GOING DIRECT
Carp fishing trick boosts bite detection.
How a trick from carp fishing can improve bite detection
Ou mAy recall I recently wrote how, in rougher seas, there is an advantage in using shorter than normal hooklengths to limit tangles and to keep the bait tighter to the seabed. Less movement makes the bait an easier target for the fish. Nothing radical here, but a basic point we often fail to consider.
It got me thinking that some of those rod-thumping bites that we surprisingly miss are likely to be the result of the fish attacking a bait on a trace that’s too long for the conditions, giving the bait too much freedom to move.
Consequently, the fish, as it bites,
Ydoesn’t intercept the bait accurately due to this erratic movement. This could be enough to drag the rod tip fully over, get us all excited, then feel the instant low when there’s nothing there on the strike.
There is the alternative side too, such as when bites are hard to distinguish, say, when fish are reluctant to feed or wary when the sea is calm and gin-clear in daylight during prolonged settled weather. This can occur in summer and winter. Bite detection becomes a major consideration in these conditions, and conventional paternoster rigs do not always cut it. How do we improve bite detection? Simple – by going direct!
THEORY AND PRACTICE
By going direct, we have our mainline and leader directly connected to the hook trace to give the best bite detection. If something happens at the hook, that movement is transmitted through the trace, up the leader and line and signalled on the rod tip.
Paternosters, such as one, two and threehook rigs, are not direct. The rig body and mainline soak up some of the movement indicated through the hooklength, which, in turn, sees less movement travel up the leader and line, resulting in less movement on the rod tip. The situation worsens with the more line you have out. Shy-biting fish may well feel this resistance too, resulting in some bites failing to develop.
Another consideration is that the movement in the rig body, leader and line, even at short-to-medium range, also helps cushion the pressure applied to the hook point as a fish moves away in that moment before it comes up against the lead weight. If the fish is only holding the bait lightly in its mouth and moving off, then another missed bite occurs.
A simple sliding leger rig might have been the answer, but even with a short hooklength and flat watch-type sinker, the weight is prone to sliding across the seabed as a fish bites. This determines how the hook behaves on the take and can result in missed bites if the fish does not have the bait fully in the mouth.
I also wanted to avoid wired sinkers. Often a moving weight, in some circumstances covering more ground, catches more fish, especially when fishing under 60 yards. Round ball weights give direct contact between the line, leader and hooklength, but obviously roll uncontrollably and, therefore, did not achieve what I was looking for.
Ideally, what I wanted was to be able to use a short hooklength, and when the fish took the bait against a tight line, the lead weight would lift slightly as the weight of the fish came to bear, then drop back to the seabed, which would induce self-hooking.
Being a closet carp angler, the obvious answer was to adapt the flat in-line carp leads. With its two flat sides, the line passing through a tube in the centre, it is designed to have a swivel lock in the front of the lead weight, to which you then attach the hooklength.
Small fish will come up in direct contact with the sinker, helping to self-hook, even if there is little movement initially seen on the rod tip. Bigger fish will lift the lead weight off the seabed on the take and, as the weight naturally drops back, this pulls the hook home.
The added advantage is that if a big fish takes the bait and swims off, the line will tighten, the sinker will lift, and the hooklength gets pulled instantly tight to again self-hook the fish against the direct weight of the lead weight.
I’ve found there is a little point in striking
when using this system. Mostly, the fish are already fully hooked, usually in the scissors, when they show on the rod tip.
THE SET-UP
The best weights for this set-up are what carp anglers call flat pear leads. With two flat sides, they are ideal for close-to-medium range fishing, cast cleanly, and once on the seabed the flat sides will sit on the sand. If chosen heavy enough, they will bury themselves slightly as the tidal current covers them in shifting sand. They come in a variety of sizes to 5oz.
I fish these bigger weights on bass rods if the sea is carrying a good swell and surf, sometimes 9ft spinning rods if the sea is calm and settled and I can get away with a very light sub-2oz lead weight. The bass rod is usually combined with a small 5000-sized multiplier loaded with 15lb mono and 30lb shockleader for 3-4oz leads.
If I need really fine bite detection using lighter 2-2½oz weights, I switch to a fixed-spool reel with 20lb braid. I dispense with the shockleader, and instead use a 3ft section of 20lb fluorocarbon to give me a clear visual break between the weight and the braid. The fluorocarbon is tough and allows for any wear and tear created by the sinker sliding on the line at any time.
For really calm seas, when this system is particularly deadly, and using sinkers between 1-2oz, I prefer the versatility of the 9ft spinning rod with a small 4000 fixedspool reel carrying 20lb braid. I like a 3ft section of 20lb fluorocarbon to eliminate line scuffing issues from lead weight or sand contact.
