Getting Started

[Little Butch]

Thought i'd start the first thread here :D
Ive got a suitable reel and loads of old rods and would like to get into freshwater fishing aswell as sea fishing :)
I've done a bit before but would like to get more seriously into it.
I'd like to use natural baits like Sweetcorn, Luncheon Meat, Hemp, Maggots etc and none of this new grounbait and boile rollocks :uhuh:
Could anybody make a list of what i need to get fishing ?? I have most of it i think :)
I will be fishing the freshwater part of the stour in suffolk, mainly the stretch between cattawade and Flatford.
Cheers Leon

[fyshermen1001]

Thought i'd start the first thread here :D
Ive got a suitable reel and loads of old rods and would like to get into freshwater fishing aswell as sea fishing :)
I've done a bit before but would like to get more seriously into it.
I'd like to use natural baits like Sweetcorn, Luncheon Meat, Hemp, Maggots etc and none of this new grounbait and boile rollocks :uhuh:
Could anybody make a list of what i need to get fishing ?? I have most of it i think :)
I will be fishing the freshwater part of the stour in suffolk, mainly the stretch between cattawade and Flatford.
Cheers Leon


never fished there leon but you'll need as you say reel /rod depending on what your targeting, reel loaded with a good maxima or equivalent line of 4lb line for standard fishing ie:- perch /roach small chub with a good trotting float or 4 to 5 bb clear waggler with hook sizes 20 to 14 ,

if you have a spare spool for the reel then load it with 8lb for anything else with a selection of hooks from 20 to 12's and a selection of various floats wagglers /trotting and chubbers ,
no idea if there's any pike about but a couple of wire traces with trebles on might be worth a try


always match the bait to hook size ,no good putting a lump of luncheion meat on a size 20 :blink: two maggots on a 20 is plenty


tightlines............daz

[wriggitt]

never fished it myself but constable makes it look so idyllic.

agree with fysherman

but another alternative is to travel light and go aroaming.

prebait half a dozen swims and keep returning to these every half hour.
use simple ledger tactics on a 10-11ft quiver rod or rod with fine tip.

rod, reel (spool loaded with 6lb nylon or braid), arsley or rolling bombs, landing net (one without a long handle), small rucksack with a few bits and bobs.

look for features in river ie weed beds, over hanging trees, deep holes etc

keep twitching the bait and wait for the barbel to hit and run!

[Little Butch]

Seems ive got everything i need then :)
I plan to take just a rucksack and carry the rod and net in my hand.
Might get up there on saturday :D
What do you suggest prebaiting a swim with ??? And how much ???
Cheers leon

[Corndawg]

Just a few sample baits in each swim should do it.........

[fyshermen1001]

Seems ive got everything i need then :)
I plan to take just a rucksack and carry the rod and net in my hand.
Might get up there on saturday :D
What do you suggest prebaiting a swim with ??? And how much ???
Cheers leon


get a couple of loaves of bread and leave them out a couple of days so they go semi stale /hard then stick them through the blender then as you walk around just damp them and make balls u could always add a few maggots or whatever your using as hook bait mashed in with it

cheap an cheerful ground bait ,


tightlines..................daz

[Little Butch]

Ok, ive only got sweetcorn and bread at the moment, will these do ???
Should i get some maggots ???
Leon

[fyshermen1001]

Ok, ive only got sweetcorn and bread at the moment, will these do ???
Should i get some maggots ???
Leon


might be worth it in this sort of weather ,the fish arent so active in winter so the extra attractant of something wriggling might just get you one or two fish just remember maggots dont wriggle if they get cold so warm them up in your hands for a min or so ,:):)

us seasoned course fishermen stick them under your tongue does the same trick :):)


tightlines....................daz

[Little Butch]

Cheers :)
Really looking forward to it now. Gunna get my gear ready tonight.
I think i'll mix bread, sweetcorn and maggots together and use that as groundbait.
Leon

[Corndawg]

Cheers :)
Really looking forward to it now. Gunna get my gear ready tonight.
I think i'll mix bread, sweetcorn and maggots together and use that as groundbait.
Leon



Little tip for you........

