Hook weight.

[dicky123]

I brought off EBay a fantastic made up hook keeper. It comes with 8 small round hard foam keepers, in a plastic box with a magnetic catch. All from China for £2.98 yes, honest. My Best Buy ever. EBay 8 pieces foam winding board bobbin line shaft. Should find it.

So yesterday I sat down and tied some hooks up to various lengths of nylon, fluorocarbon, and put them around the foam discs. What I really noticed doing this on the coffee table was the weight of strong small hooks, it really took me by surprise.

I know the carp boys try to 'balance' hook weight. A size 14 Specimen hook hung like a lead weight on a slim 4lb line. It just made me think, am I missing a trick when maggot/castor fishing, NOT weighting the hook in some way?

Richard.

 

[tigger]

I think the only time that's gonn'a have an effect on your catch rate is when targetting fish on the drop, and mainly in still waters. I've often fished with no shot down the line whatsoever to counteract my faster falling bait when targeting educated fish and this has usually caught me some of them.

 

[dicky123]

Yes I do the same, often nothing on the hooklink, 8' to 15'. But I wondered if a floating maggot would have any benefit, just toying with the idea really.

The hook choice really makes a difference in those small sizes. So I'll be looking at all my hooks for barbel fishing.

I currently use kamasan B980 specimen and Drennan super specialist. The later are much heavier than the former, both are about the same size.

What small hooks do you use for barbel?

Richard.

 

[binka]

What small hooks do you use for barbel?

Kamasan B911X spades for me, a very strong hook and they go down to a size 20 although I usually get by ok with an 18 for maggot fishing

 

[tigger]

What small hooks do you use for barbel?

Richard.

If i'm trotting I virtually always use drennan super spades or spade end kamasan animals and more often than not in size 14's direct to 6lb sensor mainline but I sometimes go as small as 18's hooks and use a lesser braking strain bottom if conditions dictate a more delicate approach.

 

[nhs service]

I dunk my casters in the water upon arriving at a swim. Then use the floating ones on the hook.
In theory it helps offset the weight of a small hook and seems to work ok.
Perhaps feeding fish disturb the feed and hook on the bed of the swim and it wafts up easier. Never done a bath test (nagged) so I can't confirm it definitely.
I think it's worth pursuing as a change tactic, it may be that fish ignore an anchored bait but grab whilst the grabbings good any loose offerings, so floating fake sweetcorn, maggots etc might do the trick.
All the best.

 

[Philip]

For Barbel I use Drennan super specalists simply for the strength.

In a situation where you are feeding allot of smaller items like maggots or casters then changing to a lighter hook pattern can help to match the hookbait to the free offerings but personally I only do that when i am after smaller species like say Roach or sometimes Chub. I think for species like Barbel its going to be risk to use too light a hook.

Perhaps there are some strong lighter patterns out there but I stick to the DSS for Barbel as thats what I have confidence in.

The way you feed can also make a difference. If you try and feed in a way that the fish dont expect the free offering to look or arrive in exactly the same way then it gives them less chance to single out the hookbait as something different and potentially dangerous. Feeding from time to time slightly upstream or downstream for example so some offerings arrive in th catch zone at a different depth, or feeding more than one type of bait etc etc.

Criticially balancing the hook with something boyant like foam or cork (or even the bait itself) is something I have done in the past when after species like Carp although thats more when I am fishing a static bait with a very big hook. Trying to critically balance a small hook with a small bait could become very fiddly & difficult to hide so as you suggest if I did that then I would more try and use floating maggots and casters than actually try and stick something on the hook itself but in that case its never going to be an exact science and its unikely you will be able to get the hookbait to exactly match the free offerings.

Something I have never tried but maybe worth a go would be to get a rubber caster and slightly trim it with scissors until it balances the hook. That would be more practical as you could reuse the same hookbait each cast. I personally dont have allot of confidence in rubber or artificial baits but maybe in a situation where you are feeding each cast and whipping the fish up with lots of free offerings it could work.

 

[davebhoy]

For Barbel I use Drennan super specalists simply for the strength.

In a situation where you are feeding allot of smaller items like maggots or casters then changing to a lighter hook pattern can help to match the hookbait to the free offerings but personally I only do that when i am after smaller species like say Roach or sometimes Chub. I think for species like Barbel its going to be risk to use too light a hook.

Perhaps there are some strong lighter patterns out there but I stick to the DSS for Barbel as thats what I have confidence in.

The way you feed can also make a difference. If you try and feed in a way that the fish dont expect the free offering to look or arrive in exactly the same way then it gives them less chance to single out the hookbait as something different and potentially dangerous. Feeding from time to time slightly upstream or downstream for example so some offerings arrive in th catch zone at a different depth, or feeding more than one type of bait etc etc.

Criticially balancing the hook with something boyant like foam or cork (or even the bait itself) is something I have done in the past when after species like Carp although thats more when I am fishing a static bait with a very big hook. Trying to critically balance a small hook with a small bait could become very fiddly & difficult to hide so as you suggest if I did that then I would more try and use floating maggots and casters than actually try and stick something on the hook itself but in that case its never going to be an exact science and its unikely you will be able to get the hookbait to exactly match the free offerings.

Something I have never tried but maybe worth a go would be to get a rubber caster and slightly trim it with scissors until it balances the hook. That would be more practical as you could reuse the same hookbait each cast. I personally dont have allot of confidence in rubber or artificial baits but maybe in a situation where you are feeding each cast and whipping the fish up with lots of free offerings it could work.

I've had Drennan super specialists straighten on me three times in the last year so I have moved to Animals or back to the strongest I have found, Drennan Carp Method. I use 16s with a 6mm pellet - I try and go as small and light as possible and I've worked my way through a few different hooks. Last few sessions I'm finding I'm bumping half the fish I hook so I'm taking the advice I've been given and changing to a bigger hook, although I'm not sure what that will mean for bait presentation. The Carp Methods are larger and heavier than average

edit to say I'm trotting for Barbel

 

[tigger]

I've had Drennan super specialists straighten on me three times in the last year so I have moved to Animals or back to the strongest I have found, Drennan Carp Method. I use 16s with a 6mm pellet - I try and go as small and light as possible and I've worked my way through a few different hooks. Last few sessions I'm finding I'm bumping half the fish I hook so I'm taking the advice I've been given and changing to a bigger hook, although I'm not sure what that will mean for bait presentation. The Carp Methods are larger and heavier than average

edit to say I'm trotting for Barbel

If your hooks are straightening out like that then you must have foul hooked those fish, far lighter hooks than super specialists take some pressure to open out if the fish is hooked properly. When using animals or super spades I often hit and hold barbel (hooks as small as 16 but usually 14's) and the hooks have never opened up. I have had them open many times when i've foul hooked a barbel in it's tail, dorsal or any fin, even in it's body/scales. If trotting for barbel it's odds on you'll finish up foul hooking one or two as your bait slides over and around them.

 

[davebhoy]

If your hooks are straightening out like that then you must have foul hooked those fish, far lighter hooks than super specialists take some pressure to open out if the fish is hooked properly. When using animals or super spades I often hit and hold barbel (hooks as small as 16 but usually 14's) and the hooks have never opened up. I have had them open many times when i've foul hooked a barbel in it's tail, dorsal or any fin, even in it's body/scales. If trotting for barbel it's odds on you'll finish up foul hooking one or two as your bait slides over and around them.

That does mak sense, cheers