I was on a small stretch of river in the south of England that I know is home to some large roach and dace. My plan was to float fish, using my 15ft Drennan Acolyte, a centrepin reel and a light float. I like to travel light, so don’t bring rods to cover every eventuality. However, you’re occasionally faced with a situation that doesn’t suit the tackle in your hands, as I found on this occasion. I was running maggots through the swim on a size 16 hook and 3lb bottom and was being absolutely hammered by minnow and tiny chub. Whatever I tried – upping the feed, bulking my shot – I simply couldn’t get through them to the better fish below. It’s a problem that’s common in summer rivers, and the best solution is often to get out the ‘tip’ rod and leger. Problem was, I didn’t have one with me! But rather than plug away on the float, hoping things would change, I instead decided to rig an improvised leger setup.
After whipping my stick float off the line, which had been fixed in place with float rubbers, I simply pinched an AA shot 18 inches from the hook which I hoped would be enough to bomb through the mass of tiny fish in the swim. I also did away with my hooklink, as when you’re legering, I find you can get away with slightly heavier gear, so fished my 4lb mainline straight through to a size 16.
“After impaling two maggots, I flicked the basic rig across to the far side of the narrow waterway and let it gently trundle under some bushes. A small pinch of maggots were followed by some hemp, which is a superb holding bait and also relatively small-fish-resistant. I watched the tip of my 15ft rod, and instantly it banged round! Striking, I connected to something more powerful than my target species, and soon landed a small barbel. It was a nice surprise, and a sign my set-up was working. A quiet spell followed, and whilst I was glad to not be pestered by the tiny fish in the swim, I sensed I’d need a slightly more subtle presentation to fool the big dace and roach.
The maggots I had with me were about a week old, and I’d noticed one or two of them starting to turn into casters. Picking one of these ‘shells’ out the bait box, I completely buried my size 16 hook inside it and gently flicked it into position. Just as before, I let it trundle beneath some far bank bushes before the rod jagged round and I hooked another solid fish. I thought it was a chub initially, but when I got a proper look at it realised it was a dace, and a big one, too!
On the scales, it hit 1lb exactly, and is the biggest example of the species I’ve ever caught. I was absolutely buzzing and spent the rest of the session fishing the same way, catching a few more dace around the 12oz mark, plus some more little barbel. Whilst I’m not suggesting you go out and leger with your float rod for the sake of it, I urge you not to be hamstrung by the tactic your rod was designed for. Be adaptable to the situation in front of you and make the most of any oOn the scales, it hit 1lb exactly, and is the biggest example of the species I’ve ever caught. I was absolutely buzzing and spent the rest of the session fishing the same way, catching a few more dace around the 12oz mark, plus some more little barbel. Whilst I’m not suggesting you go out and leger with your float rod for the sake of it, I urge you not to be hamstrung by the tactic your rod was designed for. Be adaptable to the situation in front of you and make the most of any o#WeeklyWinnerpportunity.”
Well done Daniel!