is there anything wrong with...........

[big stew 76]

hi

first of all if you are reading this thanks for your time!

 

as i am a total novice im just after some simple advice with regaurds to my set up. I dont plann to catch fish over about 5lbs its only small fry im after at the moment. ive got a 4lb main line witch will go down to a sz16 barbless hook with a float some where up the line!?! where abouts the float should go and what shots to use is the part that im not sure on, and as its winter is it better to fish deep in the middle of the lake or in the shallower parts?? also what type of bait should i use? i know that maggot can be used all year round but what else is a good winter bait??

 

any advice or tips are welcome

 

cheers stew

[Andy_1984]

hi

first of all if you are reading this thanks for your time!

 

as i am a total novice im just after some simple advice with regaurds to my set up. I dont plann to catch fish over about 5lbs its only small fry im after at the moment. ive got a 4lb main line witch will go down to a sz16 barbless hook with a float some where up the line!?! where abouts the float should go and what shots to use is the part that im not sure on, and as its winter is it better to fish deep in the middle of the lake or in the shallower parts?? also what type of bait should i use? i know that maggot can be used all year round but what else is a good winter bait??

 

any advice or tips are welcome

 

cheers stew

 

id put a size 20 on if your after small fry, trust me it will work even though it does look rather small.

 

if your float says something like 4BB then you would put the weight of 4BB's on to your line but not all 4BB's use smaller ones to make it up to that weight, i normaly stick on 2BB's to lock the float in position then dot smaller ones down the line.

 

as for depth what i like to do is start off at 2-3ft then work my way down untill i find where the fish are sitting

 

dont know about winter bait i dont normaly fish for small ones this time of year

 

sorry i couldnt realy go in depth but more anglers will give you their wisdom aswel

[Vagabond]

Have a look at this - there is almost too much information there, but try to pick out what you need.

 

http://www.coarsefish.net/float.htm

[Simon Fell]

Check out the beginners articles on fishing magic, they are really useful as a starting guide for a complete novice:

 

Beginners articles

 

The John Wilson book is very very good as mentioned above, but not maybe as basic as you might be looking for to start from no knowledge, but I would recommend this as a purchase also.

 

Best of Luck

 

Simon

[Anderoo]

Hi there

 

When reading these articles pay particular attention to plumbing the depth (very important), tell-tale shot neat the hook (so you can tell when a fish has taken the bait), using a hooklength of a lighter breaking strain than your mainline (so if you get snagged all you lose is a hook), and shotting a float properly (so it has enough weight to cast where you want to cast, and shows up bites well). Let us know if you want more explanations and I'm sure we can help.

 

Maggots are a great all-round bait. This time of year the fish won't be feeding that much and it might be hard going. You'd probably be better off in deepish (relative to the rest of the lake) water, but fish as close in to the bank as possible (e.g. the bottom of the marginal shelf, if there is one). This makes casting and feeding much easier and more accurate. When floatfishing with maggots, throw a dozen or so maggots around your float every 10-15 minutes to attract the fish. In cold water the fish are often on or near the bottom, but sometimes they can be found in a layer of warmer water closer to the surface, just to confuse things

 

Where do you live? If you're anywhere near Oxford you can join me for a day if you like (genuine offer). A day with someone who's been fishing for a while is worth a hundred articles.

[Dick Dastardly]

Same goes for me if you in the Kent area.

[wayne baker]

Theres plenty of good web sites and articles in the monthlys etc to get you on you way. If your only after small stuff size 18 will be plenty big enough, You might even want to go a little smaller. As for what depth to fish at it really depends on the day and the venue. Once you have learnt to plumb the depth and shot your floats properly. You can experiment on the day. You will find even in winter it sometimes pays to fish at different depths. As for bait i would say stick with the maggots for now. Then maybe experiment with other thiings like bread punch hemp etc. Once you have learnt the basics of float fishing youcan move on to other methods,

Tight lines

[medwaygreen]

Starting out in fishing can be a nightmare when you are trying to absorb facts and technics all at once, so don't worry when things go wrong, note i said when.

 

I started fishing some fifty years ago without someone to guide me and today i am still learning new technics and methods.

If you have a particular water in mind that you are going to start fishing on let us know more about it and we may be able to give you better advice relating to the type of venue and species it holds.

 

The best advice you have had so far is the offers from Anderoo and Budgie to take you out with them, each hour with competent anglers is in my opinion worth a year of self taught experience. I myself am in Kent and like Budgie would be happy to arrange something for you if you are in this area, if you are not let us know your location i am sure there will be a member who would be able to help in this way.

 

The other aspect of giving advice over the net is that you have to type which for most of us is difficult and laborious, should you wish PM me and i would be pleased to give you my phone number and you may like to call me, a ten minute phone call would provide many more answers to the questions you have.

Good luck and welcome to AN.

[Armarnold]

ive just gotta say that those offers of teaching experience above are well decent, good on you lads!, you'd learn alot from these guys in a day, no dount enough for you to be able to fish competently on your own. its all about knowing what your doing as this causes less mishaps, but as said above things do go wrong so expect this and you wont be dissapointed.

 

Bob nudd's guide to waggler fishing is a great video for some really good starting out advice. it used to be on YOUTUBE untill it got taken off for copyright, i'll have a look to see if i can find it anywhere else and post a link if i do, but yeah stick with it mate and you might just find yourself one of the most rewarding past-times around! good luck

[big stew 76]

ive just gotta say that those offers of teaching experience above are well decent, good on you lads!, you'd learn alot from these guys in a day, no dount enough for you to be able to fish competently on your own. its all about knowing what your doing as this causes less mishaps, but as said above things do go wrong so expect this and you wont be dissapointed.

 

 

i was thinking the same thing and if i was in those areas i would take them up on there offer, but being as im in north devon its a bit of hike! thanks guys anyway for the offer

 

oh and thanks for taking time out for a newbie, lots of people get fed up of the same questions being asked

cheers all

stew