casters

[The Flying Tench]

A fellow angler reminded me, yesterday, when fishing with caster that you can push the hook inside the caster to conceal the hook. I was using size 18 Kamasan.

 

But after a bit I stopped because I thought the shell of the caster might be masking the hook point. In fact, when I was putting the hook through the end of the caster to push it right in I usually ended up pushing the point partly through the shell at the side of the caster. Maybe an 18 was too big for this trick?

 

I should be interested to know - do experienced caster fisherman consider that it is always best to push the hook inside the shell, or is it recognised as a trade-off between concealing the hook and the risk of masking the point?

[bluerinse]

Good question I have often wondered the same

[Anderoo]

I always have the point of the hook outside the caster with most of the shank inside, if that makes any sense. I don't bury the hook. If using more than one caster I hook them the same as maggots.

[Steve Walker]

I think the shells should be sufficiently fragile that the hook will easily pull through. I always bury the hook and don't miss more bites than I would expect to. Also, you should be able to get even a #16 into a caster easily enough. Are your casters a bit on the small side, and maybe the skins a bit "maggoty" rather than crunchy?

[hermes]

A size 18 hook is far too big for a single caster for sure, use something like a 20 and below and bury the hook right into the caster.

If you are using two casters then obviously you have to pass the hook tip through the first caster into the secon.

[WHITE-LIGHT]

I sometimes find a longer shanked hook helps.

 

It depends on how the fish are feeding and the presentation.

 

A short shank forged hook may not get a bite,while a long shank fine wire hook will.

 

Trial and error,mix and match,it's what works at the time.

[Andy Macfarlane]

I've never had any bother setting a hook that has been concealed inside a caster. It's probably a good idea to change your hook 2 or 3 times over the length of a day, ensuring you have a needle sharp point when using casters. The used hooks will be fine for maggot etc., where a fresh point is somewhat less important.

[Alan Stubbs]

I don't often use casters, but the thought strikes me that when fishing hard on the bottom and burying the hook in the caster, you'll be encouraging deep hooking of fish as they grub around and will take the shell down. So isn't it better to have the point exposed?

 

On the other hand, burying the caster when fishing off the bottom will surely deter finncky feeders like rudd and roach as they feel the resistance of the rig and have the shell of the caster to mask the hook point. Thus it's surely better to have the point exposed.

 

This goes against everything I've read, and yet my point seems sensible. Where am I wrong in thinking this way about casters?

[ColinW]

you'll be encouraging deep hooking of fish as they grub around and will take the shell down.

 

Probably just the opposite. Like a circle hook, a buried caster will pull back out of a fishes throat until the caster hits the edge of its mouth. Then the hook will pull through the shell and hook the fish in the mouth.

Only a guess!

I've never noticed deep hooking and I always bury the hook, it picks up less muck off the bottom that way.

[Steve Walker]

Not quite sure what you mean, Alan. Deep hooking is a function of bite indication and delay, so I don't see why a caster with the hook buried should be more prone to it than one hooked maggot-style. If you watch a fish in an aquarium suck and blow food, it goes in and out almost faster than you can see, so I can't see that the positioning of the hook would make any odds. If anything, I'd expect it to reduce deep hooking, as the point is more likely to remain inside the caster until it hits the lips.

 

I don't see how it would make fish more likely to feel the resistance of the rig compared to maggot-style. After all, burying the hook is a technique developed specifically to fool finicky fish! Although the rate of sinking is affected (I've seen rudd take every bit of loose feed and leave the caster with a hook in it) I'd expect one with a hook in the middle to sink less unnaturally than one with the weight of a hook at one end.