Struggling to hit bites in the river (ADVICE NEEDED)

[timpearson]

Hi.. Im new to these forums but have been fishing for about 23 years now... i was fishing in my local fishing match yesterday using a rod and stick float..i didnt take my pole as i like using the rod on the river.

Anyway...i must of had a bite a throw on single maggot or pinkie all day ,but i could just not connect with them..i found that they were mainly gudgeon and the odd roach and dace biting too..

the gudgeon were medium to small in size.

i had a size 20 kamasan hook on..

the swim was 12 ft deep and running steady

 

i had a float about 1.2 gram on. all of my shot was at the bottom end of the line..

 

The float was absolutely buring and the bites just seem unmissable but i couldnt hit them lol..

Any advice would be appreciated..

There was a guy who weighed in with 6 pound of gudgeon at the end of the match but he wouldnt tell me how he was hitting them all the time. All he said was single maggot or pinkie and nowt else.

thanks

[Sean Anderson]

Hi.. Im new to these forums but have been fishing for about 23 years now... i was fishing in my local fishing match yesterday using a rod and stick float..i didnt take my pole as i like using the rod on the river.

Anyway...i must of had a bite a throw on single maggot or pinkie all day ,but i could just not connect with them..i found that they were mainly gudgeon and the odd roach and dace biting too..

the gudgeon were medium to small in size.

i had a size 20 kamasan hook on..

the swim was 12 ft deep and running steady

 

i had a float about 1.2 gram on. all of my shot was at the bottom end of the line..

 

The float was absolutely buring and the bites just seem unmissable but i couldnt hit them lol..

Any advice would be appreciated..

There was a guy who weighed in with 6 pound of gudgeon at the end of the match but he wouldnt tell me how he was hitting them all the time. All he said was single maggot or pinkie and nowt else.

thanks

 

 

Thinking back to the days of catching gudgeon at the local flood relief gates, I would have imagined that they'd struggle to fit a size 20 hook in their mouth, lol.

[BRPS]

Hi.. Im new to these forums but have been fishing for about 23 years now... i was fishing in my local fishing match yesterday using a rod and stick float..i didnt take my pole as i like using the rod on the river.

Anyway...i must of had a bite a throw on single maggot or pinkie all day ,but i could just not connect with them..i found that they were mainly gudgeon and the odd roach and dace biting too..

the gudgeon were medium to small in size.

i had a size 20 kamasan hook on..

the swim was 12 ft deep and running steady

 

i had a float about 1.2 gram on. all of my shot was at the bottom end of the line..

 

The float was absolutely buring and the bites just seem unmissable but i couldnt hit them lol..

Any advice would be appreciated..

There was a guy who weighed in with 6 pound of gudgeon at the end of the match but he wouldnt tell me how he was hitting them all the time. All he said was single maggot or pinkie and nowt else.

thanks

 

 

Having experienced a similar problem myself I found the solution was to spread my shotting pattern out " shirt button style " . I seldom use shot larger than a no.6 prefering to group them in two's or three's nearest to the float , then singles , then no.8's ..... On occassion , it's neccessary to hold back hard but be prepared for the float to bury the second you release it to the flow.

[chavender]

the fish are just mouthing the bait and not taking it confidently ! try this little trick

of feedint the maggot up onto the hooks shank rather than the bend that way the hook point is either in the mouth or near the lips for a successfull hook up (9/10) .but there will always be the one that gets away .

[timpearson]

the fish are just mouthing the bait and not taking it confidently ! try this little trick

of feedint the maggot up onto the hooks shank rather than the bend that way the hook point is either in the mouth or near the lips for a successfull hook up (9/10) .but there will always be the one that gets away .

 

Thanks for the tips guys.. will definately give them a try.

im gonna try the shotting pattern and also hooking up the shank to see if that helps. Although hooking it up the shank looks tricky..wont the maggot burst?

 

By the way..gudgeon win matches where i live..lol..

