Begineers Help

[brandenjg]

18 hours ago, gareth22 said:

Branden. 

Video was a great help. Just a couple of questions. How do you know if there is a fish on the line? With a float I take it they bob? Do you have a video for float fishing? 

 

Hi Gareth, the way to tell if you have a fish is the tip of the rod will twitch/ bend. The more you fish the more you will be able to tell if the rod bending is a bite or if it's just the wind.

when in doubt, just reel the line in a little and if there is a fish on, you will be able to feel it pulling back.

i never mentioned unhooking which is something there are many many videos of online but you will need to buy something called a Disgorger( looks like a plastic pen) which is used to unhook fish.

Branden

[brandenjg]

P.s with float fishing the float will be bobbing up and down in the water then suddenly drop below the surface. That's when you have a fish.

i can make a quick video how to set up a float later but how you setup a float changes with water depth and you'd need to learn how to check water depth.

branden

[BroadScot]

1 hour ago, Bound2Please said:

Ask the wench about how easy it is to vac up dead blur bottles.

Charlie

Do you mind Charlie....i'm trying to eat my breakie ! 

Iain

[MauriceMynah]

I really hope I'm not treading on toes here but for the total novice I would be recommending float fishing, mid depth with maggot.

My justification for this is that it is in that area where the small (10cm) roach, rudd and skimmer bream live. These young fish have yet to become over cautious and should be just that bit easier to catch. It is important that the youngsters feel the sensation of a fish on the end of the line preferably within the first 15 mins of trying the sport. If they blank (catch nothing) on the first day, there's unlikely to be a second.

Also I'd suggest somewhere like Thurne Dyke for the first attempt. It's a busy bit of water where the fish don't get spooked by the slightest movement. Ok, I'm a bit bais on that one, It was Thurne Dyke where I first tried fishing back in 1965, and I caught several roach on my first attempt. All about 4 to 5 inches. I was 11.

[Bound2Please]

14 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

I really hope I'm not treading on toes here but for the total novice I would be recommending float fishing, mid depth with maggot.

My justification for this is that it is in that area where the small (10cm) roach, rudd and skimmer bream live.

great advice there John

Charlie

[JennyMorgan]

Regarding ledgering and bite indication, a case of fishing with tight line and watching the tip of the rod. Today ledgering has taken second place to feeder fishing using a quiver tip rod. Brilliant for river fishing and I'm sure that if search for feeder fishing, as with float fishing, on U-Tube you'll find the information that you need. For beginners I really would advocate float fishing on the Broads rather than the rivers. Easy fishing and there is something quite fascinating about watching a float.

As for tackle, I went to a carboot sale yesterday, got a Grice & Young center pin for a fiver, real Crabtree stuff. It looked a mess but Grice & Young reels are near bomb proof, I knew that under the grime & seized bits there would be a hidden gem! Cleaned it up, wobble free, spins a treat, more than well pleased. On top of that I also bought a Daiwa Lightning match rod for £7.50, good to use right away and surprisingly good for a fortyish year old. £12.50 for a good rod & reel, amazing value! I certainly didn't need any new tackle but I went out with my new rod & reel this morning, an absolute joy to use and own. Perhaps I'll dig out my porcupine floats and go the whole hog! 

[JennyMorgan]

Don't suppose any of us older anglers need reminding about 'Passion' but for people who don't understand angling or are new to the sport then this might help, when you have 49 minutes to spare!

 

 

[Baitrunner]

Gareth,

     To summarise all of this you will need a float rod, feeder rod and a whip (short Roach pole). At this point I would avoid the lure or fly rods (if you like your eyes).

You will need a kindle for the books and a portable DVD player as well for the videos.

I would recommend a large wheelbarrow (or you can pinch a shopping trolley from Tesco) to carry all the luggage.

Within weeks you will then need specialist pike and carp gear, bite alarms to wake the dead, a bivvy, several sizes of landing nets, unhooking mats, bedchairs, normal day chairs and more types of bait than you ever thought existed. Oh and a disgorger!! Possibly the most important bit of kit.

