micro indicators? perch

[gazguildford]

just got myself a couple of gardner micro bug bobbins as the resistance of the quiver is getting alot of dropped takes
does anyone use these micro bobbins? and whats your rod preference?
ive only ever used drop backs for the pike with a 3lb tc somehow i think that may be too stiff lol

i have been having success with the quiver but i think the bigger more experienced and all round cautious perch are too clever for this approach where as semi decent younger perch are learning a few lesson about why they shouldnt be too hasty

so have you used em? and whats ur rod choice? i should mention i mainly use a free running maggot feeder with the biggest lob i can find

 

[clint4782]

I use the bigger bugs and find that they offer very little resistance, so I would imagine the micro offer even less! I do plenty of tenching using 2lb tc Wychwood Rogue Barbel rods and find that works really well for me using maggot feeders......

 

[sam vimes]

I've not felt the need for really tiny indicators just yet. I've stuck to unweighted Delkim Nightlite Pros. I've tended to favour Fox Duo-Lite Specialist rods on stillwaters where I'm fairly confident that a decent tench or carp isn't too likely to interrupt proceedings.

 

[gazguildford]

these micros are so light if it wasnt for the visual you would barley feel them in your hand .... maybe there is no need to go this light but it cant do any harm id not even attempt to use them on flowing water.
i just need to find a decent still water i want to break the 3lb barrier in the next 2 seasons but who knows on the right waters it could be broken tomorrow

 

[terry m]

If you want to break the 3lb barrier then I would recommend a light spinning outfit with Mepps No 5 spinners. All of my 3lb+ Perch have fallen to spinners, it keeps you warm in the cold too!

 

[gazguildford]

im not overly confident with a size 5 mepps it works wonders for jacks i have had success on size 3 but nowhere near the 3lb mark i always take the lures with me so its another string to my bow

 

[S-Kippy]

these micros are so light if it wasnt for the visual you would barley feel them in your hand .... maybe there is no need to go this light but it cant do any harm id not even attempt to use them on flowing water.

The Nano bugs are even lighter....and my home made's are lighter still. Does it make a difference ? I'd like to think it might and if it gives me a bit more confidence then I'm happy. TBH if you're fishing a free running rig at short/med range then I'd be on the lightest indicator I can get away with.

My home mades are cut down felt tip pen bodies with the line clips made from cotton bud stems & beads.They work out at a few pence each and come in whatever colour & size you care to make.Good fun & quite satisfying to do too...and they go up and down just as well as the shop bought ones !

 

[syhaze]

i made my own out of some fox small pike popups and a bent nail (no, seriously) for holding them on the line after i found that regular line clips had a tendency to tangle on the strike. i secure them to the front bankstick with a 2foot length of braid and have had several 3+ perch whilst using them. i also use them when zander fishing if the conditions allow.

just to add that i use these on still and flowing water..if the flow is too much for em i add split shot to the braid to balance it out....

 

[Tee-Cee]

Is the bale arm open or closed when using the above indicators?

I have to say that a baitrunner set on its minimum setting works for small(ish) perch without a problem when using big lobworms. I had three this morning,plus a 3/4lb roach with this method and it worked just fine.....However, I'm not talking BIG perch so perhaps this 'sensitive' issue applies to them??

On the other hand, why should a big perch drop a baitrunnered bait when smaller bretheren are happy as larry?
Perhaps too much is made of this 'sensitive' thing.............(thats a question) although I appreciate that many big perch men swear by this theory.....

You will notice that I haven't made any sweeping statements against indicators but I'd rather not have them unless it loses me some big fish!!

So, are they ABSOLUTELY necessary and why???

 

[S-Kippy]

Why ? As a visual indication of interest in your baits.Personally I wouldn't be happy without one....particularly if I'm expecting to wait a bit. I always fish closed bale arm and never have the baitrunner on but I am also terribly old fashioned & sit next to my rods and watch my indicators.

 

[gazguildford]

im guessing im gonna use a similar technique to pike bale arm open watch the bobbin for a good visual and strike after a few seconds i find perch swallow a bait much quicker than pike (simillar to summer pike) but all year round
i think perch actually test the bait first wich accounts for a lot of dropped takes? hence tightening down to the feeder on a quiver adds a fair bit more resistance than a micro bobbin i shall have to experiment!
hope this didnt sound silly

---------- Post added at 12:51 ---------- Previous post was at 12:47 ----------

I have to say that a baitrunner set on its minimum setting works for small(ish) perch without a problem when using big lobworms. I had three this morning,plus a 3/4lb roach with this method and it worked just fine.....However, I'm not talking BIG perch so perhaps this 'sensitive' issue applies to them??
???

i read that smaller perch are much less cautious but as they get bigger they are harder to catch not only by locating the bigguns but they have wised up and test a bait?
live baits also often get nipped "to slow the prey down" but i think they are also testing thats my theory and im sticking to it lol (im not just trying to justify my reasons for spending 9 quid for a tiny bit of plastic and string honest! lol)

 

[Tee-Cee]

"As a visual indication of interest in your baits".....Nothing wrong with that but you could have both-indicator and baitrunner-which would give you the best of both worlds?

