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Ultimate bobbin


Kappa

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Wouldn't want my main line in my swim full stop.

 

Limiting the number of fish between you and your rig is the real key to stopping liners.

 

Ideally yes.In my match fishing days for bream it was standard practice to just keep fishing shorter untill you avoided (or rather minimised) line bites also saves disturbing other members of the shoal when you hook one.But doesnt eliminate them totally.

 

I dont mind to much if I spook the occaisional fish when Im fishing amongst a shoal of hundreds but when it might be the only one that comes near my bait all week I would rather take no chances!

 

Incidently theres nothing to radical with what Im sugesting here its been pretty much the general opinion amongst most of the guys Ive fished with who target big bream.

And thats my "non indicative opinion"!

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I dont mind to much if I spook the occaisional fish when Im fishing amongst a shoal of hundreds but when it might be the only one that comes near my bait all week I would rather take no chances!

 

Well it would hack me off, as spooking just one bream when you have a shoal of any size feeding in your swim carries a high risk of leaving you biteless for the rest of your trip.

 

Fishing a semi fixed method feeder with a sort hook length has a number of advantages in fishing for bream.

 

Firstly because its self hooking there is no need to strike like a mad man and risk bumping fish off or spooking liners.

 

Secondly there is no need to sit next to your rod for days on end waiting for that one bite from that big old fish who has very few if any mates.

 

Thirdly By the time you have jumped out of bed in the pitch black and got to your rod it is not still plodding around in your swim, as having a method feeder stuck to its face has caused it to stop feeding and swim off under its own steam leaving any mates it my have still in your swim.

 

Last but not least you don't need to worry about what is or isn't a proper bite, as these will be long steady runs or your bobbin just dropping to the floor. Not easily mistaken for line bites and you just need to tighten or reel into them.

 

Incidentally its amazing how few little bleeps you get even when fishing in 10lb fish soup when you fish like this. Maybe like Den suggest not all your liners are liners.

 

A tiger does not lose sleep over the opinion of sheep

 

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What an interesting topic this is turning out to be! It's certainly got me thinking and questioning what I've been doing.

 

Firstly, I'm convinced that the line bites I get are just that as early on I experimented with no bait on the hook and they continued.

 

My own preference has been to use running rigs, partly because of my experiences when perch fishing. This was reinforced by recently seeing the secord of Korda's underwater carp videos that showed that semi-fixed rigs are by no means always self-hooking!

 

Additionally the whole rig including the lead could be moved a considerable distance without the bobbin moving at all or the fish being hooked. On the other hand the bobbin moved every time with a running rig and a heavy lead.

 

However, I can see some hooking advantage in a semi-fixed rig, despite the problems. Therefore last year I experimented with fishing a running rig on a short hooklink but with a backstop. Unfortunately I wasn't able to fish much, and when I did I don't think I was anywhere near the bream. That is I had no line bites, let alone bream!

 

Returning to bobbins, like many big bream anglers more experienced than me, my preference is for a bobbin on a long drop. This is partly because it makes it easier to read what happens. With a short drop there's less scope for movement.

 

However, unlike Budgie, I prefer a bobbin heavy enough to fall back down after a line bite. This helps differentiate line bites from runs. It also means I don't have to reset the bobbin after each line bite. I haven't found that heavy bobbins cause dropped runs with bream, that appear to tolerate resistance more than other species. Graham Marsden discovered this some 30 years ago and others have since found the same.

 

There are of course umpteen permutations, and if you change one thing it can have a knock-on effect and mean that something you found earlier no longer applies. Additionally, if you change more than one thing at a time, you won't know for sure what it is that increased/decreased your catches. The Korda videos showed that even small changes can make a big difference.

 

Additionally, one of the problems with monster bream on waters like Wingham is that it takes a long time to get any meaningful data when trying out new ideas. The lads like Budgie who fished Queenford (a very similar water to Wingham) had the same problem when experimenting. Top anglers like Tony Miles reckoned the average there was 1 bream every 15 nights! I did better than this early on at Wingham, but since then have struggled.

 

The Korda videos also showed that what we think happens when theorising all too often doesn't apply in practice!

 

Despite this, I'm finding this discussion very useful. As I said at the start of this post it's certainly got me thinking and questioning my existing ideas! In fact there's something bubbling away in my subconscious that may or not be relevant but refuses to come to the surface. But at the moment I'm shattered after dealing with computer problems, lots of babysitting, and getting ready to move house (fingers crossed!).

