New to fishing, new to forum

simon-jack · Aug 24, 2017

Been fishing for couple months but only drop shot & jigging method on a 7ft fox rage warrior rod with a shimano catana size 1000 reel. Caught plenty Perch and 2 pike so far. Best was 5.6lb a couple weeks back. Only on Flurocarbon not a trace. The other angler present on the bank of my local canal said that was an achievement in itself especially for a novice such as myself.

I would love to learn float fishing now. I'm just starting to learn all the lingo and terminology as some anglers use different terms.

I've purchased an old second hand 13ft Shimano Hyperloop match rod. But I've no reel yet. I'm thinking of going to a local second hand fishing tackle shop and just explaining roughly to him that I'm new to fishing and need a cheap set up. Think that'd be a good idea?

I'm aware I need around 4-6lb line, some shot, some hook links and a couple floats

Anything else?*

Any help would be appreciated. As I've totally fallen in love with fishing but it can be a bit unnerving asking other anglers when they also seem to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors and the peace and quiet.

I'm local to Castleford in West Yorkshire if there's anybody from this neck of the woods present, Hi

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greenie62 · Aug 24, 2017

Hi Simon-Jack,
Welcome to the FM Mad-House!
Hope you're enjoying your new adventures.

If you want a new reel - here's a page from one of the tackle dealers to give you an idea of the range of Shimano reels - and the prices for them!
Shimano Coarse Reels – Chapmans Angling
A couple of tips:
- Don't buy a reel that's too large for the rod (a 2500 - 4000 size should be enough)
- Make sure it's got a spare spool (Shimano spare spools are expensive!)
- Work out what kind of fishing you want to do and where - Canals, rivers, lakes, commercial carp fisheries, etc
- Ensure that the line you buy is enough to fill the reel spool without knotting more on!

These tips have been prompted following some recent posts by 'newbies' who have subsequently posted 'Help!' requests

Tight Lines!

flightliner · Aug 24, 2017

Hi Simon Jack. Welcome to the world of angling and FM. Re Greenies post do yourself a favour and check out Chapmans in sunny skunny. Right now they have some really good offers on at the moment , float rods, reels etx that should be right up your street and give good service. Maybe a trip down there from "cas" would be a good idea as the guys there are very knowledgeable anglers in their own right and they could direct you to what you need with further advice on rigs and their requirements, line, floats, shot, hooks and so on.
I need to get up there myself, its about a half hour from me in south yorkshire, maybe the same for you.

Lord Paul of Sheffield · Aug 24, 2017

Welcome to FM
Reel wise shimano or diawa reel you won't go far wrong even with the cheaper end of the range
Floats buy about 4 inset waggler floats in different sizes and it gives you an option if depth and distance you can cast

I would suggest you start at a local commercial fishery near you as you should catch plenty if small fish on a pint of maggots

john step · Aug 24, 2017

Welcome to fishing and FM.
All as Greenie says. Add a couple of disgorgers, a pair of forcepts.
You will find a small unhooking mat helpful if you start on a commercial. (A lot insist on one)
Some here deride Daiwa Sensor others love it. It is however an economical way of initially filling a reel up as it costs about £8 last time I looked for thousands of yards on a bulk spool.

Peter Jacobs · Aug 24, 2017

Hello Simon-Jack and Welcome to FishingMagic

The members here are always free with their knowledge and will be only too happy to hep out out on any questions you might have.

Enjoy.

sheffields12 · Aug 24, 2017

Hey and welcome.

I'm a newby too. i started up just over a year ago and still getting to grips with the basics.

I bought a cheap 10ft rod with a cheap Shakespere Omni reel. They have served me well in all honest whilst i decided if I wanted to keep on with fishing.
Just started by float fishing on commercials. Some maggots as bait and you will catch.
Waggler floats (Few different sizes will help), hook lengths, shots, disgorger, unhooking mat and you'll pretty much be ready to go.

I'm in the process of trying out new methods such as feeder fishing but I really do enjoy float fishing, probably because how I was taught by my Grandad about 20 years ago!

I'm intending on mastering the rivers and canals next.

simon-jack · Aug 24, 2017

Cheers for your help guys.
I hadn't factored an unhooking mat into the equation.
I will be fishing my local canal. How do get it to present straight and stay there? Or will the flow always push you?

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---------- Post added at 11:07 ---------- Previous post was at 11:03 ----------

Lucky for me there are a few local commercial venues I can go try too but I joined the club that run my str tech of canal. But the bailiffs are OLD and abrupt lol. So they don't seem to have the time to walk me through my set up.
I will get it though as I'm stubborn and determined to learn a new method of fishing lol

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---------- Post added at 11:23 ---------- Previous post was at 11:07 ----------

greenie62 said:
Hi Simon-Jack,

Welcome to the FM Mad-House!

Hope you're enjoying your new adventures.

If you want a new reel - here's a page from one of the tackle dealers to give you an idea of the range of Shimano reels - and the prices for them!

Shimano Coarse Reels – Chapmans Angling

A couple of tips:

- Don't buy a reel that's too large for the rod (a 2500 - 4000 size should be enough)

- Make sure it's got a spare spool (Shimano spare spools are expensive!)

- Work out what kind of fishing you want to do and where - Canals, rivers, lakes, commercial carp fisheries, etc

- Ensure that the line you buy is enough to fill the reel spool without knotting more on!

These tips have been prompted following some recent posts by 'newbies' who have subsequently posted 'Help!' requests

Tight Lines!