And then you may get into trying sea fishing, with beach rods, boat rods, uptide rods, bass rods, multipliers etc etc.

Seriously, it will be a matter of what you fancy having a bash at first, but certainly all of the fishing types mentioned will catch you some fish and I would really rate the method feeder on the river. Lots of match guys use it so it must be pretty good.

And if you think that list is taking the pxxs, well I started off with a borrowed float rod and reel when I was 13 and could kit out my own tackle shop now - but I still have my favourites and a pair of 40yr old Mitchel reels are still going strong.

I would repeat the comment about not going for the cheapest you can get (and the boot sale idea is a good one if you know what to look for). Some of the cheap rods and reels are awful.

One thing I would contradict is not to go too light on the line strength to start with. If you end up using pre-tied hooks you can get away with upping your main line to 5-6lbs as the bit the fish will then see is the small hook on the light hook length. Might save a few lost floats (if you snap off with a fish at least you will only lose the hook length as well. Setting the clutch (if you go for a reel) can take a bit of getting used to. And stick with barbless hooks.

I do hope the youngsters get into it and become the next generation os mad cap maggot drowners.

[bigbream]

chuck them method feeders in the bin, never use them on our rivers and not many or any do use them you will want an open end feeder sometimes a cage feeder with weights ranging from 1oz up to 3oz.

[gareth22]

Thank you for all the sound advice. I will keep an eye out at a couple of car boots after we return from our holiday in Spain at the end of the month. Got a couple of weeks to read the book and watch a few videos on you tube mentioned above. 

[MauriceMynah]

One final thought from me... When you decide to have your first outing, post the 'when & where' here and you never know who might show up to give you a hand.

[JennyMorgan]

5 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

One final thought from me... When you decide to have your first outing, post the 'when & where' here and you never know who might show up to give you a hand.

We can then all turn up! I can bring a barbie, John, how about bringing the ale, Anyone the burgers or the music? Blow the fishing, an impromptu forum meet! Best bring some fizz for the kids.

[gareth22]

On 11/07/2016 at 9:32 AM, JennyMorgan said:

Don't suppose any of us older anglers need reminding about 'Passion' but for people who don't understand angling or are new to the sport then this might help, when you have 49 minutes to spare!

 

 

Thank you for sharing. Loved the video. Just noticed there is more. Have added them to watch later list. 

[JennyMorgan]

Gareth, glad that you like it, probably the best angling series ever. Certainly regarded as a true classic by many anglers.

[JennyMorgan]

Passion For Angling is available on DVD, quality stuff!

http://www.passionforangling.info/order.html

[JennyMorgan]

Picked up a book in the charity shop the other day called Fishing with Emma, surprisingly good! In the fifties it was Peter in shorts with Mr Crabtree, now it is Emma, occasionally in shorts but generally in jeans, politically correct skin tones, and right up to date. Judging by the prices on E-Bay I did very well in paying only £1.25. It's a cracking 'how-to' book, well illustrated and very well written. On a par with Mr Crabtree? Well, I think that it is. Emma knows her stuff and how to put it over to her readers in a very readable manner. Illustrations rather than photographs it's probably aimed at teenagers but even us old gits with years of experience can learn with this one. Buy and enjoy!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fishing-Emma-Barbel-Catfish-Zander/dp/1906122504/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468520930&sr=1-1&keywords=Fishing+with+Emma

[gareth22]

£1.25 was an absolute steal. Will have to keep an eye for a copy for my son. 

[troutman62]

18 hours ago, gareth22 said:

£1.25 was an absolute steal. Will have to keep an eye for a copy for my son. 

