Pike Fishing

[Peter Waller]

Re birds nests, as one who has much experience with the blessed things, I know which I'd rather work with! Agreed that light braids can be a pig, and mono less so, but I would still go for 30lb Fireline as being the less of the two evils. The other real plus of braid is that you will soon save enough lures to more than pay for the braid. A small crochet hook can be invaluable whilst you master the art of un-tangling the inevitable birds nests. Howver, follow Argyll's excellent advice & such things will be a rarity.

 

Not disagreeing with you Collin, just that we hold different opinions!

Edited May 26, 2006 by Peter Waller

[pulledinbyafish]

thanks again and i will probably be trying these tips out tomorow

[Andy Macfarlane]

If you have a field or a park nearby, you could do a lot worse than practice your casting. Take the trebles off a few lures and throw the lures about on soft grass, so you don’t damage the braid or hook any dogs/kids, which might ‘fetch’ your lure. Practice side casts, overhead casts, casting in a crouching position, casting with one hand, casting in a confined space, with the wind behind you, wind in your face etc. Get used to the rod and reel like it’s an extension of your body.

Make targets to hit, much in the same as someone practicing golf strokes. Don’t try for distance casts. Accuracy is far more important. Anyone can throw a lure for miles into open water but you want the ability to stop a lure in a clear patch of weed, or under a tree for instance. If you can hit features accurately, you’ve won half the battle.

You could practice on the water but you don’t want to get there only to bird nest on your first cast. At least if you have a tangle close to home, you can at least go home and fix it without having travelled miles for no reason. Picking out braid is much easier in front of the telly with a cuppa tea.

[pulledinbyafish]

thanks for the good idea. i will do that. it is almost certainly the best thing to do before going spinning.

 

thanks again

[jeepster]

i find braid easier to 'unbirdsnest' than mono (and i get plenty of practice ) also, when you've untangled powerpro or fireline, it's perfectly useable, the same can't be said for a lot of monos