right lads here we go
i have been fishing the river tame for a few months and only managed 2 fish in all that time. i have had them to the feeder using maggots. i have tried caster,worms etc with no joy. i am using 8lb line 2 oz drennan block end feeder swivel and size 12-16 eyed hook depending on bait. i fished the same peg where the chub have been coming out and cannot connect with a decent run of fish. today there were fish in my swim. my rod tip was shaking and twitching. i got there today at 8.30am. fed up with hemp and caster had a brew, setup and cast out. had nothing for a while and then it was obvious the fish had moved on to my feed. twitching and shaking on my rod but no decent bites. around 2pm i got my first decent bite hit it and caught a chub. cast out again in same place had loads more twitches but no bites. what am i doing wrong?

Probably nothing apart from weather conditions. Fact is the tame and the goyt are very patchy and sensitive to weather.

The twitching could be minows or cray fish in the swim.
I know a bloke that's fished the goyt 12 full days without a fish to show for it.
I never blacked when I've been trotting on the goyt picking up trout, dace, chub, grayling and even barbel when roaming around.

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Are you sure that the fish are not causing the constant twiching by just attacking your feeder where all the feed is concentrated? or as Glenn said it could be minnows or Crayfish.

I have seen this happen on my clear local stream where the fish often just seem to home in on the feeder.

Most of these small tugs and twitches that we get are from fish attacking the feeder.
To check for this, just remove the feeder and change over to a small lead and see if you continue to get as many of the annoying twiches.

Also try dropping down to a lighter and longer hooklength (or a shorter hooklength) to see if that has any effect on your bites.

Another thing you can do is fish slightly upstream with a little slack on the line so that it takes very little pressure to dislodge your feeder when a fish takes your bait and which is often just enough to set a sharp hook.

Also try trotting a bait using a stick or avon float on slightly finer tackle (4lb to 5.5lb) and see if the Barbel want a moving bait. they will often grab at a moving bait before they have had time to inspect it properly; especially if there are other fish feeding with or near them.

Or if you don't like float fishing try inching or trundling your bait along the bottom very slowly with four or five SSG's on a very short link (for casting weight and to keep your hooklink on the bottom).

Anyway I hope your catches improve, and tight lines.

Keith

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If you're after the Chub from there, get on the stick float . Feed every run through.

Depending on what the conditions are like, I'd say a 5 no.4 float is more than ample. Mess about with the shotting, bulk or shirt button style.

I tend to go for no.8's for more flexibility but that's just me. Holding back the float often produces a bite when letting it just run through doesn't.

There's plenty to think about doing this rather than sat behind your rods, it keeps you active and thinking too.

Originally Posted by drynetter

Holding back the float often produces a bite when letting it just run through doesn't.

100% agree with that one, just feather it with the odd pause when its moving with the flow of the river, this should also reduce getting snagged up as the bait should be just off the bed and down river from your float.

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cheers for replies lads just to add
the hook link was maxima 3lb to a size 16 hook. i was fishing just off the sunken tree on the tame. i cast here so the loose bait would drift in to the turn on the bend and pull the chub up as this is where they have been shoaled. i have been trying the trotting method but im not too sure on how to plumb up to the correct depth. i understand the shotting patterns. when bulk shotting to slow the bait down i get it running and then all of a sudden the float will dissappear(not a bite) so i dont feel confident using it. its probably because i dont know if im on the bottom or not. any ideas

Ideas for how deep?:

Try to get a best guess on the depth and keep changing it as the river bed is unlikely to be flat, and really you should be looking for the changes to find the fish.

The best method is to plumb it in all the way along (and across) in the close season [not much help now I know but bear it in mind for 2 months time].

For now:
Test in front of you with a plummet to get a starting point including down stream a bit.

Start by shotting your float so that it's slightly under shotted with a bulk around half depth and then shirt button style, this will help the float pull through the swim. If it's really weedy, you may need to move the bulk up the line.

Run your float through without a hook and see how the float behaves (change in pace, dragged under etc.) and build up a picture of the underwater features and keep adjusting the depth of your float up and down.

Vary your shotting (the individual shirt buttons) to where you think the depth changes are so that as the weights trip along the bottom, the float will sink and rise showing the depth variations. A large (long) top and bottom waggler can be good for this.

You can also put an extra weight (big enough to sink the float) where the hook would be so that when the float goes over a hole, the float will sink.

Just be aware weeds will pull the float under, fish can and do try eating your shot (Perch and Pike love shot) and good old crayfish will have a go or just get snagged on your line.

the floats i was using were a drennan loafer and a drennan big stick. 8 x no4.

Dan, I'd tend to think that you don't need floats as heavy as that in the swim you're fishing. As a guide it's around one no.4 per foot. There's not too many places on that stretch you'll get over 5 feet if any. A pm to Dave should sort you out. He's got a mental note of every inch of the river.

Other than that give it a go yourself. While the depth is important to know, it doesn't necessarily mean that that's here the fish are feeding.

I doubt that I've ever stood there in the water stick float fishing with the depth the same all the way through a session. You need to keep changing it about, moving the shot about too is another tip. Not randomly, think about how your bait will act when the shotting pattern is altered.

Start with guessing what the depth is, let it run through a few times, if you don't start dragging bottom, push the float up. You must keep a mental note of where it starts to catch on the bottom to help you build a picture up of what it's like under the water. The bottom will not be flat all the way along the swim, these slight variations can be where you'll catch.

I'd also steer away from using maxima as a hooklink, it's not the thinnest in diameter and has alot of stretch in it (grab about a foot of it and pull, you'll be surprised how much it'll give). Plenty of lines out there to try out that don't cost a fortune. 16's to a 3lb hooklink is ok, you'll need a strongish gauge wire or it can straighten when you apply a bit of pressure.


Most of all don't be scared of giving it a go. It can be some of the most enjoyable fishing you'll experience. Certainly better than sat on some Commercial skull draggin pond pigs to the net.

Good Luck...

the run i was playing around on the other day must have a deeper hole as the float dives under for about 2 1/2 -3ft in length and then comes back up in the same place. can anyone recommend a hook link and mainline for me to use