This website has some absolute bargains. Thanks for the share.
£5 for whips (for when I learnt he basics and will be introducing my 7yr old boy to fishing too)

Diawa Reels for as little As £18 on some on the clearance section

#impressed

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john step · Aug 24, 2017

simon-jack said:
Cheers for your help guys.

But the bailiffs are OLD and abrupt lol. So they don't seem to have the time to walk me through my set up.

OI !! A high percentage of us duffers on here are OLD.

But not abrupt though

As for holding still on a canal.If its just surface drift, you can over cast, sink the rod top flick the tip up or wind quickly to sink the line below the drift. Same applies to lakes. Put a few drops of diluted washing up liquid on the spool to assist this greatly.
(Poles are popular on canals and largely negate this problem. Thats for later though).

If its a running water canal pound, then with a rod and line you may have to treat it with a top and bottom float as you would a river.

You cannot beat practise but You Tube is a good aid. Search for waggler fishing also stick float fishing.

Keith M · Aug 24, 2017

Most canals have moving water caused by the locks opening and closing and the natural downward flow of the canal. This will often result in the flow changing speed or even stopping at times as the locks are closed or opened.

The flow is not usually enough for you to need a top-and-bottom style of float and a waggler is usually fine but that's not to say that this is always the case on every canal.

Unless there is an upstream wind to slow down my float and prevent my line from developing a bow, or there is no wind at all (which is quite rare) then I would sink my line below the surface which will help prevent my line from developing large bows in my line caused by the wind as this would hinder my strikes.

If the canal has very little flow; which you sometimes get just below an output overflow or in wide barge turning bays or on wider sections; then you can often stop the float moving completely by sliding down a shot or two so that it sits on the bottom but usually I prefer to allow my float to move along with any flow and cover more ground, especially if my loose feed is doing the same.

Some disused canals don't have much flow at all (if any) but these are fairly rare.

Keith (an old codger but not abrupt I hope

)

simon-jack · Aug 24, 2017

Will I need those rubber float stops? That you transfer onto your line either side of your float?? And if so how big considering I'll obviously be using light line (4-6lb)

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robtherake · Aug 24, 2017

That's handy in some circumstances, but trapping the float between a couple of large shot which constitute most of the float's carrying capacity is the usual way. With much of the weight concentrated at the base of the float it becomes very easy to cast.

simon-jack · Aug 24, 2017

As for floats themselves.
What are the benefits of different styles please? Such as loaded wagglers or stick floats, crystal floats and such. What difference will the size make as most sets of floats are a range of sizes??

All your help guys is great fully received and soaked up like a sponge lol. I'm absolutely loving Learning everything I can.
I know I need to concentrate on float fishing as the basic method but I look forward to learning other methods after too lol

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robtherake · Aug 24, 2017

This may help: https://blog.fishtec.co.uk/beginners-guide-float-fishing-waggler-floats

Keith M · Aug 24, 2017

Here's the basic shotting pattern that I usually use when I'm fishing a waggler on canals and relatively shallow stillwaters of up to around 6ft or less.

I sometimes spread out the shot that are at mid depth in slightly deeper water, and if I start missing bites then I will try moving the bottom tell-tale shot closer to the hook.

This basic shotting pattern rarely gets tangles on the cast, is very sensitive and will show up delicate bites very well even though most of the shot are placed tight up around the base of the float, it is also great when you need to cast any distance, and because the line below the float flys behind the float during the cast it is excellent for when you need to cast tight up against the far bank or tight up to lilies etc. (that's as long as you don't feather your line as it lands of course).

Keith

simon-jack · Aug 24, 2017

What's the difference between an 11 foot pellet waggler rod and a 13 foot match rod? And could you use a pellet waggler to normal float fish?

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Lord Paul of Sheffield · Aug 25, 2017

The difference between the two rods is mostly the strength of main line or can take
A pellet waggler is meant for catching carp up to about 10 lb using pellets fired over a float up in the water
A 13 ft match rod might be designed to catch smaller fish on 4lb main line
But you could use either to do either job
The match rod might take more out of you if you fished it as a pellet waggler as you recast often using pellets up in the water
And a pellet waggler might bump small fish of when you strike

skov · Aug 25, 2017

simon-jack said:
What's the difference between an 11 foot pellet waggler rod and a 13 foot match rod? And could you use a pellet waggler to normal float fish?

About 2 foot

A pellet waggler is likely to be a little beefier than a match rod (some more so than others), and intended for bigger floats and fish, typically commercial carp.
A match rod is likely to be lighter/thinner and intended more for silver fish.
There's nothing to stop you using a pellet waggler for 'normal' float fishing, it's something I've done plenty of times. It might not be as nice to use, or provide the finesse of a match rod when fishing for small silvers, but it'll still catch fish.

simon-jack · Aug 25, 2017

skov said:
About 2 foot

A pellet waggler is likely to be a little beefier than a match rod (some more so than others), and intended for bigger floats and fish, typically commercial carp.
A match rod is likely to be lighter/thinner and intended more for silver fish.
There's nothing to stop you using a pellet waggler for 'normal' float fishing, it's something I've done plenty of times. It might not be as nice to use, or provide the finesse of a match rod when fishing for small silvers, but it'll still catch fish.

I was waiting for that comment lol "about 2 foot" lol.

Thank you. So maybe an 11 to 13 foot match rod is the place to start then

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Lord Paul of Sheffield · Aug 25, 2017

11ft float rod will be fine for still water

Shakespeare rods are good value for money

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