Liquidise the bread,put it in a big bucket.............

Then liquidise the corn,and add that to the bread a bit at a time,til it makes a kind of sloppy ball.........

Add the maggots on the day if you want,but it will make a lovely cloud on the way to the deck,as well as make a scent trail to bring the fish upstream............

[Little Butch]

nice, we dont have a liquidiser though :(
Suppose i could do it by hand though :)
If im going fishing on saturday when should i make it ???
leon

[Corndawg]

nice, we dont have a liquidiser though :(
Suppose i could do it by hand though :)
If im going fishing on saturday when should i make it ???
leon


Friday night...............

If you haven't got a liquidiser,try riddling it through a maggot/caster riddle,and add some water to it...........not too much mind !!!!!!!!

[Little Butch]

Ok will make it friday night and leave it outside ???
Add the maggots to it friday night aswell ??
What the 'eck does riddle it mean ?
Shall i float fish for them or ledger ??
If im ledgering will i need to make a rig up ?
Leon

[yorkio]

Seems ive got everything i need then :)
I plan to take just a rucksack and carry the rod and net in my hand.
Might get up there on saturday :D
What do you suggest prebaiting a swim with ??? And how much ???
Cheers leon

You might not even need the rucksack if you're stalking. I went out last weekend and got everything I needed to in my pockets, with the rest (my lunch, plus bait - a loaf of bread and a chunk of pepperami) in a collapsible bucket.

The only tricky thing is working out what to sit on - most of the time, an unhooking mat is your best bet, although I find with a good waterproof, tough bib and brace (I've got a Shakespeare Salt one) you can often just sit straight on the floor.

[Little Butch]

i'll probably just sit on the floor lool.
Think i'll prebait about 3 swims and keep alternating between them :)
So float or ledger ?
Leon

[Corndawg]

Try both........

As for what "Riddling" is....

The mesh you use to sort out the dead maggots from the live ones.......

If you don't have one,just break the bread up by hand,add water to make mashed bread,mix in the corn,and leave.....do NOT add the maggots til you use it,or they will get wet,and end up crawling out all over..........

Simple open end feeder,three foot hooklength,14 hook,or a stickfloat,will work.....

[Little Butch]

havent got a riddler either so looks like i'll do it like you say :)
I'll have to get an open ended feeder as i havent got one.
I'd prefer to use a float as im used to that, I can still use a feeder with a float cant I ?
Leon

[Corndawg]

havent got a riddler either so looks like i'll do it like you say :)
I'll have to get an open ended feeder as i havent got one.
I'd prefer to use a float as im used to that, I can still use a feeder with a float cant I ?
Leon

You can,but now things are getting technical,and certainly not for beginners to coarse fishing !!!!!!!

If you have got a feeder rod,(coloured tips for different weights),there will be no problem........and save the end of your float rod !!

And get feeders of different sizes,to be able to hold bottom on a river,and use the right one for the pace of the water,like you do with leads for holding in tides........same principle,just scaled down.......

[Little Butch]

No i havent got a feeder rod, im only gunna be taking the one rod to make it easier.
My mate will be bringing a rod aswell :)
Ive got some stuff ready:
Reel
Rod
Knife
Splitshot
Floats
Normal Feeders
Landing net

This all i need to take ?
Leon

[wriggitt]

personally i would not use swimfeeders,groundbait or maggots at this time of year (just personal preference),with the colder water temps, fish are easily spooked and are finnicky feeders.
just add a few samples of loose feed to each swim ie a couple of pieces of meat and a few kernels of corn and use breadcrust as the hookbait on a size 8 or size 6 barbless hook.
if the river is carrying a bit of water and colour try using lobworm.

when using these tactics on my local river i never spend more than half an hour in the same spot, and if fishing in clear water will move after i have caught one fish, however in some of the deeper spots will catch a few fish before i move on.

[Little Butch]

I'm a bit confused on what to do now :S
That method does sound alot easier :) and means i wont have to visit the tackle shop before i go.
Leon

[Little Butch]

What species of fish can i excpect to catch ?
Leon

[yorkio]

This time of year I'd be expecting mainly chub.