I have read that some people tend to wait for the perch to run before they strike and for this reason they fish with an open bail arm. Does not a closed bail arm mean that it has the tendency to make any rig a sort of bolt rig once the line tightens to the reel which could cause the fish to (possibly) eject the bait? I understand this can be a problem with big perch??

The original question was about using tiny indicators to reduce resistance so I was only putting forward the notion that a bait runner MAY offer no more resistence than an indicator (based on my own limited experience with decent size perch) and certainly not to suggest that indictors are pointless......I guess its a matter of personal preference at the end of the day..

Anyway, S-Kippy, I am even more old fashion than you (simply because I think I'm older than you!) as the rod I sat next this morning (without moving!) was fibre glass with a 'pin and,wait for it, I used a washing up bottle top as an indicator(my deluxe model was at home)!!


ps I shall be watching out for you on one of your waters to make sure your hand is hovering over the rod butt at all times.........................................That should get you thinking!!!

pps I have 'question marked' some points as I'm looking for opinions-to help my perch fishing, not hinder it!!

 

[S-Kippy]

I am very old school but not THAT old school...at least I dont think I am.

Irrespective of species I never have [nor will I ever ] let a "run" develop....assuming I've got some say in the matter which isn't always the case. Once my indicator moves positively I hit it....and I am speaking of simple lightweight bobbins...not hangers,swingers,drop offs or anything like that because I dont own or use any of those.Nor will I ever.

I take your point about baitrunners but I have no experience of that as I dont like fishing with baitrunners "on".....its just not my mind set and in my world if a fish has taken enough line to engage the freespool then I've already hit it. I miss a few [as do we all] but such is the way of things.

You'll not find my hand permanently hovering over the butts [unless the indicator moves] but I guarantee that you will find me unfashionably awake and able to easily reach either rod from my seat. I just dont feel right fishing any other way.

 

[terry m]

im not overly confident with a size 5 mepps it works wonders for jacks i have had success on size 3 but nowhere near the 3lb mark i always take the lures with me so its another string to my bow

Believe me a size 5 Mepps is lost in a three pound perches mouth. If pike are present then wire is necessary of course.

 

[Morespiders]

You can nearly get your hand in a 3lb perch's mouth, it flairs similar to a pike

 

[gazguildford]

my view is the indicator as a good visual... how many times has someone sat behind a float or quiver for a long period and started to think its twitching or dipping or is it their mind playing tricks? of couse an alarm could be just as effective i just dont like the noise and if i have something to watch im more likely to stay intrested lol
i too would more than likely hit the take when i see positive movement in an indicator id not let the reel start screaming whatever the species but i may give it a couple more seconds?

---------- Post added at 00:52 ---------- Previous post was at 00:50 ----------

Believe me a size 5 Mepps is lost in a three pound perches mouth. If pike are present then wire is necessary of course.

i have no doubt i simply meant i have not had perch on anything bigger than a size 3 mepps or ondex even though i have used size 5 on many occasions hence why im not confident certainly in my waters anyway.. sorry for the confusion

 

[Tee-Cee]

I really DO know this is 'old hat' in many ways and many things move on but I still wonder about this 'Hanningfield Lure' mentioned in Richard Walkers book 'Still Water Angling' the effectiveness of which caused him to write "If I had to choose one method over any other it would be this lure" beit worms , spinners, plugs or live bait....

No I am not a dyed in the wool 'Walker man' but if someone of his ilk makes such a statement then it must have some worth IMO. Much of this confidence is base on the number of big perch from Hanningfield and other waters..

Does anyone know of this lure or, better still, where they can be obtained if at all??

Personally I'm consentrating of worms etc this year 'until i get my feet under the table' aroung big perch and I've found this thread excellent with good comments and other things to try!

ps I bet Ron will know about this Lure so i will start a new thread!!!!

 

[S-Kippy]

Funny things perch. Most people would regard a worm as the banker perch bait but despite fishing worm over the top of chopped worm all the perch I had on my last "stripey" expedition came on single caster. Some good roach on lobs but not a single perch.

 

[gazguildford]

my last trip produced a small but lovely perch on a huge lob and an even smaller chub on an even bigger worm, i love that about fishing the rivers u can be targetting a specific species but pull out anything that passes by ... as long as its capable of taking the bait.
i watched a you tube vid of ledgering half a gudgeon for perch he was sat there all day and had 2 perch impressive for a tiny dead bait lol we all have different preferences and mine would have been to keep it whole and as a live bait its good to read all the theorys and i quite often put them into practice............... but ill pass on the half gudgeon dead bait i think lol

whilst ledgering lobs for perch, or deads for pike im gonna be giving the size 5 mepps a real hammering and if all i take are pike i will be happy as larry but believe me i want the 3lb perch

 

[barbelboi]

Funny things perch. Most people would regard a worm as the banker perch bait but despite fishing worm over the top of chopped worm all the perch I had on my last "stripey" expedition came on single caster. Some good roach on lobs but not a single perch.

As I said in another thread Skippy, most of my recent large perch were taken on single caster whilst roaching......maybe it's something Dave at Harefield adds
Jerry