Trotting help

[tigger]

I vary my hooklength (if i'm not fishing my mainline straight through) to suit conditions on the day but like Sam, more often than not I use a swivel as a connector and often use the swivel as my dropper shot.

 

[barbelboi]

Another micro swivel user here with hook lengths usually 12 inches or shorter............

 

[Keith M]

The standard length of hooklength that I tie is 18" and yes I do add micro-shot to my hook-lengths which is a must if I am moving the shot up and down throughout the session down to an inch or two from the hook sometimes.

The main reason that I don't like using short hooklengths is because line stretch is minimal on very short hooklengths and I get far fewer breaks because I'm using longish hooklengths and am fishing finer lines on the float and I'm using tip action float rods (so a certain amount of stretch in my hooklength is a plus)

However more often than not when I am legering (or ledgering) for barbel I will fish with my mainline straight through to the hook as I like to minimise the number of knots (weak points) I'm using; on the very rare occurance of a break its always been at the hook knot anyway (famous last words LOL).

Keith

 

[Neil Maidment]

Sometimes I might go as light as a bunch of SSSG or a 10gm olivette as my dropper :wh

mg:

 

[bracket]

Sometimes I might go as light as a bunch of SSSG or a 10gm olivette as my dropper :wh

mg:

So let me get this straight : We have, Rugby League's Man of Steel, The Tin Man-Jack Haley, Iron Man-Robert Downy Jr and FM's Lead Man-Neil Maidment. Have I got that right? Pete.

 

[Neil Maidment]

Horses for courses!

I've known Mark for the best part of 35/40 years and one way or another he's taught me a fair few things about floats and float fishing including very recently when I stumbled upon him fishing a local pond and had a rummage through his tackle box I've never used hollow open tipped wagglers before and he's got a very neat way of storing them.

Also, as a kid and into my teens, I had the benefit of regularly tagging along with some of the finest Avon & Stour float anglers you could wish to meet.

But I've evolved and morphed into my own peculiar ways of controlling a float and presenting the bait in way that seems to work, more or less, for me. Most of the winter will find me trotting bloody great bits of fat topped balsas at range with a generous bulk of lead or olivette and maybe a BB or an AAA as a dropper.

I'm always tinkering around with those basic patterns and the various distances and relationships between all the shot &/or olivettes. Over the years I've convinced myself it catches me more fish and anyway I'm far too old to bother changing now

 

[Mark Wintle]

Originally I bought 18" hooks to nylon but preferred 22" (possibly from reading about one of the top Trent match anglers) due to better presentation and the stretch. I put lead shot droppers on my hook lengths but less often (larger) tin shot. For pole fishing I read about the top French anglers, late 70s/early 80s, who used 2.5" or 4" hook links without shot on them but preferred 6", again no shot. The hooks Swizzler bought were Drennan.

My approach is very different to Neil's; I care less about what I catch more about how I catch them and love catching on the drop or up in the water, ideally with some finesse, though not always the way, especially in winter. Back in the 70s I marvelled at the anglers that Neil tells of; in the 80s, along with several other up and coming anglers of the time, I learnt how to beat them....The day I put a winning 16lbs of chub on the scales in a WL next peg to 'Salty' who'd had 3lbs of dace was one to savour!

Today's fishing may not have produced any monsters but was terrific fun.

 

[sam vimes]

The hooks Swizzler bought were Drennan.

Drennan hooks to nylon vary depending on their intended use, 50cm, 35cm, 25cm, 20cm, 8cm. The patterns I'd occasionally buy for river fishing are 35cm.

 

[Graham Elliott 1]

Whats more important is that through FM a chap had a lesson from a premier angler all for free. Lucky chap.

I've also seen young Maidments skill at trotting.
Mind you, I'm planning to give him a right lesson later this year if we get together again for a fish.

Surely a float /leger set up can't be as good as a 5/6bb shirt buttoned Avon float.
(Smiley)

 

[Mark Wintle]

Drennan hooks to nylon vary depending on their intended use, 50cm, 35cm, 25cm, 20cm, 8cm. The patterns I'd occasionally buy for river fishing are 35cm.

I see what you mean having gone through their website; mostly 25 or 35cm though of the 'normal' hooks to nylon - I'll stick to tying my own.