The rig is really simple. On to the fluorocarbon, slide on a carp-type tail rubber, then pass the fluorocarbon through the centre of the lead, with the fat end of the sinker facing forwards for casting. Tie on a standard rolling swivel. In a sea size, the swivel should be about size 6 to fit the tubing through the lead weight. Some swivels sizes may be an 8, depending on lead type and size. Push the swivel into the open end of the tubing and see if it nicely locks in without undue force for the ideal fit.
Tie the hook trace to the swivel’s free eye, slide on another tail rubber and push it on to the end of the swivel to hide and protect the knot. Finally, add the hook.
RIG TRICKS
Those tail rubbers are important. They reduce hook trace tangles when surf fishing and casting because the hooklength in flight is held away from the short leader. They also stop the lead weight burying deep in the sand.
Another advantage is that even though the tail rubbers flex slightly, they add leverage to the lead when a fish takes, and this can help set the hook. When set up as described above, it’s effectively a bolt rig where a fish is up against the weight of the lead almost immediately after it takes the bait.
You can increase the sensitivity of this rig, and transfer the full pull pressure at the hook end to the rod tip, by sliding the line through the tail rubber and the centre of the lead weight as before, adding a rubber stop sleeve on the fluorocarbon below the lead, then tying on the swivel and hooklength.
The swivel will sit neatly inside the rubber stop. This means the line can pull freely through the middle of the lead weight when a fish takes the bait. This is my preferred method when the sea is very calm and the fish shy biting. I sometimes use a rubber stop slid on to the plastic insert tail, instead of a rear tail rubber, when fishing very close, under 20 yards, to further reduce friction.
The length of the hook trace is important too. If I’m after bass, then I’d go for no more than 12in of 20lb fluorocarbon. Bass will
follow the scent of the bait uptide and hit it hard on the run. By keeping the hooklength short, it brings the fish quickly against the weight of the sinker. You’ll find that bites are savage, pulling the rod tip right over. You’ll rarely miss a fish and will actually hook more than you do on conventional rigs.
This length of hook trace also works for codling, whiting, coalies, gilthead bream and golden-grey mullet. However, if I’m after flounders, dabs or plaice, I’d drop the hooklength to 8in for calm seas, but go 6in or even 4in if there are surf tables running and I’m fishing in among the tables.
A friend in the South East using this rig system tells me he finds the short hooklengths good for Dover soles too.
Obviously, hook sizes are dictated by the target species and bait size. I use size 2/0 to 4/0 Viking hooks for bass and codling and similar fish, whereas I’ll use Aberdeens between size 2 and 6 for the flatfish and other smaller species.
Another advantage is that baits are presented right on the seabed where hunting fish expect to find them. Longer hooklengths tend to lift the bait as waves pass over, or bounce them up and down in flowing tidal currents. Very short hooklengths virtually eliminate this and prove far more effective.
TACTICS
The shape of the pear lead with its flat sides makes it ideal for casting to and holding on the uplifts of sandbanks, which is the perfect spot to intercept hunting bass and codling, and this is often where plaice choose to lay up.
Some pear leads have small bumps on them to increase their holding power. Keep a couple of these in your box for that little bit extra grip when needed.
The other option, and the one I often prefer, is to choose a lead weight that will occasionally move due to tidal line bow pressure. This allows you to cover a lot of ground and find any fish-holding hotspots as the lead weight trots in a downtide direction.
If you hold the rod with the tip low when doing this, you not only feel bites better, but also can often feel the sinker slide down the sides of deeper gutters and suddenly stop as it finds the bottom edge of the incline, which is another natural fish-holding hotspot. In fact, a flat pear lead in the bigger 4oz or 5oz sizes will hold well in reasonably fast tidal currents, making it ideal for fishing estuary channels and creeks.
The shape of the lead weight also allows you to move it physically by retrieving a few inches of line at a time to stir up the seabed and attract any nearby fish. This is worth trying when static baits are not producing, and is a top tip for flounders.
The in-line pear-shaped carp leads come in a non-reflective finish and in different colours so you can match the seabed feature should you feel this necessary.
Being non-reflective and coloured to match lake beds when carping, the carp lead looks like just another pebble and blends in better than a shiny new lead weight with huge wires protruding from it. Reducing reflection in calm clear water can be a slight edge when bites are tough to come by.
Obviously, I have conventional rigs that will catch fish in the conditions discussed here, but adapting the carp terminal tackle and dropping to shorter hooklengths has made a noticeable improvement to my catches, and especially in the conversion rate of bites to landed fish when the conditions are really tough.
If you fish only one way, then at times you’re going to struggle. Having options like this direct way of rigging up, which maximises presentation, bite detection and selfhooking, can make a
big difference. ■