Can I catch a tench on a hair-rigged twig?

[davedave]

Looks bigger than 6lb, congrats anderoo, an extremely interesting read

[Anderoo]

Looks bigger than 6lb, congrats anderoo, an extremely interesting read

 

To be honest I didn't weigh it, it looked about 6lb ish...it's a shame I'm not a carper, I could claim a double!

[davedave]

To be honest I didn't weigh it, it looked about 6lb ish...it's a shame I'm not a carper, I could claim a double!

 

Fair play bud, I haven't weighed a fish in years, I prefer to just take a picture for momento then put them back. Congrats again

[Andy_1984]

Thanks for the chuckle anderoo i was looking forward to seeing the pics, nice going .

 

btw, what blood ? is it the microscopic spot in the hair rig pic, only visible with a camera close-up. i wouldnt worry about it.

[Dick Dastardly]

Next time I'll have to go the final step and take on Budgie's challenge of a bare hook...

 

 

Definitely mate and reason is that unless you do people will still doubt the REAL thing this proves and say that the Tench picked the twigs up intentionally thinking they were Caddis.They simply dont want to believe it and will look for any reason to suggest that the "bait" was intentionally picked up and therefore important,

 

As well as an insight into fish feeding behaviour doesn't this also give an amazing insight to how complicated us humans are!?

 

I totally accept that if the location and feeding is right you dont need bait on the hook...............so same as you why can I not just take that extra step and fish the totally bare hook? My Conningbrook Hemp rig didn't need the 2 or 3 black beads/poly balls and painted shot on hairs to work the baiting/location was the key but why (like your twigs) did I have to have these totally unnecessary things to give me enough confidence to do it!

 

Like some of us have long realised we the anglers are far more complicated and fussy than the fish!

[Phone]

Androo,

 

BUDGIE's right. With commercial long lines we only baited every 2nd or 3rd hook (18 inches apart). I always thought chrome (stainless) hooks were better (captured more) than bronze hooks. I have no proof of that. Out of the 700 hooks certainly less than half were baited and catch rate was about equal. "Baited" as in the use of the word in America terms. We never chummed the area.

 

Even then "bait" was a 1 inch cube of cottonseed meal cake hung on a loop of string hanging in the "j" half hitched beneath the bare hook (early form of a hair rig).

 

You'll be re-inventing the wheel with bare hooks.

 

Phone

 

Edit: BTW congratulations on the trust you put in good watercraft. Of course, I don't know tench but you can certainly "tell" when it will work with carp.

Edited May 14, 2012 by Phone

[Andy Macfarlane]

Well in Anderoo. I love the fact you were brave enough to try it.

[Elton]

Superb thread. Love the photos

[Steve Burke]

Superb thread. Love the photos

 

I agree, and I've just given it a 5 star rating.

[AddictedToScopex]

Definitely mate and reason is that unless you do people will still doubt the REAL thing this proves and say that the Tench picked the twigs up intentionally thinking they were Caddis.They simply dont want to believe it and will look for any reason to suggest that the "bait" was intentionally picked up and therefore important,

 

As well as an insight into fish feeding behaviour doesn't this also give an amazing insight to how complicated us humans are!?

 

I totally accept that if the location and feeding is right you dont need bait on the hook...............so same as you why can I not just take that extra step and fish the totally bare hook? My Conningbrook Hemp rig didn't need the 2 or 3 black beads/poly balls and painted shot on hairs to work the baiting/location was the key but why (like your twigs) did I have to have these totally unnecessary things to give me enough confidence to do it!

 

Like some of us have long realised we the anglers are far more complicated and fussy than the fish!

 

I see what you are saying Budgie but do you not think that sometimes a baited hook will produce the fish where an unbaited hook may be missed. Say for example you have a bright piece of corn on the hook over a dull carpet of bait then surely that would attract the attention of the tench (or any other fish) and induce a bite faster?

 

Lets say you have only one fish in the swim and it only intends to eat a little before moving on (for whatever reason) then it wont hoover the whole area and this is where I think the baited hook would greatly outweigh the bare hook in effectiveness. It is the bait on the hook that would attract this solitary fish (maybe a bream!) before it moves on. If of course you have fish competing heavily for a carpet of bait then it stands to reason that one will eventually suck the hook in but if the fish arent there in numbers then surely it pays off to attract them to the hook with a smellier, brighter etc bait.

Edited May 14, 2012 by AddictedToScopex