Methods you loathed but became to enjoy

[bluerinse]

Mine was the method feeder, I had avoided it for as long as it has been around until last summer when I was persuaded by a friend to use one on the Avon for bream, and boy did it work, not only bream but river carp and barbel all have fell to its charms.

I still use normal feeders but from time to time I sling out a method feeder.

[Anderoo]

Probably a common one this, but for me it's the dreaded three Bs - buzzers, bivvy and bedchair!

 

I used to think there was little merit in catching fish by (as I saw it) lobbing out 2 or 3 rigs, reclining on the bedchair and just waiting for a fish to turn up, but when I started fishing harder stillwaters it really became a necessity. Not because you can bore a fish onto the bank, but because - even if you're doing everything right - it can take many hours, if not days, to get a bite. I still much prefer watching a float, but you can't do that for days at a time, and certainly not all night.

 

What I didn't realise then is that the waiting for a bite bit (which is what everyone sees you doing) is the end of a long and involved process. You have to choose a swim, map out its topography, find the spots you want to present a bait, bait them accurately, and be able to fish to them accurately. If I'm fishing 2-3 days at a gravel pit with low stock, this can all take most of the first day! But if someone walks past when I'm watching the water, all they see is a lazy bank tramp who's lobbed out 2 or 3 rigs and is getting ready for a few beers.

 

So, it's not always the easy option. As it happens, I tend to fish like this for tench more than any other species - if I carp fish I'm much more mobile and opportunistic.

[Guest tigger]

Bolt rig/ Hair rig combo always hated the idea but I must addmit it works for certain situations and I now use it quite regularly.