Thomas Turner
Trade Member
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2017
- Messages
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BIG WATERS
Longer float rods are good for tackling larger venues, such as the River Trent in this instance, where a 14-footer provides that vital extra reach to help mend the line when trotting a stick float at distance. This type of rod works well in deeper stillwaters too, especially when launching big wagglers and sliders a long way. Casting is made easier and line pick up is more positive. The new Thomas Turner Classic+ 14ft Float Rod has useful power in reserve, while still being light enough to hold all day when trotting rivers. It’s forgiving nature combines nicely with light tackle, being perfect for roach, dace and skimmers, but is just as good when big fish like chub, barbel or tench turn up.
SEEING BETTER
My 14ft TT Classic+ float rod is superb with light lines and small hooks, which are often essential in cold river glides throughout the winter. For several years now I have been using modified stick floats, with hollow plastic tips glued onto them. The latter are translucent and much easier to see when long trotting, particularly down the tail end of runs that end in dark water. They have caught me many bonus fish thanks to being able to see exactly what is going on. I use similar but longer tips on all my insert wagglers and sliders too, because compared to normal materials like balsa and peacock, they stand out like beacons. A modern twist to traditional floats if you like, but it works wonders.
SPECIAL FISH
I learnt all the basics fishing club outings when I was a teenager, where older and more experienced club anglers taught newcomers like me so much. Each trip was a big adventure, discovering new and exciting venues on rivers, canals, drains and lakes. This apprenticeship taught me to respect all species, particularly roach, which I continue to target to this day. A 14ft float rod can find fish like this on both rivers and deep lakes. I love catching roach/bream hybrids too, which often turn up while chasing red fins. Some big hybrids are obvious, while others look very close to true roach, giving some heart in the mouth moments. This pound plusser is a true roach.
WHERE IT WORKS
Watching someone properly running a stick float though a river swim, feeding cleverly and teasing fish into having a go, has always been of great interest to me. If it’s a case of having to wade through small fish first, it doesn’t matter, because all the activity inviably pulls in something bigger. Tiny hooks and fragile lines attract lots of bites with stick floats, but as long as the rod and reel balances with light tackle, it’s amazing what you can land. This big chub fell for a single caster on a size 18 hook and a super thin rig line. In this instance my TT Classic+ 14ft float rod was coupled with a compact fixed spool reel, loaded up with 3lb floating reel line. Simple but highly effective.
TIDAL FISHING
I find a longer 14ft float rod perfect for fishing top and bottom attached river floats on tidal stretches. There are often lots of rocks close in, so you need to cast a bit further out to get past the snaggy nearside ledge. This is the tidal Trent at Collingham, a venue mainly frequented by barbel anglers these days, but I still find my favourite old stick floats capable of conjuring bites all day long. The river around here is alive with dace, perch, roach and bleak. It’s very active fishing but great fun, always with a chance of something bigger turning up like a chub or big barbel. I like to feed some hemp with my maggots or casters, which gives the option of trying tares on the hook if there’s too many small fish about.
TYPICAL RESULT
Many enjoyable river trotting sessions begin with catching dace. These fish give lightning-fast bites and you need to be quick to connect with them. A high modulus nano carbon blank like the 14ft TT Classic+ float rod is superb for this style of fishing. It’s fast enough to hit fingerling and net-sized dace, while also man enough to deal with any bigger chub that muscle in on the action. Chub normally turn up later in sessions, so it’s worth upping your feed rate during the last hour, also running your float a bit further down the trot. Bigger fish often hold back downstream of feeding shoals of smaller species.
DEEPER DOWN
I first began to appreciate longer float rods when fishing deep Irish Locks, using long range slider and bodied waggler floats, finding the extra blank length made a big difference while casting and striking. Better control results in more fish going into the landing net. It’s also easier to cast deep set rigs with a longer rod. I put the TT 14-footer to good use on deep Lincolnshire lakes during early field-testing, where it was equally brilliant catching skimmers and bream, as it proved to be for taming river fish. The distinctive green blank has a bit more power than the majority of 14ft float rods I’ve handled, which is a big advantage when fishing at distance, or in very deep water.
LOST ART
I rarely see anglers using slider floats, probably due to this being a tricky method to master. You only need to get a tiny element of the end tackle wrong and lots of tangles can turn sessions into disasters. But get your rig right and it can be a joy to use. Over the years I have modified my sliders to take interchangeable sight tips, even in some cases constructing completely new floats. The main secret is to have them all semi-loaded, so they can fly out hugging against the bulk shot. I’ve enjoyed bringing some of my sliders back into play with the TT Classic+ 14ft float rod. It’s a refreshingly different way of tackling deep water swims, especially useful when fish like skimmers, bream, big roach and hybrids are shying away from feeder tactics.