[bluerinse]

You could also try fishing over depth, with your bulk shoot on the bottom, lay yhe line down river so the hook is in frount of the float, hold back the float and just wait for it to go under, if your fishing for gudgeon then they will find the bait and be happy to take it static of the bottom.

[gozzer]

Hi Tim, from your other post I realise it must be the Yorks Derwent your on about.

 

Would it be in the Kexby Bridge or Low Catton area that your having this problem?

 

If it is this area I know the feeling only too well!

 

About 10 to 12ft deep, a decent flow and the float shoots under, but nothing but a sucked maggot to show for it.

Some of the things I've tried (with varying amounts of success).

A small feeder But that depends on the flow.

Putting a fine wire 18 on, and hooking the maggot in the middle, similar to chavenders post. If your hooks sharp enough you shouldn't burst the maggot.

Over shotting the float and holding back hard, a long rod or pole helps in some swims.

Bulking shot 3/4 depth and then a string of No8s, moving the bottom 'tell tale' until the fish to bite ratio improves.

Using a 'stiffish' groundbait mix with very little feed, so they are 'fighting' over the maggots.

Feeding hemp and using casters or tares, can sort out the bigger fish, but your pushed for time in a match and might not want to sit it out waiting.

You might find that tiny gudgeon and roach aren't the only culprits, sometimes it's small eels, bleak or skimmers.

 

The other option is forgetting about the 'bits' and fishing a big bait, meat, lobworm, bread etc, and hope for one of the resident barbel, chub, or bream turn up. With lobworm don't be surprised if a pike, decent perch or eel takes it though!

 

The Yorks Derwent is probably the most frustrating river I've ever fished. It looks so good, but the fish can be so fickle, you sometimes wonder if there are any in there at all.

 

I hope this lot helps a bit, I found that one or a combination of a couple definitely improved things, but it's all about finding what works on the day.

 

Good Luck mate.

 

John.

[terry t shirt]

I know this sounds totally backwards next time this happens try upping the hook size to a 16, for the bait to have been sucked/ crushed its been well inside the fishes mouth. by using a bigger hook it has less chance of being ejected and you could easily use dbl maggot aswell. 20 is a bit small in my mind for a single maggot ok for a pinky.

[timpearson]

Hi Tim, from your other post I realise it must be the Yorks Derwent your on about.

 

Would it be in the Kexby Bridge or Low Catton area that your having this problem?

 

If it is this area I know the feeling only too well!

 

About 10 to 12ft deep, a decent flow and the float shoots under, but nothing but a sucked maggot to show for it.

Some of the things I've tried (with varying amounts of success).

A small feeder But that depends on the flow.

Putting a fine wire 18 on, and hooking the maggot in the middle, similar to chavenders post. If your hooks sharp enough you shouldn't burst the maggot.

Over shotting the float and holding back hard, a long rod or pole helps in some swims.

Bulking shot 3/4 depth and then a string of No8s, moving the bottom 'tell tale' until the fish to bite ratio improves.

Using a 'stiffish' groundbait mix with very little feed, so they are 'fighting' over the maggots.

Feeding hemp and using casters or tares, can sort out the bigger fish, but your pushed for time in a match and might not want to sit it out waiting.

You might find that tiny gudgeon and roach aren't the only culprits, sometimes it's small eels, bleak or skimmers.

 

The other option is forgetting about the 'bits' and fishing a big bait, meat, lobworm, bread etc, and hope for one of the resident barbel, chub, or bream turn up. With lobworm don't be surprised if a pike, decent perch or eel takes it though!

 

The Yorks Derwent is probably the most frustrating river I've ever fished. It looks so good, but the fish can be so fickle, you sometimes wonder if there are any in there at all.

 

I hope this lot helps a bit, I found that one or a combination of a couple definitely improved things, but it's all about finding what works on the day.

 

Good Luck mate.

 

John.

 

Yeah the derwent is a hard river..so fustrating..like you said it all depends on the day really but i will try these tips in a practice session mid week on a night. i was just gutted the other day when i knew my peg was full of fish and i had only 2lb to show for it..