Fishing in a gale

[tiddlertamer]

Just got back from a fruitless day on the Upper Ouse.

On a stretch once graced by the late great Dick Walker. Sadly I didn’t live up to his high standards.

 

The temperature was mild and the rain stayed away but the wind howled.

The BBC Weather website predicted 20 mph winds for the area but methinks that was a huge understatement.

The wind howled through the river valley.

My fishing companion, an accomplished yachtsman, put the wind at over a constant 40mph. With gusts exceeding that...

 

Float fishing was a nightmare. Birds’ nests of line appearing on the reel, and line reaching out for every tree and snag going. Keeping contact with the float was tough. Real tough... Not to mention the wind playing the sneaky trick of wrapping the line round the back of the reel handle on the one occasion I dared actually following the float’s progress...

 

Ledgering had to be the answer. But quiver tipping seemed pointless. The tip bounced back and forth in the wind making bite detection almost impossible.

 

Touch ledgering seemed the only answer. I tried lobs, a maggot feeder, spam and pellets.

The result? A blank...

 

What is the most effective angling technique in gales?

Is it touch ledgering? If so, how is this best achieved?

By moving the bait subtly around the swim? By pointing the rod at 45 degrees from the bait or straight towards it?

 

Any advice gratefully received.

 

Tiddler ‘’I've blanked on my last four fishing trips’ Tamer

Edited February 6, 2011 by tiddlertamer

[Dick Dastardly]

TT I can handle cold,rain dont bother me but gale force wind! Most "titsest" conditions to actualy enjoy fishing in there is!

[RUDD]

TT I can handle cold,rain dont bother me but gale force wind! Most "titsest" conditions to actualy enjoy fishing in there is!

The most dangerous and expensive!

I have seen many pole sections broken that have blown off rollers, many umbrellas get demolished - even seen a seat box connected to a brolley get decimated when the owner went for a pee and a sudden gust lifted it a good few feet in the air before dispensing into the lake!

The most scarey was a match that I refused to take part in due to the high wind.

One guy was late and had his peg drawn out for him. Half an hour later as he approached his peg a tree was blown over and crashed down right onto the platform he was supposed to be on.

The match was cancelled about a minute later as realisation dawned on the ***** who had decided it was safe to fish in the first place.

I have never seen anglers pack up so quick in my life.

 

Back to the thread - a closed face reel would have solved the line problems.

A very big waggler or loafer fished overdepth and undershotted may have helped a bit with presentation but floatfishing in windy conditions is a pig.

You could have tried a bit of lure work.

[lutra]

Yep strong wind can be extremely challenging. Thankfully my local river doesn't flow in a straight line and i have plenty of it to go at. Which means i can often think of somewhere to fish out of the wind, which ever way it is blowing.

[davedave]

Had the exact same problem today, went down to the local pond but the wind was so bad i didn't even bother to set up a float rig, instead going for a ledger. The tip was moving round so much i couldn't see if there were any bites (there probably werent) and i was getting snagged and tangled, not to mention being bloody cold

 

The solution, was to pack up and head for the canal. Where i managed two roach and nothing else, the wind wasn't the problem, it was gin clear!

 

 

I have officially given up on winter fishing, i'm putting all my gear away and hibernating until march!!!

[Anderoo]

I can't add much more really, except to say that you're not alone TT! It does make things very hard. I had the same problem last Saturday, luckily I also didn't get any bites otherwise they'd have been very hard to spot

 

I think it will be the same tomorrow too. All I can hope for is that I can get the quivertip somewhere slightly sheltered and that the bites (if I get any) are confident. Strong blustery winds and quivertips are not a great match, especially when you have to keep the rod high to keep line out of the current.

 

PS it's a nice bit of river isn't it, made all the more special knowing Walker trod the same banks

[Rusty]

Float fishing was a nightmare. Birds’ nests of line appearing on the reel, and line reaching out for every tree and snag going. Keeping contact with the float was tough. Real tough... Not to mention the wind playing the sneaky tick of wrapping the line round the back of the reel handle on the one occasion I dared actually following the float’s progress...

 

I've found that a CF reel gives you a fighting chance in really blustery conditions. I've got an ABU 706 for windy day trotting and it works very well but when the wind has been right in my chops the best I've been able to achieve has been trotting off the rod tip keeping it low.

[Anderoo]

Very blowy out there again today, but I can't believe how mild it is! 11 degrees here at 8.30am. I think the warmest it got all last winter was about 0

[lutra]

Just got back from a fruitless day on the Upper Ouse.

On a stretch once graced by the late great Dick Walker. Sadly I didn’t live up to his high standards.

 

The temperature was mild and the rain stayed away but the wind howled.

The BBC Weather website predicted 20 mph winds for the area but methinks that was a huge understatement.

The wind howled through the river valley.

My fishing companion, an accomplished yachtsman, put the wind at over a constant 40mph. With gusts exceeding that...

 

Float fishing was a nightmare. Birds’ nests of line appearing on the reel, and line reaching out for every tree and snag going. Keeping contact with the float was tough. Real tough... Not to mention the wind playing the sneaky trick of wrapping the line round the back of the reel handle on the one occasion I dared actually following the float’s progress...

 

Ledgering had to be the answer. But quiver tipping seemed pointless. The tip bounced back and forth in the wind making bite detection almost impossible.

 

Touch ledgering seemed the only answer. I tried lobs, a maggot feeder, spam and pellets.

The result? A blank...

 

What is the most effective angling technique in gales?

Is it touch ledgering? If so, how is this best achieved?

By moving the bait subtly around the swim? By pointing the rod at 45 degrees from the bait or straight towards it?

 

Any advice gratefully received.

 

Tiddler ‘’I've blanked on my last four fishing trips’ Tamer

Ledgering with rod tips pointing at the sky can have its benefits when fishing rivers, but its far from always essential. Especially on small rivers, when fishing close in and on slow winter pegs, when its blowing a gale. Put your rod tip where it shows the bites best, even if that means in the water and your on a river.

[watatoad]

I almost never use an umbrella, seldom considered the weather before I got sick, just the flow of the water. Nice strong wind can make up-stream trotting an experience...nothing wrong in legering...try a rolling leger.

 

But if tree's are blowing down don't fish near them.