Not the best method/bait...

Do you ever fish a method or bait knowing full well that it’s not necessarily the right or best method for the water and conditions… And why?

I have to confess to doing this quite frequently, usually because I just fancy doing it and sometimes because I have pre-meditated what I think will be the best method and trim down the gear which I take on the day to do just that.

All very negative I guess but on a positive note I’ve also used the latter to gain a better understanding of something I was not particularly good or confident at, one example being bread fishing and so I only took that bait for a few sessions as opposed to taking it along with a change bait where it would be all too easy to go for another option when things weren’t working out and as a result I’ve become quite at ease with it, enjoying it and taking some nice fish with it.

Surprising how much you will sit back and think about something in more detail when it’s the only option.

I also gain great satisfaction from catching a fish on a method I would like to catch it on as opposed to ten fish on a method I don't particularly enjoy anywhere near as much as other means, such as (ironically) the "method" feeder.

Positive or negative, do you occasionally do the same and why?

Frequently, especially in winter. I enjoy trotting, with a pin. There's plenty of occasions where I know, or at least suspect, that I'd be better off fishing the waggler or tip, but I'd rather not. With the waggler it's because I'm not particularly good at it, and don't particularly enjoy it. With the tip it's because I don't particularly enjoy it, especially when it's baltic and grayling are likely to be caught. Grayling on the feeder are almost as bad as perch for ending up deep hooked. I'd generally prefer not to catch them that way.

All the time. But thats mainly when I forget to pick up the maggots from the fridge, or pick up the reel bag with the pin in, not a normal reel.

Generally I fish with a float, regardless, despite having rods and reels to fish the feeder. It just gives me more pleasure to fish that way. I'll have a feeder rod made up on Sunday, whether it comes out of the quiver is another thing.

itsfishingnotcatching said:

Generally I fish with a float, regardless, despite having rods and reels to fish the feeder. It just gives me more pleasure to fish that way. I'll have a feeder rod made up on Sunday, whether it comes out of the quiver is another thing.

Click to expand...

Seems an ongoing theme of this thread, the old love of the float as i'm the same although more of a one trick pony as I rarely fish a static bait. Even on rivers like the Severn when everyone is banging out barbel on the tip i'm happy to wander up and down with just a float rod, knowing that I prefer to do that and maybe not catch as much especially in certain swims.

I'm also tight on bait especially in winter, I know fresh maggots would and should be better but i've had great days on ones that have been in the fridge for over a month.

Got to stick at what your comfortable doing and enjoy otherwise you'll be forever following trends i guess. Thats the way i see it plus i'm lousy at ledgering.

i must be the odd ball then because I prefer the feeder yes I will always have a float rod with me but I do like to just settle down as it's my chill from the world and as much as I like to catch if it's a really nice early (5am) on the bank session in the summer their is nothing better.
or it could just be that I don't know what I'm doing but I enjoy it

One of the great things about angling for me is variety. I enjoy fishing many methods and like to practice them all as often as I can. I love pole fishing, waggler fishing, trotting, legering, feeder be that maggot, method, pellet or open ended feeder. As I don't fish matches, I have the luxury of fishing where I want, when I want and how I want.

This means that I might turn up at a commercial type fishery, knowing I could bag up on the method feeder along the far bank but I'll often fish a waggler instead because I like it. There might be times when I know the pole would be the most effective plan but I'll try a cage feeder instead. It's good to try and do things differently from those around you, and its import to do what you enjoy.

Like Binka says, it's amazing how better at something you become if that's the only option you've given yourself. It is all too easy to stick with what you know.

Hence why I'll be practicing the slider for the first time this year.

If I'm out on a club match I always reach for my pole..... dunno why, perhaps it's pole-itus, but its always first out of the holdall... that said I recently treated myself to a carp style rod bag that holds rods ready made up.... so now it's just a case of adding a float or a feeder & hooklink to a rod instead of tackling up from scratch all the time

Sometimes when on holiday or travelling and I have the absolute minimum of tackle available its a pleasure to catch on a method I wouldn't use if I had all my tackle with me.
Feeling for bites is one that comes to mind.

I often make myself fish methods i have no confidence in. Initially this was because i was limited by the amount of tackle i had but now i do it because i have learnt that having no confidencec in a particular method comes from never using that method rather than it not being effective.
Its always worth ago.
I used to be confident chucking a feeder into the middle of the lake and surface fishing under the rod tip seemed crazy. I mean, the wary carp wouldn't feed so close to the bank would it? How pleasently surprised i was when i gave that ago! New pb's and plenty of them.
I like reading old books and finding methods or baits i have never used and then giving them ago. I am usually pleasently surprised by how cheap and how much more effective my fishing becomes.
I am planning on using silkweed next week.