Fishing can be so so cruel........

[Anderoo]

Hi Phil

 

I think people tend to forget they were once beginners with stuff to learn. Hey ho. No-one's an expert - the only 'expert' in fishing in Nature. If you don't learn something most times you go out you're fishing in a very stale way. In my humble opinion, anyway.

 

Re the float, definitely your problem with deep hooking. There are a very few instances when a self cocking float is useful but in general always use an unweighted float. Lock it in place with 2 shot and use a float adapter so you can change floats easily without having to re-rig. If you think you might get bites as the bait drops through the water shot the float 'shirt button' style with small shot and strike if the float doesn't cock normally. If you want to get the bait down on the deck quickly (e.g. to ghet past small fish) put a bulk of shot 3/4 down the line and add a couple of small tell tale shots between that and the hook. Shot the float down as far as is possible for the conditions and every little touch will register instantly. Use a plummet to make sure your bait is just on the bottom.

 

Choice of float should be determined largely by the amount of weight you need to cast to where you want to fish. Remember also that a heavy float dotted right down is more sensitive than a light float with half of it sticking out of the water.

 

Persevere with the float fishing - using a float will tell you more about what's actually going on in your swim than any other method. With a correctly set-up float you'll get all kinds of bobs, lifts and knocks so you know that there are fish there but maybe the bait is wrong? Maybe the hooklength is too obvious? Maybe the hook is too big? With a bolt rig you won't get any of that.

 

Also, balanced tackle is important. Try to match the bait to the hook to the line to the rod. It's surprising what big fish can be landed if everything's in balance.

 

PS if you'd like to pop along the M40 I'd be more than happy to share a day's float fishing with you.

Edited July 20, 2007 by Anderoo

[gozzer]

As usual I agree with all of Anderoos above post.

 

Janet, I'm glad that bit of advice helped towards a great day for you.

I don't know the float in question, but I think with any float, (esp' in still water) the position of the shot is paramount.

A float, has several purposes, to present your bait at the distance, and depth, you want, and to register a bite. How well that bite is registered is mainly down to how it's shotted.

It is something that can be learned from match anglers, and shows that each branch of coarse angling can learn from the others.

Sadly, today the skills of float fishing are (IMO) being lost, but if you can get hold of any of the books by the match anglers of old, (ie, Ivan Marks, Billy Lane etc), then the stuff in there is still relevant today.

The fish haven't changed much, but the 'modern' approach to catching them has.

 

John.

Edited July 20, 2007 by gozzer

[Guest Brumagem Phil]

Excellent write up Anderoo, thanks very much.

 

I think I'll print out some of this advice actually and take it with me for a couple of sessions so I can refer to it if I have any problems.

 

Talking of fishing in your neck of the woods, I had a good walk around HOrcott lakes again the other day. I do with I lived closer as I wouldnt mind fishing this for £14 a year.

Edited July 20, 2007 by Brumagem Phil

[musicmick1973]

nice to see this one has now got back to normal, after all we all get deep hooked fish at some time,

just a quick note for Janet, if you wanted to fish for the carp without breaking everything down, on a float set up, what I do is pull the float up the line, plus any shot right up under the float, stick a big bit of bread on and wait for the fireworks, not ideal but I have had many carp which I have seen on surface, but not been fishing for. but of course it would depend on the line used as well.

[Guest Brumagem Phil]

Blimey, had a right hectic day and very tired but wanted to do a quick update while I'm still at least half awake!!!

 

Been fishing the canal recently but nothing much to report. After the recent heavy rains, the water temperature had dropped off sharply and there was a lot of colour on the water so fishinghas been very hard for the carp. Once that had cleared, somone must have had a serious spillage as the water had a heavy oil film on it and there was lots of oil globules which again probably didn't help much. Tried a little ambush spot yesterday that I'd spotted but didn't have any joy. For a number of reasons, the carp here are not actively scavanging for food......they will, but i'm convinced we need a prolongued spell of proper stable summery weather to get em going.

 

Anyway, as I've already said, I'd had a hectic day and it was gone 9.30 when I left the house for a quick sesh so gave the canal a miss and went to Earlswood just to put a bend in the rod. Reports from Earlswood too recently have been a bit patchy........its a top up resevoir for the canals and by now would be down the best part of 6 feet from its current levels with water so warm you wouldnt believe, and nasty blue green algae kindof colour. At the moment the water whilst coloured with algae isnt anywhere near as bad as usual and the lake is full to overflowing with water thats obviously a bit chillier than usual.

 

The other reason for the visit to earlswood was to try a new bait I've been given to try. It really is a brand new bait here in the UK and i've been itching to try it for a while!!! I needed a venue where running 2 rods would give me a reasonably fair back to back test, and earlswood seemed to fill that criteria as its 60 acres and the fish have seen pretty much anything and everything you can think of as baits!

