i desperately need advice.

[benoseman]

iv only been fishing about 3 times but iv never even had a bite. i wonder if im setting up my rod incorectly. i leave about 2 foot between my float and hook. but im unsure where my weigths have to go, im new to fishing and need advice.

i really enjoy fishing but i really need some help. i fish in the river wye. and i dont know why i cant get any bites though.

[pingu]

i'm not best but you need to set the depth of the hook , to as near the bottom as can( unless see all fish near surface) , then put weights spaced down but leave last 1/3 un shot

others will correct me in a minute i'm sure

dave

[dave fish]

you need to work out how much weight to put on to set the hook you will need to add the shot either side of your float to lock it in place then you can spread the rest of the weight down the line at even intervales or bulk it together neer the end of the line. you may want to add a separate hook length to the end of your main line (usually half the breaking strain of your main line )thats if your not already using one the ammount of weight a float will take should be written on the side of the float .
if its like 4BB i would add two bb either side of my float then the rest of the weight i would make up with smaller shot dotted down the line
hope this makessense tight lines

[Wayneuk]

A lot depends on a lot. You can fish how your fishing but like Dave said the fish need to be up in the water,or you can draw the fish up by feeding little and often around your float.

http://www.northamptonneneanglingclu...and%20Rigs.htm

[BoldBear]

Originally Posted by benoseman

iv only been fishing about 3 times but iv never even had a bite. i wonder if im setting up my rod incorectly. i leave about 2 foot between my float and hook. but im unsure where my weigths have to go, im new to fishing and need advice.

i really enjoy fishing but i really need some help. i fish in the river wye. and i dont know why i cant get any bites though.

Good advice already given in the replies to your post above.

I especially like the link given in WayneUK’s post showing the different floats and shotting patterns to use with them which is worth looking at..

I haven’t fished the Wye but I have often driven along roads next to it and it looks like a superb river.
It looks like there are a fair number of rocks on the bottom but there are some long gravel runs which look great for trotting a float.

If I were to fish it with a float for Chub and Barbel then I would most probably start with an Avon or stick float or maybe a Balsa float attached with two or three float rubbers and have my bulk shot between a foot or two feet from the hook with a smaller tell-tale shot positioned between the bulk shot and the hook.

I would start by fishing on or very near the bottom, but you need to remember that the water is usually slightly slower on the bottom meaning that your hookbait will be traveling slightly behind the rest of your line which is above the bottom unless you can slow the float slightly by holding back slightly.

Chub in flowing water often hover just above the bottom looking for food particles washing past in the current, so fishing so that your bait is slightly off the bottom often works, Barbel also do this however they are designed so that they can hug the bottom in fast flowing water so are often searching for food bouncing along on the riverbed.

LooseFeed:
I would either catapult loose feed with Hemp laced with a few grains of corn or small halibut or crab pellets slightly upstream or fresh sinking caster and/or maggot,
Remember that caster and maggot will sink much slower than Hemp so beware of using hemp together with maggot and caster when using a catapult because the caster and/or maggots will land on the bottom much further down your swim than your Hemp.

If my swim had shoals of roach or Dace feeding higher in the water then I would fish with smaller shot fished shirt button style starting at mid depth and having the shot spread evenly down the line so that the bait will sink more slowly from surface to the bottom holding back occasonally or fishing a little higher in the water.
Plus unless the fish were boiling just below the surface I would hold back a little with the Hemp if I was using it.

Hookbaits:
For trotting; Caster, Maggot, worm, small peeled prawn, Paste, luncheonmeat or breadflake. Any of these would be my choice of baits to try depending largely on what size of fish I was targeting. I might even use small freshwater shrimps if they were found in the Wye and I could find any amongst any silkweed that might be around.

Rods, Lines and Hook sizes:
If I were trotting a float after Barbel or large Chub then I would most likely use 5 to 7lb line using a slightly heavier test curve float rod such as a commercial float rod or a rod similar to a Drennan Tench float rod however a longer rod would be an added advantage as you could keep the line mended behind the float easier and also keep the rod slightly higher and behind the float as it trots down your swim.

Hook sizes would depend on the bait I was using but for Barbel and Chub I would tend to use sightly larger and stronger hooks of sizes between 14 and size 6 depending on the bait I was using; for smaller species like Dace and Roach I would use a much lighter float rod with a mainline between 3 and 4lb and much smaller finer wired hooks of between 18 and 14 depending on the bait I was using.

My hooklengths would normally be around a pound lighter than my mainline; mainly to minimise any float losses after a line-break.

This is how I would fish a float on a river like the Wye but as I have never actually fished the Wye it is only conjecture.

One of our River Wye anglers might give you a better Idea as to how to approach The Wye with a float but this is how I would approach it without local knowlege.

Hope this has been of some help.

Best of luck and tight lines

Keith (BoldBear)

[nodrog48]

you need somebody to take u a few times and teach u the basics

[mac1]

Try googling fishing tactics / or fishing techniques or something along those lines....or pop down your local library or bookshop and find a book on fishing basics....or ask in a tackle shop and the owner might teach you enough to help you for a bit......and ask questions of a fellow fisher on the bank.....and you will slowly learn all you need to know................we all started somewhere like this...........mac