Feeder fishing on shallow lake

[Kappa]

Richard, this is interesting stuff, and quite new to me. I notice on the tenchfishers' site the hook-link is always very short, 2 - 6". Is this to do with getting the bolt rig effect? And what is a 'semi-fixed bolt rig?

 

Are we saying that with the rigs on the tenchfishers site that you don't need to strike at all, or is it that they give a stronger bite effect, but you still have to strike?

 

Yes the hooklength is long enough to allow the fish to pick up the bait but short enough so that when it moves with the bait its get pricked by the hook point and bolts. The semi fixed idea is such that the the lead is held in place by a tube into which a swivel sits. When you get a run the swivel can move out of the tube and allows the lune to run freely again, the same happens if you get snapped up the line is pulled through the lead and thus the fish isn't tethered!

 

I quite like the korda ones. These have the added advantage the the lead can also come off during the fight its it gets stuck in a snag! Here is an example

 

As for striking, tench will tear off with these rigs so you'd be advised to use a bait runner/run clip or stay very close to the rods. Bream seem to just get confused and often just dislodge the lead give lots of pulls and drop backs rather than a run. I tend to just lift into the fish a hard stike into a decent tench moving at speed will probably end a lost fish. as for bream you'll want to pick up and slack line to connect witht the fish but a quick fast hard strike probably isn't necessary.

 

Rich

Edited May 18, 2007 by Richard Capper

[The Flying Tench]

Sounds like line bites to me always a problem on shallow lakes when bream fishing. Make sure you are not packing your feeder to tight you need it to empty in your swim not half way back in and don't strike till your tip goes right round as as striking at line bites can spook the whole shoal. If you are still getting these bites try a shorter cast. Line bites are caused by fish between you and your swim.

Lutra, have only just read this. I think we posted at the same time. I must say I didn't think they were line bites because they were slow pulls, and I'd assumed a line bite would have a bit of a sudden jerky feel about it - like if I ran into a glass door I hadn't noticed. Maybe that's wrong though - how do you recognise a line bite?

[The Flying Tench]

Yes the hooklength is long enough to allow the fish to pick up the bait but short enough so that when it moves with the bait its get pricked by the hook point and bolts. The semi fixed idea is such that the the lead is held in place by a tube into which a swivel sits. When you get a run the swivel can move out of the tube and allows the lune to run freely again, the same happens if you get snapped up the line is pulled through the lead and thus the fish isn't tethered!

I see the point. I've never used a bolt rig, but I can see that in principle it will be an unsafe rig unless you have some such device.

 

I quite like the black cap rig on the tenchfishers site. Presumably that is safe because the float stops will pull off under pressure?

[Kappa]

I see the point. I've never used a bolt rig, but I can see that in principle it will be an unsafe rig unless you have some such device.

 

I quite like the black cap rig on the tenchfishers site. Presumably that is safe because the float stops will pull off under pressure?

 

Exactly! I'll be using this one a Wingham! Drennan ESP do readymade helicopter rigs on leadcore which are the ones I use!

 

Rich

[The Flying Tench]

Exactly! I'll be using this one a Wingham! Drennan ESP do readymade helicopter rigs on leadcore which are the ones I use!

 

Rich

Thanks, Rich. I'll use the black cap rig on my next outing, and I've got one final question. As I understand it, with a bolt rig in carp fishing, you don't have to strike at all. You emerge from your tent bleary eyed in the middle of the night, and your main task is to stop the rod being pulled into the lake.

 

Is that the idea with the black cap rig, or is it just that the bolt effect produces a stronger bite, but you still have to strike?

[lutra]

Lutra, have only just read this. I think we posted at the same time. I must say I didn't think they were line bites because they were slow pulls, and I'd assumed a line bite would have a bit of a sudden jerky feel about it - like if I ran into a glass door I hadn't noticed. Maybe that's wrong though - how do you recognise a line bite?

Line bites can register in all different ways anything from a tiny tap to a screaming run. Its very hard to say what was going on in your swim or with your rig not having seen things first hand. But if you had fish feeding between you and your swim where your line is just off the bottom as these fish pushed under your line feeding away that would register as a slow pull & is almost impossible to tell from a proper bite. Hence my concerns about you spilling bait in that area. Although if a previous angler has feed there or the fish where just naturally feeding there that would do it to. If you start getting what you think might be line bits just drop a cast short to see if the fish are there. This may sound a bit far-fetched but in reality this happens a lot especially on shallow lakes where your line travels a long way just off the bottom.

I should also say that i fished for bream for many years with paternoster & running rigs with good success. But i usually fish with small semi fixed (float stop) method feeders with a 4 inch hook length these days. I find them better for not tangling, better at casting, better at not snagging on things when playing a fish & with the bolt rig effect they make for the easier hooking of fish. But a lot would disagree that's fishin.

[Ken L]

I know it doesn't look right unless you're using a pod setup with three rods on it but I have to say that I'm suprised that nobody has suggested rigging up with an oversize waggler, casting over the fish and then drawing the rig back to fish without disturbing them.

 

You might have to periodically disturb the swim to layer more holding bait into it with a big feeder, a catabult, a PVA bag clipped to a lead or a bait rocket but your actual fishing won't disturb the fish that much.

 

If you must use a feeder, could you adapt the principle by netting the feeder in that PVA mesh stuff, over casting and drawing the rig back over the fish before the PVA melts ?