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canoes on the wye

John

thanks for the advice, and forgive me if I misunderstand you, but don't you end up with an 8 foot or longer rig with 3 ounces of weight on it?

Adrian

I would be interested in knowing more about you technique. When I cast to my desired spot and the lead settles, if I lower my rod tip or let out more than about two feet of line the lead moves. Now I am thinking that if I let out line to form a large bow or lower the rod tip the lead will move. Do you cast out and then plunge you rod tip down whilst stripping line from the reel or is there a different technique?

Thanks David
 
It's all about feel and experience and very hard to analyse from the armchair but I'll have a go.
After casting I feather the line and after the lead hits the water it is allowed to fall on a slack line, the line is allowed to peel from the spool with an open bail arm but still controlled by the finger and the rod tip held at about 45 deg up. When you feel enough line has left the spool trap the line with your finger and close the bail arm while lowering the rod top till it is pointing at but not necessarily in the water. If the lead starts to roll and bounce allow it to move until the line is 45 degrees below your position then wind in. On the next cast let a little more line out before trapping it and lowering the rod tip; repeat until it holds.

I should add this is not 'my' technique, it is basic stuff which used to be common knowledge, search the bookshops for river fishing book from the 70s and 80s and all this stuff is in them. With the best will in the world the internet is a very poor research tool compared to the written word.
Having said that you might also want to search the articles on here.
 
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Low rod position

thanks Adrian, I will try that. It won't work on my favourite swim though, the stream is about 30 feet wide, or less, and the barbel live over twice that distance downstream and you can't get closer due to the blackthorn bushes. My Pythagoras is not good but the lead is on the wrong side of 45 degrees from the start.

I will try the method on a couple of other swims and see if I can then make it work on my favourite places.
 
David, you have a 6ft length between main lead and the top bullet, the main lead in my case would be a normal running lead so you still get instant indication if a fish moves with the bait, the method Adrians talking about was origionally base on the sea fishings uptide method and yes in circumstances works really well too:)
 
ohn

with a two foot hook length that would make it 8 feet between bait and top bullet. I will give it a go once the rivers open again but I was always told to keep things simple and use as small an amount of lead as you can. With the barbel bites where the fish takes the bait and turns downstream I see no problem but not all bites are like this.

Never mind, two new variations to try once the canoes are out in force :)
 
in normal flow conditions you can use the top bullet as a running lead this will bring you down to 3ft + hooklength, the 1oz bullets i described can be used much smaller in normal flow
 
David Chant said:
thanks Adrian, I will try that. It won't work on my favourite swim though, the stream is about 30 feet wide, or less, and the barbel live over twice that distance downstream and you can't get closer due to the blackthorn bushes. My Pythagoras is not good but the lead is on the wrong side of 45 degrees from the start.

I will try the method on a couple of other swims and see if I can then make it work on my favourite places.
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Hi David,
I know the swim you are talking about. There's alot of flow straight down the inside to middle, and like you if i'm fishing directly opposite I tend to have the rod up high and fish it with a big bow to keep the lead in the place. Not ideal though if you have boats coming down the river. If you are fishing down stream of the opposite over hang you'll find a meduim to heavy back lead off the tip with the rod as low as possible you will be fine. :)
Rgds
Paul
 
Back leads

High Paul

Thanks for the reply, what will you be doing until June 16th? I thought you would know where I was talking about, you must have seen me there a few times :).

The idea of a simple backlead appeals to me, I will have to give some thought as to the bank sticks I will need to get the rod pointing downward as the bank is quite high.
 
David Chant said:
High Paul

Thanks for the reply, what will you be doing until June 16th? I thought you would know where I was talking about, you must have seen me there a few times :).
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Not fishing for barbel thankfully. I couldn't imagine fishing for them all year round. I'd soon get bored. I'm really enjoying pike fishing at the moment. Then when the weather warms up i'll be after tench, with a few carp and fluff chucking days mixed in until the rivers re-open.

I've seen you there more than a few times David. :p;)
 
We've all seen him there more than a few times Paul, i've seen him there at least 66 times :D

Your advice is spot on Paul, exactly the way I approach that little problem too. Unlike you though I rarely fish rivers with less than a 3 ounce running lead, I want it to stay put until a fish is hooked.
 
That's interesting Ian, most others down there use a light lead. I was told that fish have more chance of ejecting a bait against a heavy lead but, on the other hand, bolt rigs rely on a heavy lead - each to there own I suppose.

Hope you did well on today's pike match.
 
David Chant said:
That's interesting Ian, most others down there use a light lead. I was told that fish have more chance of ejecting a bait against a heavy lead but, on the other hand, bolt rigs rely on a heavy lead - each to there own I suppose.

Hope you did well on today's pike match.
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;):D
 
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