TIPS ON BALANCED TACKLE.
Have you ever been guilty of “bumping” too many fish or
losing them once hooked?
It’s not always the way the fish are taking the bait which
causes this, the answer may lie in the tackle you are using.
I’m
sure you will have heard the phrase “balanced Tackle,” maybe not, but what does
this really mean?
The
basic principle means that by using balanced tackle, you should be able to hook
a fish which then has very little chance of breaking your rig unless it finds a
snag to go around. However, as you will see, it goes much further than just the
line you use.
The
first question to answer is what do you intend to catch, not what might you
catch?
A
subtle difference here. If you intend to catch Roach and Skimmers on the canal,
it is a waste of time tackling up with 3lb line straight through just because
you might hook a Carp. The effect on your catch rate would be detrimental.
Similarly if you fish the canal for Carp, light hook lengths and tackle are
counter productive because the Carp would either break you or it would take too
long to land each fish.
Let’s start with rods, poles and reels etc. Firstly ,
assess the tackle you own. Carp rods for Carp (easy that one). Is your float rod
suitable for Heavy or light waggler work, or stick floats, Through actioned or
tip actioned ? The manufacturers information or the purpose you bought the rod
for will tell you what you need to know.
Tip
rods, Is it a river rod, Bream rod or suitable for fishing straight lead, a
“wand.” River rods allow hook lengths of 2lb braking strain up to 4lb or even
6lb. Bream rods 1lb to 3lb , wands 12oz to 1.5lb…. See what I mean?
Following on from here, reels. Basically the heavier the
casting weight and the further you need to cast (not want to cast) the larger
the reel and the need for more ball bearings. A little tip here, don’t be
seduced by ultra fast retrieves on your reels,the faster the retrieve, the more
problems you will have with terminal tackle spinning up.
What about poles? The only thing to watch here is that you
must not exceed the maximum elastic rating for your pole. In other words, a pole
rated at 14’s maximum should not be used with 18’s elastic. But light elastics
are perfectly OK on all poles.
Heres where things get easier!!
I
think so anyway. Terminal tackle should fall into categories. I’ve put this into
a chart for easy use. One thing to remember though, a light line on a reel makes
tackle control easier and may help you to miss fewer bites by cushioning the
strike, however, the correct rod should be used so as not to bump off
fish.
Last of all, and very important, is balancing your rig to
the peg you are fishing. In other words, it’s a waste of time using a one gramme
rig in a three foot deep peg, or, don’t use a 0.2 gramme rig in ten feet of
water. But don’t just match the float to the depth of water, flow and wind
conditions must also mean an adjustment to the size or weight of terminal
tackle. Think of it in the same way as you need to add weight to a feeder on a
river to balance it to the flow. A word of warning, Don’t over compensate, the
feeder must just hold and your rig shouldn’t be too heavy and hence loose it’s
sensitivity.
To
some, the concept of balanced tackle is understood, some are on their way to
sorting it out and others in the majority are hindering their catches by not
selecting the appropriate tackle for the situation they find themselves
in.
The
cardinal sins are using a light hook length on a heavy rod or to heavy elastic.
And just as bad, a heavy hook length on a light rod or to light
elastic.
