Thoughtless statements that rank alongside “Fishing is a worm at one end and a fool at t‘other.” Reasonably funny the first time you hear it, but now nothing more than an old cliché. Make no mistake, touch legering is not always the best way of detecting bites. But, in some circumstances, it can be the best way. To the point where it can make the difference between having a successful day or registering a complete blank.
As well as knowing how to touch leger, the trick is to know when.
Forget about the those Doubting Thomas’s who try to run down the method because they haven’t taken the trouble to learn it; those who say, “Touch legering is no bloody good when it’s freezing and your fingers are numb.” And, “You don’t need to touch leger when the fish are ripping the rod out of your hands.” Not because what they say isn’t true, but because it’s obvious that touch legering is no good then, and you use something more appropriate!
Do you need to be told that you don’t prop the rod up and watch for bites on the rod tip of an Avon type rod when fishing for gudgeon? Do you have to have it drummed in you that there is no point in sitting alert and holding the rod and line, feeling for bites, when you’re out all night and expecting only one or two bites from the odd big fish? Course you don’t, it’s obvious. And it’s just as obvious to an experienced exponent of the art when the time is right to touch leger.
What is Touch Legering?
Touch legering is usually described as feeling for bites, but that isn’t by any means the full picture. It’s more accurate to say that touch legering is feeling bites. The detection of the bite in the first instance (feeling for them) is only part of it; the next part is far more important – actually feeling the bite and understanding what is going on. Let’s put it more simply. Touch legering can be used to detect bites, but that is hardly a more efficient method than detecting them with some kind of mechanical indicator. It’s the bit that comes after detecting the bite when touch legering comes into its own, when the bite is still going on and you’re fingers are interpreting all the signals.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that all bites are simple pulls or slack-liners that move the indicator a specific amount one way or the other. There are bites that won’t move an indicator at all and the only way you would know if you had a bite is if you were holding the line and could feel it. If someone strokes a guitar string at one end very lightly you would be unlikely to see the movement at the other end. But if you were touching that string with a fingertip………… See what I mean?
No, of course all bites are not like that, but if you are not practiced in touch legering you’ll never know just how many are will you?
Let’s describe touch legering in one sentence:
It’s detecting and analysing bites through the sense of touch.
The Mechanics of Touch Legering
There is no one exact way to touch leger. Most anglers allow a loop of line between butt ring and reel to lie across the pad of the index finger of the hand that turns the reel. Others allow the line to lie over two or more fingers of that hand. Yet others have the line coming up from the reel and hooked over the index finger of the hand that holds the rod. My personal preference is to have the line lying across the middle and index finger of my reel hand, with the emphasis on my middle finger. When I’m feeling a bite I occasionally wiggle these two fingers very, very slightly so that the pressure is transferred from one to the other. No, I don’t know why, but it suits me, which is exactly what I mean about each angler finding the method that suits him best. Touch legering will teach you more than anything which of your fingers is the most receptive to touch.
Let’s put to rest another old chestnut: You don’t have to point the rod at the end tackle to touch leger. Cutting out all the angles so that the line has minimum friction through the rings, especially the tip ring, is a good thing to do if you are relying totally on feeling the bites. However, many times I touch leger in combination with a quivertip, so that I have some visual indication to go by as well as tactile indication. 
Very often this combination of visual and tactile bite analysis is the best of the lot, for then you have two elements transmitting information. Yes, it’s true that the friction of the line through the tip ring and down the rod will reduce the strength of the tactile signal, but you have to remember that touch legering is not always about detecting ultra-sensitive bites, but is more about analysing and knowing how to deal with more robust bites. Thinking that touch legering is only for detecting ultra sensitive bites is a mistake made by too many anglers.
How you sit and hold the rod is very important when touch legering. Being comfortable is important to any type of fishing but when touch legering it is essential or you will not be able to concentrate sufficiently on what you’re doing. My way (and again, it may be slightly different for some anglers) is to sit with my rod in my right hand with my forearm resting along my thigh. The rod is at an angle of about 45 degrees to the bank and laid on a rod rest at a point about two thirds the length of the rod from butt. Or, if I’m definitely on fish and they’re biting I’ll get as close as I can to them and keep low. The second I see a sign of a bite (unless it’s a self-hooker) I lift the rod and as I move the rod a few inches towards the fish I take up the slack line by drawing off a loop of line between butt ring and reel, which becomes the loop that lies across my index and middle finger.
I then concentrate on watching the quivertip and feeling the line. Most often bites are both seen and felt at the same time, but depending on what I feel I either strike, offer the fish some slack, or just keep in touch and feel what is going on.
Occasionally I give the line one or two sharp pulls. The strength of the bite, or lack of tension if the fish has moved towards me, may be steady or it may be erratic; more of a jabbing sensation. It may feel like a vibration. According to what I feel (and see) dictates my reaction. I can’t describe adequately the different sensations you will feel in your fingertips if you have no experience of touch legering. It’s something you will have to do a number of times in order to gain the experience that will make touch legering meaningful. But don’t let that put you off; doesn’t that apply to all types of activities?
What Species Can I Touch Leger For?
There are no rules as to which species to touch leger for. You can touch leger for gudgeon if that remote possibility crops up where touch legering would help. It would be a mistake to discount touch legering for any species. From big fish to small fish there will be a time when it’s right to do so.
I quite often touch leger for pike. No, I don’t sit there holding the rod and line, feeling for bites. But when I’ve seen my visual indicator give a sign that a pike is showing some interest; maybe a quivering drop back indicator or a single bleep from a bite alarm, I pick the rod up and then slip that loop of line over my fingers and feel what’s going on. Many times I’ve struck at nothing more than vibrations and hooked pike that may have decided to leave the bait and move on. Or worse, that may have been deep-hooked had I left them to swallow the bait without giving a visual indication.
Who needs touch legering for barbel? Not many, not very often, but on those very rare occasions when they decide to flick their barbules over the line as they mouth the bait, giving a bite that feels like a hacksaw blade is being drawn across the line, you’ll be glad you knew how to touch leger and knew what such a bite felt like.
Chub are the best candidates for touch legering. They give such a wide variety of bite types, and when they are in that mood where they just draw the bait to the edge of their lips and drop downstream, giving a very positive bite that you invariably miss, touch legering can’t be beaten. You feel for the bite, give them as much as two or three feet of line at times, and then strike when it feels ‘right’. It doesn’t always work, but it’s works better than anything else.
Finally, is braid an advantage for touch legering?
Not really, for invariably touch legering is done at short range and as such the lack of stretch in braid isn’t a significant factor. Besides, when touch legering in combination with watching a quivertip, the feel of braid ‘scraping’ through the rings can be most off-putting. So, for me, a smooth mono with minimum stretch is best.
