Bluemoon Angling Thread

I hit the Ribble again today after blanking yesterday yet again lure fishing on Ogden reservoir for pike. I went for a change of tactics: rolling meat, a method which is very active. You weight the hook with wire, cast a massive chunk of Luncheon Meat upstream and roll it down, keeping in contact with your fingers. I figured a moving bait might give me an edge over the legions of anglers sitting behind the same rigs and baits. I walked to the top of the stretch, travelling nice and light for this simple one-rod method.

Progressing down the stretch I started to get action in the second peg. After missing a nibble I hit into a fish which was a good chub. A few casts later I connected with a barbel at last. I photographed but didn’t weigh it. It wasn’t a double, maybe 8-9lb, but I was still delighted after all these blanks. Next peg down brought me another big chub and then same again in the next one.

All in all I fished for four hours in 6 swims and had one barbel and 3 chub, and missed a couple of bites before I realised my hook point had turned. Here’s a tip for any beginners out there: keep checking your hook. If the point turns over you won’t hook anything, and it happens all the time, along with them blunting as they hit gravel etc. I shudder when I think how many fish this has cost me in the past.

Anyway, a very enjoyable afternoon at last. I will do more meat rolling this autumn as it’s a really underused and active method of fishing.
 
Didsbury Dave said:
I hit the Ribble again today after blanking yesterday yet again lure fishing on Ogden reservoir for pike. I went for a change of tactics: rolling meat, a method which is very active. You weight the hook with wire, cast a massive chunk of Luncheon Meat upstream and roll it down, keeping in contact with your fingers. I figured a moving bait might give me an edge over the legions of anglers sitting behind the same rigs and baits. I walked to the top of the stretch, travelling nice and light for this simple one-rod method.

Progressing down the stretch I started to get action in the second peg. After missing a nibble I hit into a fish which was a good chub. A few casts later I connected with a barbel at last. I photographed but didn’t weigh it. It wasn’t a double, maybe 8-9lb, but I was still delighted after all these blanks. Next peg down brought me another big chub and then same again in the next one.

All in all I fished for four hours in 6 swims and had one barbel and 3 chub, and missed a couple of bites before I realised my hook point had turned. Here’s a tip for any beginners out there: keep checking your hook. If the point turns over you won’t hook anything, and it happens all the time, along with them blunting as they hit gravel etc. I shudder when I think how many fish this has cost me in the past.

Anyway, a very enjoyable afternoon at last. I will do more meat rolling this autumn as it’s a really underused and active method of fishing.
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Fancy having a go at this on my barbel rod and pin. What BS line and what size hook do you use?
 
Didsbury Dave said:
I hit the Ribble again today after blanking yesterday yet again lure fishing on Ogden reservoir for pike. I went for a change of tactics: rolling meat, a method which is very active. You weight the hook with wire, cast a massive chunk of Luncheon Meat upstream and roll it down, keeping in contact with your fingers. I figured a moving bait might give me an edge over the legions of anglers sitting behind the same rigs and baits. I walked to the top of the stretch, travelling nice and light for this simple one-rod method.

Progressing down the stretch I started to get action in the second peg. After missing a nibble I hit into a fish which was a good chub. A few casts later I connected with a barbel at last. I photographed but didn’t weigh it. It wasn’t a double, maybe 8-9lb, but I was still delighted after all these blanks. Next peg down brought me another big chub and then same again in the next one.

All in all I fished for four hours in 6 swims and had one barbel and 3 chub, and missed a couple of bites before I realised my hook point had turned. Here’s a tip for any beginners out there: keep checking your hook. If the point turns over you won’t hook anything, and it happens all the time, along with them blunting as they hit gravel etc. I shudder when I think how many fish this has cost me in the past.

Anyway, a very enjoyable afternoon at last. I will do more meat rolling this autumn as it’s a really underused and active method of fishing.
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That sounds like a rolling ledger. What weight did you use? How close to the hook was it? Nice that you caught quality fish today mate it’s always quality when you try something new and it works.
 
