Bite Offs

[Tony 1]

Just out of interest how many of you have experienced the phenomenon of Bite offs from carp? For me Bite offs are almost a thing of the past, I haven't had one for years now, I used to get loads back in the nineties on Dacron and mono, I was never 100% convinced carp were the culprits all the time. Used to happen lot with paste baits for some reason such as trout pellet and whiskers, a lot which I was sure were big eels. It may be better hooklink material and better presentation with self hooking rigs the bait does not seem to go in so deep towards the Pharyngeal teeth. I would be interested to here your experiences.

 

[ 10. June 2005, 03:32 PM: Message edited by: Tony Coley ]

[Dick Dastardly]

"Bite offs" like "Twitcher hitting" are a thing of the past now most use semi fixed self hooking/pricking rigs.Bite offs were also a lot more common with particle and mass baits than they were with boillies.

 

I remember using "frighteners" normally small lengths of cocktail stick held on to the hook length near the hook with float rubbers.They worked but the bolt rig with short hook length soon made them redundant.

 

Not so sure that your on the right track about eels though.With hair rigged boillies my experiance with eels has been that the hair (when using the old method of a light nylon hair unlike the modern no knot method) was broken as the eel had not actually been able to get the hook in and was just hanging on to the boillie.Big ones would simply be hooked in the mouth with the line remaining outside.

[Peter Waller]

I get my head bitten off by carp anglers, sometimes!

[Tony 1]

"frighteners" Now theres a blast from the past back in the Eighties I used to use the tube stick off the swizzles lolly pops threaded on the hook link for mine

 

Budgie the reason I came up with the eel theory was mainly because I used to fish with fish based paste baits, the waters I was fishing were home to some very big snigs. managed to land a few on the old TP & whiskers

 

[ 10. June 2005, 07:39 PM: Message edited by: Tony Coley ]

[Uncle Fester]

Yes, I had some in the late 80s early 90s on a particular water which I still fish now and again.

I was convinced at the time that pike were the culprits, although there genuinely doesn't appear to be any in the lake. A strong run, then strike into nothing, all tackle intact except the hook is gone. Happened enough times to get me really curious, but wasn't really sure what they were until I read this thread. All my more recent fishing (and very occasional at that) on that lake has been on the float. Managed a common of around 7lb on an 18 hook with a single grain of sweetcorn last night. First carp for a good few years. Well chuffed!

Unc F