Pole vs running line - How times have changed!

[Allrounder]

Something happened last Sunday which made me think. I spent a day with four mates fishing on the River Brue in Somerset. The rain had held off for a couple of days and we were expecting some nice roach sport with perhaps a chub or two thrown in. One of the lads I was fishing with is fairly new to the sport and he fished the peg furthest down stream. To cut a long story short the roach did not show but around 2pm our mate on the bottom peg shouted out that he had hooked a fish on the feeder which he promptly lost after a few minutes. Around an hour later he called out again and as nothing was happening in my swim I wandered down to watch. As I got nearer to his peg I could see that his rod was almost bent double so I shouted to him to backwind to give the fish some line. It was obvious from his expression that he didn't know what on earth I was talking about but with some hasty advice from yours truly he quickly sorted himself out and after about 10 minutes he landed a fine 3-8-0 chub. He then went on to land a total of 3 chub for 12-0-0 including a 4-8-0 beauty - a catch which left the rest of us 'experienced' anglers green with envy. Afterwards we had a chat and he confessed that nearly all his fishing to date was done with the pole where the elastic takes care of business and he had no idea how to play a fish on running line. How times have changed!

[Newt]

Welcome to you Allrounder.

 

Or maybe times have changed back. I started my angling with a limber cane pole and the line tied directly to the tip. No elastic. Then took up the fly rod and was amazed - you could give the fish line when needed. Then to a fixed spool setup and the wonders of a clutch so the fish would take line before it reached the breaking point.

 

Did your friend have the clutch on his reel set too tight - or maybe just completely locked down? Otherwise I would have expected the fish to take some line rather than the snap-off thing.

 

I do know the UK standard thing for lots of anglers (especially older ones) is to backwind but have never quite understood it. Clutch works great for me.

[Allrounder]

Blimey that was a quick reply! You are right of course about setting the clutch but I personally don't bother - I just backwind because I feel more in control. I think this is a 'match angler' thing and most of my mates who fish matches do the same. Perhaps I should have named the post 'clutch vs backwinding'!

[poledark]

Like you Newt, I have often wondered why people backwind with F/S reels. I started using F/S before they were fitted with full bail arms and it was fatal to backwind, indeed you always had to check that the line hadn't looped twice around the pickup claw.

The chance of a loop of slack line building up worries me so I always use the clutch.

 

Den

[Newt]

Allrounder - different styles for different areas I know but just try backwinding if you have a big fish on and you may well wind up nursing a broken finger. Or you may just lose your grip on the handle and thus lose the fish.

 

It works OK for smaller fish and for larger ones that don't tend to take off like a "bat out of hell". For the bigguns though, set the anti-reverse, adjust the clutch, and you are in business.

 

And most of the "baitcaster" style of multipliers can't even be set to allow a backwind.

 

One thing that may have an effect on the US penchant for backwinding is those rear-clutch reels that seem to be the favorites in your area. So little pad area for the clutch that is just doesn't hold up well. I tried two different reels made like that and burned out the clutch on each of them. They certainly are move convenient to adjust while you have a fish on but just are not durable enough for me.

 

I back the clutch off after each trip to save wear on the springs and then set it before I start fishing - and leave it set unless a big fish has taken line faster than I like. Even then, tighten down a little and leave it.

[DerwentBob]

Why restrict yourself to using either the clutch or the handle - use both. The clutch is primarily a device to prevent overloading the line so I generally set it so that it will just move under a sharp tug on the line and use backwinding to play a big fish. By not setting the clutch too slack I still have control over the fish and can give line whenever needed via the handle. I can't see the point in locking up the clutch unless I am casting a heavy feeder and then I slacken off again afterwards. Conversely setting the clutch too slack means that the reel is playing the fish not me and I like to have a say in the matter. Also repeated use of the clutch will introduce line twist.

[Simon Newbould]

I've got to agree with Bob on this one... I use a combination of both, I mostly backwind but have the clutch set to give line in those instances where I'm taken by suprise

[ColinR]

Hi Allrounder - In my teens I lived in Somerset.

 

One very cold winters day we had a club match (seniors) on the Brue, it was pushing through some and after a while trying my hardest to get a bite using a stick float without success, I decided to try a maggot feeder cast to the far bank.

 

I tried with maggots hookbait for some time, no luck.

Then I replaced my hook with a bigger size, impaled 2 red maggots and folded a large piece of bread flake around the shank.

 

One and a half hours later, 3 chub for 9lb 8oz and a match win!!

[Newt]

Clutch vs. backwinding - I thought about this one for a while. I was puzzled since it is obvious that some very good & experienced anglers prefer to primarily use backwinding to play the fish and others to use the clutch instead.

 

My only thoughts have to do with the Primary angling methods and preferences gained there.

 

UK - you folks do mostly bait & wait angling with the rod on a rest of some sort and you know when you pick up the rod that you have a take. So, you are prepared for the fish before you even pick up your rod. Backwinding in this case makes perfectly good sense. It is even nice since if you are fishing snaggy water, you can choose to not let the fish take any line to keep it out of snags. You will either turn the fish or break off but the choice is made for a reason.

 

US - lots of lure fishermen and lots of them fish from a moving boat. Huge number of casts in the course of a day's fishing and most will be absent any fish. In that case, it is easy to get lulles into a cast & retrieve pattern and to be somewhat surprised when you get a take. Easy in this case to have the sudden rush of the fish pull the handle out of your hand and lose the fish due to slack. In this case, keeping the anti-reverse on makes sense and puts more fish in the net. However, you had better be using a good clutch when you do this else break-offs will be common. The situation is made even more biased towards the clutch since we also tend to use shorter rods with much less "give" to them.

 

My guess here is that we will tend to use a comfortable and familiar style (backwind vs. clutch) most of the time.

 

The US bias can be seen by the fact that most of our multiplier reels cannot even be set to allow backwinding.

[Allrounder]

Can't argue with most of what has been said above and like Derwent Bob I tend to use both backwinding and clutch myself although with the clutch set tight enough to be the last resort before a break. In the case in point my mates clutch was locked tight and backwinding was the only resort, once he had disengaged his anti-reverse, that is! I take Newts point as well about backwinding big fish. I had this experience with a near 17lb carp on a large local stillwater and although it didn't actually break my fingers, it did its very best and brought a smile to the faces of my neighbours in the next swims! This was definitely a case for setting the clutch because on these large open waters with few snags there is little danger (and a lot of fun!)in letting a fish run but this is very different to a small river where I have learned through bitter experience that large, wily old chub know every snag and make a bee line towards them when they are hooked. When it comes to lurefishing though I always set my clutch without fail because the unexpected take of a fish can snap your line without the cushioning effect the clutch offers. Again, it all comes down to the type of fishing you are doing, the kind of water and the size of the fish you might encounter.