I posed basically the same question to the sea angling section but a little more detail here.

I was bottom fishing today while at anchor. Had 4 rods out and while I was relaxing and waiting for a take (didn't get any though, darn it) it occured to me that we've never had this discussion.

The traditional bite alarms used by the shore anglers won't work on a boat since no matter how well you are anchored, the boat moves around some.

My solution is as you see it here



I take the huge bobbers they sell here as fishing floats and modify them to suit me. Since I doubt many UK anglers use the things, here is a picture of a typical one. They are available all the way from the size of a grape to larger than a golf ball. The piece on top is spring loaded and when you press on it, a small wire hook pokes out of the bottom so you can clip it on your line.




I replace the wire with a paper clip and have a large enough loop that the line slides freely. Clip the thing between rings and it does several useful things

- the weight of it takes a little of the slack out of the line so you can avoid having each wave or other boat movement cause your bait to move.

- it is very easy to see (use a fluoro paint for night sessions) and you can tell the tap tap of a fish from other movements very easily.

- it shows drop back takes.

- if you get a solid take, the line loses all slack and the sound of the plastic float clicking against the rod alerts you even if you weren't watching at that moment.

Shown here in a little more detail. Similar to what the old timer shore anglers used before battery powered alarms were invented but works lots better for me than a washing bottle cap.

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White rods! Arghhhhhhhhh, how unfashionable!! As Henry T Ford once said, you can have any colour so long as its black!! Boring, but that is us British through and through!! But that aside, back to the question in hand.

I fish from a boat for the vast majority of my fishing. I might use the rod tip for indication, ideal for bream on the Broads. I might also use a quiver tip, a very pliable tip, for indication.

The bobbin type that Newt illustrates is commercially made over here. They fasten to the line with a gizmo rather like a lady's hair grip. The bobbin is tied to the rod rest so that when you strike the bobbin is pulled off the line.

There are other variations on a theme such as swing tips that hang from the rod tip or from the butt section of the rod. But for most boat anglers that I know it will be the rod tip, a quiver tip, a float or a bobbin.

Its worth adding that in bobbin ledgering the tether from the bobbin to the rod rest serves another task. You can adjust the sensitivity of the bobbin by squeezing split shot onto it, just under the bobbin.

I think, also, that I would point the rod rather more a the water. This cuts down on the friction at the rod tip and reduces the amount of line to be taken up on a strike.

[ 29. November 2004, 09:41 AM: Message edited by: Peter Waller ]

Thanks Peter. Should have guessed there would be something purpose-made for it.

I often to point the rods toward the bait and more toward the water. Depends on conditions and what effect I'm after. The place I anchored yesterday is just off the main channel and sees a fair amount of boat traffic with boats running at full speed in both directions. I have found this rod position makes it easier to allow for that.

The combination of PowerPro braid (slick) and good rings cut down enough on friction at the rod tip that I'm confident about being able to detect fish activity.

Going back to rod colour, got to say that I can see the logic of white. Over here if a rod is not black then it probably won't sell. But to my way of thinking a black rod is far more visible against a skyline than a white one. But I draw the line at a Penn rod that I was offered, in a chromium finish! What do you other guys think?

Newt, as I have said I didn't look at that Korda DVD but I'm sure there will be good examples of swingers and bobbins in there.

Swingers and hangers and danglers and all sorts of gee-whiz gadgets Peter. I still sorta like my really cheap modified bobbers though. I have several sizes and can add weight to any of them to balance conditions on a given day and they seem to do the job nicely. They don't get in the way of reeling in a fish but at times I do just put the fish on hold and unclip the bobber. They are light enough that I don't see any ill effects to the rod finish when they click against the blank either and the sound is distinctive enough to positively signal a bite.

Rod color - I'm not sure if it matters at all to the fish. I got these because the particular action in an ugly stik that I liked is only offered in white. Otherwise I do fine with black, brown, red, green, whatever and in fact have rods in those colors. I agree though that chrome woudl not do it for me.

[ 30. November 2004, 12:56 AM: Message edited by: Newt ]

I normally wouldnt want to fish a ledger rig from a boat, particularly in a river. There is just too much potential for the boat moving around and giving a confusing indication of a bite, particularly in the case of shy feeders. I always use floats for chub, perch and pike from a boat on the occasions that I use bait and never more than two rods per person when float fishing. On the odd occasion that I TRY to catch barbel or a mixed bag then I might try swimfeeding with a quiver tip after tying the boat down tight, but for all predator fishng its either a free roving bait on the drift or laid on the bottom overdepth with an oversize weight. But always with a float. Unless you divorce bite indication from boat movement then I suspect you will miss timid bites. Had a recent fish on the Yare barely moving the float. It was there but was playing 'do I...dont I' for a good ten minutes. Without a slim deadbait float that was not affected by boat movement, I would not have seen the bite. The only reason I would switch to a ledger rig would be in circumstances of extreme depth (I'd probably use lures anyway) or extreme distance (in which case I'd simply move the boat) Rod colour matters not to a fish, particularly when its dangling over the side of a 14 foot boat. Concentrate on hiding the boat before getting into rod colours. Any rod , any colour, will give off 'flash' or shadow. In shallow clear water I keep as much of the rod inboard as possible when casting or waiting for a bite.

[ 30. November 2004, 04:16 PM: Message edited by: argyll ]

100 lbs of bream in a tide is not uncommon whilst ledgering from a boat on the Broads, both Waveney & the Yare. 2 or more knots of tide & it really is the only way! Size 8 or even 6 hooks, crude maybe, but it works. But I agree with Argyll on the movement issue. That's why we tend fish early or late on the Broads, before other boats start moving, so the boat keeps still! But that suits the bream so no issue on that score.

But when it comes to pike, 100% in agreement. Stret pegging in the river is certainly worth trying.

Just as an afterthought, movement of water, e.g. boat wash and waves caused by wind effect float sensitivity possibly more than movement of a boat effecting a ledger. Horses for courses I suppose.

[ 30. November 2004, 12:03 PM: Message edited by: Peter Waller ]

argyll - give a try at the hanging indicator (a la my pictures) with braid and you will be absolutely amazed at how well it shows the shyest of touches from a fish while not reacting much to boat/water/wave movement.

If it somehow fails to perform well for you, you will have wasted maybe 10p and a little time and can then have the fun of posting back to tell me I have some terrible ideas.

Cheers Newt, I found one of those red and white ball jobbies hanging from a tree at the canal earlier in the year, thought it was some type of float.

Newt - used something similar in South Africa.
Can you tell me if they have a U shaped piece of wire which fits into two holes on the float. If it does, we used to twist the wire so that it stops on the plastic and does not go back in the hole! that does away with with further modification.