How to plumb your swim

[dutch1862]

A lot of articles I read in things like the Angling Times and Improve Your Coarse Fishing talk about plumbing the depth of your swim.

 

I'm a bit unsure about the right approach and would welcome any tips. It worries me that chucking in a lead weight to several parts of the swim could spook any fish in the area. And of course knowing how deep to fish once I've plumbed - bait just touching the bottom or having some spare line between the hook and the actual bottom point. What approaches do you take to things like remembering the depth if you fish shallow or even for returning to the same peg on another day?

 

I always used to guesstimate the depth when I float fished before, although that had varying levels of success. Now I think that having the right depth is a big step in the right direction. Would you agree?

 

Another area these articles suggest this can help is on finding snags in your swim. How do you do this exactly? And how do you make sure you don't snag up your plumb??

[barney66]

A lot of articles I read in things like the Angling Times and Improve Your Coarse Fishing talk about plumbing the depth of your swim.

 

I'm a bit unsure about the right approach and would welcome any tips. It worries me that chucking in a lead weight to several parts of the swim could spook any fish in the area. And of course knowing how deep to fish once I've plumbed - bait just touching the bottom or having some spare line between the hook and the actual bottom point. What approaches do you take to things like remembering the depth if you fish shallow or even for returning to the same peg on another day?

 

I always used to guesstimate the depth when I float fished before, although that had varying levels of success. Now I think that having the right depth is a big step in the right direction. Would you agree?

 

Another area these articles suggest this can help is on finding snags in your swim. How do you do this exactly? And how do you make sure you don't snag up your plumb??

[mjbarnes12]

you can get varying weights of plummets to stop splashing, however, i do a lot of pole fishing (and when i use the waggler) I use big split shot just above my hook to pull the rig down - this greatly stops the splashing - also if the swim you are fishing in has a soft bottom a large plummet will sink through giving you a false reading!!

As for finding the correct depth your float should settle just as you want it to when you have thge correct depth i.e. not too much sticking out of the water/lying flat on the water (which means you have set your rig too deep) or it goes under the surface (your rig is too shallow!!)

 

It depends on what you are fishing for and the conditions if you are laying line on the floor!!

 

I find for roach/small carp/crucian carp/skimmer bream fishing i like to have it just touching the bottom so as soon as it is touched the float gives me an indication.

 

For tench/larger carp and bream that pick the bait up and often swim upwards i like to lay line on the deck so that they do not feel the resistance of the rig and the float lifts out of the water instead of dropping, also these fish suck the bait in instead of pecking at it so they do not feel the hook until the strike (hopefully)

 

In windy conditions it pays to lay some line on the deck, this is so that the bait is stationary, as the float gets towed and dragged around so will the bait so allowing line to be layed on the deck enables a better presentation of the bait.

 

to find snags you simply full the line through the swim feeling the line or watching the rod tip or float for any activity, and yes you do sometimes get snagged and that tells you not to fish there!!

 

hope this helps

[Andy Macfarlane]

The more I fish, the more I think we put far too much thought into spooking fish. Standing on the horizon will scare a lot of fish simply because you're making your presence, as a possible predator, obvious. That's straightforward stuff but as for splashes, drips, plops etc. I'm less convinced that these noises bother fish much. In fact, fish can be quite nosey when it comes to anything small hitting the water because it might be food and in my mind, fish are complete chancers and they'll try just about anything if you give them time to try it out. If you can get yourself down onto your chosen swim without being spotted, you really don't have to concern yourself too much about plumbing your swim. Naturally, there is making a repetitive din to think about. Too much noise will just put fish off so at least try to keep your tests down to a minimum and allow some time for your swim to settle down for a short while but don't worry too much about it. I think some anglers put far too much effort into 'stalking' fish and the current trend for anything 'camo' is a testament to that. All I'd say is, don't give yourself away and the little plops and slashes will take care of themselves.

