How did you get on?

[103841]

I’m embarrassed I didn't recognise a minnow mg:
Shows I rarely use maggots I guess!

 

[O.C.F.Disorder]

Next time you catch a minnow hook it straight back on your hook through both lips and cast back out. Dont worry about hook size, I do this on a size 20 barbless.

EDIT: sticklebacks work a treat too

 

[103841]

Next time you catch a minnow hook it straight back on your hook through both lips and cast back out. Dont worry about hook size, I do this on a size 20 barbless.

EDIT: sticklebacks work a treat too

A minnow hooked through both lips of a size 20 doesn’t leave much to spare, what do you catch on this setup?

 

[peter crabtree]

Live baiting with minnows would make an interesting new thread..

 

[103841]

Live baiting with minnows would make an interesting new thread..

Especially on a size 20!

 

[Another Dave]

8ft quiver, 6lb braid to 5lb fluoro. Size 4, 3g round bend jighead with a lob or half a huge lob, tiny section of elastic band to keep the bait from sliding down. Not the most elegant setup but it works and also it's something you can cast out and let the kids fish with. The lack of stretch in the line makes it almost a bolt rig, although my youngest prefers now to hold the rod and strike the bites.

16:50 First swim, the Cliff, and i get a fish straight away:


17:05 Swim next door is the drain, i let my assistant have a go at hitting the bites:


Failed to connect in the next swim, so we moved on up to the parrotcage swim. Again, i cast and she watched for bites. 17:21


17:36 A lovely thing about this method is that you can jig the worm back in, hopefully for the odd bonus perch. I tried this on the last cast of the session, this time a tiny jack went for it


And home within the hour!

 

[Keith M]

Live baiting with minnows would make an interesting new thread..

I remember when I lived a short bike ride from the Grand Union Canal many years ago; I used to catch greedy gudgeon on maggots and a size 10 hook and just swing them a little further out (just off the near shelf) and used to catch some decent sized Perch; sometimes up to 2lb-plus on them.

I sometimes used to have to lie on my stomach to get the perch shoals to become a little more confident and come a little closer but as long as there were no walkers or bikers going past it was a quite productive and enjoyable method.
Nowadays I have problems getting on my knees let alone on my stomach

Keith

 

[103841]

8ft quiver, 6lb braid to 5lb fluoro. Size 4, 3g round bend jighead with a lob or half a huge lob, tiny section of elastic band to keep the bait from sliding down. Not the most elegant setup but it works and also it's something you can cast out and let the kids fish with. The lack of stretch in the line makes it almost a bolt rig, although my youngest prefers now to hold the rod and strike the bites.

16:50 First swim, the Cliff, and i get a fish straight away:
View attachment 5401

17:05 Swim next door is the drain, i let my assistant have a go at hitting the bites:
View attachment 5402

Failed to connect in the next swim, so we moved on up to the parrotcage swim. Again, i cast and she watched for bites. 17:21
View attachment 5403

17:36 A lovely thing about this method is that you can jig the worm back in, hopefully for the odd bonus perch. I tried this on the last cast of the session, this time a tiny jack went for it
View attachment 5404

And home within the hour!

Having caught little than small dace today, I’m going off your little girl.

 

[maggot_dangler]

Spent the recent evenings fishing the local canal .

taking nothing more that rod reel a couple of floats the absolute essentials and maggots and have had some good sport plenty of roach and perch nothing huge biggest fish not much over the 1lb mark but plenty of them , With luck i will be back at the same spot tomorrow evening .

The only thing i would like to change is the rod but cant find one that fits my ideal rod for the job i would like 2 legged rings all thru none of those single leg jobs and they must be a reasonable size as well most float rods as far as i am concerned have rings that are for too small so i am using a John Wilson Avon rod at the moment a bit heavy but works well ...

PG ...

 

[Another Dave]

The only thing i would like to change is the rod but cant find one that fits my ideal rod for the job i would like 2 legged rings all thru none of those single leg jobs and they must be a reasonable size as well most float rods as far as i am concerned have rings that are for too small so i am using a John Wilson Avon rod at the moment a bit heavy but works well ...

Similar thing here. The avon is a nice bit of extra oomf if there are carp about, but for a bit of summer maggot bashing down the river it feels a bit heavy.

 

[O.C.F.Disorder]

It works great for perch guys, always either lip hooked or not hooked. I have never had a pike take one even though there are pike in there. I have had them take lob worm and dendrobena but never a minnow or stickleback. I think they are more effort than they are worth for Mr pike. In my experience on the Avon there are almost always perch nearby a shoal of minnows and they will happily oblige to an easy meal. I must admit I was skeptical when I first used a size 20 for a minnow but its really no different re. hook up ratio. If anything I would say it has improved slightly as I can hook smaller fish now too. Give it a go next time you get bugged by minnows!

That is an awesome hdygo Dave! Its so nice to see her ginning ear to ear with a big fish in her hands! I had a young girl and her mother stop in on my swim when I was fishing last and the girl was horrified by me holding a fish! Shame really

I had a session floating bread and lure fishing on the river recently and had a bloody great day! All hail the savage gear 3d real roach! One of the (3) pike was a real warrior and managed to bite me whilst unhooking him! the cut looks pretty small in the pictures but it was deep and nasty.. we all know how pike bites go, a BLOODY nightmare! I wish I took a picture of him swimming off, he looked like the most badass little jack ever! covered in scars from his past battles and my blood from our battle! pictures: Imgur: The magic of the Internet

 

[Another Dave]

Thanks OCF, the fish aren't that big, she really is a tiny child. Hardly any bankside disturbance or skylining though, which seems to be paying off.

