tight or slack line

[Glyn Maude]

when using feeder or ledger on still waters is it better to have your line tight or slack?If a fish feels resistance when it takes the bait surely it will not take it.Will it?

 

[Dave Johnson]

would suggest you use a tight line Gly, you wont know if a fish moves towards you with a slack line.
Depending on the size of the fish you are after, you will need to use the right glass quiver tip (soft) for smaller fish.
what are you fishing for?

 

[Glyn Maude]

hopefully bream,i will be using a shakespear mustang quiver tip.may try roach and perch aswell.

 

[GrahamM]

Glyn, like Dave says you need to have some tension in the line in order to register bites when the fish comes towards you. Sometimes resistance can cause fish to drop the bait, but most times a little resistance works for you as it makes the fish 'get a grip' on the bait.

The bolt-rig uses resistance to its greatest advantage, especially when combined with the hair-rig.

 

[Dave Johnson]

ahhh Bream, I believe we have a bream expert amongst us.........
SERIOUSLY THOUGH, bigger bream give nice hittable slow pull rounds, but skimmers can be hard work.
I would be tempted to use a fixed paternoster feeder with about a 15cm feeder link and a 40cm hooklength, this acts as a semi bolt rig and often results in great bites almost akin to small barbel!!!!!

 

[Glyn Maude]

thanks for the tips,i will give these a try when possible.Also i have to say that this is without question the best fishing site ever.The people and the tips are great.Thanks again.

 

[Goose Ganderton]

I tend to agree with the tight line brigade, with a soft tip. I also find that by using braid you will see every little touch, just be careful on the strike.

 

[Philip Inzani]

Dont want to confuse things but I find that sometimes paying out a bit of slack can help turn twitches into hittable pulls with a Q tip....OK mainly used when you fish somewhere with flow but you can also do it on stillwaters when there is a bit of a pull on the water...wind, undertow etc

However if your just starting out its probably better to just keep it all nice and tight and mess about with the other stuff later on.