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Quiver tipping for chub

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Oliver Rodwell

Member
Good evening gents, been waiting for a reason to post my 1st thread and hopefully I have a decent question for you all, so hello!

I wouldnt consider myself a novice when it comes to chub fishing in general having fished alot of evening sessions into dark using bolt rigs etc over the last few years, but recently I've been trying to get my head around feeder fishing for them, using the traditional converted inline black caps and a short hooklength especially as I find myself with more day sessions than evenings at the moment, and I have been relatively successful over a couple of sessions but theres some principles of it I dont understand, so here goes...

I understand building the swim first, and the competition side of things, but the bits that stump is what quiver tip to use, bow in the line, and upstream and downstream, I understand upstreaming in principle, but for the swims I'm fishing most of the time it requires a downstream cast due to swim positioning, not by much no more than say a 2 o'clock position, so when downstream feeder fishing, I still incorporate a bow of line, one to reduce the tip drag, and two in case the chub are feeding aggressively the feeder will behave more naturally in the swim... and the bites have been a mixture of wrap arounds, tap tap followed by drop back, and a series of rattles, so I guess what I'm asking is even when fishing a bow when downstream feeder fishing would you still expect to see drop backs as if you were upstreaming? I'm just looking to check my logic really as I like to understand why I've caught!

And finally I had a session recently and really struggled in the swims described above cause of the extra water and pace, and the tip was bent really heavily even when using a 3oz tip, so would you just up the tip TC, or let out more bow until it settles down a little? And also in winter conditions of extra water and pace does a heavy bend in the tip really make that much difference? Would you still see bites bearing in mind that maggot feeder rig I'm using is essentially a bolt rig?

Thanks in advance chaps, I know that's quite a big question in total!
 
Hi Oliver, without answering your questions really, just like to ask two questions.

1.Have you tried fishing with an Avon top instead of the quiver ?

2 And in conjunction with that, add some weight to the feeder and tighten up a bit?

Just wondered. Cheers.
 
Hiya Graham, absolutely mate, yes I have considered that, and come dusk time it's what I do anyway, swap the quiver out and fish a more 'robust' method!

I was sort of asking my above question out of interest more than anything as some anglers much better than myself are wizards with a quiver tip in low and clear conditions and high and coloured and I just dont know how they do it! (Especially in up and coloured flow!)
 
Oliver Rodwell said:
Hiya Graham, absolutely mate, yes I have considered that, and come dusk time it's what I do anyway, swap the quiver out and fish a more 'robust' method!

I was sort of asking my above question out of interest more than anything as some anglers much better than myself are wizards with a quiver tip in low and clear conditions and high and coloured and I just dont know how they do it! (Especially in up and coloured flow!)
Click to expand...
Jeff Collins springs to mind🤔,rodwell,really!!!
 
Not sure if I understand the context, but my surname is definitely Rodwell... not unless my family have been getting it wrong for generations! 😂
 
Because you are fishing a short hooklength and inline feeder you can get all sorts of bites. If you are fishing a bow, even after casting downstream, effectively you are fishing upstream (the bottom of the bow will often be below the feeder ). But you have to be consistent with your bow.
It sounds like you are varying the bow which means your type of bite is all over the place sometimes you are direct to the feeder sometimes below
. If I am fishing a bow 95+% of the time I will be looking for a tap and a drop back bite. I will always aim to strike the tap which will often be tiny but positive. I will be looking for as light a carbon tip as possible but do not want it bent right over. I will sometimes have to double bow (two line strikes) to make tip deflection less. But I will always be trying to fish as high up the swim as possible mostly upstream. I want chub to come to my feeder not cast to them in their home. The time they take to come to my feeder usually winds them up and makes them even more greedy and if they want to back off they still have a safe place to go. As Graham said the only way to fish direct to a feeder downstream is to up the weight and the rod top but you might have to up the line which might mean less fish. The reason most Feeder anglers fish a bow is not to get broken on the bite and because its bloody effective. The important thing is you are seeing most bites. What I would say is Chub are really quick to learn and what works one day will often not work the next. If you have been hammering an area with a short hook length and inline black cap then change your method, they will probably have backed off or even moved swims. I used to match fish for chub and would always ring the changes as the match went on. My standard start would be 6 big open holed feeders to get some bait out quickly then change to a medium normal blackcap with an 18 inch hook length slightly upstream and a bow. But I would often change to a short inline black cap, Dink Dink feeder, a 6ft+long hook length with floating maggot or a straight bomb with loose feed sprayed over the top to get extra chub. We often found bonus fish well off bottom taking every maggot that came out as the feeder hit the water and went to the bottom. With the river up and coloured maggot feeder is not as effective because maggot are usually a sight bait.
 
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Hiya mark, that first half of your post there was exactly what I needed to read to get my head around it... so thank you very much, the rest of your post was sound, decent advice too, so it's very muxh appreciated!

I think your spot on with my bow being inconsistent, what I didnt realise was when effectively using a bow the effects are the same as if you were casting up, in front or down slightly (providing the bow runs below the feeder in a consistent manner) have I got that correct? If so I think I finally understand! 😂

The session in question when I struggled I think I should of pointed my rod more downstream, and paid more bow out and I think the tip would of set better.
 
Yep you have got it exactly, the starting point should always be a feeder that just holds bottom. You can often make a feeder that bounces along hold up by doubling the bow, its always a balancing act.
 
Perfect mark, i have incorporated many elements we have spoke about already I just dont think I've ever managed to cobble them together to all work as one, despite having quite good success working how to feeder fish on a river successfully!

Would I just be able to pick your brains further in a very specific scenario?

When using the inline black caps or dink dink I think is what you called it (had no idea it actually had a name! 😂) I've always thought it would be better to actually ensure your anchoring your feeder (not excessively just a bit more than 'just holding bottom') to doubly ensure you're not spreading maggots across the swim especially when fishing on tougher streches of river where blanks are quite common? If that is the case and I'm not totally wrong in thinking that, is there any benefit to using a bow in the line other than to reduce the tip drag? And with said feeder rig being essentially a bolt rig, I wouldnt of thought youd compromise too much bite indication?

I guess a simplified way of asking is, if you are using a little bit more weight than just holding bottom is a utilizing the bow still a good idea? and I guess youd use a quiver tip to suit the flow/range your fishing on the particular day?

Thanks once again mark, this has been such a help and a confidence boost in asking!
 
Sorry the dink dink is a different method again to the inline black cap with short hook length. Its designed to take fish that are taking maggot coming down through the water and not going near a feeder. Your feeder is in a loop with the hook tied to the bit of line on the knot above the feeder. It looks totally wrong but can work well. It was one of many change feeder rigs to try to boost catches. Maybe google it to see it explained. When I match fished my feeder standard hook length would be 1.7lb bayer and I would sometimes go lighter. If you strike on light hook lengths, have too much weight on a feeder or have a big bite you will probably get broken which cost you money. By fishing the bow the fish would be hooked already with a tiny bite and you just needed to pick up the line and play them. If you are hitting the same spot with your feeder and giving it an instant bow and its settling, the maggot will be going down the same line all the time and not spread across the river. Even if it bounces a bit, on a slack line the maggot will be on the same line. You can vary your feeder method but you must always try to hit the same spot. Though it is worth an odd cast on the same line 15 yds downstream. If you are not in a competitive situation and it does not matter so much fish a heavier feeder, hook length and hook but maybe vary some of the ways you fish the feeder. To me finessing the whole lot meant more fish in the net .Its like every method if you work at it or change something you often start catching again.
 
Fascinating advice! Maybe you should write a book Mark to ensure these skills get passed on to the next generation. I am working on balanced up streaming based on Braddock and Roberts and wish I could see others in action to fine fine what I do.
 
What I think would be interesting to find out is if you used a feeder slightly heavier than critically balanced, and still fished a bow below the feeder, would you still get decent bite indication I'm betting it wouldnt make much of a difference, as soon as the feeder moves in the flow it would still show on the tip? 🤔
 
Oliver, it would not make much difference if you are fishing heavy tackle like 4lb line and a 16 hook and getting bites and fish. But when your bites dry up and your chub become a bit educated or wary finessing everything is often the way to go. A Chub pulling a hook home against a heavy feeder can cause breaks. A heavy feeder can also cause more hook pulls during the fight
 
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Just to add a little bit...

As with barbel on maggot feeder, you will often get a couple of fish early then bites may slow down.

The fish will often then settle into a more comfortable position and let the feed come to them. Certainly if numbers of fish are relatively low and not too much competition.

A longer cast will often start to produce but......I make sure the feeder is only lightly filled and if bites come, the next cast is back to the shorter position fully loaded.

Then repeat with longer part filled etc
 
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