Woody’s Angle – Swimfeeder Mods

Jeff Woodhouse

Jeff caught his first fish at the age of five, a mackerel from a Torquay fishing boat. That was the starting point 53 years ago and the sight of that living silvery image coming up from the invisible depths had him hooked for life. Since then he has practised virtually every type of fishing, although not always successfully.

He doesn’t just like fish, he has a love affair with them, in his living room, in his garden and at times, in his freezer. Lately he has spent more time either running clubs or assisting them to become successful. Now he admits to being too old to chase monsters, he’s happier getting as much fun as possible out of what’s before him.

In this monthly series Jeff indulges the rebel within himself, trying to think differently about the usual trends in fishing.

I’m always looking around for something new and willing to give most things a try, especially if the quality looks good. My way of feeder fishing is probably like most other peoples, cast across to a mark, allow a bow to form, slip the bale over, and point the rod downstream. I’ll deal with it in another piece if you don’t know this way, but basically, it allows you to fish quite fast running water with the least amount of weight on the feeder.

Red Wolf Feeder

For years I have used Drennan open end or groundbait feeders, the green ones pictured here with the elongated holes in the side. I have been and still am very happy with them and in recent years they’d added extra heavy models to their range. If there is a complaint it’s that they don’t stand up too well to being trodden on by a size 11 boot, but then what would?

Drennan Feeders (click for bigger picture)

However, whilst in Mick Hutt’s shop in Cookham the other week, I caught sight of a new feeder from Red Wolf, part of Pure Fishing who do Berkeley and Abu gear. It looked like a good quality plastic that would withstand a lot of abuse, cramming with groundbait, etc, yet it looked like it would cast very well. This is because most of the weight is at the bottom end of the feeder (or does it make no difference?). I don’t think I’m casting that far these days, but in the past I have tried to get feeders out over 80 yards.

So I bought one and when I got home the first disappointment became apparent, the tag where you attach it to the line fell off with the holding bit broken in two (see picture). I just hope this isn’t an omen and that the feeder itself won’t fall apart. The tag doesn’t matter too much to me because all of my feeders, even the Drennan ones, are adapted to suit my requirements and maybe you’d like to see how to do it too.

At one time the Drennan feeders were equipped with a little plastic tag similar to that of the Red Wolf one, but a few years ago they dropped that in favour of a piece of twisted Powergum and a small swivel. It was a big improvement, but still didn’t satisfy me completely; sometimes you want a longer tag for if it’s a very silty or weedy bottom. So even now those tags occasionally come off and I replace them with my own because they give a little more bounce and I can cover them with tubing to cut out tangles.

Finished Feeders (click for bigger picture)

I use 10lb Powergum, but 6lb would suffice if you can get it. Cut a nice length equal to the length you want your tag times two, plus a bit for tying, say 10 inches. Thread on a size 12 Mustad swivel (this fits nicely into the tubing you use later). Now you have to put a twist into the Powergum and then tie a double over hand knot to form the loop. With Powergum it takes a lot of pulling to secure the knot and you may even want to put a dab of superglue on it as well.

You have to dismantle the existing feeder weight and tag now by opening the grips and prizing off the weight. Once it’s off push one end of the new tag (the one opposite the swivel, of course) over the feeder weight where the old tag came from and reassemble the weight back into the feeder’s slots. If you want, at this stage, manoeuvre the knot so that it will bury inside the tubing later. It should now look like the feeder in the picture with the red Powergum tag.

Now you have to cut a length of 2mm silicon tubing long enough to fit from the feeder body to the top eye of the swivel. Too long is better than too short as you can always cut some off, but you can’t stick any back on. Now get some strong line, 8-15lb, and thread it through the tubing, through the top eye of the swivel, and back through the tubing. Put some spittle on the swivel and along the Powergum and holding the lines in one hand and tubing in the other, pull the line and push the tubing over the swivel and right down to the feeder body.

If everything has worked out you should have a feeder like the finished ones in the last shot.

Choice lures – l-r : the Hornet, Lucky Strike Lizard, Northland Reed Runner (click for bigger picture)

Now you can’t buy a bite
I prepared that last bit a couple of weeks ago and I was by now hoping to have tested the feeder and CAUGHT something on it. All of a sudden, you can’t buy a bite from our fishery. Anyone would think that the great pollution of the lower Thames had also affected our fish up here. It’s not just me either, even Frank Guttfield phoned me yesterday to see if I was going down there last night and to ask had I caught anything. He was blanking too.

So, I’m a bit miffed about that, but I have tested the feeder and given it some long casts even though I don’t need to on our stretch. I am pleased to say that the feeder stood up very well and next time I’m in Mick’s shop, I’ll get a few more.

In a spin for a break
I said that the fishing had gone off, but one Tuesday afternoon it was nice and bright and I just wanted to get out and enjoy. When it’s like this I just grab a spinning rod or two (already with reels attached), my cantilever box of spinners and plugs, a net just in case, and I’m off. Today I took the new rod bought at Christmas from Harris Angling and one that Chris Bishop had written a review about. I like this length, casting weight and style of baitcaster and no-one seems to do them in this country. They all make 9 or 10 foot rods and the short ones are jerkbait casters for 3-8oz weights, far too heavy for my needs!

Anyway, it’s a lovely day and I flogged the water with a Hornet for a while, which usually pulls them up, and then a couple of plugs, a Lucky Strike spoon before ending up with a Northland Reed Runner. This has a single hook covered with coloured rubbery tassels and the spoons are on the opposite arm. All the barbs on my spinning and plug hooks are pressed down, by the way. Finally I got a take, brilliant, only when I struck, not too violently, the rod snapped just above the joint.

Ready to go (click for bigger picture)

If a rod’s going to break anywhere that’s where it will break and this is the first big fish it’s ever had on it. It’s also one rod that I never fully tested first. Now I have a detached piece of rod that’s gone down the line towards the pike, a fish of around 8 lbs I guess. I struggle to get the fish in close (I know Graham reckons a short rod is easier, but a 3 foot rod is ridiculous!) and when I do a couple of shakes and the fish comes off, thankfully.

The good news is that I advised Harris Angling and there was no quibbling whatsoever, a new section was sent immediately and I have a restored rod. Now I have a score to even up with that damned pike!

More from Jeff next month