I used a light (1.5lb) barbel rod with 10lb line, straight through to a size 2 hook. At home I took the lead out of some old lead core line and wrapped it around the hook to make the hook heavier than normal. Threaded that through the meat, turned it around and put a little grass stalk underneath it. That was all, simply freelined. You can add a couple of swan shot 8 inches up the line if you want to slow it down a bit.
 
Didsbury Dave said:
I hit the Ribble again today after blanking yesterday yet again lure fishing on Ogden reservoir for pike. I went for a change of tactics: rolling meat, a method which is very active. You weight the hook with wire, cast a massive chunk of Luncheon Meat upstream and roll it down, keeping in contact with your fingers. I figured a moving bait might give me an edge over the legions of anglers sitting behind the same rigs and baits. I walked to the top of the stretch, travelling nice and light for this simple one-rod method.

Progressing down the stretch I started to get action in the second peg. After missing a nibble I hit into a fish which was a good chub. A few casts later I connected with a barbel at last. I photographed but didn’t weigh it. It wasn’t a double, maybe 8-9lb, but I was still delighted after all these blanks. Next peg down brought me another big chub and then same again in the next one.

All in all I fished for four hours in 6 swims and had one barbel and 3 chub, and missed a couple of bites before I realised my hook point had turned. Here’s a tip for any beginners out there: keep checking your hook. If the point turns over you won’t hook anything, and it happens all the time, along with them blunting as they hit gravel etc. I shudder when I think how many fish this has cost me in the past.

Anyway, a very enjoyable afternoon at last. I will do more meat rolling this autumn as it’s a really underused and active method of fishing.
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Well in pal, you deserve a slice of good fortune after a few too many blanking gruelers. Great method I've not fished in donkeys on the Dane

You're hardcore, like it; )
 
Didsbury Dave said:
I used a light (1.5lb) barbel rod with 10lb line, straight through to a size 2 hook. At home I took the lead out of some old lead core line and wrapped it around the hook to make the hook heavier than normal. Threaded that through the meat, turned it around and put a little grass stalk underneath it. That was all, simply freelined. You can add a couple of swan shot 8 inches up the line if you want to slow it down a bit.
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Nice one. Freelining! When I was younger, fishing the Swale for Barbel, there was an old tree that had been uprooted by a storm and had lodged on a limestone ridge on the bend of the river at Easby Abbey. You could wade across in 2 foot of water and sit on the branches of the tree and look down, on the edge of the ridge into 12 feet of crystal clear water. It was obviously a food magnet too as a shoal of Barbel used to sit in the current on the edge of the ridge. I used to lob a rig with luncheonmeat and no more than a couple of shot and watch the bait trundle down to the foot of the ridge. It was amazing to watch the reaction of the Barbel to the bait. Very seldom would they take it easily and quickly. For the most part they would spend a lot of time nosing up to it and turning away until.....
Then the trick was trying to land them whilst keeping them away from the dead tree you were sat in.
 
Saddleworth2 said:
Nice one. Freelining! When I was younger, fishing the Swale for Barbel, there was an old tree that had been uprooted by a storm and had lodged on a limestone ridge on the bend of the river at Easby Abbey. You could wade across in 2 foot of water and sit on the branches of the tree and look down, on the edge of the ridge into 12 feet of crystal clear water. It was obviously a food magnet too as a shoal of Barbel used to sit in the current on the edge of the ridge. I used to lob a rig with luncheonmeat and no more than a couple of shot and watch the bait trundle down to the foot of the ridge. It was amazing to watch the reaction of the Barbel to the bait. Very seldom would they take it easily and quickly. For the most part they would spend a lot of time nosing up to it and turning away until.....
Then the trick was trying to land them whilst keeping them away from the dead tree you were sat in.
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Not surprised at their spookiness at all. The logic behind the rolling method is that the bait never stops moving, so they snatch at it as it passes to ensure nothing else gets it.

