Hookbait and rigs

[Anderoo]

Ever noticed that on all angling forums when people ask how to catch a certain species, or a fish or a certain size, both the question and responses are nearly always centered around hookbait and rig? Why do you think this is?

 

When targetting a particular species or a fish of a certain size, how important do you think these two aspects are? What else do you reckon should be taken into account?

[Dick Dastardly]

Its because most of them have never heard of watercraft or location simply as neither of these can be sold vacuum packed so they aren't advertised...................

[watatoad]

Its because most of them have never heard of watercraft or location simply as neither of these can be sold vacuum packed so they aren't advertised...................

 

I think that is a spot on answer...

 

Unless they have heard of it and just think its old fashioned rubbish.

 

They also seem to dismiss what is not Commercial Carp fishing.

 

They also seem to dismiss what is not fished for a distance.

 

They also seem to dismiss what is not just a case of cast and wait for the alarm to sound.

 

They also seem to dismiss what is not on one or other type of leger.

 

They also seem to dismiss what is not on the pole.

 

And they do not seem to want to put any effort into studying their prey or venue or even methods of fishing so we provide instant packaged just add water solutions.

Edited October 5, 2010 by watatoad

[luckydenvermint]

I think that is a spot on answer...

 

Unless they have heard of it and just think its old fashioned rubbish.

 

They also seem to dismiss what is not Commercial Carp fishing.

 

They also seem to dismiss what is not fished for a distance.

 

They also seem to dismiss what is not just a case of cast and wait for the alarm to sound.

 

They also seem to dismiss what is not on one or other type of leger.

 

They also seem to dismiss what is not on the pole.

 

And they do not seem to want to put any effort into studying their prey or venue or even methods of fishing so we provide instant packaged just add water solutions.

 

Had to laugh the other day when my Father and I were told by two resident Carpers that we won't catch anything decent on float; My dad pulled out two nice Carp on float with a bit of pinched bread around the hook whilst the two Carpers sat in front of some 'silent' alarms.

 

I personally believe that if you put a piece of bait on a hook that the fish your aiming for is known to eat and stick it in an area containing the fish you're after then theres a good chance you'll hook one no matter what rig, rod, etc you are using.

 

I also think this ties into a more important question such as reading the features on the water you are fishing and having a bit of base knowledge to know where certain fish like to reside or where they might move to in different conditions.

 

 

But I also understand there are different types of fisherman and some people go there to enjoy the surroundings and hopefully catch whilst others are obsessed with the technical side of things and mull over every little detail. Each to there own.

[Fours]

I think that is a spot on answer...

 

Unless they have heard of it and just think its old fashioned rubbish.

 

They also seem to dismiss what is not Commercial Carp fishing.

 

They also seem to dismiss what is not fished for a distance.

 

They also seem to dismiss what is not just a case of cast and wait for the alarm to sound.

 

They also seem to dismiss what is not on one or other type of leger.

 

They also seem to dismiss what is not on the pole.

 

And they do not seem to want to put any effort into studying their prey or venue or even methods of fishing so we provide instant packaged just add water solutions.

Fair comment, well made.

However a forum is designed to be question-based isn't it?Many people are looking for a short-cut to success for obvious reasons.It takes the leg-work out of the equation.Not defending it, but has none of your angling knowledge been gleened from books/friends/forums?Just playing Devils Advocate!

[Kappa]

When targetting a particular species or a fish of a certain size, how important do you think these two aspects are? What else do you reckon should be taken into account?

 

As you know I'm very riggy I think they are very important as I think most anglers would be amazed at how many fish pickup the bait but don't get caught. Get your rig and feeding right I think you could literally catch on any bait.

 

All of that said all of the above is pointless if you're location is wrong.

 

IMO if you want to be successful no detail should be overlooked no effort too big whether its rigs, baits, or recasting for the 5th time at 3am when its **** down to get it perfect. Its hard work and I know very few anglers that try as hard as they can, myself included!

 

Rich

[Dales]

What has been said about watercraft is true, but when answering a question it's hard to give that as an answer as it's something gained over many years of experience and you can't get that across in a few lines or paragraphs. So it's easy to point some one in the direction of a bait or rig that hopefully should work.

