theartist
Well-known member
I was going to put this in the 'How you got on' thread but it turned more into an experiment.
Yesterday I fished a small, some would say tiny river which was low and gin clear due to the lack of rain we are suffering in these parts.
I started by chucking out a handful of 4mm pellets and these were smashed mid water by a large shoal of good roach and a few barbel. On went the float and whilst I was after roach I went heavier than normal with the barbel about - 4lb mainline 3.6lb hooklength and a size 18.
The first few casts trotting pellet saw plenty of quick bites which resulted in a few cracking roach and decent barbel before they retreated to the far bank cover. All were caught really shallow with my shotting set up gradually working it's way to the base of the float with just a no10 dropper 10 inches from the hook. It looked crude but it was the only way to get a bite and a couple more good roach followed. From then on the fish, now mainly all roach would only come out for a decent sized handful of pellets, once again taking them on the drop before retreating - none were feeding off the bottom.
Bites were now rare or just too quick to hit so I changed to maggots, this time the water came alive with big dace, the odd perch and some of the roach. With polaroids on and white maggot on the hook I was able to watch the bait itself but despite this the majority of bites were still too quick. Off came the float leaving just the one dust shot which was all the weight I needed to get out there. The difference was staggering not only did I get more bites it was a fish a chuck with big dace, perch and a few more of the decent roach. It was a trick I used to use a lot as a kid it's it's still jolly good fun!
After quite a few fish in quick succession the swim understandably went dead again so I tried feeding hemp, once again the water came alive, this time all roach out from the far bank cover to hit the feed midwater. Rather than putting the float back on I opted to freeline a fake bit of hemp and whilst it was a lot harder to see than a maggot i was still able to whittle out a few more nice roach not far from the surface but the cast had to hit the water at the same time as the feed to stand a chance.
These redfins were all around the pound mark so to trick them in the bright sun was good going but what was noticable was how crude a good float set up is in comparison to freelining. Especially the strike which is so direct without the angle of rod tip to float. Also the roach were by far the canniest with the bait only being taking when it was going though amongst the loosefeed and at the perfect pace. Changing the bait made a difference each time and I didn't spot a single fish feeding off the bottom all day.
Food for thought.
Yesterday I fished a small, some would say tiny river which was low and gin clear due to the lack of rain we are suffering in these parts.
I started by chucking out a handful of 4mm pellets and these were smashed mid water by a large shoal of good roach and a few barbel. On went the float and whilst I was after roach I went heavier than normal with the barbel about - 4lb mainline 3.6lb hooklength and a size 18.
The first few casts trotting pellet saw plenty of quick bites which resulted in a few cracking roach and decent barbel before they retreated to the far bank cover. All were caught really shallow with my shotting set up gradually working it's way to the base of the float with just a no10 dropper 10 inches from the hook. It looked crude but it was the only way to get a bite and a couple more good roach followed. From then on the fish, now mainly all roach would only come out for a decent sized handful of pellets, once again taking them on the drop before retreating - none were feeding off the bottom.
Bites were now rare or just too quick to hit so I changed to maggots, this time the water came alive with big dace, the odd perch and some of the roach. With polaroids on and white maggot on the hook I was able to watch the bait itself but despite this the majority of bites were still too quick. Off came the float leaving just the one dust shot which was all the weight I needed to get out there. The difference was staggering not only did I get more bites it was a fish a chuck with big dace, perch and a few more of the decent roach. It was a trick I used to use a lot as a kid it's it's still jolly good fun!
After quite a few fish in quick succession the swim understandably went dead again so I tried feeding hemp, once again the water came alive, this time all roach out from the far bank cover to hit the feed midwater. Rather than putting the float back on I opted to freeline a fake bit of hemp and whilst it was a lot harder to see than a maggot i was still able to whittle out a few more nice roach not far from the surface but the cast had to hit the water at the same time as the feed to stand a chance.
These redfins were all around the pound mark so to trick them in the bright sun was good going but what was noticable was how crude a good float set up is in comparison to freelining. Especially the strike which is so direct without the angle of rod tip to float. Also the roach were by far the canniest with the bait only being taking when it was going though amongst the loosefeed and at the perfect pace. Changing the bait made a difference each time and I didn't spot a single fish feeding off the bottom all day.
Food for thought.
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