 

[swizzle]

As Mark has already said, we went out this morning for a few hours and he showed me the basics of fishing a stick, Avon and waggler on the river. I cannot speak for Mark, but I had a great time. I did catch a nice few nettles and trees as well as a few fish, but I'd have been happy without and most importantly, I learned a lot. I now have the confidence to go out and catch bankside foliage all by myself. I'd like to thank Mark for being extremely patient with me and answering all of my inane questions and i look forward to meeting up with him again. By then hopefully I cam tie my own hooks.

 

[Mark Wintle]

It was good fun. Here's the hook tyer: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Matchman-Fishing-Hook-Tyer-Black/dp/B008XK1EZY

It would be good to find more roach next time, possibly in a shallower swiim. Also need to check that rod of yours as it's possible there's a fault with one of the eyes causing the pigtails in the line?

 

[greenie62]

A big "well done" to Mark and Swizzle for bringing this thread to life and lifting the topic from the page/screen.

I found it interesting that something as basic as ready-made hook-lengths can cause such confusion over the 'standard' lengths. Being an 'older' angler who has returned to angling - I am constantly on the look-out now for the lengths of bought hook-lengths - no longer do we have a 'standard' length for a given brand - but have variations on that brand from 4" upwards.

I know the solution is to revert to self-tying my own hooks - but my eyes aren't up to it nowadays - it's enough of a challenge checking the sizes/lengths on the pre-tied ones!

Swizzle's skill at hooking foliage is a product of self-consciousness of 'being watched' - or maybe he was just trying to make Mark feel more accomplished!

Again - a big well done to both of you :thumbs:

 

[trotter2]

Mark just a question
How did you come to the conclusion of a 22" hook length ?
I know from my own experience a longer hook length can indeed improve your catch rate but just wondering were the 22 inches comes from.

Thanks in advance mate

Trotter2

 

[Mark Wintle]

Mark just a question
How did you come to the conclusion of a 22" hook length ?
I know from my own experience a longer hook length can indeed improve your catch rate but just wondering were the 22 inches comes from.

Thanks in advance mate

Trotter2

I think it may have come from reading that length recommended by a top match angler. Back in the 70s and 80s I read everything I could find on match fishing so cannot recall the source. A quick check of old match fishing books reveals lots of recommendations for at least 18". At some point I have settled on that length as suiting my style of on the drop fishing and trotting; you won't find me using micro swivels either, but again it's my preference to have small shot.

 

[trotter2]

Thanks mark
I don't use a micro swivel either I don't like a fixed weight on the
Hook length. Just my opinion but too me its just a fix for one problem which creates another.

 

[tigger]

Thanks mark
I don't use a micro swivel either I don't like a fixed weight on the
Hook length. Just my opinion but too me its just a fix for one problem which creates another.

A swivel isn't on the hooklength isn't it T? ....apart from being at the join.
If I was to use fine lines, for me that would be low diameter line below 4lb I would opt for a loop to loop connection as imo the swivel serves no purpose really as again jmo, I think the finer line would twist before the swivel would actually swivel if you get my meaning so the bottom would curl / twist back up on itself anyhow if retrieved at any speed.
I understand what Marks saying about having a longer bottom if fishing on the drop but surely you can alter the speed of the drop anyhow by using smaller or less weights down the line so making a shorter bottom work pretty much in the same way as the longer one Mark uses.
I reckon a foot to 15inch would cope with fishing on the drop much the same as a longer one, plus you'd have the added bonus of having less weights squeezed on a fine line.

 

[trotter2]

Yes tigger it would be at the junction mate your right .

 

[swizzle]

Mark and I went out again yesterday to continue my trotting apprenticeship. We went to the same stretch of river as last time, but a bit further up the river. We met at 1.30 due to me only returning back in to the country in the small hours and according to Mark I missed out on one hell of a storm... The river was up a few inches and quite coloured after the deluge, and an awkward wind (I now see why wind is so important). Started of on the stick at about 7ft and was soon into the minnows, bleak and tiny chublet on maggot whilst feeding hemp. Gave tares a bash, but only had a solitary roach for the effort. Switched over to an Avon which Mark had kindly fashioned for me and fished along the bottom at around 8-9ft and was immediately in to a better stamp of fish with dace of around 4oz and a few roach of the same size. With a bit of instruction on holding back I hooked into a better fish, which required the net and was a lovely little roach of maybe 6-7oz. I am getting better at the method, with only one tangle and only a couple of bushes hooked. We fished until around 7.30. Again I must thank Mark for his kind offer to help a novice out, it is an absorbing method, and one I'd probably never have tried without his tuition. I look forward to going again.

 

[trotter2]

Sounds like your have a great time. I was out today also fishing the stick :thumbs: