• You need to be a registered member of Barbel Fishing World to post on these forums. Some of the forums are hidden from non-members. Please refer to the instructions on the ‘Register’ page for details of how to join the new incarnation of BFW...

Touch Ledgering - is it worth it?

Andrew Boyne

Andrew Boyne

Senior Member
I had a short session yesterday on a popular venue where the day before, during a flood, the river fished very well. The fishing was slow in comparison. After a few hours fishing i'd had no positive hook ups, just the odd tap on the rod tip, presuming roach or chublets. Boredom set in and i decided to try and catch the culprit - picked up the rod in the right hand, line over the forefinger of the left. Moments later i felt a pluck, STRIKE! Barbel on! She went 9lb+.

I'm convinced i would have missed that oppertunity with my rod static in it's rest.

What do you think?
 
i think you changed your tactics and got a result.
too many anglers are prepared to sit and do nothing all day.
 
Sounds good to me Andrew:).
If you dont mind me asking what was your set up ,lead ,rig ect.
Paul
 
Last edited:
I've had a few this season touch ledgering, mainly because I love the thrill of feeling everything through my fingers but I have had a few barbel that have given me a few cagey bites. I've also hooked more chub too which is a plus, and when they grow to the sizes they do on the Colne (or practically everywhere at the moment) it is well worth it.

I think that what many anglers dismiss as chublets attacking the bait can often be barbel/big chub, especially on pressured venues so touch legdering is well worth it, even if you're just doing it for the thrill of it.
 
Chris Summersell said:
I think that what many anglers dismiss as chublets attacking the bait can often be barbel/big chub, especially on pressured venues so touch legdering is well worth it, even if you're just doing it for the thrill of it.
Click to expand...

Cheers Chris, i was hoping someone might back me up on this! ;)
 
Abiding (till extinction) four-year-old memory:

Drops a bait into the tiny weirpool of a Southern river carrier (tiny) from which I had had a mind-frying 9-pounder the day before.

Feels the lead touch down, fingers back line, inch by inch, in front of the 'pin to tighten down to it.

Line unaccountably ripped out between said fingers.

Eh?

Strike!

Mad-fighting, in a big-table-top-sized pool, from a crazy, up-for-it six-pounder.

Yup. Worth it.
 
Andrew Boyne said:
Touch Ledgering - is it worth it?

What do you think?
Click to expand...



Yes Yes and Yes.....I'm spending more and more time these days with the rod in my hand and less and less sitting behind two rods.
You can watch the river, commune with nature, read a book or even have a snooze but you never miss a bite. If you've never done it give it a go, the feeling of that first touch ledgered barbel is electrifying.
 
Adrian Williams said:
Yes Yes and Yes.....I'm spending more and more time these days with the rod in my hand and less and less sitting behind two rods.
You can watch the river, commune with nature, read a book or even have a snooze but you never miss a bite. If you've never done it give it a go, the feeling of that first touch ledgered barbel is electrifying.
Click to expand...

couldnt have put it better myself ade

infact , ive just got the roving gear ready for a short after work session tomorrow and popped in here before beddy bo's , this must be an omen ! :rolleyes:
 
Having recently purchased the Lampard's Way with Chub DVD, in which Terry demonstrates and talks about ledgering, I put it to the test. He's certainly right about feeling bites when there is no discernable movement in the rod tip. Haven't caught on the method yet, but will be doing much more of it over the next few months.
 
It has to be for the thrill of it, otherwise you could just sit there and wait for them to hook themselves. If I stay in one swim for any length of time and decide to fish 2 rods I always touch ledger with 1, not because it will catch me more Barbel, but for the thrill of it when I do hook one. I personally get more out of having held the rod, detected the bite, struck and hooked the fish, even though I know if I left the rod in the rest eventually it would probably wrap around. I touch ledger for the thrill, thats why we go fishing isn't it?
 
Interesting thread this - thanks Andrew - and sorry if this seems like a daft question:

When using a hair rig, wouldn't touch legering increase the risk of pulling the bait right out of the fish's mouth before the hook's set, particularly if striking at plucks previously attributed to chub, etc...? If so, is it all about knowing when to strike?

The reason I ask is that when anglers state they wouldn't have caught the fish with the rod in the rest, they surely can't know that the bite wouldn't have developed into a 3 foot twitch.....

I guess the answer is to have a go and see for myself :)
 
When reading Tony miles books, particularly 'Elite barbel' I recall him saying that he feels a pluck on his finger then the rod renches round... So maybe the twitch is the indicator rather then the time to strike itself??

I guess its different every time depending on the fish, bait rig.......etc

But Tony miles seems to hairrig almost everybait and he touch ledgers all the time from what i have so far read! and i can trust his tactics as he has had the results!
 
Never touch ledgered, but there are a few areas i need to get my head around. I can see without a doubt the reason for using this method when trundling meat.However I cannot see how it can be anymore sensitive than a rod tip in registering a pluck/wrench, unless when touch ledgering you are actually pointing the rod at the bait?. One more is if you are just striking at plucks and catching Barbel, then what is the ratio of plucks to fish? Or are you watching the Barbel feeding and waiting for the pluck/bite. If striking at plucks and missing, doesnt it ruin your swim??
Hope you dont think i am knocking this method, but i just need to get my head around why its rated so highly. There seems to be lots of Pro's, but with anything, what are the negatives with this method?

Jon
 
When touch ledgering I never use a hair rig, baits are usually soft i.e. paste, meat, corn, worm and not ideal for hair/bolt rig. That is the beauty of the method, the fish can sample the bait and move it, you just give them line from your left hand, when they are confident they take it, you strike. Soft baits are easlily pulled off a hair against the heavy weights needed to create the bolt effect, touch ledgering them helps overcome this, and as I said earlier it's just great fun. But i do accept that it is probably not the most clinically efficient way of catching Barbel, if I had to catch Barbel for a living I wouldn't touch ledger, I'd hair/bolt rig hard baits (pellets, boilies) everytime.
 
Thanks for that, Paul.....you've pretty much answered my questions, though Lewis alludes to the fact that Tony Miles hair rigs every time. Definitely food for thought......
 
I do like to touch leger, mainly when I'm fishing close to snags with the clutch set tight..But I still wait for the big tug,I can't see the sense in striking at every chub twitch & spooking the swim, because that's what they are in the main..chub pulls!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top