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A short session on the stick float

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TO FOLLOW THE BLOG ON FACEBOOK PLEASE CLICK HERE Tackle choice Rod Vintage Daiwa harrier s 13ft match rod. These old match rods are excellent for fishing the stick float and waggler on rivers having a lot of flexibility in the tip of the rod to absorbe the lunges of bigger fish when using light lines and avoid hook pulls on smaller fish. Reel Vintage Shakespeare matchwinner closed face reel. An excellent choice for River fishing allowing line to be taken freely off the spool as the float trots down exploring the swim with the advantage of the enclosed face stopped any wind present from causing tangled around the spool. Mainline 3lb monofilament. A good all-round choice for this style of fishing all year round with the option to drop down to 2.6lb in winter if fishing becomes harder. Hooklenght 2.5lb flurocarbon. This is about the heaviest hooklenght material I'd use for trotting on a river for smaller species dropping down as low as 1.6lb in the colder months. Float 5 n...

How to hook worms correctly

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CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW THE FACEBOOK PAGE! Worms are the oldest of all fishing baits. From tiny bloodworm for silver fish in the depths of winter right through to huge lobworms for specimen carp, perch, barbel, bream and chub this bait is still just as effective as ever. Here is my guide to hooking lobworms correctly so that you get maximum hook ups and avoid missed bites. 1. Firstly hook the work through the saddle area. This is the tough part of the worm that is slightly different in colour to the rest. 2. Then take a pair of small snippers and snip off the head of the worm cutting it tight to the saddle being careful not to cut the line as the worm does tend to wrap around the hooklengh so it can be a little bit tricky. 3. Hook on the head of the worm making sure you put the hook through the cut section where the juices are being released. 4. Trim down the worm to about three inches. This creates a smaller and more compact hookbait with all the juices escaping r...

A complete guide to the alloy feeder

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CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW THE FACEBOOK PAGE! Introduction For many years there was two types of feeders that dominated the commercial fishery feeder fishing scene. The method feeder and the pellet feeder. Both of these feeders are excellent in their own right. The method feeder leaves the bait on the feeder exposed meaning some gets washed off on impact with the water creating a fairly large baited area, The pellet feeder is enclosed and therefor the water can only attack the bait from one end creating a tiny pile of bait on the bottom ideal for fishing up to features or for when targeting smaller species such as F1's. However there was a gap in the market for something in-between the two and the alloy feeder is exactly that. The alloy feeder is partially enclosed around the sides of the feeder meaning less bait is lost on the cast similar to a pellet feeder but creates a slightly bigger pile of bait on the bottom, Slightly smaller than the method feeder. This feeder is now ...

Taming Trent bream on the feeder (Victoria Embankment ) 08.10.22

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CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW THE FACEBOOK PAGE! Tackle Rod Leeda xgt 13ft power feeder fitted with a 2oz tip Reel Garbolino challenger feeder reel (designed for distance casting) Line 8lb Maxima Hooklengh Preston fluorocarbon 8lb (The stiffness and abrasion resistant qualities make this perfect for those big fish on Rivers) Hook Kamasan B911 in various size 10 Bait Groundbait Plain brown crumb. Cheap and cheerful. Bream are not choosey when it comes to what they eat. The groundbait is there to create an area for the fish to feed over and to carry the loose feed. Pellets 4 and 6mm pellets. Bream love pellets so they are al noways in my bait bag. Pellets keep for ages before going off so they are easy to keep and one of the cheapest baits out there. Sweetcorn One of my favourites both for loose feeding and hookbaits. Sweetcorn is dirt cheap and bream love it. It is usually my go to hookbait if I want a quick bite as it stands out well on the bottom with its bright yellow colour and is easily pic...

