How do you choose the right quivertip?

“I like to have a clear idea of when each size of tip will come into play”

Geoff Snell, Sandwich

IT CAN be a puzzle when you buy a rod with five different tips, and although you may think that sticking to just one ‘happy medium’ tip will do the job, they do all have their time and place, depending on the fish you’re after and the conditions.

There’s also a lot to take into account when it comes to the size of the rings on each tip and even how much tension you have in the tip when waiting for a bite, but I like to keep things simple with a clear idea and set of scenarios as to when each size of tip will come into play.

Tip test curves

The first thing to think about when choosing a quivertip is its test curve. These are the numbers printed on the bottom of each tip. As a guide, the smaller the number, the lighter the test curve will be and so the softer the quivertip.

For example, a 0.5oz tip is much softer than a 2oz version, but don’t think that if a quivertip is a 0.75oz test curve you can’t cast a 1oz or even 1.5oz feeder in case the tip will break... because it won’t!

Choosing a tip for... carp

If I was on a commercial fishery lake casting a mini Hybrid feeder 20m to 40m, I would opt for a 1oz or 1.5oz quivertip. That might sound a bit light for carp, but the feeder size won’t be a problem for the tip, and erring on the lighter side will let me see more indications from fish.

Sometimes, even when I’m not actually getting bites, I might be getting indications from fish swimming into the line or not picking up the bait properly and it’s these that can tell me to change something to turn those taps and knocks on the tip into proper bites.

Roach and skimmers

Hitting bites from small silverfish can be a nightmare. I always use braid for the mainline, and casting from 13m to 30m, I’d go for a 0.75oz or 1oz tip. When targeting small fish, a light tip is essential to try and magnify the bites.

Small fish can be difficult to hook on the feeder, so a light tip helps me to ‘read’ bites that bit more easily and tell me when to strike or pick the rod up.

Bream

For bream fishing at a medium range of 45m-65m I opt for a 1.5oz or 2oz tip. Anything lighter than 1.5oz will make casting difficult for me. Bream tend to give positive bites anyway, so even a 2oz tip is fine in terms of showing them up.

Once you start to fish at this sort of range you’ll need to consider the underwater tow that’s generated by the wind – that’s another reason why a 1oz tip is basically a non-starter.

If the quivertip is too light and the tow strong, the tip will be locked right round, making bite detection impossible on such a tight line.

Long-range fishing

The only time I really use a heavy tip is for distance work, for example at Boddington Reservoir in the winter where distance is key and it’s all about using 13ft and 14ft rods married to a 3oz tip.

If I get a bite it basically pulls the rod in, so I don’t need a light tip for bite detection. Where the heavy tip is most important, though, is for casting. A heavy carbon quivertip corrects itself quickly on the cast, which in turn helps me maintain distance and accuracy.

Ring sizes

If I’m fishing at distance or with braid and a shockleader, I need to consider the size of the rings on the quivertip.

You can get quivers with large rings or ‘guides’ on them, and I choose these for distance and braid work. The big guides make it easier for the shockleader knot to pass through them with no risk of jamming, which can cause a crack-off.

The other plus point to using bigger quivertip guides is that less friction is created through the rings, which in turn helps with distance.

Setting the tip

A question I get asked a lot about quivertips is how to set them (how much bend to have in the tip when fishing).

If I’m carp fishing it doesn’t really worry me if the tip has a decent bend in it once set, because if a carp picks up the bait the bite will be easy to see – it will either pull the rod in or be a big drop-back.

For silverfish, however, it’s a different story, and I always like to fish with what I call a ‘slack tip’, which is a quiver with barely a bend in it.

I reckon these little fish will almost hook themselves with a slack line. If the quiver was set any tighter, though, the fish would ‘bounce’ themselves off the hook and I would suffer missed bites galore!