Freelining help and advice

[fruitloopy]

I have been attempting to freeline worms and other baits this week as I tried it once and it seemed to work where a float did not. I think its also going to be more enjoyable doing this when the river season starts.

 

Can you guys and girls offer advice, helpful hints and tips on best methods and techniques?

 

What line to use, should you put weights, swivels, hooklengths on?

When to react?

How to hold the rod/line?

How to know you have a bite (although this was fairly obvious when I have done it!)

 

Etc.

[norfolkfisher]

Put as much weight (shots work best) as to how deep you want to fish and try wobbling worms, winding them in slowly and they spin in the water, almost guarantees to catch perch and chub if nothing else. But seems to work better on rivers rather than stillwaters.

[DavyR]

By definition, it isn't free-lining if you have any weights (even shots!) on the line. I've found it's a method best suited to margin fishing for carp, or for close-range fishing on rivers where you are casting directly to fish (usually chub or barbel) that you can see. Beware of having too much slack line out, as this can result in deep-hooked fish, especially when fishing worm.

 

On stillwater, I usually set the rod up on two rests with the tip pointing at the bait. If there's no wind, you can see the line tighten deliberately when the fish takes. Or you can hold the line with the pad of the forefinger in front of the reel. On running water I prefer to hold the rod tip at right angles to the bait and strike when the tip moves, as in ordinary legering.

 

I always use a hooklength of a lighter breaking strain, attached by the loop-to-loop method. Line strength and hook size dependent on size of quarry, size of bait, and presence (or otherwise) of snags.

[fruitloopy]

Great advice from both and I will put it into practise. Your right about the margin fishing for carp, I put my old centrepin on a short stalking rod while I was fishing on Saturday and dropped a lobworm on a size 6 hook down into the margin where I could see the reeds knocking about. Tightened up to it and just held the line between my finger and thumb. Within seconds the line went tight and I struck.

Once I coaxed him out of the reeds I landed this lovely 7lb mirror, lovely colour as well.

 

I've always been much more interested in the 'natural' ways of fishing, standing back from a lake and just watching for a while to locate the fish and then creeping up to them with nothing but a worm on the hook.

 

I have always wanted a nice size Perch, anything over a 1lb would be great so I will certainly try Norfolkfisher's tips.

 

Cheers

[Peter M]

antoher tip if you want to freeline bread crust is to dip it in the water to add some casting weight then a gentle underarm flick will do the trick.