SAFETY FIRST – LEGERING v FLOATFISHING

FISH O’Mania’s ‘Feedergate’ prompted some interesting debate on match fishing rig safety.

Every rig poses some kind of risk to fish but, in my opinion, float rigs are more likely to cause problems than legering.

Although my evidence is largely circumstantial, I have on several occasions caught trailing float rigs, mostly pole-related, with carp attached. One had been dragged around for so long it had algae on the float.

I have never caught a leger or feeder rig with a fish on although, bizarrely, I have caught several unattached feeders of all kinds over the years, on lakes and rivers.

While that proves nothing, using the new style of safe feeder systems renders it very unlikely, although not impossible, for a fish to be permanently attached.

Barbless hooks help and, when you think about it, it’s virtually impossible for a fish to gain slack line, slack enough to allow a hook to drop out with the buoyancy of a float on the line. On the other hand, a fish resting on the bottom will naturally cause a loss of line tension with a weight attached.

One rule I believe to be essential is that the use of pole rigs without a separate hooklength should not be allowed.

A knot is the weak point on any rig, and having that weakness above the float, at the elastic connector, is asking for trouble and the potential tethering of fish.