wary fish hiding beneath cover or in a deeper glide… As opposed to the usual method of drawing them in with feed either pinned to the deck of trickled in from above.

Either way the “usuals” didn’t work yesterday and I have little doubt there were better fish in the swim other than the bits I scratched around for.

Are there any circumstances when you deliberately won’t feed?
 
barbelboi

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Depends on the venue - we found on a stretch of the Loddon that we used to fish some years ago that feeding for barbel was the 'kiss of death'. The way to go was a single hook bait dropped in a likely swim and left for no more than 10 minutes. It was either a fairly instant response or move on...............
 
nicepix

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I've thought the same thing. Last week I had the opportunity to watch a lot of different fish react to free offerings and they simply weren't interested. I reckoned that if I'd had some worms I could have caught something. But yesterday's experience in a normally productive swim dispelled that theory.

Jerry's description of the Loddon barbel matches what I used to do on the Dearne. Piece of luncheon meat or larger pellet. If it wasn't taken in 15 minutes it wasn't likely to be taken at all.
 
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I also agree with Gerry in that feeding can do anything but ! Unless using a very small feeder for other reasons, the only offerings I might make would be from a stringer of samples BUT generally speaking, in the first instance, it's bait only..and a 'must' on shallow, clear waters !

I've also watched fish from a bridge (also over the Loddon) and seen them drop down the swim some distance (even with only a few bits thrown in) before slowly returning - sometimes !

( Of course, my fish tend to 'rise' earlier than Gerry's, although not too sure they are the bigger ones....)

ps Gerry..the Farm Ponds must be down to a puddle by now - are you still fishing them ??
 
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Peter Jacobs

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When to feed must be one of the oldest questions in angling.

I take the match angler's approach and 'only feed to my bites' on difficult days and especially on a low and clear river.

Initially I'd trickle in a few maggots (as in 3 or 4) every second or third trot down and if I get a bite then I'll keep that up until the bites dry up then I'd stop feeding for a while.
 
barbelboi

barbelboi

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Tee-Cee said:
ps Gerry..the Farm Ponds must be down to a puddle by now - are you still fishing them ??
Click to expand...

Although mainly fishing the rivers at the moment Tony I was at the Farm pond with friends one day last week - the levels were good, I posted this pic on the 'How did you get on ' thread last week............

PS A leisurely start again today Tony, meeting up at the river for some trotting 10.45.............:)
 
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itsfishingnotcatching

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binka said:
There's been much written about when to feed and feeding patterns but..

A question which occurred to me after yesterday’s session on a very difficult, low and gin clear river… When do you deliberately not feed and why?

Certainly the better fish were ultra wary yesterday in their probable state of exposure due to the conditions.

Hindsight’s always a great thing but looking back and thinking about it I reckon the best option yesterday would have been a roving approach with a simple, natural bait such as a worm presented as a natural opportunity to a wary fish hiding beneath cover or in a deeper glide… As opposed to the usual method of drawing them in with feed either pinned to the deck of trickled in from above.

Either way the “usuals” didn’t work yesterday and I have little doubt there were better fish in the swim other than the bits I scratched around for.

Are there any circumstances when you deliberately won’t feed?
Click to expand...

Go along with everything your saying Binka, last trip to the Arrow saw plenty of Chub and a couple of Barbel, really wary of loose feed and completely ignored anything trotted down or freelined in the more shallow swims. My next trip will involve an early start and a single bait in the deeper swim on the far bank (or in the tree branches if I cast to my usual standards!)
 
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steve2012

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A big lobworm with no feed introduced can make fish lose their caution

surround it with other food items at a time when they 'arent having it' and you can see them back away from the area. Barbel and Chub in particular
 
greenie62

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A question which occurred to me after yesterday’s session on a very difficult, low and gin clear river… When do you deliberately not feed and why?
Click to expand...

simonvicos said:
A big lobworm with no feed introduced can make fish lose their caution...... Barbel and Chub in particular
Click to expand...

Whilst fishing the Holy Brook many years ago for Chub & Barbel, we used to find the best method was to adopt a 'stalking' approach and creep up the bank from downstream to likely-looking channels in the weed and put samples of hookbait in the channel - usually meat, cheese or paste - until you got one to hold place on the bed. Leave it. Sneak on to the next swim - repeat tactic - go back to previous swim - check sample - if gone then repeat with light ledger weight or free-lined on the end of your baited hook length. Large lobs work also work well but don't hold on the bottom for the 'wait and see' method.

We used this same tactic with good effect on a number of waters that year (1976) with the lowest water levels for years - including the Lodden, Windrush and Tame and even on a trip to Throop.

One big advantage of using Cheese/paste was its visibility - in that, you could see when it's gone - and if it's not scared the fish off - its worth a go! :thumbs:
 
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90% of my river fishing revolves around only fishing a hookbait, no loose offerings at all. But I do often employ a cheat tactic, fishing a boilie or pellet wrapped in a high attractant paste. ;)

Pastes are so versatile they can offer nigh on infinite options. I can vary break down times from 1 min to 1hr+, add pretty much whatever stimuli I want...

Other options are bread; again with a little cheat. IMO breadflake is only safely secured on the hook for 10mins max, so after 5-6mins, strike it off and recast.

Then there's Binka's favorite; worms. Well known for offering both visual and scent stimuli; no cheats needed, but I nearly always nip off the top 3mm to let some bloody drift through your swim.
 
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if the river is low and clear I rarely feed, hookbait only. If I do it will only be one or two baits trying to get some interest
 
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binka

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Some really interesting points there, thanks for the replies so far fellas... I really like the paste wrap idea.

It looks like the no feed option is the consensus so far... either way I reckon i'll be trying it out later on in the week unless I go with the stick and have some fun with the bits.

A bit more rain forecast over the next few days but only in the form of occasional showers, hopefully it might just put a bit of colour back in.
 
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Conversely my son has been doing very well fishing a small clear and this season weedless river, he has been feeding several swims all with lots of both near and far bank cover, leaving the swims to settle before fishing each one in turn, if the swim produces or not it still gets a top up of freebies the thinking being that if it produces another fish may visit that spot, if it doesn't the top up of bait replaces what the small fish have taken.
 
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