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Touch Ledgering

Ian Hugo Arnott

Ian Hugo Arnott

Senior Member
Have just watched a noted angler touch Ledgering for barbel, which is his favoured method, as it is mine.

How many BFW members touch ledger?

All the time?

On occasions?

Or never?


No criticism of other methods, just interested in knowing members' preferences.

Happy Boxing Day!

Regards,

Hugo



 
I've used it on occasions Ian, one night I was getting bites I just not connect with and although I didn't hook any barbel by touch legering I landed five good sized bream.
 
On occasions when the situation dictates - usually when the 'three-foot twitches' are failing to develop. Certainly can mean the difference between a blank and connecting at times.
 
I occasionally touch leger, if nothing else just to get that heightened buzz of anticipation. I'm not really one for striking at tiny pulls though as, despite knowing that barbel often do give small indications, I'd rather hit a proper bite that will eventually come rather than striking at what could also be small fish and spooking the swim.

Looking at the weather forecast now though I think I'm more likely to be at work driving the gritter truck for the next few days instead of touch legering on the Gt Ouse!!
 
I love it.the first time I tried it I had 7 barbel on the trot going 7/13 the best of them.fr ee spirit rod without the quiver I sat for some time without response so I started to pull the bait back an inch at a time.bingo 7 on the trot.i have caught trout doing this.pulling the fly across the deck slowly.
Albert.
 
Horses for courses

Hugo was he fishing big lumps of meat?

I touch ledger big pieces of meat and cheesepaste but if I'm using a hair rigged pellet/boilie I don't really see the point. That is unless I'm getting little touches on the rod tip,I then will pull some slack off and point the rod towards the baited hook and on feeling the bite give the slack.
If I'm roving it's quite easy to touch ledger but on a big river fishing static it's not easy sat there touch ledgering with very little activity.
 
It is an excellent method Hugo. I knew a very fine angler who used touch legering almost exclusively, and he reached a level of proficiency which was almost scary. He could sense when a fish was having tentative feels, and you could see him figuratively winding up to strike when there had been nothing visible on the rod top at all....I know, because I watched him often enough. I would love to be able to claim that I had reached that level too, but sadly, not quite. I think he had a natural...something. Lord knows what it was, but I know I never had it, at least not to the extent he had.

Then, as I said to you before, I reached a stage where I could no longer cope with fishing that way, so resorted to sticking it in the rests and watching. Luckily, I enjoy that too, so no real problem. I know that I am not as in touch with what is going on down below the surface any more (excuse the pun), but on the other hand, it is more relaxing, and that has grown in importance to me as the years go by (though I admit to an unhealthy fondness for 'relaxation' at the best of times :D)

I learned the art of patience (and how to relax while being patient) when I was carp fishing. You can have fast and furious stuff in carp fishing if you like, it all depends what you want...and what you want dictates where you fish. I have done both, but eventually felt the need for quality rather than quantity...and deny any hints that my choice was biassed in any way by my love of reading good books away from the madding crowd....

Cheers, Dave.
 
David Gauntlett said:
Sorry Dan, I went back and added a bit more after your post...so feel free to edit your post too :D

I only added to it to make Neil's day...'tis the festive season after all :D

Cheers, Dave.
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Thank's Dave you can't have too much of a good thing you know :)

Just finished watching A Fish For All Season's by the excellent Martin Bowler so well up for a bit of fishy chat. Don't want to digress too much from the topic, but Martin Bowler is so refreshing in his approach to fishing, still has the wide eyed kid in him, and the genuine feeling of catching a good fish that only us anglers can appreciate is a joy to behold. He also visits some of my old haunts on the Bristol Avon, and below Malmesbury Abbey catches a 2lb Roach, the scene of a few nice Roach of my own a few years back, sadly as he pointed out the Cormorant have accounted for most of the Roach these days.

Those old Estate Lake Carp were beautiful, stunning fish, and looked as though they had never seen a hook before.

Yes touch ledgering, I have just treated myself to a Harrison 11' 1.75 Barbel rod, and seems ideal for this method, and I posted a few days back that it would be an ideal way to enjoy a summers evening, fishing the margins of my local Avon.... but like you I normally revert back to the lazy way of placing the rod in rests and wait for the hoop round, but I intend to make a go of it, and the 'electric' feel you get when the fish are mooching around is exciting....

My turn to ramble on, well I have earned the right too at my age. :rolleyes:
 
Moving on, holding the rod when using floating crust for carp at night has been one of the most exciting methods I have ever used, oh just remembered fishing large lumps of luncheon meat on the surface of the Kennet, when it was full of streamer weed and watching the mouths and whiskers of barbel taking the bait.

Fantastic times!

Regards,

Hugo


 
Neil, my first rods, back when touch legering was my chosen method, were all 10' or less, I didn't own anything longer than that (float rods aside) for many years. Of course back then they were cane, and then fibreglass, so heavier than modern rods. My favourite rods for fishing inside slacks for big bream and roach were a pair of 7'-6" winklepickers, with long built in quiver tips, using single or double caster on an 18 or 20 hook to 1.7 or 2.4lb bottom, with a tiny cage feeder. True, I didn't touch ledger with those rods, preferring rests and a target board...but that was the only time/method when bottom fishing that I opted for rests back then. I even caught barbel, to a best of 9lb-15oz on that flimsy gear. Happy days. Wouldn't try it now though :eek:

I have even touch legered for carp when circumstances were right, but too old and lazy now :D

Hugo...did you ever float half a slice of bread on a big hook in the margins at night, sat well back so only the required 6" to a foot or so of the rod were sticking over the water, waiting for carp that were mopping up what anglers discarded in the edge when they were packing up? Nerve racking stuff, and I have had what must have been a record breaking rat that way too :p Happy days indeed.

Cheers, Dave.
 
David Gauntlett said:
Hugo...did you ever float half a slice of bread on a big hook in the margins at night, sat well back so only the required 6" to a foot or so of the rod were sticking over the water, waiting for carp that were mopping up what anglers discarded in the edge when they were packing up? Nerve racking stuff, and I have had what must have been a record breaking rat that way too :p Happy days indeed.

Cheers, Dave.
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Dave,

That was exciting stuff, fortunately we were not bothered by rats.

Regards,


Hugo



 
Ian Hugo Arnott said:
Dave,

That was exciting stuff, fortunately we were not bothered by rats.

Regards,


Hugo
Click to expand...

Ruddy things swim along the margins for exactly the same reason as the carp do in some waters Hugo. Still, it's not as bad as France, where they have coypu in some lakes....and the odd wild boar raiding your bivvy :D Not had it myself, but some of my mates have had some hairy experiences along those lines.

Cheers, Dave.
 
Coypus won't bother you Dave, very docile creatures and lovely to watch. Boars are a different matter of course. But rats are a major pain
on any water.
 
I touch leger for about 98 percent if my barbelling. You can find out a hell of a lot about what's happening in the swim, compared to watching a rod tip.
 
David Barratt said:
I touch leger for about 98 percent if my barbelling. You can find out a hell of a lot about what's happening in the swim, compared to watching a rod tip.
Click to expand...

100% agree, even with the 3foot twitch I usually (but not always :D) get an indication before it goes.

Can tell when the crays are nibbling, and more importantly when they stop - either the bait has gone or something capable of munching them has moved into the swim - what is liner feels like and that something is nibbling/mouthing the bait.

Also much less likely to loose your rod:eek:
 
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