IMPORTANT BULKS
As previously mentioned, a semi-weighted slider will stay with the bulk as it flies through the air, while an unweighted waggler would awkwardly fly back up the line. The only likely problem having the float resting on the main shot is tangles, particularly if you forget to feather the reel line as the rig lands. I find it helps having slightly longer bulks, which create a stiff boom effect. Some keen slider anglers are now making hollow booms with olivettes attached, which do a similar job. The other important aspect is to use a float with a fair size swivel adaptor, so the main line runs though it smoothly. The tiny orange bead in the photo stops a bigger swivel eye running over the stop knot.
MIXED BAGS
This is a typical result of a day on the slider with my 14ft TT Classic+ float rod. A bit like the feeder really, I started catching small perch initially on bits of worm after firing out small, regular balls of groundbait. Red maggots got the same result, but when I tried introducing some micro pellets in my dark groundbait, skimmers quickly moved in, along with the odd big hybrid. I ended up using banded pellets on the hook to get through the bits and better-quality fish resulted. The thing I like most about slider fishing is you can lay off the groundbait, or step it up instantly, to suit how the fish are responding. It’s a great method for deep silty venues, where you know your end tackle is always above the mud, rather than in it, which can happen with feeder or bomb rigs.
BONUS FISH
Some anglers like to use longer float rods down the margins for big fish like carp and tench, employing a more traditional approach with a centrepin reel. An aspect I like about longer float rods is the way their extra reach can help to keep big fish away from nearside snags. It’s easier to bully them to the surface once they come closer in, ready for the landing net stage. Long float rods can take over from pole tackle too, on venues where the carp have grown too big to handle. Margin feeding carp often surge off at great speed, out into open water after being hooked. I find a rod and reel gives more control, rather than relying on stretchy pole elastic disappearing into the distance.
Thomas Turner Classic+ 14ft float rod
MEMORABLE CATCHES
My new 14ft float rod already has plenty of cherished memories surrounding it, such as this big hybrid that fought more like a river chub, but which instead came from a local lake. It kept thumping the rod tip down hard and made several determined runs for overhanging cover on both sides of the swim it was extracted from. Tench, big bream and chub have all given the rod a good hammering and I’m sure it can handle a barbel if one turns up. That might be my next target, or maybe a big river roach, because this rod is versatile enough to handle all types of tackle, from light to strong.
The post Thomas Turner Classic+ 14ft float rod appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
Continue reading...
Longer float rods are good for tackling larger venues, such as the River Trent in this instance, where a 14-footer provides that vital extra reach to help mend the line when trotting a stick float at distance. This type of rod works well in deeper stillwaters too, especially when launching big wagglers and sliders a long way. Casting is made easier and line pick up is more positive. The new Thomas Turner Classic+ 14ft Float Rod has useful power in reserve, while still being light enough to hold all day when trotting rivers. It’s forgiving nature combines nicely with light tackle, being perfect for roach, dace and skimmers, but is just as good when big fish like chub, barbel or tench turn up.
SEEING BETTER
My 14ft TT Classic+ float rod is superb with light lines and small hooks, which are often essential in cold river glides throughout the winter. For several years now I have been using modified stick floats, with hollow plastic tips glued onto them. The latter are translucent and much easier to see when long trotting, particularly down the tail end of runs that end in dark water. They have caught me many bonus fish thanks to being able to see exactly what is going on. I use similar but longer tips on all my insert wagglers and sliders too, because compared to normal materials like balsa and peacock, they stand out like beacons. A modern twist to traditional floats if you like, but it works wonders.
SPECIAL FISH
I learnt all the basics fishing club outings when I was a teenager, where older and more experienced club anglers taught newcomers like me so much. Each trip was a big adventure, discovering new and exciting venues on rivers, canals, drains and lakes. This apprenticeship taught me to respect all species, particularly roach, which I continue to target to this day. A 14ft float rod can find fish like this on both rivers and deep lakes. I love catching roach/bream hybrids too, which often turn up while chasing red fins. Some big hybrids are obvious, while others look very close to true roach, giving some heart in the mouth moments. This pound plusser is a true roach.
WHERE IT WORKS
Watching someone properly running a stick float though a river swim, feeding cleverly and teasing fish into having a go, has always been of great interest to me. If it’s a case of having to wade through small fish first, it doesn’t matter, because all the activity inviably pulls in something bigger. Tiny hooks and fragile lines attract lots of bites with stick floats, but as long as the rod and reel balances with light tackle, it’s amazing what you can land. This big chub fell for a single caster on a size 18 hook and a super thin rig line. In this instance my TT Classic+ 14ft float rod was coupled with a compact fixed spool reel, loaded up with 3lb floating reel line. Simple but highly effective.
