Different rivers and differing lb breaking strain line

[tiddlertamer]

I fish a variety of rivers across England and along the way have come across a variety of float fishing styles.

And there is a huge variation in the breaking strain of line used by people on the river bank.

 

Now of course this is partly dictated by the species of fish you are targeting and the conditions.

So if barbel are your target, you’ll step up your line.

If conditions are low and clear and you are after large roach, then you’ll use a lower lb breaking strain line.

But I fish rivers where both species are present...

 

On the upper reaches of the Hampshire Avon, when I used 2.9lb breaking strain recently, people commented it was too high.

On the Upper Lea, when using 5lb breaking strain, people commented it was too low.

On the Wye, it was recommended to use 8lb line due to the presence of barbel and sharp rocks.

 

So a great deal of regional variation.

Habit, necessity and other factors are obviously at play.

 

What lb breaking strain line do you use on your river?

[Dick Dastardly]

I dont let "what I MIGHT catch" influence my choice of tackle but instead "what Im trying to catch".

 

If a barbel comes along while Im roach fishing with a 2.5lb mainline and 1.1lb bottom then so be it! If I land it then great an extra bonus but if I loose it then so be it. And if Im targetting barbel and my 6lb bottom stops me from bagging up on roach then once again fine.

 

My choice of tackle will depend on what species Im targetting and that will normally depend on the conditions/venue I am fishing in/on.

 

Simplistic maybe but it has always worked a lot better for me than trying to cover all eventualities by making compromises.

[Anderoo]

I'm with Budgie. If I'm chubbing on a low and clear Thames I'll probably use a hooklength of 4-6lb, depending on how snaggy the swim is. If I hook and lose one of the big Thames carp, well, that's life!

 

When trotting I use the same mainline all the time now, which is 8lb braid. Hooklength choice is made based on clarity of water, bait (and therefore hook size) and snags rather than fish species. If I hook one of the rare barbel or one of the bigger trout, it's as likely to snap me up on 3lb as 1lb hooklength. I usually use either 2lb or 3lb hooklength (that very thin, clear Drennan stuff on the blue spools) on my local small rivers, starting with 3lb and going down to 2lb if I need to. They are very snaggy little streams so I daren't go any lighter.

 

EDIT: and there's very little fishing pressure, so I don't need to fish as light as somewhere where the fish are a bit more canny.

Edited September 8, 2010 by Anderoo

[BoldBear]

I'm also with Budgie my line is normally decided by my target species and the ammount of snags in my swim.

 

On the upper Lea In the early summer I am usually trotting for Barbel with 6lb line (unless the swim is particularly snaggy when Ill step up my lline) but at this time of year when the river takes on a bit more colour due to rains and because the Barbel seem to put on weight before winter arrives I may step up to 8lb line.

 

In the winter when I'm after Roach I change over to 3lb mainline and 2.5lb hooklengths.

If I hook a Barbel or Carp that smashes me up then I just accept it but I will usually carry on after the Roach with the finer line especially if the Roach I am catching are of a good size.

Edited September 8, 2010 by BoldBear

[Renrag39]

I usually fish the rivers Bure and Thurne. I rarely change my mainline bs, keeping steady at 6lb for feeder (or 10lb braid) and 4lb for float. My mainstay hooklength is usually 4lb but intend to scale down to 2.5lb in winter or when the going gets hard.

I'm proud to say that since I have started fishing again, I have yet to blank but it is summer and it's fairly easy fishing atm. Maybe I will scale down even further than 2.5lb in the future, who knows?

 

Renrag

[chavender]

i always use hooklinks ,upto 2lbs b/s less than the mainline ,so i like too keep things even ,so i fish with 4lbs ,6lbs mostly occationally i'll gto lower if i know the species i'm after or the conditions suite light lines ,i always go expecting too catch chub (its a old habit) sometimes i get bigger fish

 

 

and sometimes just minnows

 

 

so i like too stike a happy medium ,too cope with whatever comes along ,sometimes might seem heavy sometimes might seem too light too others .but theres more too float fishing than just the line ,i have faith in my rods too handle what comes my way ,as they do most of the work ,the way i fish (hit ,hold ,control ,land) .the primary function of my line is too float or sink & suitable B/s (+hooklink) too cope with the conditions and fish i'm after .