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Light lure fishing technique advice...


Fishplate 42

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Not wishing to hijack Kappa's post about his exploits, I though I had better start one of my own, as I am a newbie around here. This is only my second post here, my first being my introduction, which you can read HERE.

 

I have been collecting the gear together for a while now and I have had a couple of sessions on the Regent's Canal, here in London. I really enjoy the fact that I can carry a minimum of gear and no messy bait making it tube-friendly. So far I have caught one fish. Now, you may say that is not a good record, and you are probably correct, but for me it was a milestone - I got one! I did lose a couple of weights and hooks but I am learning what not to do!

 

My couple of visits to the Canal so far can be found HERE. I am thinking about having a go at dropshotting a still water I frequent regularly but one of the rules states that only barbless hooks can be used. All the hooks and jig heads I have bought so far are barbed. They also state no triple hooks. so where can I buy single and double barbless hooks suitable for lure fishing?

 

Ralph.

 

It was T H I S big, honest!

 

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You can use forceps or small needle nose pliers to crush the barb which will effectively make a hook barbless.

 

You can snip off one of the sections of a treble hook to make it into a double. You can also buy double hooks from a number of online shops and modify your lures.

 

A thing to try that can work especially well in cold weather when fish aren't moving around much is to fish a lure under a float. Just give it a gentle tip movement to give it some "life". Experiment with different depths since you may find that on a given day the active fish may prefer a specific depth and active fish are the ones that will be the most likely to strike a lure.

 

It is important to use a rod designed for ultra light lures and the lightest b/s line that is suitable for the fish you target. I'm not sure about the availability of U/L rods in the UK but someone should be able to help you out. If not, they are readily available from shops in the US and I can help you with that if need be.

" My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!" - Harry Truman, 33rd US President

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You can use forceps or small needle nose pliers to crush the barb which will effectively make a hook barbless.

 

You can snip off one of the sections of a treble hook to make it into a double. You can also buy double hooks from a number of online shops and modify your lures.

 

A thing to try that can work especially well in cold weather when fish aren't moving around much is to fish a lure under a float. Just give it a gentle tip movement to give it some "life". Experiment with different depths since you may find that on a given day the active fish may prefer a specific depth and active fish are the ones that will be the most likely to strike a lure.

 

It is important to use a rod designed for ultra light lures and the lightest b/s line that is suitable for the fish you target. I'm not sure about the availability of U/L rods in the UK but someone should be able to help you out. If not, they are readily available from shops in the US and I can help you with that if need be.

 

Hi Newt et al.,

 

Thank you for the reply. For some reason, some fisheries here state "No barbed hooks, no crushed barbs". Daft I know but if that is what they state, then I have to comply or not fish there. The way rules are written for UK commercial fisheries is a pet hate of mine. Most of them read as aggressive and dictatorial. More often than not they are not as bad as they come over but if they state "No crushed barbs" they probably mean it as the is no ambiguity.

 

I was wondering if anyone could tell me if barbless soft lure hooks and jig-heads are even available...

 

I like the float idea - I will give that a try!

 

I have a couple of rods designed for light lure fishing. One is a nice 6ft 6in Fox Ultron Finesse 3-14g and the other is a 7ft 6in HTO 'Twin Tip' 1-8g. The HTO is supplied with two top sections, one is hollow and very responsive, the other is solid and a bit stiffer. I bought the HTO as a second (cheaper) rod to lend to my brother (or anyone else who fancied coming along) and to do a bit of Light rock fishing with.

 

It is early days at the moment but it is fun.

 

Ralph.

It was T H I S big, honest!

 

My Blog

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If you do a good enough job of de-barbing, nobody will be any the wiser!

 

I can't find any UK suppliers of barbless jig heads.

 

Good point, if they are de-barbed they are not crushed - Thank you!

 

Out with the file and diamond hone - methinks!

 

Ralph.

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It was T H I S big, honest!

 

My Blog

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My advice. Give up on dropshotting. I hate it and can't get on with it.

 

2g-3g jig heads. Paddle tail lures. The crazy fish ones especially vibroworms are great.

 

Also read Eric Weights blog. So so so much great info on there. Read it from the beginning if I were you.

 

http://www.ericweight.co.uk/artlite/journal2016.html

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If you need good quality barbless double and single hooks, several of these Gamakatsu hooks should work for you.

http://www.gamakatsu.com/fishing-hooks_fly+fishing.htm

 

If you cannot find a dealer who will send to the UK, I frequently buy and send on fishing items for Anglers' Net members.

" My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!" - Harry Truman, 33rd US President

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Google BassPro & Cabellas in the US, both excellent when it comes to posting to the UK. Cabellas is my preferred choice but nothing wrong with BassPro.

Re barbless jig hooks, agree, a file is good, after a good squeeze of your pliers!

Edited by Peter Waller
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Unless things have changed recently Peter, I don't remember either of those stocking hooks smaller than a #8 or possibly an occasional #10 if you were willing to take Eagle Claw hooks.

 

For US suppliers, you pretty much have to find someone who carries hooks designed for fly tying to get the smaller sizes. I really like Gamakatsu hooks but had to buy online to get anything smaller than a #8. Most US anglers other than those targeting small trout with small flies consider any hook smaller than #6 - #8 to be useless for the fish they target.

" My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!" - Harry Truman, 33rd US President

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Like Kappa, I've never really got on with dropshotting, I've scratched out a few fish here and there but it's been nowhere near as successful as little paddle tail soft plastics on small jig heads. However, some people seem to have the opposite experience, so who knows!

 

Fishplate, if you haven't been to this site yet, I highly recommend it: http://www.agmdiscountfishing.co.uk/

 

Loads of great stuff, all very cheap, and excellent service. (It all gets quite addictive...!)

 

As others have said, squashed barbs will be fine for a barbless rule. Just use pliers.

 

Funny that Newt should mention a float. I had that idea recently and have tried it a couple of times. It does offer a very good presentation (I think - experiments are ongoing). It means you can hold a lure just off the bottom and work it extremely slowly. It's also useful if the bottom is snaggy. I tried it at one of the midlands canals, it was a slow day but I did catch a small zander using it. It was very exciting, the float just suddenly shot forward.

 

With the soft plastics, especially at this time of year, working them slowly is important. Hold the rod tip high, turn the reel handle to slowly swim the lure up in the water, then let it waggle back down on a tight line. Bites are almost always on the drop.

 

Keep us posted, and I hope you catch a few more soon :)

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And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music

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