The Swale is lovely. I was on a syndicate at Sheephills Farm about 10 years ago for a couple of years.
 
really is amazing the different methods of fishing i will never use, im such a lazy fucker, inline method feeder, hands free to roll a fag, eat a butty or pour a brew.

i am really in awe of the technical stuff some of you lads use.
 
peace frog said:
really is amazing the different methods of fishing i will never use, im such a lazy fucker, inline method feeder, hands free to roll a fag, eat a butty or pour a brew.

i am really in awe of the technical stuff some of you lads use.
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The fag rolling, butty and brew are as essential as any other technique as these are almost as guaranteed to produce a bite as going into the bushes for a pee ;-)
 
peace frog said:
really is amazing the different methods of fishing i will never use, im such a lazy fucker, inline method feeder, hands free to roll a fag, eat a butty or pour a brew.

i am really in awe of the technical stuff some of you lads use.
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You probably won't use for a few reasons mate. That you're set in your ways and are probably limited due to being fairly new to the sport. That's what happens when anglers first fish commercial water and stick to them. They tend to use the current method. Top of my head. Method feeder, floating pole(mostly banned now). Meat in the margins, short Waggler rod to banded pellet. Edge of sill on a donut pond at 13-16m etc etc.

What new methods do you want to learn and what fish do you want to target? I think a bream and roach haul on a big barren reservoir on the tip at distance will do you good. And learning the stickfloat on a small river like the Dane, Tame, Goyt or Etherow is a bit more advanced as it's on running water and a harder method to master. Break away from those commercials I say. Help is here if you want to pick my brains pal.
 
What shot do you all recommend (large SSG-No6)? I long for the happier days of lead shot and carcinogenic bronze maggots as I watch my fucking swan friendly shot come off after a few casts or cause the line to break as its too hard.
 
DDs method of rolling meat is a simple method yet seldom used nowadays but can work really well. Another similar method (DD will probably know) is the Rolling Feeder method and there's two ways of implementing this to catch fish. First is roll the feeder whilst sitting down with rod in rod rest with bail arm open(if river pace is fairly fast ) and finger on reel spool. Second is trotting it down the flow standing up keeping a tight line pointing rod directly towards where where your line goes in the water keeping rod around a 45% angle, it takes perseverance cos it's a very difficult method to master,(and I'm no master btw) but can pay big dividends.

It's something I discovered worked many years ago but you need enough flow in the river for it to work properly. It's basically a maggot feeder on a running swivel rig with a hook length of between 1 to 4 foot. You need a steady flow and a nice glide for this to work ( preferably gravel bottom) and I think it works best at a slow walking pace of flow although it can work in faster paced water. In effect it's like trotting a feeder like you would a stick float but it's tricky to get right because you have to balance the feeder weight so it's just bobbling along down on the bottom whilst you hold your rod like you would trotting a stickfloat. You will need several weights of maggot feeders for this to work correctly thou. If it's a little on the heavy side you can always flick your rod tip to encourage it' to roll a little. This works particularly well on The rise and fall of a river before and after a flood.

The Trent is a good river to use this and I used to fish Beeston/Clifton gravel bottom swims using this. Maggot feeder with maggot on hook with a variable length of tail (flow dependant) has fish taking maggots, hopefully your hookbait, also ensures you know that your bait is near your free offerings in feeder, and it can be a top way to get those otherwise uncatchable fish in extra flow conditions.

So much more to feeder fishing than rolling a fag pouring a brew, scratching your balls lads; ) Get your lazy arse away from those dreadful commercials @peace frog and onto a river lake or reservoir. If you want any further advice on where and how to, just ask pal.

