| BRAID OR MONO AND CARP AT RANGE Geoff Cowen wins a bulk spool of Shimano Catana mono for I have been fishing the Swale lately and have found the only way to induce bites from the resident barbel is to fish near snags. This has resulted in several lost fish due to not being able to stop the fish diving into the snags due to the stretch in the 8 lb line that I have been using. I have been reading up on this method of fishing but due to conflicting opinions I am undecided as to whether to opt for braid, low stretch mono such as Shimano Technium or just increase the breaking strain of my reel line to 15 lb. Richard Pack |
GRAHAM, FM EDITOR
Braid or Mono?
There are two schools of thought about this: to feed the barbel away from the snags, or to fish close to the snags with gear that is heavy enough to pull them out.
I use both methods, but prefer the option of fishing near to the snags when I know I can do it without harming the fish. I favour the hit-and-hold method because it’s damn good fun and offers an extra challenge to test your skills. If you fish within a yard of the snags there is no doubt that you can get them out, simply because the barbel don’t have enough space to muster up the necessary acceleration to beat you. The danger comes when you have cleared them of the snag and you’re confidently, almost nonchalantly, playing them in mid-river. That’s when they turn round and make a break for it, and this time with the space they need to get the speed up. The secret is to be prepared for this and bend the rod into them immediately they make a dash.
But you have to use tackle that is up to the job. I use a Harrison’s 12ft Interceptor for line up to 10lb, or a Harrison’s 11ft 6in Chimera for anything heavier. My reel line is 12lb Shimano Technium with a 10lb or 12lb Sufix Invisiline Fluorocarbon hooklength in clear water, or a 15lb skinned braid in coloured water. A line of 10lb is the minimum you should use whatever the circumstances.
The main ingredient for any type of snag fishing though, is confidence. You can’t afford to pussy-foot around. You have to be prepared to bend the rod into them and not give an inch. When someone who is not used to this type of fishing has seen me bending into a fish close to a snag it’s literally frightened them. They tell me afterwards that they were expecting the rod to break, that I must be using 15lb line, etc, etc. The truth is that I have a hell of a job to break 10lb line by bending into it with a 1
