Perch Livebaiting Rig

[Andy_1984]

Id be interested in the results but im guessing you may attract quite a few small eager pike.

 

Savage gear do a very thin wire in 12lb (finesse) thats about same diameter as 4lb fluoro though im sure they are only pre made lure traces. Could alter them i suppose if you need to rethink. Something to keep in mind.

 

For what its worth ive fished similar to mats suggestion, though with a drilled bullet and some thin twisted wire and single with live bait. The perch were hammering it no bother (1-2lb)

 

have a look at float paternoster (not sunken float paternoster) if you want a float on surface

[Kappa]

Thanks very much for those suggestions, it would be good to see it in action Rich so I might well take you up on your kind offer. In the meantime there are some things about the second picture in your post that Im not sure about.

 

Do I need to use fluoro mainline to the inline swivel or will 8lb mono be ok? If mono is ok where would I put the anti tangle sleeve?

 

I can see why fluoro is needed from the inline swivel to the hook but is it also needed from the sliding barrel swivel to the weight (I see why a weak link would be good)?

 

Finally, what stops the livebait from swimming away giving false bites? Does the bobbin need to be heavy enough to stop that or do you just put up with it until a proper bite comes along (is that the reason for the long drop bobbin?)?

 

Sorry for the questions, Ive seen JV44 use something similar and it does look very complicated when he winds in so I just need to understand what each bit of it does.

 

Andy_1984 Its a stretch of the Thames so Ive no doubt pike will be present but from what Ive seen in three trips ledgering lobworm and from what other members have said the chances of a pike are slim, perch are everywhere. Ill be using a single hook without a trace, if I get bitten off then Ill re-think.

 

Any time Rusty just let me know. This time of year there is plenty of time after work!

 

To your questions:

 

8lb normal mono is fine stiffer the better.

 

The fluorocarbon is from the swivel to the hook. The anti tangle sleeve is also here next to the swivel.

 

The line to the lead can be heavy nylon or fluorocarbon but remember to weaken it! Another anti tangle sleeve here too below the float and maybe above the lead.

 

With small baits you don't get many false bites. As you suspected the long drop really helps telling the difference between an active livebait and a proper take.

 

Finally I would suggest tail hooking the livebait. You will miss a few smaller fish but it's really unusual to deep hook perch with a tail hooked live bait if you strike promptly but they can wolf down a livebait so quickly lip hooking can lead to many more deep hooked fish.

 

Ignore the pike police and fish with the fluorocarbon. A small single hook will do them no real harm if you get bitten off but that very rarely happens to me. With the tail hooked baits the pike will almost certainly be hooked in the scissors, just don't let them thrash their heads about above water and you land them easily. Obviously if you are losing a lot of pike move or you will have to fish wire but most places I fish I mainly catch perch. I have only been forced to use wire a couple of times on the Thames when I've accidentally found large numbers of pike shoaling up before spawning.

Edited June 25, 2015 by Kappa

[Andy_1984]

pike police ? gimmie a break. I take slight offense to that. just gives you a chance of landing them when inevitably (as often does when live baiting) you catch a pike. plus I don't think big perch are scared of wire.

 

^try not to read that with an aggressive tone

[Steve Walker]

Personally, I don't have any qualms using fluoro with single hooks - I don't find I get bitten off by the occasional jack that turns up and even if I did it's no different to being smashed up by a chub when fishing for dace or a carp when fishing for roach. Trebles, unless I am very sure that I won't encounter pike, I use wire. But I don't use trebles for perch.

[Andy_1984]

I dont believe a small single is much concern to pike either but with my own personal experncies my advice is based around that obviously. Im not having a go for once im more annoyed about my advice being met with "ignore the pike police"

[Anderoo]

Rusty, just read your blog post, there is a very easy way to set the CD rig up so it's adjustable. Hope this makes sense, if not I have several made up and ready to go at home and I could try to take a photo:

 

Pat link is 8lb stiff (cheap!) flouro. Starting at top end and working down - 1. ring swivel with mainline running through the large ring (this is the best thing I found for free running on the mainline, large bore plastic rings are OK but after a while the mainline cuts a groove in them and then they can jam up). 2. Pat link tied to end of ring swivel. 3. Anti-tangle sleeve pushed over swivel. 4. Float rubber on pat link. 5. Clear sub surface float on pat link. 6. Second float rubber on pat link to hold float in position. 7. Loop at the end of pat link. 8. Weak link of mono tied to loop. 9. Lead tied onto weak link, heavy enough so that it won't move when a fish takes.

 

Make the pat link long enough, and you can slide the float up and down to fish the bait at different depths. I tend to make mine a standard length of about 5-6ft, which can be extended easily if need be by making the weak link at the bottom longer, or cut down if required. I have several tied up and ready to go (plus several hooklengths which are swivel > anti-tangle sleeve > 6lb stiff flouro> size 6 or 4 hook) so it's very quick to get fishing.

 

The baits can sometimes pull the bobbin up - this shows how free running it is! You'll soon see what a real bite looks like, they are usually very deliberate.

 

If the odd pike comes along don't worry about it. You'll land most of them anyway, and if you do get bitten off it will be very, very occasional and nothing to worry about with a small single hook.

 

Keep us posted!

Edited July 9, 2015 by Anderoo