Thomas Turner
Trade Member
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2017
- Messages
- 15,488
- Reaction score
- 81
TIGHT SPOTS
Trends are always changing in angling, to the extent once successful tactics sometimes get brushed aside, even completely forgotten. That’s what happened to me with bomb rod fishing. But after recently getting to grips with some awkward “birdcage” swims, where heavy foliage made longer quivertip blanks impossible to use, the only solution was a short 10ft bomb rod. It was an enlightening experience to rediscover what I had been missing for so long. With everyone else preoccupied with the current trend of launching feeders to the distant horizon, it turned out the water closer in was absolutely heaving with fish, especially in largely ignored overgrown areas.
SCALING DOWN
A featherweight 10ft bomb rod is only going to be used at short range, so the big pit style feeder reels most anglers are now using were not suitable. A smaller design was required to achieve a balanced outfit. I dug out this old Daiwa 2503CU, which I used for float fishing before the famous TDRs from the same company took over. Thankfully, I kept this compact reel with its front drag and folding handle, discovering it still cast and wound line extremely smoothly. I loaded up with 0.21mm sinking feeder mono, not bothering with anything lighter, in case I needed strong hook lengths in overgrown and snaggy areas. I tend to use fluorocarbon traces which are tough anyway.
QUIVERTIP CHOICES
Early short quivertip rods were called Winkle Pickers and had spliced fibreglass indicators. These were extremely fine and sensitive, to the extent they wandered about a lot and false bites were common. I think modern carbon quivertips are much better. They are slightly stiffer action wise and more positive. They still go down to a delicate 0.5oz gauge in some instances, but that’s possibly too extreme. I can’t see the need to drop below 0.75oz. The new Thomas Turner Classic+ 10ft Bomb Rod is supplied with 0.75oz, 1oz, 1.5oz and 2oz solid carbon quivertips and these cover all situations.
[IMG alt="Thomas Turner Classic+ bomb rod
"]https://www.thomasturner.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/bomb4-620x400.jpg[/IMG]
A TOP PLAN
Where I used to find bomb rod tactics worked wonders was on rivers, in combination with stick float or waggler methods. After catching lots of fish with both types of floats, swims would often dry up after a few hours. But the fish were still there, simply ignoring moving hook baits. A switch to a light leger rig would often bring the bites back and revealed bigger species like chub were picking up stationary grub at the tail end of long glides. Big roach resulted too, along with bonus bream if any were there. A simple light 1/4oz or 1/2oz free running bomb was normally enough casting weight, combined with a short 12inch trace and small hook, simply using casters or maggots.
DUAL APPROACH
While field-testing the new Thomas Turner Classic+ rods I discovered a neat feeding trick. When fishing with the 13ft or 14ft float designs, I set up the 10ft bomb rod with just a small cage feeder attached. I used this with clipped up reel line, so the tackle landed the same distance as I was casting waggler or slider floats in deep stillwaters. This then allowed me to quickly top up swims with small doses of groundbait or micro pellets, while also loose feeding baits like casters or maggots with a catapult. The occasional extra injection of grub set the fish into full feeding mode. It was really like using a mini Spomb and much more accurate than catapulting or throwing out small balls of feed.
WINTER WONDER
Last winter deep swims on local stillwaters were quiet when using float tackle, but soon came alive when I switched to small feeders and a bomb rod. The rod’s title is just a name and doesn’t exclude using other methods with it, providing the blank isn’t overloaded. You don’t need heavy feeders close in anyway. 10g to 20g models sink to the bottom fast enough and produce more bites as they settle, because they don’t divebomb any fish feeding close to the deck. I used to fish this way many years ago on wider stretches of canal around London. Small maggot feeders caught well on flowing pounds, while straight bomb tactics outscored the float when locks caused the water to move.
MINI FEEDERS
I’ve found small cage feeders help to get swims producing bites faster by releasing groundbait and freebies on the way down, emptying quickly once they land. If small fish are a problem, a switch to a small pellet feeder loaded with micros tends to pull in bigger samples. Alternatively, to get groundbait and baits like chopped worm hard on the bottom, a plastic groundbait feeder is normally the best answer. If need be, the latter can be taped up to make doubly sure everything hits the deck, twitching the feeder to ensure its contents are released. Lightweight mini feeders are hard to find these days, so I often doctor and dull down certain designs to get exactly what I want.
KEEPING BUSY
Since returning to bomb rod fishing I’ve enjoyed far more hectic winter action. I’ve discovered there’s an interesting area a 10ft quivertip rod can cover perfectly. This prolific corridor is just beyond long pole range and short of where most anglers use normal feeder tactics. This 20 to 25 band on my local lakes is often buzzing with quality skimmers, perch and big roach. It’s an area mostly ignored by other anglers, with pole or medium to long range feeder tactics being far more popular. It makes me wonder if the fish have realised this is a safe zone, because when I fish it I often catch all day long, especially at times when normal feeder and pole methods are struggling.
