Predator fisherman esp pike and eel

[Dick Dastardly]

FWIW re sliding top trebles my preference is for fixed!

 

For eel traces I wonder if that Power Pro stuff with the steel thread running through it that Vidar had at Wingham would be any good? What was the score on it again Vidar?

[Russell Fitzpatrick]

not a big fan of drennan wire,

i much prefer fox easy twist, or carboflex-can be twisted but awkard better using the crimps supplied,i have been intending to use it for zeds as some friends have done ok using it,if its good for them i rekon its good for eels,its coated wire so its supple and kink resistant 20lb bs should be about right for eels and zander and pike if they arent to big!

 

ps if you go down the crimp road get soem fox crimping pliers(the bees knees for crimping traces)

 

me i use both crimping and twisting(took me a while to get it right!) depending what wire

[Peter Sharpe]

Like Budgie, I'm firmly in favour of the fixed upper treble. If both hooks take hold in a fleshy part of the mouth I feel it's inevitable that the two hooks will be drawn together, forcing one of them to be ripped out, possibly causing a great deal of damage to the pike. I also think it's possible that both hooks could be ripped out.

If the upper treble is in the mouth and the other is outside, there is an even stronger risk of the bottom hook being driven in outside the mouth. This is probably great if you just want to land the fish by any means, but it's not something I would want to encourage.

Sliding hooks not only kink the wire, they also cause it to fray and break. This obviously increases the chance of leaving trebles inside a pike, so I now always try to make the upper treble as solid as I possibly can.

As for fishing for eels with deadbaits without using a wire trace - don't even think about it.

Edited June 8, 2006 by Peter Sharpe

[Steve Burke]

Like Budgie, I'm firmly in favour of the fixed upper treble. If both hooks take hold in a fleshy part of the mouth I feel it's inevitable that the two hooks will be drawn together, forcing one of them to be ripped out, possibly causing a great deal of damage to the pike. I also think it's possible that both hooks could be ripped out.

If the upper treble is in the mouth and the other is outside, there is an even stronger risk of the bottom hook being driven in outside the mouth. This is probably great if you just want to land the fish by any means, but it's not something I would want to encourage.

 

Peter, I can see you obviously care for the safety of the pike. However, when you say "This is probably great if you just want to land the fish by any means, but it's not something I would want to encourage" it suggests that you don't believe that any of us who use sliding trebles could care less about the pike. I'm sure that on reflection you'll agree that it was a poor choice of words!

 

I've never once ever had what you mention happen. Neither has anyone I know ever brought it up.

 

In fact, there are safety advantages in a sliding treble. For instance, if the hooks do come together there isn't a loose treble to get caught in the net and thus delay unhooking - or get caught in the eye of the pike!

[Peter Sharpe]

Okay Steve, point conceded. What I will say though is that having used an adjustable treble for a great many years, I eventually decided, through experience, that they were more trouble than they were worth. I really find it no trouble at all to change the trace and rarely need to do so because of bait size - I adjust the bait instead! Perhaps I should have mentioned that I rarely use two trebles, preferring a single for the upper hook. I tie the rig in a similar way to that of a hair rig for carp, only with a treble at the bottom instead of a loop. The upper hook can be fixed quite solidly with the "knotless knot".

I have tried double hooks and couldn't get on with them - in fact they had a peculiar property of bedding in and being more difficult to remove than a treble. I will also never use a treble larger than a size 6, although that's a subject all of its own.

[Russell Fitzpatrick]

to confuse things further i have a prefrence for both!

 

tho when i use teh sliding treble its mainly with livebaits of differing sizes,and i have teh bottom treble sliding not the top,the top acts as a block,teh trebel can only slide up freeley up to 5 -6 inches.