Beachcasting for carp

[Dick Dastardly]

Josh even with my home made ones you can only get the bait a few feet away from the main body of the suspender.This (IMO) is why it "blows" quite quickly,they learn to assosiate the suspender itself with danger.Idealy I like to have mine sat on the edge of weed/lily beds with the bait dangling just over the edge.They will work in open water.Their main drawback (once again IMO) is that normally its best to get the fish competing for the free offerings then present a bait to them but like a beachcaster rig the suspender rig needs to be cast and set up first then the fish drawn to the bait. If no one else is using it though you can normally get the best part of a season out of it though.

 

Ive tried with some realy big suspender "arms" but around 28" seems to balance best and be usable.

[Guest Brumagem Phil]

Ive tried with some realy big suspender "arms" but around 28" seems to balance best and be usable.

 

Gordon bennet, what do you use for an arm, and what do you cock it with, an old tennis ball?????

 

How about an old football and a broom handle?

 

Do you have any photos of your contraption?

Edited May 8, 2006 by Brumagem Phil

[Dick Dastardly]

Phill,Ive used a couple of different designs at that size.One was "in line" where the boom was stiff hollow plastic tube (brought from model shops but you can sometimes still find that transluescent green rig tube in long lengths) 1 1/4" polyball body with suitable in line weight mounted.This version is as the name implies fished "in line" with the main line running through the suspender,swivel then hook link.A slidding stop knot/rubber stop keeps the suspender tight up to the swivel.I normally use this one "un anchored".The other type uses a solid boom (Ive used both wire and carbon) with the main line attached to an eye on the bottom of the suspender and hook length to a swivel attached to the end of the boom.This version has a second eye on the body to attach a weak "paternoster" link and lead to.This is obviously used anchored.

 

Both are no where near as unweildly to cast as they at first seem.When making them it is crucial to get the "balance" correct.You want the arm to sit at the optimum angle on a slack line,this is achieved by getting the boom length to weight ratio correct. I like to get the end of my boom as far away from the body as I can leaving the tip of the boom some 10" or so above the water ,a hook length of up to a couple of foot can be used or as short as 10" depending on wind direction/drift.

 

Ive never found the boom to spook fish that much regardless of how close it is to the surface.It seems to be the main body that they eventualy become wary of,hence forth why I prefer longer boom versions than the comercial ones.

 

Sorry I cant post a photo or diagram as Im on the lap top still.

[The Flying Tench]

Flying tench....big tinca............school is now open

 

BP, thanks again, I gave it a first trial on an easy and comparatively shallow water. Within 10 minutes I had a 7lb carp on, and it all worked fine. It then started to rain, and I thought it was going to pour down, so I packed up and so the experiment was a brief one. But I've still got some queries for when I attempt a harder quarry:

 

1) First of all I tried to set up with a braid main line, cos that's what's on my heavy reels, but the stop knots slid too easily. I assume you use mono? I tend to find heavy mono lines rather springy, and they don't sit on the reel well. Can you recommend one?

 

2) I used a big bubble float, and it certainly looked extraordinary cartwheeling into the air with the weight (I found 1.5 oz enough.) But I had the float in a fixed position. I can't see how you'd use it in slider fashion when you're already doing that with the trace swivel? Do you sometimes dispense with the float?

 

3) My biggest difficulty, as in all floater fishing, was to see the bait if I cast more than a few rod lengths out. I can see this might not be a problem for striking, because of the bolt rig effect, but it was hard to be sure if any of the trace was on the surface. Presumably you need to adjust fairly accurately so the bait just sits on the water? I must admit I held the rod all the time, partly to get extra height. I suppose I could have put it in a rest and tightened the line more. Maybe fixed something visible like a piece of paper to the line by the swivel? Used binoculars? Do you do anything like this, or do you find you can see anyway?

 

Thanks again BP, you've got me fairly well enthused!

[Guest Brumagem Phil]

1) First of all I tried to set up with a braid main line, cos that's what's on my heavy reels, but the stop knots slid too easily. I assume you use mono? I tend to find heavy mono lines rather springy, and they don't sit on the reel well. Can you recommend one?

 

2) I used a big bubble float, and it certainly looked extraordinary cartwheeling into the air with the weight (I found 1.5 oz enough.) But I had the float in a fixed position. I can't see how you'd use it in slider fashion when you're already doing that with the trace swivel? Do you sometimes dispense with the float?

 

3) My biggest difficulty, as in all floater fishing, was to see the bait if I cast more than a few rod lengths out. I can see this might not be a problem for striking, because of the bolt rig effect, but it was hard to be sure if any of the trace was on the surface. Presumably you need to adjust fairly accurately so the bait just sits on the water? I must admit I held the rod all the time, partly to get extra height. I suppose I could have put it in a rest and tightened the line more. Maybe fixed something visible like a piece of paper to the line by the swivel? Used binoculars? Do you do anything like this, or do you find you can see anyway?

 

Thanks again BP, you've got me fairly well enthused!

 

Well done on your first capture. I'll see if I can answer your questions.

 

1. I always use mono for this and can't imagine braid is suitable for the float to runup and down easily. I use daiwa sensor (15 lb) but dont think it really matters. The line does tend to go a bit curly once you've had a few fish but it tends to straighten itself for the next session. I use power gum to make the stop knots.

 

2. You could perhaps use no float but I dont like the idea myself......firstly on a deeper water your line is gonna have a very steep angle on it entering the water, but more importantly for me is I find the float stops my hooklink tangling on the initial part of the cast (my hooklink is no longer thanthe pike float). The float simply creates a semi fixed anchor point for your line on the surface. For a float I use a 40g drennan piker but any pike float will do the job provide it has good bouyancy (28g minimum IMO).

 

3. LOL, yep, it can be a problem when casting a bit of distance. Using bread rather than dog biscuits on the hook helps a bit but if not then a cheap pair of bins work well.......I have a pair and they are invaluable if you intend fishing the caster at some distance just so you can set your bait on the surface. If you fish this method after dark then replace the bins with one of these mega powerful torches you can buy.

 

Just one other thing........I had a few mainline breaks for a while and discovered that running a rubber bead between the float and lead stopped this.

 

Hope this helps.

[The Flying Tench]

Great. One last query. I think you're saying the float simply runs freely on the line?

 

Many thanks BP

 

FT

[Guest Brumagem Phil]

Great. One last query. I think you're saying the float simply runs freely on the line?

 

Many thanks BP

 

FT

 

Yep, it simply slides freely up and down the line.

[The Flying Tench]

BP that's been a great help to me and maybe to others. I'll tell you when I get my first 20!

[Dick Dastardly]

Well done John.

[Guest Brumagem Phil]

You're more than welcome Mr Tench

 

.......bad news is budgie has given me another DIY project for the summer!