 

I set up 2 rods in an identical manner........same hooks, same line, same method feeder. I chose for a method mix my usual dustbin mix of ground vitalin, crushed himp, fishmeal, micro halibuts and layers mash. Just a nice average mix. I did intend using the new bait as a stringer on one rod but a friend suggested for the first time that I should vary ONLY the hookbait and see how I got on, so it was a 22mm halibut on one hair rig and the new bait on the other hair rig.

 

On the way to my peg I passed 4 occupied pegs, one of which was wet and 3 were dry so I reckoned I'd have my work cut out anyway!!! I cast out the two rods at similar diatances (just a gentle chuck), one slightly to the right (the new bait) and one slightly to the left and waited..........

 

The other 4 pegs vacated shortly after I got there........leaving me with the lake all to myself..........bliss!!!

 

It took about 20 mins before one of the rods screamed off.........YES, its the new bait!!!! I started reeling in and it was immediately apparent it was a decent fish. The big ones in here don't fight like mad but you can just feel their heavy reluctance throught the set-up. Just as I got him into the margins, the other rod screamed off so I netted the fish and left it in the water in the net hooked up while I lifted into the other fish. Now I could tell this one wasn't quite as big as he scrapped like Amir Khan after a row with his girlfriend!

 

A few mns later this one was safely landed too and I lifted the pair of them onto the unhooking mat and unhooked em both. The first one was 13lb and his mouth was in immaculate condition suggesting he had not been caught that often. The other one was around 8lb and showed the usual signs of being caught regularly.

 

I baited both rods back up and fired em both back out..........didnt take long and the new bait rod was screaming off again!!!! A 12 lb'er this time and again an immaculate mouth. A few mins later and its off again, this time with a fish that can't be more than about 3lb......again though a perfect mouth. Now this alone perhaps tells me something..........on a match lake where many of the fish show signs of repeated capture, the first 3 fish on the new bait all have perfect mouths? Does this show me that they were confident in taking this bait as they saw it as safe? Maybe I'm reading too much into just a few captures?

 

Anyway, the final tally for the sesh which lasted just over 2 hours was 8 fish of which 7 fell to the new bait!!! I'd runout of groundbait but I'm sure had I had more that the new bait swim would have kept on producing all bloody night!!

 

I believe the bait will become commercially available at some point soon and full details will be given once a bit more testing has taken place, but for now it remains shrouded in secrecy (ok, its actually in a cardboard box in my house). Of course its early days yet and you can't reach any firm conclusions from just one outing, but from what I've seen so far, I'm impressed and now can't wait to get out and give it another go!!!

 

Sorry its been a bit brief, but propping my eyes open with matchsticks here..........

 

nite all.

[Anderoo]

Aha, the new wonder bait we've all been waiting for!

[WickerDave]

Got any free samples, Phil ?

 

7-1 is an interesting result, did you swap baits on the rods or swap the rods over to see if the fish followed the new bait to the opposite areas of the swim?

[Guest Rabbit]

Earlswood isn't that the place some years ago some kids while fishing caught an old boot, complete with body?

Gangland type killing apparently, never found the culprits either. Don't think it would be my favourite venue at night ,

Go on Phil whats the bait, no ''secret squirrel'' on AN you know, you can PM me if you prefer , I won't tell a soul, not even the one at the lake !!!!

Edited July 26, 2007 by Rabbit

[Guest Brumagem Phil]

Earlswood isn't that the place some years ago some kids while fishing caught an old boot, complete with body?

Gangland type killing apparently, never found the culprits either. Don't think it would be my favourite venue at night ,

Go on Phil whats the bait, no ''secret squirrel'' on AN you know, you can PM me if you prefer , I won't tell a soul, not even the one at the lake !!!!

 

Darn it, you should be a detective!!!

 

Yep, the secret bait is indeed dead gangster flavour boillies!

 

I did have a quick sesh again tonight, but couldnt buy a bite! Used the gangster flavour boillies on one rod and various baits on the other rod but no takes at all. The fish were there as the line was twitching all night but they certainly were not feeding. I knew I was in for a hard time though when I turned up and all the pegs I walked past were dry.

Edited July 27, 2007 by Brumagem Phil

[Guest Rabbit]

Darn it, you should be a detective!!!

 

Yep, the secret bait is indeed dead gangster flavour boillies!

 

I did have a quick sesh again tonight, but couldnt buy a bite! Used the gangster flavour boillies on one rod and various baits on the other rod but no takes at all. The fish were there as the line was twitching all night but they certainly were not feeding. I knew I was in for a hard time though when I turned up and all the pegs I walked past were dry.

 

Strange how a bait can be the dogs wotsits one day and the rats poo the next. But how would it be if the fish turned on to just one bait, how boring would that be I was singing the praises of Spam Garlic meat the other day and the barbel are throwing it back now

I gotta a theory on why the pegs are ALWAYS vacant at dusk. well its TWO actually...

First the gangster rap thing perhaps those guys like to be gone before night fall OR

The fishery closes at dusk

What do you reckon?