not connecting with fish

[graham11]

hi boys time 2 pick brains again , last 2 times out after rainbows have ended blanks , but had fish at me bait quiet few times but when lifted rod in 2 them , just no been connecting , never had this prob in summer . ?? confused

[..::Pike Pirate::..]

i had a problem when i could never connect into rainbows when i was fly fishing, i found that i just wasnt striking hard enough...could this be why?

[graham11]

thing is it wasnt on the fly , i was with me wee boy on a bait pond , with power bait , me never had this prob till the last twice out , which have been cold , just wondering if they take any diff in winter , thanks 4 reply m8

[cork bouy]

They sulk on or close to the bottom.They move very slow as their is not a lot of feeding about,and they do not expend a lot of energy.A good method if you are flyfishing is a fast sink line,with a black and silver crawler even a bibio fished deep and SLOW. The key is larger size fly or lure fished deep and slow,once you found the depth they are at,stick at that depth, To do this with a sunken line count as the line sinks,where you get the takes ie, after 8,9,or whatever the rest of the fish will be in that depth as this is the temperature range the are comfortable in. This does take a lot of fish as you are not competing with a lot of other food sources.Your hands can get very cold,so use a pair of rubber glover,it will keep them dry.

[tat]

Might be daft,but does the power bait harden off,like putty,and cover the hook point?
BTW I dont use it,it's for barbarians lol.

[Greenheart]

Never tried power bait myself, but it could be that the colder winter water is making the paste go hard. You could try hair rigging it so that the hook point remains exposed. Personally I'd fly fish for Rainbows.....

[graham11]

i do fly 4 rainbows, is just the wee boy so im told is just a year 2 small , although he has a 4 pound rainbow on fly , as 4 barbarian ( fellow north easterner, durham, but escaped)power bait easiest bait in winter months 2 get ,and easy 4 wee boy 2 put on hook , does harden me never thought of that so me prob just gotta keep it away from hook , cheers boys ,BARBARIANS TUTUT

[Rebbasser]

Graham, take a look at your hook and see it if needs sharpening. 20-odd years ago I missed what may have been that fish of a lifetime on a lure that was right out of the package. When trying to figure out why I missed it I discovered the hooks were about as sharp as the eraser end of a pencil. Painful lesson to learn, but since then I always check to make sure the hooks are sharp and sharpen them if need be. I don't miss near as many as I used to.

[graham11]

thanks 4 that advice , will check them m8 cheers