TIDAL FISHING
I find a longer 14ft float rod perfect for fishing top and bottom attached river floats on tidal stretches. There are often lots of rocks close in, so you need to cast a bit further out to get past the snaggy nearside ledge. This is the tidal Trent at Collingham, a venue mainly frequented by barbel anglers these days, but I still find my favourite old stick floats capable of conjuring bites all day long. The river around here is alive with dace, perch, roach and bleak. It’s very active fishing but great fun, always with a chance of something bigger turning up like a chub or big barbel. I like to feed some hemp with my maggots or casters, which gives the option of trying tares on the hook if there’s too many small fish about.
TYPICAL RESULT
Many enjoyable river trotting sessions begin with catching dace. These fish give lightning-fast bites and you need to be quick to connect with them. A high modulus nano carbon blank like the 14ft TT Classic+ float rod is superb for this style of fishing. It’s fast enough to hit fingerling and net-sized dace, while also man enough to deal with any bigger chub that muscle in on the action. Chub normally turn up later in sessions, so it’s worth upping your feed rate during the last hour, also running your float a bit further down the trot. Bigger fish often hold back downstream of feeding shoals of smaller species.
DEEPER DOWN
I first began to appreciate longer float rods when fishing deep Irish Locks, using long range slider and bodied waggler floats, finding the extra blank length made a big difference while casting and striking. Better control results in more fish going into the landing net. It’s also easier to cast deep set rigs with a longer rod. I put the TT 14-footer to good use on deep Lincolnshire lakes during early field-testing, where it was equally brilliant catching skimmers and bream, as it proved to be for taming river fish. The distinctive green blank has a bit more power than the majority of 14ft float rods I’ve handled, which is a big advantage when fishing at distance, or in very deep water.
LOST ART
I rarely see anglers using slider floats, probably due to this being a tricky method to master. You only need to get a tiny element of the end tackle wrong and lots of tangles can turn sessions into disasters. But get your rig right and it can be a joy to use. Over the years I have modified my sliders to take interchangeable sight tips, even in some cases constructing completely new floats. The main secret is to have them all semi-loaded, so they can fly out hugging against the bulk shot. I’ve enjoyed bringing some of my sliders back into play with the TT Classic+ 14ft float rod. It’s a refreshingly different way of tackling deep water swims, especially useful when fish like skimmers, bream, big roach and hybrids are shying away from feeder tactics.
IMPORTANT BULKS
As previously mentioned, a semi-weighted slider will stay with the bulk as it flies through the air, while an unweighted waggler would awkwardly fly back up the line. The only likely problem having the float resting on the main shot is tangles, particularly if you forget to feather the reel line as the rig lands. I find it helps having slightly longer bulks, which create a stiff boom effect. Some keen slider anglers are now making hollow booms with olivettes attached, which do a similar job. The other important aspect is to use a float with a fair size swivel adaptor, so the main line runs though it smoothly. The tiny orange bead in the photo stops a bigger swivel eye running over the stop knot.
MIXED BAGS
This is a typical result of a day on the slider with my 14ft TT Classic+ float rod. A bit like the feeder really, I started catching small perch initially on bits of worm after firing out small, regular balls of groundbait. Red maggots got the same result, but when I tried introducing some micro pellets in my dark groundbait, skimmers quickly moved in, along with the odd big hybrid. I ended up using banded pellets on the hook to get through the bits and better-quality fish resulted. The thing I like most about slider fishing is you can lay off the groundbait, or step it up instantly, to suit how the fish are responding. It’s a great method for deep silty venues, where you know your end tackle is always above the mud, rather than in it, which can happen with feeder or bomb rigs.
BONUS FISH
Some anglers like to use longer float rods down the margins for big fish like carp and tench, employing a more traditional approach with a centrepin reel. An aspect I like about longer float rods is the way their extra reach can help to keep big fish away from nearside snags. It’s easier to bully them to the surface once they come closer in, ready for the landing net stage. Long float rods can take over from pole tackle too, on venues where the carp have grown too big to handle. Margin feeding carp often surge off at great speed, out into open water after being hooked. I find a rod and reel gives more control, rather than relying on stretchy pole elastic disappearing into the distance.
Thomas Turner Classic+ 14ft float rod
MEMORABLE CATCHES
My new 14ft float rod already has plenty of cherished memories surrounding it, such as this big hybrid that fought more like a river chub, but which instead came from a local lake. It kept thumping the rod tip down hard and made several determined runs for overhanging cover on both sides of the swim it was extracted from. Tench, big bream and chub have all given the rod a good hammering and I’m sure it can handle a barbel if one turns up. That might be my next target, or maybe a big river roach, because this rod is versatile enough to handle all types of tackle, from light to strong.
The post Thomas Turner Classic+ 14ft float rod appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
Continue reading...