Quick Sessions

[TommoNewton]

as some of you may remember , i used to well '' troll '' the forums a year or so ago when i used to not really take advice on board , and well , fail i guess. so im back and more mature so willing to listen to any advice given , thanks

 

anyway , On Topic

 

My fishing has recently hit a '' snag '' im still going with my dad , but whenever hes of work , our time is taken up by footie or we dont have enough time to go , when we do go its a quick 2 hour session. i go with my dad soley because he knows a little abit fishing.

So after reading this months IYCF , i read Stu Redmans peice about '' quick sessions '' and this has sort of inspried me to try his method of , a whip and a small bag for tackle , i like the way he litreally ties on a rig plums it up and he ready to go . i used to do a bit of rod&pole but both didnt really turn out well , pole was horrendous and really heavy , even the lighter ones , im just not strong enough !

 

Anyway our regular spot is a bit of a '' secret '' its a small rapids about 10 meters in width and it flows into our little stop were only me&dad + 5 or so freinds know about. It catches little perch between 3-5 oz , every cast theirs a bite really. We get 1 or 2 , 10 oz perch but very rarely. anyway for some strange reason i keep going back , we just love it , it quiet and its a prolific catch rate.

 

But it having overhanging trees produces a problem , our rod is forever getting caught in the trees , i have a 3m Whip but this just cannot get to the right spot so , do you think whip fishing could do the job here ?

 

I have float winders if this helps with rigs ? also i have loads of pole tackle , does this work on a whip ?

 

i know little about whips so sorry for the stupid questions !

 

Can you add a top 2/3 on it , i have loads for my pole that arent in use !

and how much roughly would a 8M Whip cost , we catch at the most a 1lb chub ( in my DP )

and can you get ones that sections break up so it will be easier to ship in and out

Now onto the last question , if you add a metere or so extra on your line will this make you be able to sort of make a cast motion ?

 

Thanks for reading this '' essay ''

Answers apperciated.

Cheers , Tommo.

[Renrag39]

I usually fish light. It became habit due to pushbiking to locations.

For really quick sessions use a normal rod, 2 or 3pc, that you like. Sounds like a perfect place to use a normal or shorter 'match' or float rod.

When your session is done, break down your rod as normal but leave your rig set up. Wind your rig on a winder and secure with an elastic band. Carefully reel in until the rod bunches up loosely with the winder about a foot from the tip ring. Secure rod ends with elastic bands. Tuck winder into one of the bands too. You're ready to go with a small box of supplies, shot, hooks, etc. I can be wetting a line in less than a minute once I find a swim.

 

I don't know much about whips, sorry. I use them to catch livebait is all.

 

My own recommendation is to persevere with a rod and reel, but this will always be biased by whoevers suggestion it is and what their preference is.

 

Renrag

[TommoNewton]

Thsnks renrag , but in my personal prefrance i swing towards whips as i just love the whipping motion and lightness !

[davedave]

I agree with renrag, i don't pole fish and rarely whip fish, not so much that i don't like it, it's just that i prefer a rod and reel, playing a fish and that pole equipment is expensive and fiddly.

 

Have you tried a ledger, most people would prefer to float fish if they could but sometimes the location or scenario calls for a ledgered bait. If you are getting tangled in the tree a heavier weight might be easier to 'plop' it in. If you say you are catching a lot of perch anyway, they probably won't be far off the bottom.

 

Have you ever cast with a ledger weight when want to get fairly close in and near to a feature?

The best way to do it is to let a lot of line off, about as much as the rod length itself, then start swinging it in a pendulum motion in the direction you are aiming for. All you do is wait until you have the right momentum ( normally after two or three swings ) then kind of 'let go' ( much easier to show it than describe it ) and that should work better than normal casting.

 

Hope this helps tom

[Dales]

I don't pole fish so can not offer advice on it, but my initial thoguhts would be that you would need a certain amount of free space above and around you to fish. If you are getting tangled in trees with rod and line I would have thought a pole would also cause problems.

 

I would tend to suggest sticking with the rod, but play around with casting methods until you find one that works for you. Maybe under arm swinging the bait out or side cast. I often find that if in a tight swim, even a simple trick such as kneeling to cast or just sitting on the ground can make a huge difference and it's also good fun playing a fish while siting by the edge. it gives a total different experience to standing up.

 

A shorter rod would also make a big difference.

[Anderoo]

I have to agree with Dales. In a tight, tangled swim a pole could cause problems, but I suppose if you fish with a very short line and have enough space behind you to ship back it could work OK. I doubt you'd be able to fish to hand. I fish quite a lot of short sessions in tight, snaggy swims and the best solution I've found (using rod and line) is to make very short strikes so the rod and/or line doesn't tangle on anything, use quite a soft rod with a fair amount of backbone and keep the fish on a very short line, letting it thump around under the rod tip, and use a landing net with a long handle. This means you can keep the rod pointing straight out and low and out of trouble at all times, and use the long handle to reach the fish with the net. With a short handled net (or fishing a pole/whip to hand) you'd have to bring the rod/pole up to the vertical, risking it getting caught up in branches/brambles/whatever.