floating a dead bait of the bottom

['eelfisher']

Dear ALL

 

I would go with Budgie on his last post......patenostered deads have probably out caught more pike for me than legered deads....on stillwaters and in rivers.

 

I don't think any method of adding polystyrene, poly or cork balls, sticks, bubble wrap, ceiling tiles torn in bits, plastic straws made into swim bladders or the like are friendly towards pike and other predators.

 

I have seen baits cast off on the chuck. Line parting on the strike, baits being bitten off, and line breaking due to the bait becoming snagged and the angler pulling for a break.

 

I use a syringe but wouldn't in any way offer that as a method due to others not being as careful as myself when using one.....I'm sure they would be but I ain't having that on my concience as a way to get deadbaits to become bouyant.

 

There's a couple of reasons why anyone should want to have a deadbait to be bouyant. If the reason for off bottom baits being presented is just that, it being off bottom to be more visual, then use a patenoster....but make sure you use a wire up-trace as well as the hooklink. Pike can take baits in weird and wonderful ways....not just in true textbook manner. A pike taking the bait from below can, and will, take the mainline above the hooklink as well in it's action of attack. Best to be safe than sorry.....sorry that is, if you care....and I am sure all on here do care about safe methods for pike fishing.

 

Another reason is due to weed on the bottom masking the bait as it sinks through. You could freeline the bait but I wouldn't suggest that to anyone as it is not a good method for creating a good indication of a take occuring....a complete no-no that in my eyes.

 

Outside of my preference to use a syringe, I would personally use a running patenoster and have a longer, weakened, bomb trace.....or fish a float set up and try to present the bait just above the weed.

 

Peter will probably have some method of presenting deads over weed due to his experience on the broads.....if he still uses deads nowadays and isn't soley a lure fisher....or may know of others who have sensible methods.

 

The above is probably not much help in the debate but I felt that I ought to say something about the subject.......I worry about the 'easy' solutions to problems like these....stick this in the bait and it'll become boyant is an easy fix for us but can become a deadly end for a pike, zander, cat or perch.

 

Yours With Respect....

Steve.

[Andy Macfarlane]

Cut a wine cork in half and seal it with some varnish, dope, acrylic spray laquer...whatever. Attach the 'pop-up' to a yard or so of trace wire, making sure it won't come off. Now assemble a Pike-trace, using knotless knots (eh...eh..Wordbender...who says Carpers know it all) and a single crimp/twist for attaching the swivel. The wire requires no annealing, so you know it still has full strength and flexiblity.

What you end up with, is a trace, roughly 18" long, with pop-up attached and no chance of it coming free or becoming lost.

[Peter Waller]

Steve, up on the Broads 9/10ths of all piking is from a boat where 19/20ths of piking relies on floats. The dreaded shiek of an alarm is a very rare beast indeed! The downside of that being that bite detection is purely visual and four rods is a no-no, although some irresponsible pikers use four rods and more. For most of us a bait is suspended, a feature that I like. A bait floating above a lead does catch, 'cause it does. But my feeling, for what it's worth, is that a wary pike will encounter a trace more readily from below than from above. I rarely dead-bait now but if I go off the Broad and onto the river then its a float paternoster every time. Re the weeds, lures everytime now. Deads I would more likely drop into clear swims.

[Nugg]

BUDGIE:

Dont like that either Nugg,still rubbish (non bio-degradable at that) left in the water/fish(?)The "bait popper" method as sugested by Pete is both effctive and enviromentaly friendly.I prefer the balsa sticks inserted then attached to the trace.

BUDGIE

Read again. tether, never lost one yet, when used, I've lost poppers, had sticks broken too. Thats why I thought of using an air tube, made out of rubbish, nothing on the market like it.

Bio-degradable, mmmm, like the stick is, in about 5 years I suppose, :confused: and then there's all those bio-degradable lures that get used.

 

Paternoster a very good method, but I thought the thread was about popping up deads. :confused:

 

You are right to be concerned about fish health/care though, a very important point you make. There was a thread a while ago about transporting live baits, can you believe it?

[fenboy]

Admittedly I prefer to haunt shallow waters (so do most pike) but I prefer to have floating baits suspended under a float rather than all the other methods. It is more effective, in my opinion.

In fact it's so effective that one river I used to fish produced more pike to suspended deadbaits than ALL other methods put together. In all conditions (high and low pressure, low water and flood, etc).

Maybe suspended deads are just too difficult today. They involve knowing what depth of water you're fishing in...

[Dick Dastardly]

Sorry Nugg,just re read your post I had totally missed the tether bit which is of course the main point regardless of what matirial is used.

[Nugg]

I apologies to you, too matey.

[old_gh]

I've used a small bubble float in the past (use weak link to lead if very weedy/snaggy bottom)

 

[Steve Burke]

Hi old_gh and welcome to the forum!

 

I too am a fan of sunken float paternosters. See this topic for more details: http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/Sunken-...oat+paternoster

[wayne baker]

When i have to ledger a dead i always use balsa inserts attached to the trace. But mostly if i want to present a bait of the bottom its the good old float for me.