Bomb fishing

[Aknib]

I was perusing the tackle room earlier, blowing dust off various items of tackle whilst reflecting on the hazy memories when I had time to use much of it and I came across the bomb rod.

And a thing of beauty and finesse it is, not quite the 80's reincarnation of the many 'wands' but I wouldn't swap it all the same.

This in turn set me thinking...

When do you use a bomb over a feeder?

I've got a few answers as I have probably bomb fished more than I have feeder fished during my lifetime but I wondered what yours were?

Why would you go bomb over feeder?

 

[Keith M]

For me; If I’m fishing on a relatively clear and relatively shallowish stillwater or a small river or stream where I can feed quite easily and accurately by hand or by catapult; and where a feeder could quite likely spook any fish that were already feeding in front of me; or I was touch legering and/or trundling then I would be using a small bomb or strung out shot rather than use a feeder.

Keith

 

[nottskev]

Here's a few Steve.

1. There was a big canal feeder res near where I lived in north east Lancs. Locals said it was too deep, too hard and you'd catch nowt. I tried putting in all my feed for a session in one go, about 20 balls full of casters, hemp and corn, and fishing over it with a light bomb. I had some of the best roach and bream fishing ever. I doubt if dribbling bait in a feederful at a time would have had any impact on the huge place, and once your feed was in, no need to disturb the fish with feeders crashing down.

2. On the river we fish, I often let a bomb drift and roll into positions you can't cast to, eg under trees. If you fished a feeder it would be spreading bait uselessly around the swim as it moved.

3. When you want to keep some delicacy in your rig eg fishing a light bomb or shot on link for river roach or on canals and shallow stills.

 

[The Sogster]

Bomb fishing is an art, just not one I have mastered.

I'll often use a large feeder to put down a bed of bait, have a cuppa then change to a light bomb over the top.
I like fishing the bomb on the canal especially the far shelf, easier to get under low branches than a float.
As Kev and Keith have mentioned when using shot on a link leger, a delicate bomb rod is a real bonus.

 

[markcw]

Want a lighter approach to fishing the bomb on Stillwater's ?
Use an Olivette instead of the bomb.

 

[mikench]

I plan to fish a bomb tomorrow if conditions allow. I often use those tiny guru feeder bombs which hold a tiny bit of gb or micros. I have some gb in pva bags to slip on the hook and try to lay a bed of goodies near the hook. I spent a while yesterday chopping old pellets and boilies to which I have added some gb from the freezer which contains some corn and hemp. I need to find space in the garage freezer. My rod will either be my Hardy Marksman 10’ or the Map Proligic Black edition 10’ bomb.

 

[Alan Whitty]

To me it is all about the species/fish and venues fished, in my opinion barbel aren't keen on feeders crashing around them(apart from blockend feeders with maggot/caster) so using big feeders on stale rivers during summer is a recipe for disaster, add to that problems in snags or weed also are a point of concern, I don't fish the Trent anymore, but how many times do you see carbellers with stationary rods with their mahoosive feeders full of dampened pellet/groundbait, not thinking that anglers fishing loose feed, or 'even' spudding loose pellet which attracts more fish....

 

[mikench]

Whilst accepting that shot on the line or a link are as good as anything else , I tend to use small bombs like these.

The first and third are 10g, the maver in-line one at 2 is 8g and the Browning Pellet feeder at 4 is 15g. The guru is 19g. Did I say I was a sucker for tackle?

 

[Steve Arnold]

I only use feeders on the Lot when the river has some colour. Most of the time this river runs quite clear and I am sure the better fish are wary of "coarse" tactics, feeders in particular.

As soon as there is a little colour from floods, or that high summer green bloom, then even the biggest feeders work well. I have used big feeders with sweetcorn inside and method mix packed around the outside of the cage with very good results!

But one stretch of river continues to reinforce the light lead approach and when I first get to almost any swim I start off that way. If I chuck a feeder in at this shallow swim I will not catch a fish.......

