Long Range Feeder Fishing

[Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA)]

Looking at targeting some bream at long range but with traditonal feeder tactics.I am aiming for 80 yards +ifI can get my casting technique right.

I will be using mono of 8lb with probaly 2 or 3oz feeders.

Would it be advisable for safety reasons and to maximise casting power to use a shock leader?

Any recommendations for reel line would also be welcome.I am considering Shimano Technium.

 

[Warren 'Hatrick' (Wol) Gaunt]

Technium isvery good, very strong, casts very well and for Bream fishing at range very good, almost like braid, Bream farts near ya rig and you'll know about it. You should hit 80 yards no problem with a 2oz feeder.

Dont load the Technium on a standard size spool, you idealy want a type of big pit reel, something like an Emcast or 10000 XTE.

Punching it out long range for the Bream

Failing casting to em try this........

And you mightend up with this................

 

[Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA)]

Cheers Wol.Half the size would do.Got one of the new "mini pit" reels from Shimano on order from Queensway and using a 13ft heavy feeder rod.

Do I need a shock leader though or would the technium be up to the strain without one?

 

[Warren 'Hatrick' (Wol) Gaunt]

A shock leader wont do any harm and might be a good idea.......

"ifI can get my casting technique right."

Yeah, use a shock leader /forum/smilies/tongue_out_smiley.gif

 

[Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA)]

True,I do not want to kill anyone on the far bank!

Reading up on it, it seems something about 15ft would be fine but in what BS and would a tapered one give any discernable advantage?

 

[sash]

Technium is excellent as Wol says and I'd also back up the spool size bit though to be fair I've loaded 6000 size baitrunners with 8lb and 12lb and not had any problems though it will twist up quickly if the baitrunner function gets a lot of action. It seems to be one of those lines that really does have to be loaded correctly.

I load it with a long piece of solid yet flexibletube through the spool centre which sits on a bowl of water. The spool is therefore half immersed where the tube sags down. The line must come off the top of the spool or you'll get line twist to beat all line twist /forum/smilies/crying_smiley.gif.

It goes on an absolute treat on big pit stle spools if you ever consider using the heavier strains.

 

[sash]

Shockleader - 15 ft. Way too short Nigel. You want the length of your rod, the drop to your rig and at least 5 or 6 turns on your reel.

 

[sash]

Tapered ones are good but it depends on what end rig you will be using. I don't have any problems chucking the smaller method feeders (3oz loaded?) on 8lb line and 1 1/2 lb TC rods but I'd guess a tapered leader (e.g 45lb to 15lb) might be overloading your rod.

 

[Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA)]

Yes you are right Sash that is too short on that calculation.Probably would need to double it and some.

The rig would be just a standard running cage feeder.I suspect the rod is about 1.4 or 1.5oz TC.

I am just a bit worried if I wind up a good cast on 8lb lineI might be overstressingit a little especially as I may be casting on regular a basis.

 

[sash]

Up the main line to 10lb?

 

[Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA)]

MightI jeapordiseditance though? I'm probably overcomplicating things but do not want to see a loaded feeder heading to the hills shouldI crack off.

I should probably just stick to trotting/forum/smilies/confused_smiley.gif

 

[sash]

I would have thought that with a 13ft heavy feeder rod, decent reel and a nice smooth line like Technium you'd be able to chuck a 1.5 / 2 oz feeder further than you need to Nigel even with 10lb line. I use the 12lb for most of my barbel / lighter carp fishing and I can chuck further than I'd ever need to using 1.5lb TC avon style rods.

Just check the rod / line for 'wrap rounds' around the tip or butt ring when preparing to cast (especially if the baitrunner has seen some action!) 'cause I've actually broken two rods doing this.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Nigel,

With 8lb B/S line and a 3 ounce feeder I'd opt for a 15lb B/S mono leader.

The 1.4 to 1.5 lb T/C rod could become a little overstressed on the 8lb B/S and 3 ounce on its' own I'd have thought.

So, for safety sake, go for a leader.

 

[Paul H]

I've never really understood a shock leader.

Well, I understand it takes the force of the cast where the reel line may not cope with a loaded feeder like Nigel's situation.

My problem is that if you need more or less two rod lengths of shock leader when casting why not just use the higher breaking strain line as your reel line?

Any advantage of the thinner reel line diameter in presentation is lost as the thicker line is sat right next to the feeder anyhow.

 

[Sean Meeghan]

Paul, the reason is that thinner line doesn't 'drop' so far down the spool for the same distance cast as thicker line. Therefore there's less friction on the cast from the spool lip and you cast further.

 

[Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA)]

Thanks for your advice guys.Finally back posting in the evening after having downloaded Firefox as my web browser as FM would simply not load on IE on my new Vista set up for some unexplained reason.

I will see how I get on with the 8lb and take things steady.If it gets hairy I will step up to the 10lb as Sash suggests.I would prefer to keep things simple if at all possible.

 

[tinca steve]

Have you thought of using braid , 14lb braid with a 18lb or so shock leader , the drop +the length of the rod +5 times around the spool with the knot at the back of the spool AND THE CLUTCH DONE UP TIGHT. Remember a 2 oz feeder + feed will weigh about 3 1/2 to 4 oz. A 3 oz feeder + feed will weigh about 5oz to 5 1/2 oz.

 

[Andy "the Dog" Nellist (SAA) (ACA)]

IfI was using a mono for casting that distance with a 2oz feeder and a 1.5 lb tc rod i'd go for 6lb maxima straightthrough. Its cheap, reliable and can take the shock of repeated casting a feeder like no other mono I've come across. If you want plenty of margin for error use 8lb.

These days I prefer using braid for bream and my choice would be 15lbPower Pro straight through which again is reliable and will cause youfewer problems with line twist than mono if you are repeatedly casting long distance.

 

[Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA)]

Braid not allowed sadly or that would have been the first choice Andy.

Do you use a shock leader with the braid Andy to allow some give in the set up to protect the hook hold?

 

[Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA)]

Just found this very good article on feeder fishing at range for bream and the relative merits of braid v monoplus lots of other handy stuff

long distance feeder fishing for bream