[mjbarnes12]

The more I fish, the more I think we put far too much thought into spooking fish. Standing on the horizon will scare a lot of fish simply because you're making your presence, as a possible predator, obvious. That's straightforward stuff but as for splashes, drips, plops etc. I'm less convinced that these noises bother fish much. In fact, fish can be quite nosey when it comes to anything small hitting the water because it might be food and in my mind, fish are complete chancers and they'll try just about anything if you give them time to try it out. If you can get yourself down onto your chosen swim without being spotted, you really don't have to concern yourself too much about plumbing your swim. Naturally, there is making a repetitive din to think about. Too much noise will just put fish off so at least try to keep your tests down to a minimum and allow some time for your swim to settle down for a short while but don't worry too much about it. I think some anglers put far too much effort into 'stalking' fish and the current trend for anything 'camo' is a testament to that. All I'd say is, don't give yourself away and the little plops and slashes will take care of themselves.

There are new 'up in the water' pellet floats that purposefully make a noise to attract carp.

 

Also when i am fishing matches and do not want too much feed in I cup water in the make a noise!!

 

Just be delicate with it ir try to keep the plummet in the water as much as possible!!

[Andy Macfarlane]

I think it's simply about finding a balance between being overly stealthy for no reason and just making yourself patently obvious, which is the same in any fishing application. Finding the balance is an experience thing certainly but I really have to question some books and literature I've read over the years which make fishing out to be something akin to Indians stalking deer with bows and arrows. Just don't make a complete din and you'll be fine.

[Anderoo]

There's a big difference between people making a disturbance (shouting, stomping, skylining, etc.) and things in the water making a disturbance. Plumbing the depth is essential, and worth any bother it may cause any fish present, and I reckon that to be very little. Some fish don't like rigs landing overhead, but for the most part, as long as you're sensible, casting things in the water won't spook fish in the same way a person peering over the margins, or hammering in a bankstick, will. Marker floats, spods, method feeders and even big old rakes don't seem to worry fish much.

 

By the way, when it comes to plummets, the heavier the better (within reason!). A heavy one will give you a much clearer idea of depth. And you'll find any snags by getting snagged in them, unless you can see into clear water Just one of those things, but better to find it before you have a fish on.

[Guest tigger]

If your fishing bottom then use a polaris float, it finds the bottom it's self and you can use a weight or feeder just like ledgering......."float ledgering". You get great lift bites as well as the float being dragged under.

[fruitloopy]

I tend to setup my rig first, I.e. Float, weights, hooklink and hook. The float is setup so it is shot correctly, then guesstimate the depth and set it. Then I pinch an SSG on the bottom of the hook itself, this masks the hook in case of snags but still gets an idea of any snags in the area without getting caught (hopefully).

Also as mjbarnes12 said below, I think it gives a better idea of where the 'true' bottom is above the silt and causes less disturbance. I have also lost a couple of nice fish by pinching the shot above the hook as I think it may have weakened the line.

 

Cast to the area you want to discover. If the float sinks you can usually see how deep its going and guess how much deeper it needs to go. Reel in and change the depth accordingly and repeat until the float is just touching the surface.

If the float sits perfectly its probably overdepth so reel in and decrease the depth until its only just under the surface. Once you have found the depth you can then reel in, attach the hook to the butt of your rood and reel in the slack. Make a note of how far up the rod your float is sitting, 2nd, 3rd or 4th ring up, etc. This is so you can redo your depth quickly if you snap your hooklink or your depth changes when playing a fish. You can now also go overdepth or under depending on feeding, conditions and such.

You could also now cast around to other areas near your chosen swim to see if its deeper or shallower.

[dutch1862]

Thanks everyone. Some top advice there that reinforces my view that it is an important thing to do.

 

As I work in IT and as much as I hate am probably a little bit geeky I can see I'm going to end up taking a notebook and pencil with me so I can sketch a quick diagram of the swim and record the various depths!

 

And far worse than that it's adding to my desperation to get out on the bank and try all of these things out! Ah well it's only this month and next that I need to get through of working full-time and studying part-time!