A complete guide to open ended feeder choice on rivers

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Introduction This is my guide to feeder choice when river fishing.  As a beginner it is easy to walk into a tackle shop and be bewildered by the amount of feeders to choose from of all different shapes and sizes so I aim to make that choice a little easier by explaining the two types of feeders I use for all of my river fishing and how the fishing situation dictates my choice on the day.  When feeder fishing it is important that we make the fish feed in a way that makes them easy to catch and feeder choice allows us to dictate how the fish feed on the day. If you want to become a serious feeder angler then it is important to carry a large variety of feeders to suit all situations. I carry my feeders in double sided tackle boxes as shown below allowing my to swap and change easily during a session. The cage feeder Overview The cage feeder is made up of a plastic or wire mesh. The way a cage feeder is designed means that the groundbait inside is very expo...

A complete guide to hook choice

CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW THE FACEBOOK PAGE! Kamasan b911 My go to hair rig hook for both natural and commercial fisheries. 10 Hair rigged treble corn Hair rigged boilie 10mm Hair rigged pellet 10mm + Hair rigged punched meat (large) 12 Hair rigged double corn Hair rigged pellet 8mm Hair rigged meat (medium) 14 Hair rigged pellet 6/8mm Hair rigged wafters 6mm 16 Hair rigged single corn Hair rigged 4mm pellets Kamasan b911x Exactly the same as the previous hook although stronger in the wire. 10  hair rigged pellets 10mm+ Hair rigged boiles 10mm Hair rigged treble corn 12 Hair rigged double corn Hair rigged pellet 8mm Kamasan b611 A stronger version of the old faithful b511 by kamasan. The stronger pattern is more suited to modern angling and baits. 10 Bread flake 12 Worm sections 14 Punched bread in summer Sweetcorn Small sections of worm 16 Smaller punched bread in winter Kamasan b525 A good shaped hook for presenting maggots or casters on the feeder. 16 Single maggot/caster 14 Double m...

My quick change river feeder rig

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CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW THE FACEBOOK PAGE! Modern feeder fishing is all about speed.  After trail and error over the past months I feel I have settled on a rig that ticks all the required boxes for river feeder fishing for species large or small. This rig is all about being tangle free and adaptable whilst staying as simple as possible. This rig allows me to change hook lenghs and feeders quickly without any hassle and makes the whole process of making changes as fast as possible. As we all know that speed is now very important especially when match fishing. By constructing this rig with a back stop in the shape of a small float stop it also allows the rig to be quickly changed from a free running rig into a bolt rig depending on which is better on the day and the target species. Step 1 I start by sliding a single rubber float stop on to the mainline. This stop allows me to fish the rig free running by pushing the stop up the line. The stop can also...

Advice to young and upcoming anglers by the late great Jan porter

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CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW THE FACEBOOK PAGE! Here is some advice given to me by the great Jan porter around 10 or 12 years ago before he sadly passed away   Jan Porter's advice! I get asked a lot by younger anglers how to get a deal with tackle companies and become a pro. There's no fast answer but I always suggest record of log of your sessions, write blogs like you are doing. Invest in some reasonable camera equipment and hone photography skills. Obviously it's important to learn techniques and better to be a master of one style/species at a time than jack of all trades. I believe that catching fish on a float loose feeding little and often is a great starting point, location is paramount. Balanced tackle, local knowledge and watching the water is essential in fast tracking to experience. There are so many helpful resources on youtube, in the printed media and via company DVDs there has never been more knowledge to hand. Above all this it's crucial to get a decent job as o...

Catching roach on punched bread and feeder tactics (river Trent)

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CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW THE FACEBOOK PAGE! Tackle Rod Leeda carp match 12ft feeder rod with a 1oz tip. An old rod but excellent for the job. It has a lovely soft action and ideal for casting small feeders when the river is low and not got a lot of pace in it. Reel Garbolino challenger feeder reel. The distance aspect wouldn't be needed for today's session but a lovely big reel with plenty of cranking power making it very easy to fish with and gives me the opportunity to fish longer if needed. Line 6lb Maxima. This might seem a bit over gunned to some but with constant casting I always prefer to go a bit heavier due to the durability of a thicker diameter line. Hooklengh 4lb flurocarbon Again this may seem on the heavy side but again it's more durable than lighter flurocarbons that can be prone to line twist with repeated casting. I used a hooklengh of around 2ft on this session I would usually use 3 foot but with the river having very little flow on it I wanted to keep my hook...