@Mazzarelli's Swiss Cheese Good question on lead shot mate. I think the answer nowadays is to buy semi buoyant weighted floats and use silicone line stops that you thread onto the line. Especially for waggler fishing when when your shot flies off off. This used to irk me so much and it's so frustrating, but that was back in the day shortly after the leadshot ban. So use the stops trapping the eye of your float either side and I have a couple of droppers down the line maybe an 8 and a 10 nearest the hook, that is usually all I do. Like I have mentioned previously, a dab of diluted washing up liquid on the reel spool works well to sink the line quickly whilst fishing a waggler at range. It's no good having floating line especially on a windy day. I like to shot a float 3-5mm to tip. I prefer yellow tip floats on Dark water and the black tip against white water. Each to their own though. I have trouble staring at red tip floats, hurts my eyes.
 
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peace frog said:
really is amazing the different methods of fishing i will never use, im such a lazy fucker, inline method feeder, hands free to roll a fag, eat a butty or pour a brew.

i am really in awe of the technical stuff some of you lads use.
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Do what makes you happy mate. Anglers have different temperaments suited to different styles. I'm a sedentary angler and like bringing the fish to me through feeding or not, as the case may be.

I sometimes think Fishermen over-complicate things. The rolling meat method Dave described is so simple yet was the most killing method on the Wye in June outfishing all the feeder, method, bolt, hair and other rigs we threw at them .

On my local water I sometimes watch the locals fishing ten metre poles whilst I'm outfishing them using a tiny float at my rod tip. But I know there are times when they catch more but I simply can't be arsed messing about with a 30ft length of carbon pole. I reckon a lot depends on your personality
 
Newman Noggs said:
Do what makes you happy mate. Anglers have different temperaments suited to different styles. I'm a sedentary angler and like bringing the fish to me through feeding or not, as the case may be.

I sometimes think Fishermen over-complicate things. The rolling meat method Dave described is so simple yet was the most killing method on the Wye in June outfishing all the feeder, method, bolt, hair and other rigs we threw at them .

On my local water I sometimes watch the locals fishing ten metre poles whilst I'm outfishing them using a tiny float at my rod tip. But I know there are times when they catch more but I simply can't be arsed messing about with a 30ft length of carbon pole. I reckon a lot depends on your personality
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Its the same in fly fishing. There are those that aren't happy unless they are catching double figures every time they go out and will use multiple methods to achieve that. Some of us like the simplicity of a small number of methods be that dry fly, straight line buzzer, washing line, bung. Others have one method, are perfectly content and still catch their share of fish. Fish what you feel comfortable with and that gives you confidence and when you are confident you catch.
 
Newman Noggs said:
Do what makes you happy mate. Anglers have different temperaments suited to different styles. I'm a sedentary angler and like bringing the fish to me through feeding or not, as the case may be.

I sometimes think Fishermen over-complicate things. The rolling meat method Dave described is so simple yet was the most killing method on the Wye in June outfishing all the feeder, method, bolt, hair and other rigs we threw at them .

On my local water I sometimes watch the locals fishing ten metre poles whilst I'm outfishing them using a tiny float at my rod tip. But I know there are times when they catch more but I simply can't be arsed messing about with a 30ft length of carbon pole. I reckon a lot depends on your personality
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my mate is always going on at me about the pole,i can see the benefits of it,and love the stealth ,but it really isn't for me, ill use the waggler , but the feeder really suits me,i love going out and taking in the scenery ,wildlife ect , and i dont think you can do that staring at the float ,working in the concrete jungle and noise of the airport,i think i just appreciate the peace and scenery of the countryside/lake
 
BlueMoonRisin’ said:
Just looking through my photos and I thought I'd share this magnificent 37lb scale perfect Ebro common. Not a monster but such a powerful fish Was about 6 years ago. I need another trip there.
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Nice one, common carp are easily the best to look at imo, fully scaled, and that one doesnt look like its had a hard life...... unlike its captor, only joking mate. My pb common was just under 13lb from the old lake at border fisheries, on floating crust while my mates were lying in thier bivvies,a long time ago now, although I still have the same gear lol.
 
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