Those Savage Gear roach - mate i have those in the smaller sizes and while they look amazing i can't get anything on them. Your pike catch there would be an absolute dream for me. How are you rigging them up?

 

[thecrow]

managed to bite me whilst unhooking him! the cut looks pretty small in the pictures but it was deep and nasty.. we all know how pike bites go,

I have never known a Pike to deliberately bite an angler, imo most if not all cuts that result from unhooking them are caused by angler the catching his hands/fingers on the teeth during the unhooking process.

 

[steve2]

I always wear a glove when unhooking pike following an accident when my fingers slipped inside the gill rackers. Not a pretty site and a trip to the hospital.

 

[O.C.F.Disorder]

Well no crow, I doubt he bit me on purpose.. But he was so feisty! Probably because I got him in quite quickly. He kept going crazy but with out the usual warning signs. my Hand was at least 5 inches away from his mouth and he turned and bit me!

I have the smallest line thru (18cm i think) and I fish it with 80lb braid. The trick with lure fishing is you either want to match what the pike is eating or annoy him into eating it.

Sounds nasty steve! I would be too scared of hurting its gills to wear gloves

 

[thecrow]

Sounds nasty steve! I would be too scared of hurting its gills to wear gloves

When holding a Pike to unhook it the hand/fingers depending on size of fish do not go near the gill rakers they locate on the chin of the fish enabling the fish to held securely and safely, the bigger the fish the easier it is and the safer it is for the angler, unhooking a smaller fish can result in cuts/scraszes as the anglers fingers are nearer to the sharp bits.

 

[mikench]

I must be getting blase because after a few hours on my local day ticket water I had nearly 20 fish! The bream obliged, as usual, and all were mature bronze fish around 3.5lb, as did the carp with several commons around 7lb . I had a few roach as well and the total were caught 50/50 on the float and feeder on meat, banded pellet and maggot!

For the first time in months it was actually cold with a stiff breeze which one minute was in my face and at my back the next! I put on a fleece and then an outer layer! I was still in shorts however! Well it's still August!

 

[103841]

A repeat of yesterday’s trip with a couple of differences.

After getting myself into a few tangles in yesterday’s windy conditions I opted to use an Abu closed face reel today and also a heavier stick float (Sams comments on Ralph’s thread have been helpful).

A different swim too, a few yards upstream of where I fished yesterday with a very inviting overhanging tree for some cover.

Like yesterday had dace from the off but today there were more perch in the mix. The best fish of the day was a roach of about 10ozs which on its way to the net got snaffled by a pike, you could say it was hi-jacked the pike must have seen the look of contempt on my face and released the roach as I was about to net the pair of them. The roach swam off a little bruised and scarred but should survive the trauma hopefully.

I think a trip to the estate tomorrow is in order, been a while since I’ve caught any tench.

 

[theartist]

I only popped out for for a few hours which was just as well as I had forgot my lunch and with it bright and sunny things were always going to be hard with the water so clear, I spotted a good roach and a few barbel in my swim but they were soon offski when I got chatting to a chap who stood leaning on the post I was stealthily sat under, it happens but I wasn't too bothered as i just wanted to chill anyway.

Out came the maggots as i'd been feeding hemp and pellet and was still fishless, 'chillin' is one thing but fishing like an idiot is another, my float was spooking all and sundry as was I and I couldn't blame captain skyline for that. I decided therefore to do a bit of freelining watching the maggot disappear or the line 'zip' as there can't be much more fun ways of fishing, the wind put paid to that but not before a few small chub gave me something to tally for the records. Out came the float again this time a small matchstick attached with a rubber either end, this too was hard work as even 1 no8 was making it barely visible, it did work however with a real mix of fish including nice chub and roach and a few small barbel, real small but as everything is so direct fishing this light it was a lot of fun. Must use a bigger matchstick next time though as crouching and leaning round the corner to see it was aching the old joints, as dad always says "You ain't as young as you used to be son" and he's right although why he has to use a hick American accent every time he tells me that I do not know.

I was starting to get hungry and even my three week old maggots were looking appetising given their more than liberal coating of spices, I supppose when they are that old they're technically marinated but the fish were feeding better so on came the lightest float I carry in my jacket a 3no6 stick, I kid you not this felt heavy and cumbersome compared to the matchstick but it offered a better presentation and i was able to ping it right under the rushes.

First cast bang! and that roach I saw earlier was on, the classic roach swirl on the surface wasn't needed as the water was so clear but the old girl did it anyway and don't they look just colossal when they do that. At 2lb 1oz it was my first 'two' of a season where the big roach have been kicking my butt by being a few ounces under on other rivers, far too often, and on a day when I just wanted any bend in the rod on my local. Haha that's roach for you! Funny enough a few small chub followed then it went dead as a door nail, my float spooking them again in the bright midday sun as I knew it would, time to head home for lunch. Get in!

 

[theartist]

Ps - Not sure what happened there with two pics lol