Slack Lines

Slack Lines

In considering my options whilst getting ready for winter, I want to take a close look at the mechanics that surround ‘slack lines’ and running leads. Every angler on my lake uses fixed leads and they all wind up as tight as possible. In reviewing the situation I would like to find out the following, so if anyone has any feedback, it’ll be truly appreciated:

When would I use a slack line?
What would be the best method over mono?
What distances could I apply the use of slack lines?
How do I setup my indicators (I use swingers)?
How will this impact at night/when I sleep?
Any other advantages to using slack lines and running leads over taught lines with fixed leads?
Is your sister available Saturday night?

I only know what I’ve read and haven’t tried this method and believe this should be an interesting discussion if nothing else? So who’s brave enough to put their balls on the block first?

Stu look here

Thanks for that Cake-ole, about as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike!

Can't give you any personnel info here mate, I'm not up on Carp rigs,,, But the lads on Korda are stripping yards off the reel and letting it settle on the bottom. With no tension on the line, the registration is shown straight away. Use very light bobbins, It's almost as instant as Braid apparently.

Get an early copy of Carp Fever by Kevin Maddocks. There are some very interesting bits on long range fishing. Maddocks was using 3 ounce leads,side hooked boilies and running rigs. He was getting belting runs!..and thats with a relativly slack line and wine bottle top monkey climbers (very light).

From personnel experience on a relativly heavily fished Scottish water where every man and his dog fishes semi fixed leads, I have done very well with running rigs out to about 80 yards. Most pick ups start with a blip or two, then a steady draw followed by a belting run.

In winter I love to use relatively light hangers, set the delkims to super sensitive and wait for the bleeps...as you just KNOW the fish are there....gets the pulse racing.

I would not use braid for this as I have found, mainly through pike fishing mind, that hangers stick to braid, therefore preventing good indication, and also when braid is drawn through a swivel at range, you get a juddering sensation, whilst nylon just slips through.

I would personnally get rid of the swingers and use a longing drop with hangers.

As night I sleep next to the rods anyway, so can normally hit a fish, but like I said, as the hanger gets near the rod, the line starts to tighten and the carp bolts.

Biggest advantage is that you know when the carp arrive!

My sister may be free saturday night...but she is in Germany with her Major hubby..lol

But how do you get any indication if the carp swims towards you?

Stu, from what I understand, you'd use a heavier lead than perhaps normal and whether the fish is running towards you or away the line still has to be drawn through the eye of the lead that stays in situ.

Excellent stuff Rob cheers mate.

As you probably realise Stuart, most manufactured bite indicators and indeed many of the rigs currently in use, particularly long hooklengths are poor indicators for bite detection, how many times does a carp mouth your bait without any indication being registared, I witnessed this with fibre optic underwater camera equipment and you would be amazed. Under calm conditions I swear by watching the line in front of the rod, in the old days we used to put the doe bobbin in front of the rod, this gave a more sensitive indication than one used between the butt and first eye, no eye friction. In certain conditions I would even suggest putting the buzzers in front of the rod.

Makes sense now. Cheers. Didnt take in the "running" bit.

The lake I'm fishing is VERY silty, Would the silt block the swival eye or even if i used a large bore ring, do you think it would work? Or i can keep trying to get bang on that spot of gravel i found

Buzzers infront of the rod...now that takes me back! With the tip curved up and the line going over the wheel you got bleeps at the slightest touch.

I remember using the white dough bobbin to...but mainly for bream. It would dance away all day with liners...and only when your main bobbin moved would you strike.

Stu...if fishing over silt, guess how deep it is and use a tail for the lead roughly the same depth. That way the main line and hooklink will sit ontop or just in the silt, like the freebies.

Giving your age away here Rob , used to freeline a giant ball of honey paste (thrown out underarm), it must have taken the carp about two days to whittle it down to be able to get it in its mouth and it was anyones guess where the carp was If you got a run?

large Split rings are a good alternative if you feel swivels are getting blocked by detritous! I often wonder about the effectiveness of swivels on rigs anyway, certainly for short range fishing?

Have you tried laying your "running"rig on the grass, and moving sideways with it? especially with mono, you would be suprised by how far you can move it with no indication which gets worse the further away you are. slack lines and light bobbins help, but weed, silt, etc can all hinder running rigs. Saying that, i normally use running rigs, but thats mainly so the fish can shed the lead if I get snagged etc.

When would I use a slack line?
What would be the best method over mono?
What distances could I apply the use of slack lines?
How do I setup my indicators (I use swingers)?

Thats an interesting one, Dave. I'll have a look at that.

I've had success using slack lines in calm conditions when I've been getting small bleeps on the buzzers and been unable to hit them, we had a lot of trouble with these in the 70s (twitchers) this was with running leads of course, I think these have probably been very wary carp testing the bait for resistance, by slackening the line, I've been able to hit these fish before they felt the friction of the rod rings, at close range its possible to touch ledger for these types of bites, but its hard work and I found it impossible to do for any length of time, I've watched some of the old timers do it all day though. You can however feel little tugs occasionally which will put fish on the bank proving that they were not line bitesI can remember fishing an eel water were the eels appeared so friction shy the only way I could catch any was to feel for a pick up through the line.

Having been on the phone to Stuart for the best part of the day about this, then I'll just post up some ramblings for everyone elses benefit.
Some of it will probably repeat what others have already said so it'll be a bit like a carcas for you vultures to pick over.


The first issue is quantifying a slack line.
Is a tight line like a piano wire straight to the lead?
If so, then allowing the lines to drop slack so that the line nearest the lead is on the deck is a slack line.
I've seen people pull off (oooo-eeerrr) yards of line to allow it to sink to the lake bed, but this process takes ages.
The mono has to absorb water for it to sink and at Stuarts favoured 75 yds, this would take a good hour, I'm not sure if most people realise that.

Running leads do not run.
Actually, some do, but in rare, or explicit cases.
If the fish picks up the bait and moves directly away from you, with out moving upwards, then you'll probably get free running.
If the fish moves at any angle to the side or upwards, then your lead will move, unless it's very, very heavy.
The use of running leads over leadcore or tubing is a complete waste of time. (as a free running lead)
I use a running ring when fishing with heavy weights (usually at distance) most of the time because I feel a heavy (semi) fixed lead could bounce the hook out and a free runner prevents this.

If you marry together a lead that moves on the take, with saturated mono and all forms of crap nestling in the run ring, then these rigs are anything but free running.

My favoured approach is to fish leadcore with a flying backlead and braided mainline.
Where possible I fish backleads off the rod tip and lightweight danglers on a short drop.
If backleads aren't possible (marginal weed or some such) then I fish slack lines over the alarm and ultra-lightweight danglers just touching the floor.

You can't fish ultra slack braid over modern alarms because they don't register any movement, unlike mono.
Which leads me to believe that braid has less tension when slack than mono.

I'll probably remember some more when I'm in bed, so expect updates tomorrow.

good answer carp angler!