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[moliere]

Hi,

Myself and my 7 year old daughter want to go river fishing we live about 500 yrds from the river mole. I have bought us a couple of rods and reels now I just need to know what else I need, floats etc, do you need to float fish? and any other tips i thank you all in advance.

[BoldBear]

welcome to the forum.

Unless there is someone on here who knows the river Mole in your area who could help you I would just take details of my rods and reels to the local tackleshop and ask them to advise you on the minimum tackle you would need; and the better places to fish and what fish you can expect to catch there and what strength line and hooklengths you would need and whether float fishing or leger fishing would be more productive.

They would be able to tell you what areas are best, the cost of any day tickets or where there are free fishing spots if any, and what you would expect to catch there plus which baits will give you more fish.

If you want someone on here to help you we would need to know what rods & reels you are using and we could then advise you as to what strength line to load onto your reel and what sizes of hooks and floats you would need and how to set them up (or how to setup your leger if you are not using a float).

I often see new anglers turn up and fish with totally wrong gear (a rod thats too short and stiff, and/or a reel thats too big, and/or line thats far too thick and heavy, and/or hooks that are far too big etc.) and end up just giving up and packing it in because they are just not catching anything, when all they needed was the correct advice as to what tackle they would need in the first place.

Often if their river is not flowing too fast, all they may need is what we call a 'whip' which is a small bendy pole of around 6 metres which is used without a reel (the line is attached to the tip ring) and a small waggler float and hook and they can catch hundreds of smaller fish from a few ounces up to around a pound or so in weight. This is often a brilliant way to start as the youngster doesn't have all the hassle and expense of a rod, reel etc. so doesn't keep getting tangles all of the time.

Plus the only other tackle a beginer would need is a small landing net (incase they hook a larger fish), a disgorger to remove the hook from the fishes mouth, a couple of rod rests, some assorted shot to cock the float and a small seat.

anyway hope you get the advice you need from someone who knows the river Mole in your area as every river is different and local knowlege is invaluable.

From pictures I have seen It looks like it is a nice little river with plenty of flow and probably contains Barbel and Chub so maybe it would be better to use a small leger that just holds the bottom, but I have never fished it so am not the best person to give you advice as to how to fish it.

tight lines

Keith (BoldBear)