I have to say, I'd also go along with wrigitt's suggestions re tactics. Basically, you're going to have to go looking for fish rather than waiting for them to go swimming past your bait. If you're not catching in one swim, don't hang about - move on and try another one. But tread lightly - if your stretch of the Stour is anything like the rivers up here right now, it'll be running low and clear so be very quiet and keep your head down.

[Little Butch]

Ok so tactics are, move around every 30 mins or so and keep quiet ??
Chub corr i'd love to catch one of them :)
Leon

[Snaggletooth]

Best baits I've found for Chubb are, bread, garden worm, slug, cheese and of course maggots.

If you want to prebait a swim I would highly recommend hemp.

[blankerman]

if you think bream or carp (carp unlikely this time of year) may be present,add a bit of molasses to your groundbait mix,they love it.i know you said you did'nt want to buy groundbait,but perhaps a small amount of something like silver x can make a difference.as for baits,i would go for worm any day.maggots are ok,but can be annoying to use at times.this year i did a head to head comparison between halibut pellets and worms.for barbel the worm was favoured slightly.carp was 3 to worm,2 to pellet and bream was a whopping 10 to 1 in favour of worm.also bear in mind that only one worm rod was used,yet usually 2 were pelleted.i know always cut worms to about 10 to 15mm long,gets more bites with less of them being missed
another usefull bit of kit is a pair of pliers.very handy for unhooking slimey eels,which also love worm,and predatory fish with big teeth.even soft mouthed fish are so much easier if you use pliers

oops,nearly forgot,i only ever ledger or feeder fish on rivers,but suppose it depends how much flow the water has....and i rarely day fish

[piscamaniac]

I've fished the stour. didnt catch very much (but then I was fly fishing and the water was coloured!). Its very similar to the colne in colchester that I have fished a lot! The stour screams chub and bream and big pike in the weir pools. I think It also holds barble. Thinking of the colne it has some exceptional cheap fishing just a few miles from the stour! Paxmans club did a special coln card when I was there a few years ago £7 for the year for miles of fishing on the colne and the old swimming pool(big pike) is free. Ive had carp to 22lb. Pike to 8lb on the fly. Massive chub -one I estimate at over 7lb just below the road bridge in colchester. Lots of 4lb bream. Tench to 7lb. Mostly on bread -people feed loads to the swans! Youll pobably find all these species and more on the stour. Holland brook in clacton is also free fishing -Ive had carp to 18lb in that small drain -just a few yards from the sea! Dont be scared -get urself across the border! Well there go all my secrets but i will probably never fish these fantasic venues again. Just pop into one of the colchester tackle shops

[piscamaniac]

ps avon rods are perfect for these rivers!

[wriggitt]

http://www.go-fish.co.uk/venue_2828.htm

might be a bit of use leon

[Little Butch]

Cheers guys :)
Will tell you how i get on
Leon

[samfish]

It's now pouring with rain everywhere, the rivers will be up and it's mild. In these conditions at this time of year I simply use a big bait on a running ledger and hold the rod. Touch ledgering as it's known. Mild, wet conditions in winter are particularly good for barbel, especially when the river level and water temperature are rising due to rain.

Luncheon meat is my fave when the river is coloured as it's nice and smelly and the barbel and chub love it!! Drop your bait in likely looking spots like slacks, eddys, next to fallen/overhanging trees and snags, in weirpools, undercut banks, deep water on outside of bends etc.... and you'll do ok. Very often the fish will be right under your feet. So no hob-nail boots!

Just like bass fishing in-close, only a little more refined and delicate. KEEP IT SIMPLE AND KEEP MOVING EVERY HALF HOUR OR SO!!! You will eventually drop in on some fish and stand a reasonable chance of nabbing a few.

Good luck fella!