FAST & DEADLY
A top way of kick-starting winter action when the going is tough, is to use a small pellet feeder loaded with micros. This is combined with a short fluorocarbon trace and a size 16 hook, presenting two or three red maggots. It’s a simple and cheap way of fishing because half a bag of micro pellets and just a handful of red maggots is normally enough for a session. Instead of using normal pellet feeders, which are often weighty to gain a bolt rig effect, I modify lighter mini blockends by cutting them down into the right shape. Fishing close range with a short hook length and delicate quivertip, I don’t need a self-hooking rig. Takes are savage and the rod nearly leaves it’s rest anyway!
GETTING COMFORTABLE
When the weather isn’t very nice, a short bomb rod allows you to tuck yourself and your gear out of the wind and rain in well sheltered areas, where its often awkward to employ normal methods. But even when bankside terrain is tricky with overhanging foliage and high banks behind, a short quivertip rod can normally cope, even if casting underarm is required. In this overgrown peg it was impossible to manage with anything longer than 10ft, with overhanging trees above and bushes either side. A swim most anglers pass by, yet it produced fish after fish for me using a mini feeder.
QUICK CHANGES
Thanks to various quick change feeder beads, it’s easy to switch between mini feeders and light leger weights. If the fish don’t want lots of grub, I take the feeder off and install a small Arlesey bomb. It only takes a few seconds to change tack. Straight bomb rigs can work well in their own right too, simply catapulting out baits like hemp, casters, maggots or pellets. This works well on venues where the water is gin clear and in situations where quality silver fish are scared off by groundbait. When I used bomb rods many years ago, catapulting out a big bed of hemp was a good starting point. These days I can enjoy the same effect by using 2mm or 3mm micro pellets, which big skimmers in particular absolutely love.
BULGING NETS
On a day when pole and waggler tactics were struggling due to floating leaves, a switch to a tiny pellet feeder, alternating between directly hooked red maggots and banded pellets, resulted in this tidy haul of skimmers and hybrids. Bomb rods have a habit of scoring when normal methods aren’t producing. This applies to both stillwaters and rivers. The River Witham is not far from Woodland Waters where I bagged this autumn net of fish and the same applies there. I remember a winter session where I flogged a swim with stick float tackle for several hours, with only tiny minnows to show for all my efforts. When I eventually tackled up a bomb rod, first cast it thumped round into a hard fighting chub. With my Thomas Turner Classic+ 10ft Bomb rod always in my rod holdall now, I don’t miss out on opportunities like these anymore.
The post REDISCOVERING BOMB RODS appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
Continue reading...
Trends are always changing in angling, to the extent once successful tactics sometimes get brushed aside, even completely forgotten. That’s what happened to me with bomb rod fishing. But after recently getting to grips with some awkward “birdcage” swims, where heavy foliage made longer quivertip blanks impossible to use, the only solution was a short 10ft bomb rod. It was an enlightening experience to rediscover what I had been missing for so long. With everyone else preoccupied with the current trend of launching feeders to the distant horizon, it turned out the water closer in was absolutely heaving with fish, especially in largely ignored overgrown areas.
SCALING DOWN
A featherweight 10ft bomb rod is only going to be used at short range, so the big pit style feeder reels most anglers are now using were not suitable. A smaller design was required to achieve a balanced outfit. I dug out this old Daiwa 2503CU, which I used for float fishing before the famous TDRs from the same company took over. Thankfully, I kept this compact reel with its front drag and folding handle, discovering it still cast and wound line extremely smoothly. I loaded up with 0.21mm sinking feeder mono, not bothering with anything lighter, in case I needed strong hook lengths in overgrown and snaggy areas. I tend to use fluorocarbon traces which are tough anyway.
QUIVERTIP CHOICES
Early short quivertip rods were called Winkle Pickers and had spliced fibreglass indicators. These were extremely fine and sensitive, to the extent they wandered about a lot and false bites were common. I think modern carbon quivertips are much better. They are slightly stiffer action wise and more positive. They still go down to a delicate 0.5oz gauge in some instances, but that’s possibly too extreme. I can’t see the need to drop below 0.75oz. The new Thomas Turner Classic+ 10ft Bomb Rod is supplied with 0.75oz, 1oz, 1.5oz and 2oz solid carbon quivertips and these cover all situations.
[IMG alt="Thomas Turner Classic+ bomb rod
"]https://www.thomasturner.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/bomb4-620x400.jpg[/IMG]
A TOP PLAN
Where I used to find bomb rod tactics worked wonders was on rivers, in combination with stick float or waggler methods. After catching lots of fish with both types of floats, swims would often dry up after a few hours. But the fish were still there, simply ignoring moving hook baits. A switch to a light leger rig would often bring the bites back and revealed bigger species like chub were picking up stationary grub at the tail end of long glides. Big roach resulted too, along with bonus bream if any were there. A simple light 1/4oz or 1/2oz free running bomb was normally enough casting weight, combined with a short 12inch trace and small hook, simply using casters or maggots.
