Stret-pegging

[Alan Stubbs]

I tried stret-pegging today. Loved it. More sensitive than normal float fishing, and more satisfying than tip fishing.

 

I know I was looking for roach but only caught skimmers, but frankly, I was fishing and loved it. Bread paste wrapped around a pea-sized cork ball on a hair rig over a couple of balls of dampened brown and white bread crumb with a little hemp and corn did the trick.

 

I hadn't got any quill, so I melted some bright yellow drinking straw at each end to give a 3" ultra light float held by bands top and bottom. I was using a size 12 barbless Drennan hook, 3lb fluoro to a small swivel about 4" above it and a 1/4oz bullet free running between that and a no. 10 about 1ft below the float on 4lb Sensor mainline.

 

It's my twist on the textbook method, but it worked and using the 1/2oz quiver tip, gave me the benefit of sensitivity of tip and float.

 

I used the swivel as opposed to a shot to give a hinge, as well as a breaking point to prevent the bullet becoming tethered.

 

It's an out of fashion method which I tried for a bit of fun. And fun it was.

[gozzer]

I love stret pegging Alan, and have heard of many variations, but yours sounds like a new one to me.

 

I prefer an over shotted float, fished slightly over depth, and fished directly down from the rod tip. I hold back hard, and let it settle for a while, then lift, and let it run downstream a few inches, and then settle again. This is repeated until I get a bite, or reach the end of the swim. A very sensitive method, that's often over looked.

 

John.

[Vagabond]

Yep, that's what I understand by stret-pegging John. Alan's set up I would describe as float leger, but there is a whole spectrum of methods between that and stret pegging.

 

It doesn't matter what you call it, the main thing is that someone is experimenting with using a float over depth and succeeding.

 

There are already too few anglers with float-fishing skills, we are fortunate so many of them are on this forum.

 

Good on yer Alan!

[Alan Stubbs]

I love stret pegging Alan, and have heard of many variations, but yours sounds like a new one to me.

 

I prefer an over shotted float, fished slightly over depth, and fished directly down from the rod tip. I hold back hard, and let it settle for a while, then lift, and let it run downstream a few inches, and then settle again. This is repeated until I get a bite, or reach the end of the swim. A very sensitive method, that's often over looked.

 

John.

I dislike legering my local lake for various reasons, and float fishing was unsatisfactory for a number of other reasons, 1 of which was the three scouse Waldorf and Statlers who weren't fishing but busy telling you what you should be doing. I wanted to confuse them. I wanted to try something they may have seen on rivers, but adapt it for legering the lake.

 

The lake is lined by a path so I couldn't use marker board and swingtip, which in any case would have attracted attention, but I'm quite proud of having the courage to think it through and try a variation on a theme of a method I'd only read about.

 

The other bonus was that I pared my tackle to a minimum, which encouraged safe experimentation. I think Budgie, Leon Roskilly and Steve Burke will be smiling if they read this!

[Alan Stubbs]

Yep, that's what I understand by stret-pegging John. Alan's set up I would describe as float leger, but there is a whole spectrum of methods between that and stret pegging.

 

It doesn't matter what you call it, the main thing is that someone is experimenting with using a float over depth and succeeding.

 

There are already too few anglers with float-fishing skills, we are fortunate so many of them are on this forum.

 

Good on yer Alan!

 

Thanks! I'd not heard of float legering, but your description really sums up what I was doing perfectly.

 

I was with Steve and Budgie at Budgie's 50th last year, when Steve commented that I've always been a thinking angler, but I've only got 10 years' experience of fishing, and when I first met Steve about 8 years ago, he said I was very deferential, to the point of not asking questions for fear of confirming my stupidity! There's a satisfaction on thinking through a solution by resorting to the less popular.

 

The most satisfying parts for me were the baiting and the use of the swivel to resolve two issues. I'd have been happy getting bites, but actually catching was an unexpected bonus.

[gozzer]

Ah, I didn't realise you were fishing a stillwater Alan, then as Dave says, you were float legering.

 

Thinking about a situation, and then working out a solution for yourself, is all too rare these days, so well done, and good to see it worked.

 

John.

[chavender]

its always great when something you've figured out ,works out .thats what separates the good anglers from the average .

[SpecimenSean]

just to note, my view of strett pegging (i havent done much at all) was the float ledger style like Alans, i wasnt aware that you could also kind of trot it down stream!

[Rusty]

just to note, my view of strett pegging (i havent done much at all) was the float ledger style like Alans, i wasnt aware that you could also kind of trot it down stream!

 

Yes you can and apparently it can be a very successful method. I’ve tried it a few times but haven’t got the hang of it yet. I usually find that the shot or hookbait gets caught in weed so when I lift to free it I end up retrieving too far, sort of two steps back for every step forward. I’m never sure that I’m actually making progress downstream.

 

This weekend I’ll try it with a large luncheon meat hookbait with the hook buried and see if that’s any better.

[chavender]

stret-pegging a river is a bit of a old method thesedays ,but worth knowing here is a vaguely recognisable old chap showing how its done ,you'll notice the reversed way he uses his rod & reel (what i likes too call banjo styley) .a real blast from the past.

 

Youtube Video ->

 

 

Youtube Video ->