Drifting

[Guest stevie cop]

Could anyone advise me on the finer points of drift fishing from a 16ft dinghy? Up until now I have always fished uptide off the Essex and Suffolk coasts and estuaries but I would like to try drifting for a change as it seems to me that it would be a more productive method of fishing for bass over the banks. I had one attempt last week at Wrabness on the Stour. I used a small lead and kept bumping it on the bottom as the boat drifted over the banks and holes. I was using a 6ft trace and King rag for bait. I felt several bites but was not sure what I should do. I paid out line to give the fish time to take the bait, but missed every bite. When I wound in at the end of my first drift, a bass chased the ragworm up and took it with some force about 2ft from the surface which makes me think that I should lower the lead to the bottom and then retrieve it over and over again throughout the drift. The trouble is, I really don't know the method at all and I'm only guessing. I have heard and read about anglers counting handle turns from the bottom. What is all that about? I would be most gateful for any advice on the subject and if any one who lives in the Essex/Suffolk area fancies showing me how its done, they can have a days fishing on my boat on me!

[Alan Taylor]

mario:

Could anyone advise me on the finer points of drift fishing from a 16ft dinghy? !

Hi Mario,

I am surprised that there has been no response to this topic. I have been looking through my back copies of Sea Angler and from what I can see is that you are doing nothing wrong. There was a good rig you could try, 6 to 10 oz bomb depending on the amount of tide, double beads, big swivel then a 10 to 12ft 25lb trace (that seems a bit heavy to me but I suppose it has to be for the abrasion)clear mono and a 4/0 viking hook.

 

Counting the turns is fairly common, it lets you know where your tackle is, for example, when wrecking you count the turns that you have made with the handle and when you get to (say) 15 turns with no takes you drop down again and do it again. When Makerel fishing, count in your head until you get a result (or the bottom) that way you have an idea of how deep the fish are when you drop down again.

 

You could contacting Richard Seager, owner of Out the Blue, he is (IMO) one of the top Bass fishing skippers in the UK, he is at www.deepsea.co.uk/boats/out,the,blue what he does not know about Bassing would fit on a postage stamp and he is a nice bloke as well.

 

You could also try contacting Rob Thompson via this site, he does a lot of Bass fishing.

 

Sorry it was not much help, I have never caught a decent Bass in my life but keep trying, at least it brings your topic back to the top and I will be interested in any information you get on the topic.

 

Tight lines

 

Alan(nl)

[spasor]

Mario.

Try sand-eels!! Preferably live.

Paul.

[Kieran Hanrahan]

Hi

 

Drifting techniques and rigs depends on the marks involved so I am assuming that you are over sand or mixed ground at worst... try using a watch (circular with studs)lead to help stir up the bottom, and a flasher spoon on the final hook snood to get curious fish interested... http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org has a lot of information on baits and techniques available under the bait section and also under each of the individual fish species listings - it might give you some ideas. Size 4/0 might be a bit on the big side for flatfish especially sole although it will hold any decent bass. In fihsing a new mark, we would use 2/0s unless we know there are bigger fish about... Don't recommend any live baiting as it gets anglers into bother with the anti-everything-that's-fun lobby but you could add mackerel strip and pilchard oil to your rigs to give you a scent trail. Remember that Ragworm work as a bait based on their wriggling movement i.e. work best in clearer waters, which is not the kind of water you are likely to find over sand or mud in a strong current... I am assuming you are drifting at a reasonable slow pace - if you are fairly skimming along, try using a drogue anchor to slow the pace of the drift. As for the lower to the bottom and retrieve, excellent advice from the wreck fisherman above me, but it depends on the depth of water under the boat... there is little point in retrieving and dropping off if you are in only 12 feet of water... I live in the west of Ireland and here the drifting is usually done over reefs for pollack, haddock, cod etc. and that is very foul ground indeed. FWIW...

[Guest stevie cop]

Thanks for the advice chaps. Most helpful. I've also had some tips from Stuart Smalley ( skipper of Aldeburgh Angler) and Ted Tuckerman so My knowledge of drift fishing has increased ten fold! I wonder if may catch rate will also increase ten fold? I'll let you know.

Thanks again.

[Elton]

Thanks for the advice chaps. Most helpful. I've also had some tips from Stuart Smalley ( skipper of Aldeburgh Angler) and Ted Tuckerman so My knowledge of drift fishing has increased ten fold! I wonder if may catch rate will also increase ten fold? I'll let you know.

Thanks again.

 

3 and a bit years on.....

 

Well, has it improved ten fold, Steve?

[Steve Coppolo]

3 and a bit years on.....

 

Well, has it improved ten fold, Steve?

 

Yes mate, it has.

 

At the time I was experimenting with drifting. It wasn't a method that was practiced much, if at all, around these parts. It struck me as a better way of fishing for bass than just sitting at anchor. More ground covered and a moving bait seemed to be the way to go.

 

Bits of advice from here and there, plus the obligatory hours of trial and error have seen me perfecting a very effective method of drifting for bass and my catch rate has gone up quite a bit since I posted that question.

[A Norfolk Boy]

This demonstrates one of the things I like about fishing. Thinking, trying to improve, looking at better ways of doing things, adjusting for local conditions, asking questions, experimenting and fine tuning. I suspect that many of the better fishermen stay one ahead by acting like this. What is encouraging is when you speak to somebody who has succesfully used a technique you have experimented with.

[Elton]

Sea anglers do tend to find it easy to get stuck in their ways and it goes without saying that the more active angler, in mind and action, is going to stand a better chance of catching most of the time.

[fudd]

Sea anglers do tend to find it easy to get stuck in their ways and it goes without saying that the more active angler, in mind and action, is going to stand a better chance of catching most of the time.

 

 

good point elton,

after all it must have been a very active mind that decided to whip the arse feathers out of his beloved pet bird and stick them onto a hook !

i wonder if the bloke who actually invented the fly was of sound mind in reflection?

 

we are a strange breed us anglers those of us that do think out of the box and try something against the grain are so reluctant to share our successes its almost as if there was only one fish left in the sea!

i have been on boat trips were blokes have seen others around them struggle all day and not offer any advice or share there tactics understandable in a compition but not among a group of friends on a jolly.

 

so come on tell us all if your doing something new and different instead of being the shy smarmy bloke with all the fish you could be a fammed hero.

 

ps; steve now you have improved your technique is that offer still open to join you LOL