Edited by Steve Burke

Wingham Specimen Coarse & Carp Syndicates www.winghamfisheries.co.uk Beautiful, peaceful, little fished gravel pit syndicates in Kent with very big fish. 2017 Forum Fish-In Sat May 6 to Mon May 8. Articles http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/steveburke.htm Index of all my articles on Angler's Net

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This is all very interesting stuff, and particularly relevant to my next season's fishing. I am going to try to catch a big bream this year, and so I'm thinking a lot about rigs, baits, indication, location, etc. It's driving me a bit mad actually, I can see the benefits of most ideas, but with virtually no experience nothing really means very much :rolleyes: So far I've come to the conclusion that I should use a very simple running rig that cannot tangle, and the lightest bobbin I can use (which will drop back easily after a liner) on a long drop - and then hope I'm anywhere near a bream!

 

I only have one experience of liners from big bream (at least, that's what I think they were). The bobbin was up and down all night long (on a drop of approx 24" - I need to go much longer), and a couple of times the (lightly set) baitrunner even clicked a few times before the bobbin dropped back. Was I using the wrong bait? Fishing past the feeding fish? The wrong rig? Plain unlucky? Who knows!

 

As for bobbins, my 'ultimate' is in the process of being made. It won't be as impressive as Richard's but I still haven't found one I'm happy with in the shops, so I nearly always make my own. It needs to have an adjustable line clip so it can be used with different diameter lines; a very light, high vis body; able to take extra weights; able to take a starlight or isotope; the connecting material between bobbin and rod rest needs to be non-tangle and not weigh much and be a good length (ideally it would be retractable so you can pull out as much as necessary).

 

BTW if anyone knows a ready-made one that fits this description please let me know!

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

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Anderoo, hang on a while, Mr Fox may have the perfect answer for you soon :)

 

Den

"When through the woods and forest glades I wanderAnd hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,And hear the brook, and feel the breeze;and see the waves crash on the shore,Then sings my soul..................

for all you Spodders. https://youtu.be/XYxsY-FbSic

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Anderoo, hang on a while, Mr Fox may have the perfect answer for you soon :)

 

Den

 

Really? Cheers Den :) Any idea of price?

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

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Andrew, in the meantime follow the link I gave earlier in this topic re my own homemade bobbins. They appear to do everything on your wish list.

 

I'd add that I'm hopeless with gadgets so I'm sure they could be improved on. Den's the acknowledged expert here, so I look forward to seeing the new design.

Wingham Specimen Coarse & Carp Syndicates www.winghamfisheries.co.uk Beautiful, peaceful, little fished gravel pit syndicates in Kent with very big fish. 2017 Forum Fish-In Sat May 6 to Mon May 8. Articles http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/steveburke.htm Index of all my articles on Angler's Net

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Andrew, in the meantime follow the link I gave earlier in this topic re my own homemade bobbins. They appear to do everything on your wish list.

 

I'd add that I'm hopeless with gadgets so I'm sure they could be improved on. Den's the acknowledged expert here, so I look forward to seeing the new design.

 

I just had another look at that, thanks Steve - that's pretty much exactly what I need. I'm not too bothered how they look as long as they do the job. I also need at least 3 (maybe 4 if I'm feeling brave!) so cost is an issue. The only thing I'd change is having screw-in removable weights rather than split shot. Maybe it's just me, but I always loose them and then get annoyed when I go chubbing and don't have enough :rolleyes: I do have some of these from some old sets of bobbins so hopefully I can re-use them somehow.

 

I thought I also prefered more of a 'body', but I have to say that the idea of just a section of elastic (which also holds a starlight) is very appealing. A lot of my legering is ultra-light, slack line stuff, so the less weight the better.

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

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Anderoo, hang on a while, Mr Fox may have the perfect answer for you soon :)

 

Den

 

Solar beat them to it a long time ago. ;)

 

I'm going to give these a try if and when I manage to get out fishing:

 

http://www.solartackle.co.uk/indcustom/recoil01.html

 

The inticator heads are interchangable with others in the Solar range so you can add additional weights, change the bodies, insert isotopes and change the line clip for the ball type ones.

 

Not cheap but certainly convenient.

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