DUAL APPROACH
While field-testing the new Thomas Turner Classic+ rods I discovered a neat feeding trick. When fishing with the 13ft or 14ft float designs, I set up the 10ft bomb rod with just a small cage feeder attached. I used this with clipped up reel line, so the tackle landed the same distance as I was casting waggler or slider floats in deep stillwaters. This then allowed me to quickly top up swims with small doses of groundbait or micro pellets, while also loose feeding baits like casters or maggots with a catapult. The occasional extra injection of grub set the fish into full feeding mode. It was really like using a mini Spomb and much more accurate than catapulting or throwing out small balls of feed.
WINTER WONDER
Last winter deep swims on local stillwaters were quiet when using float tackle, but soon came alive when I switched to small feeders and a bomb rod. The rod’s title is just a name and doesn’t exclude using other methods with it, providing the blank isn’t overloaded. You don’t need heavy feeders close in anyway. 10g to 20g models sink to the bottom fast enough and produce more bites as they settle, because they don’t divebomb any fish feeding close to the deck. I used to fish this way many years ago on wider stretches of canal around London. Small maggot feeders caught well on flowing pounds, while straight bomb tactics outscored the float when locks caused the water to move.
MINI FEEDERS
I’ve found small cage feeders help to get swims producing bites faster by releasing groundbait and freebies on the way down, emptying quickly once they land. If small fish are a problem, a switch to a small pellet feeder loaded with micros tends to pull in bigger samples. Alternatively, to get groundbait and baits like chopped worm hard on the bottom, a plastic groundbait feeder is normally the best answer. If need be, the latter can be taped up to make doubly sure everything hits the deck, twitching the feeder to ensure its contents are released. Lightweight mini feeders are hard to find these days, so I often doctor and dull down certain designs to get exactly what I want.
KEEPING BUSY
Since returning to bomb rod fishing I’ve enjoyed far more hectic winter action. I’ve discovered there’s an interesting area a 10ft quivertip rod can cover perfectly. This prolific corridor is just beyond long pole range and short of where most anglers use normal feeder tactics. This 20 to 25 band on my local lakes is often buzzing with quality skimmers, perch and big roach. It’s an area mostly ignored by other anglers, with pole or medium to long range feeder tactics being far more popular. It makes me wonder if the fish have realised this is a safe zone, because when I fish it I often catch all day long, especially at times when normal feeder and pole methods are struggling.
FAST & DEADLY
A top way of kick-starting winter action when the going is tough, is to use a small pellet feeder loaded with micros. This is combined with a short fluorocarbon trace and a size 16 hook, presenting two or three red maggots. It’s a simple and cheap way of fishing because half a bag of micro pellets and just a handful of red maggots is normally enough for a session. Instead of using normal pellet feeders, which are often weighty to gain a bolt rig effect, I modify lighter mini blockends by cutting them down into the right shape. Fishing close range with a short hook length and delicate quivertip, I don’t need a self-hooking rig. Takes are savage and the rod nearly leaves it’s rest anyway!
GETTING COMFORTABLE
When the weather isn’t very nice, a short bomb rod allows you to tuck yourself and your gear out of the wind and rain in well sheltered areas, where its often awkward to employ normal methods. But even when bankside terrain is tricky with overhanging foliage and high banks behind, a short quivertip rod can normally cope, even if casting underarm is required. In this overgrown peg it was impossible to manage with anything longer than 10ft, with overhanging trees above and bushes either side. A swim most anglers pass by, yet it produced fish after fish for me using a mini feeder.
QUICK CHANGES
Thanks to various quick change feeder beads, it’s easy to switch between mini feeders and light leger weights. If the fish don’t want lots of grub, I take the feeder off and install a small Arlesey bomb. It only takes a few seconds to change tack. Straight bomb rigs can work well in their own right too, simply catapulting out baits like hemp, casters, maggots or pellets. This works well on venues where the water is gin clear and in situations where quality silver fish are scared off by groundbait. When I used bomb rods many years ago, catapulting out a big bed of hemp was a good starting point. These days I can enjoy the same effect by using 2mm or 3mm micro pellets, which big skimmers in particular absolutely love.
BULGING NETS
On a day when pole and waggler tactics were struggling due to floating leaves, a switch to a tiny pellet feeder, alternating between directly hooked red maggots and banded pellets, resulted in this tidy haul of skimmers and hybrids. Bomb rods have a habit of scoring when normal methods aren’t producing. This applies to both stillwaters and rivers. The River Witham is not far from Woodland Waters where I bagged this autumn net of fish and the same applies there. I remember a winter session where I flogged a swim with stick float tackle for several hours, with only tiny minnows to show for all my efforts. When I eventually tackled up a bomb rod, first cast it thumped round into a hard fighting chub. With my Thomas Turner Classic+ 10ft Bomb rod always in my rod holdall now, I don’t miss out on opportunities like these anymore.
The post REDISCOVERING BOMB RODS appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
Continue reading...