[Little Butch]

Ok so im now torn between ledgering and float fishing lol
If im moving about every 30 mins do i prebait a few swims and then switch between them ???
Leon

[Snaggletooth]

Ok so im now torn between ledgering and float fishing lol
If im moving about every 30 mins do i prebait a few swims and then switch between them ???
Leon

I'd ledger myself, prefer trotting the float in warmer months. When I used to coarse fish on a regular basis I never bothered baiting swims as it didn't seem necessary on the Severn marks I was fishing. Might be worth finding the swims you want to fish and just bait one up and campare the result at the end of the day.

[wriggitt]

seeing as its your first time stick to the simple ledgering tactics as stated in previous posts and move about.
gives you the opportunity to check out swims etc for next time you go, and then perhaps give it a go stick float fishing.

the severn. the mistress of all rivers

[yorkio]

Agreed - I'd say a simple flowing ledger would be your best bet.

BTW, there's a great series of articles on ledgering at http://www.fishingmagic.com/news/article/mps/UAN/2914/V/3.

[Little Butch]

just checked and dont have a weight lool so looks like i'll be float fishing :)
Leon

[tinker]

hi m8 i do alot of barbell fishing on the wye if u like join me next year.-
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q244/tinkercarp/riverwye002.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q244/tinkercarp/riverwye001.jpg
TIGHT LINES

[Little Butch]

Yeah i'd love to :)
Where abouts ???
PM me when you wanna go !!
Leon

[Little Butch]

Went fishing today for a few hours
NOTHING :( Not even a bite
Leon

[blankerman]

Went fishing today for a few hours
NOTHING :( Not even a bite
Leon


you have to have patience this time of year,but the wait could well be worth it:yeah:

[yorkio]

Did you float fish in the end? What was the river like?

[Boys@Newtown]

Dont be shy about visiting tackle shops most will welcome you with lots of advice and local knowledge and fresh bait, your local shop will probaly sell the day permits for the areas you want to fish (saves red face when a bailiff ask to see your ticket) and dont forget to visit your local post office to obtain your ROD LICENCE you can get them for 1day a week or full year around £25.00 for the year but it will expire on march 30th

[Little Butch]

The river was coloured and pretty high, the current was strong and this meant bait and floats being washed up on the bank in about a minute but we moved to a little spot which was much more calm.
Got my licence yesterday :)
Leon

[yorkio]

The river was coloured and pretty high, the current was strong and this meant bait and floats being washed up on the bank in about a minute but we moved to a little spot which was much more calm.

Ah right, it doesn't sound it would have been easy going for anyone in conditions like that. Just keep your fingers crossed for the rain to hold off for a bit and get yourself back out there.

It would be a good idea to get yourself few leads so that you can ledger too if the conditions are more suitable on the day.


Got my licence yesterday :)

Very sensible.

[madangler153]

its always worth taking a few decent lobs with you. Theres a lot of nice perch about and they love 'em. Most fish will eat a lob!

Can always try to make a 'paste' hook bait ---- take 6 or seven stale slices of bread (microwave em to get em really hard) add water to soften to a pulp. place in tea towel etc and add flavourings ie. custard powder,vanilla for roach or luncheon meat finely chopped for chubb/barbel. squeeze excess water out. To help bind you can use an egg but I prefer to use a product called Sensas PVE binder (makes it super sweet and sticky). Add to suit until consistency is like soft dough. Will harden up overnight. End up with a big ball of bready stuff to wrap in cling film and squeeze little balls off to mold round your hook. use strong guage size 12.

[woodbutcher]

havent fish flatford for years going by memory this time of year it will roach and chub on the main river but if you can fish the wear pool bream there are few swims that will out fish all others will try to explane were they are over the bridge turn left follow the river for about half a mile there is a wide right hand bend about 20m wide the only bend there that is that wide the next bend lefthand try there a very very good chub swim try bread flake first if that dont work bronze maggot next swim from the wide bend walk on dont follow river when you came to the river again it will be a right bend just befor the bend there is a up rooted tree on the right there is a bloody great hole at the base of the tree about 4deeper try there sorry directions a bit vaige but very hard to explane hope it helped if you find the swims let me know how you got on cheers tight lines

[cfish]

Agree with the tip on lobworms! 2 or 3 lobs on a big hook! when the rivers up and cloudy. Never no what you might catch.