The recent couple of hours after dace was on the top meadow at Wasperton (LAA) before our work party. I used my super-sensitive Shakespeare wand with the finest quiver tip attached hoping the dace would produce wrap around bites and hang themselves in the process. The river was up after recent rain however and that ruled out fishing all but the more sedate nearside water with this rod.
Fishing a smooth channel of water with a light lead down the near edge it was soon apparent that the weight of water on the line from the flow was wiping out valuable sensitivity in the last third of the tip. The tip eye was at forty five degrees to the butt of the rod.
I'm certain this observation - that the flow of a river pulls a quiver tip round - does not provide new insight to all the experienced anglers out there but I'll see the thinking through as it took me to an interesting place.
Because the sensitivity of the tip had been diminished by the flow the bites I was receiving from the dace were sharp, jaggy, over very quickly and difficult to hit. The flow had the effect of making it seem like I was using a much heavier tip and because I was fishing so close in there was no elasticity in the rig. When fishing at even a moderate distance on running water there will be some latent 'give' from the length of nylon line between tip and lead, or slight bow in the line.
Essentially the set up was ineffective for the conditions.
Contrast this scenario with the tips performance in still water where it's only the weight of the line between eye and lead which pulls the tip round. Once the lead is cast it is possible to reduce the line tension to such a degree that the tip is almost straight and I'm sure most of the line is laying on the lake bed. All of the tips sensitivity is then available for bite registration.
The flow on the top meadow at Wasperton is pretty fast compared to slower deeper stretches of the Avon. That's presumably why the Barbel are attracted to it. It's faster still when there's new water in the river like there was on Sunday.
Reflecting on the ineffectiveness of my set up I tried to pick a method which would have been better on the day and found I couldn't positively settle on a favourite.
I ruled the waggler out on grounds of flow speed but thought it might be too turbulent even for a stick float. In hindsight I would go with an 11ft quiver with a slightly beefier tip and fish across and down into one of the far bank glides, keeping the tip high.
I propose the reason why I have such trouble picking between stick and quiver is because the water was roughly suitable for both. In an attempt to describe this intersection of methods and conditions I came up with the graph below.
One line I thought about adding was to represent the tip movement or viciousness of a bite. I would start that line low in the left hand corner rising up in a straight line as the flow increased. The viciousness of a bite is just another way of saying how likely the fish is to hook itself as when your tip is bouncing round or being pulled off the rest that's not a bite it's the first charges of a hooked fish. I think the faster the flow the more likely the fish is to hook itself when it turns with the bait in it's mouth.
What's the upshot of all this cogitation? In fishing you can often learn as much from an unsuccessful session as you can from a successful one.
Cheers.
Being unsuccessful is what creates the conditions for future success, as this fishing challenge proves over and over. Pretty much every fish point so far notched up by any of the 'competitors' has been earned by trial and error, initial failure, more failed attempts and then eventual success.
ReplyDeleteFunny that everyone is having real trouble with the dace point because having got mine in, what. January or something? I could easily have had it four or five times over by now. and in different places. That's how it works, and why it works.
Next year none of these species would be anywhere near as much trouble!
I can't remember the last time I went fishing without some species orientated target in mind!
ReplyDeleteNext years challenge is already taking shape and will of course be thrown open to anyone who would like to participate - contact me on email via my profile if you fancy it. It's the usual high stakes: no prize whatsoever and a slightly stressful edge to every fishing trip. Absolutely zero material gain.
The only entry condition is to write up your sessions on here somewhere.
I think Danny himself came up with the idea: one point on offer for the heaviest specimen of each species (mini-species excluded). I augmented this with three bonus points on offer throughout the year with a canal, river and stillwater match.
Just think Jeff, you could fish for Roach all year if you like!
Think I'd like to join this merry band of anglers next year. The thought of being pressured even more than usual excites me!
ReplyDeleteAs an afterthought, I love the inane sequences of letters we have to enter before posting. The one I've just put in is "bantamni" and I think this will be something I'll ask my wife to embroider into my jumpers and hats for next year. It might mean something rude or interesting in someone's language.
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