I started fishing under sufferance back around 1973, when my wife to be threatened to kick me into touch unless I sold my shotguns which she hated. Needless to say she won the argument and to satisfy my craving for the great outdoors I bought a cheap 10' fibreglass rod for coarse fishing and a solid glass 8' pike rod, ( as I thought I would easily break the pike record of course,) I also had a landing net , keep net (sorry), and a little Intrepid Prince Regent reel.

That cheap coarse rod was everything I needed for a few years, I also used it regularly for legering. Just to say that you don't need a shedload of stuff to make a success of fishing mate, keep it simple as you can for a while and just learn how to float fish, other styles will develop from that.

Forget Pike unless you can get out with someone experienced and I don't agree with keep nets,unless you're a competition fisherman. Avoid those little fishing "outfits" , get a separate rod and reel.

Oh, and you'll find a pair of small forceps invaluable, they're far better than disgorgers and don't cost much.

I agree with Jenny Morgan about using as small hooks as possible, just wish I could tie a size 20 with hands the size of dinner plates and bad eyesight ! 18's I can just about manage.

Just remember that most of the stuff in the shops is designed to catch the angler, not the fish.See if you can get someone to help you buy.

Keep us posted !!!!

[gareth22]

Before we went away I managed to get together a couple of rods with weights, hooks etc, a landing net and of course the fishing licenses ordered. Upon our return from Spain in the early hours of Thursday on our door mat was the licences. We packed the car up early on Friday and headed into Norwich to have the car mot'd. Car was done with out issue. Off to Wroxham to get some maggots. Once we had the wriggling bait we headed for the boat. We made our way down the river discussing where to stop and set up. We decided just past Irstead on the How Hill side on a righthand bend. After much cursing and hooks in fingers I got the Mrs, my daughter and myself set up with a rod. My son we still feeling tired so retreated to his bed. After nearly an hour and no bites the mrs had a spate of 4 that slipped the hook. Then 2 hours after setting up I hooked and landed my first fish. At this point my daughter seemed quite happy baiting up the Mrs's hook and holding the net the holding the rod. We continued and by the end of the evening when we retreated in for tea I had landed 6 and the Mrs 2. We moved up to Neatishead for Sunday morning. And all I caught was a tiddler. After having lunch we made away back across Barton and stopped halfway back to Stalham. There the mrs and myself caught 3 fish each. 

The landing net did make things much easier. 

One question I do have is does maggot copour make a difference? 

[gareth22]

Update:

We have been out a couple of times. Have even experimented with some ground bait. Caught quite a lot of small fish. 

The attached is the largest fish we have caught. This was landed by the wife last Sunday. 

[Gracie]

Very nice, well done the wife, she keeps this up you're gonna need a bigger boat  Don't show this to Mark (Baitrunner) he may get a little jealous

Grace

[gareth22]

Kat (the wife) was very impressed with the fish, what you can't see in the picture is how happy she was. We have quite a system going, my daughter of 7 is very good at baiting up the hooks, she takes it upon herself to re-bait anybody when they need it. My son who hates maggots is very happy to watch the rod and reel in when required. If I could just get him to deal with the fish once in the net lol. 

 

 

[JennyMorgan]

Gareth, 2 1/2 to 3 pounds I suspect, nice fish.

[gareth22]

We have been out again this weekend. Saturday we set up just past How Hill in the mooring tucked off the river. Ellie had her new pole and line tht was kindly given to her. On Saturday she had a very fruitful day and caught 26 fish from tiddlers to fish up to 4". She was very keen all day and impressed with every fish she caught. By the end of the day she was de hooking the fish with wet hands and pitting back in the river. Charlie was less successful but still managed to catch 6 fish on Saturday. The wife and I managed a dozen between us and I caught a couple of nice bream. On Sunday we went back to Stalham to collect my mum. We then slowly cruised back down across Barton to a mooring just past Irstead. We didn't catch as many on Sunday but the Ellie caught 12, I scored a couple more bream and Charlie didn't catch anything. He is a little disappointed but keen to return. 

[JennyMorgan]

Wanna catch a bream? Some sound info here: