Helicopter rig for tench

[benh]

I use short hooklengths with the drennan maggot feeders, usually only 3 or 4 inches, so have not really struggled with tangles. Long hooklengths havent improved catch rate with them, so have stayed short.

I have also at times added creamed corn with the maggot, green giant brand straight from the tin, which creates a lovely corny mess in the swim, and gives me confidence using corn as a change bait in the same swim.

 

[reeds]

Assuming you're fishing on a hard bottom, an inline lead/feeder and short hooklength is a lot more effective for tench than a helicopter set-up. Use a little PVA bag on the hook to prevent tangles.

The lead doesn't have to be that heavy either. Virtually all my bolt rig tench fishing is done with a 1.5oz inline pear lead, very short hooklength (2-3"), and small sharp curved point hooks. It has made tench fishing rather easy...

 

[dr_matt]

Assuming you're fishing on a hard bottom, an inline lead/feeder and short hooklength is a lot more effective for tench than a helicopter set-up. Use a little PVA bag on the hook to prevent tangles.

The lead doesn't have to be that heavy either. Virtually all my bolt rig tench fishing is done with a 1.5oz inline pear lead, very short hooklength (2-3"), and small sharp curved point hooks. It has made tench fishing rather easy...

Thanks reeds.
Yeah, the bottom is quite hard in my swim. There are some weed clumps but of course I'm trying to omit them when casting.
Today I was using 1 oz inline method feeder with 3.5'' hooklength.
Mostly, I fish with 2-3 medium size red worms and 2 maggots on the hook No 10.
I was thinking if the bolt rig is really better than the running rig with a longer hooklength?

 

[reeds]

I tend not to use bolt rigs and short hooklengths with worms, as they can cause tangles, but no problem with maggots.

Is the bolt rig better? That's a bigger question than it first appears(!) but over recent years I've done a lot of gravel pit tench fishing and the basic scaled down bolt rig I described earlier quickly became my rig of choice, and I'd recommend you try it.

For bait I use fake baits almost exclusively (a couple of fake maggots or casters, or a piece of fake corn). These get sucked in when a fish sucks in the contents of the little PVA bag and avoid being pecked away by little fish, and the sharp hook/short hooklength/semi fixed lead then do the hooking.

 

[sagalout]

The lead doesn't have to be that heavy either.

I only use 15g method feeders and 15 to 18g leads because I only fish with light rods.

 

[dr_matt]

I tend not to use bolt rigs and short hooklengths with worms, as they can cause tangles, but no problem with maggots.

Is the bolt rig better? That's a bigger question than it first appears(!) but over recent years I've done a lot of gravel pit tench fishing and the basic scaled down bolt rig I described earlier quickly became my rig of choice, and I'd recommend you try it.

For bait I use fake baits almost exclusively (a couple of fake maggots or casters, or a piece of fake corn). These get sucked in when a fish sucks in the contents of the little PVA bag and avoid being pecked away by little fish, and the sharp hook/short hooklength/semi fixed lead then do the hooking.

Really interesting solution!
I've never used such small PVA bags (except fishing for carp with boilies and pellet). What is the size of these bags? I found ESP 50x100 mm.
And what you put into them? If it's not a secret

 

[reeds]

Not a secret at all - I usually bait up using a spod with some groundbait containing lots of small items like hemp, micro pellet, crushed boilie, a few bits of corn, a few maggots/casters. The stuff I use in the pva bags is the same groundbait if using fake corn on the hook. If I'm using fake maggot or caster, I make little bags containing real maggots or casters. It's pva stocking rather than the solid bags, and I usually make them about the same size as the lead.

The groundbait forms a light carpet of attraction and the bags form little focal points among it, with the semi buoyant hookbait sitting right on top. If fishing to a large baited area it can be best to drop your baits around the edges rather than in the middle.

It works equally well for bream and carp too, any bottom suction feeding fish. It's a great way to be selective if your water contains nuisance small perch, roach, rudd. Etc.

The actual thing you have on the hair/hook is pretty much immaterial to be honest as the fish can't help but suck the whole lot in in order to sort the food from the debris, and by then it's hooked. I once used a couple of little twigs as 'bait' as an experiment, and caught a tench fairly quickly.

 

[dr_matt]

Not a secret at all - I usually bait up using a spod with some groundbait containing lots of small items like hemp, micro pellet, crushed boilie, a few bits of corn, a few maggots/casters. The stuff I use in the pva bags is the same groundbait if using fake corn on the hook. If I'm using fake maggot or caster, I make little bags containing real maggots or casters. It's pva stocking rather than the solid bags, and I usually make them about the same size as the lead.

The groundbait forms a light carpet of attraction and the bags form little focal points among it, with the semi buoyant hookbait sitting right on top. If fishing to a large baited area it can be best to drop your baits around the edges rather than in the middle.

It works equally well for bream and carp too, any bottom suction feeding fish. It's a great way to be selective if your water contains nuisance small perch, roach, rudd. Etc.

The actual thing you have on the hair/hook is pretty much immaterial to be honest as the fish can't help but suck the whole lot in in order to sort the food from the debris, and by then it's hooked. I once used a couple of little twigs as 'bait' as an experiment, and caught a tench fairly quickly.

Thanks for sharing your experiences!!
I'll have to try your method next time I'll go fishing!
And what hooks are you using? I suppose this is a crucial element in bolt rigs.

 

[reeds]

I changed hooks quite a bit over the years but eventually settled on size 12 Atomic Claws. The curved point is important if fishing over gravel as straight point hooks tend to blunt too easily. The Korum S3 hooks are also good but the Atomic hooks stay sharper for longer.

I took a pic yesterday of some hooklengths to give you an idea, with one pushed into the lead like you'd do when fishing. The hooks are just heavy enough to sink the maggots and casters but the corn is more bouyant, and so has a no.8 shot on the hooklength to hold it down. (Always worth testing them at home or in the margins before fishing, just to make sure they're sitting correctly.)

The amount of PVA stocking sticking out from the end is about the bag size I'd make (just a mouthful).

 

[dr_matt]

Thanks a lot for taking the pics!
I do have very similar hooks.
I was just a bit afraid of using hooks with curved points thinking that they might be less efficient in self-hooking the fish. When fishing for carp I always used Korda Kurv Shank hooks.
So my question is, if you didn't have to fish over gravel would you also choose curved point hooks?

 

[reeds]

That's a good question actually. A few years ago I would have said no, when there's less chance of the hook point turning over I'd prefer a straight point as it's the most effective way for the hook to catch hold. But actually now I would stick with the curved point hooks, just because I have grown to trust them so much. Over softer bottoms it's more of a personal choice, I would say.

 

[dr_matt]

OK. Thanks!
It's time to make a few new rigs for the weekend
Friday is coming!