 

But answering Anderoo's question I do think bait and rigs are very important. I don't believe in "magic baits" and get on the "X brand boilies mate" nonsense. But as Richard pointed out every little thing that you can do to get it perfect loads the odds in your favour of catching and baits and rigs are two variables that you have 100% control over, you can't effect weather conditions, flow, undertow, colour in the water etc. Although you can pick venue and when to go etc, but I hope you know what I mean.

 

At times I don't think it matters what bait you use, but at others it's getting that little detail right that makes a big difference. Just using a given bait is not always the answer, but knowing when to use a certain bait, should it be a big bait or a tiny one, hard on the bottom, up in water, should you add your little "extras" to your bait or use it as it comes. Any added edge you can get is a bonus.

 

During a recent discussion, a very good angler said "that if he had to take a 20 mile detour via a tackle shop on his way to a venue so that his bait was extra fresh, he would do if he thought it would give him an extra 1% chance of catching" I think that kind of sums it up, getting the bait right adds to your chances. However it is only one part, but you might aswell get it right and add that extra percentage in your favour. If you get enough variables right you should catch.

 

I have always been a bit of a rig nerd mainly back when I used to do more Carping and would over engineer most of my rigs. I tend not to be so obsessed now and all the little rings etc are no longer in many rigs. However I do belive the little tips about turning the hook for a better hook up do make a difference but others times a simple hook is enough. I guess the skill is knowing when to keep things simple and when you feel you need something more "hi-tech"

[Anderoo]

I should point out that I do think that bait and rigs are important, and that you need to get them right. And that I'm as guilty as anyone else, e.g. the bream topic is subtitled 'rigs, bait, everything'!

 

It is a good point that these two things are easy to explain and to control, so that does make sense.

 

I agree with Richard, that no detail should be overlooked and no effort is too big when you have something special in mind. But in my opinion rig choice and bait choice are usually things to be considered once location, tactics and feeding have been sorted out - and the big thing to understand that feeds into everything else is fish behaviour.

[Steve Walker]

baits and rigs are two variables that you have 100% control over

 

I think that sums up why advice so often focuses on those areas - and they are the easy bits to give a firm answer to.

 

Another key bit of advice is "fish somewhere that contains what you are after"!

 

I think if someone has enough watercraft from pursuing other species, that may be enough to get them going - if someone had never fished for grayling, for example, but was a competent river angler, you wouldn't need to give them much more than a pointer on bait and tactics for them to get started. You could give them a head start on the kind of swim grayling prefer, but they would probably have little trouble finding them without it.

[larsagi2010]

I think a lot of the time an answer on Bait/Rigs is extremely hard to give.

 

For example:

 

Most people would say ''Tench feed hard to the bottom, and list a lot of favourite baits to use in conjunction with a ledger rig, or a float rig on or over-depth''

 

This season I have have had lots of Carp/Crusians on the feeder rig... But we have had 4-5 times more Tench on a float rig 6 inches deep on red maggot!

 

If I tried this method on the second lake.... The 6 inch deep float rig would fail for larger fish, but on my regular lake it seems to work extremely well.

 

Yesterday me and my partner did some filming with Sony, we did a 10 min fishing take in which we caught 8 fish on this ''Six inch deep'' rig. All were under half a lb, but some nice Rudd, Roach and Perch came out.....

 

What is spot on advice for one water, is possibly terrible for another.

 

I am doing some filming next week which I am calling ''The power of the 6 inch rig'' We have 1 hour and hope to catch 45-50 fish on this simple float rig. The rules are. No prebaiting, no bait to be thrown in while fishing. So literally just drop the float in with the hookbait and try to hit the target. I think I could achieve this target on my own, let alone with the other half also.

 

I will post the vid when I make it!

 

But as for the above.....

 

Watercraft is a MUST: Almost like a 6th sense. I could confidently look at a swim and go ''Nope, nothing here'' and my fishing would back that up if I tried there.

 

Last week I sat down at a swim and saw Carp moving close by... But I was so sure I wasn't going to do well I moved further down.... Same feeling.... In the end I found a swim (My 4th one in 20 mins) and it instantly seemed perfect.... The days fishing reflected that perfectly