Often a 1/4 ozs bomb allowed to find its position downstream will bring a bag of decent barbel or bream. I have tried the feeder here, even small ones, but rarely a fish unless there are hordes of tiny barbel passing through.

With this swim even the river Lot needs to be treated as a "small" river. I have taken to putting some bait in the night before fishing here, then an early start the next day usually brings a few fish. Simple running lead and a weight as small as the current allows works well.

 

[@Clive]

As well as the methods mentioned I use bombs rather than feeders in shallow water or where fish could be spooked. This involves casting beyond the baited area and drawing the bomb back on or just below the surface, letting it drop in when over the baited area. If I did that with a feeder it would be empty by the time it was in the right place and would be scattering bait in the wrong place. Another scenario would be when using a fine quiver tip for shy biting fish to avoid any delay in striking caused by the feeder absorbing the strike.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

I have one of the original Drennan Bomb rods that I’ve used for those shy-biting roach on the Itchen.

A feeder just puts the fish off so the fishing can be very slow.

Rather than a leger I prefer a loop of mono with a string of lead shot so I can adjust the weight to suit the conditions.

 

[Keith M]

I have one of the original Drennan Bonn rods that I’ve used for those shy-biting roach on the Itchen.

A feeder just puts the fish off so the fishing can be very slow.

Rather than a leger I prefer a loop of mono with a string of lead shot so I can adjust the weight to suit the conditions.

I caught my very first barbel using a loop of mono wrapped over the line with 5 SSG squeezed on it, with a cube of luncheon meat and size 4 Specialist hook back in 1975 on the river Kennet; and I use this method quite often to this day when I want a semi moving bait; every few minutes a slight lift of the rod tip sends the link leger tripping along for a foot or two before it stops again, or moves right under the streamer weed.

On my local stream the Barbel often hug close to the reeds on the far bank so I want my bait to stay fairly stationary and not pull away from the far bank in the flow too much, so I use a ½oz flat lead (or ¼oz in some swims) with a small rubber Drennan gripper stop as in the diagram below.
I much prefer simple rigs like this. NB: I actually caught a Barbel on this very rig a minute or two after taking this photo



Keith

 

[The Sogster]

I wish I could get some more of these drennan leger weights with a stiff boom.
Each stem screws off and fits any size weight.

 

[mikench]

These are similar and fit any weight with an eyelet.

https://thetackletavern.co.uk/product/guru-feeder-links/

 

[The Sogster]

Thanks Mike,
I have some similar.
The ones above are screw in.

 

[Philip]

They look like a re-incarnation of the old drennan feeder links...instead of a screw they had a clip that used to slide into cone shaped leads that you could interchange.

I still have a load of the leads but alas no clips..

 

[The Sogster]

Philip, I believe these are drennan.
Probably the replacement, I've had these about 30 years and these 3 are all I have left.
I think they came in a blister pack of 6 or 8 (2 to 8 swan, I bought several packs at the time).

 

[markcw]

They are Drennan , I had a few over the years , used to warm the nylon link with a hair drier to stretch it .
My lad ended up using and losing them .

 

[rayner]

My feeder rods are redundant. I have used a bomb rod for feeders and bomb fishing it started when I wanted to reduce how much tackle to take, The playing action of the bomb rod allowed me to use lighter hook lengths. I believe lower-diameter lines with smaller hooks get me more bites

 

[Aknib]

I've got to admit, in terms of playing action, my 10' Ultralite Bomb Rod is without doubt the best rod I've ever used for big Perch fishing, even outperforming the Ultralite Avons.

Everything is just right about it, if they did a float model i'd be all over it like a rash.

I'm actually struggling to think of an occasion where I've lost a big Perch to a hook pull when using it, unlike many painful occasions when using other and just as forgiving rods.

Could just be luck or just one of those quirky things but everything just feels right when I'm in the hot seat.

Or am I just losing more big Perch when I'm float fishing?

Hmmm....