keiths Angling World

Feeder tactics on rivers!

I've had a number of messages about my tactics for feeder fishing on rivers in the last few weeks so, I thought I'd write a small article about how I go about approaching my swim and how to present a feeder in the water with the best chance of hooking the majority of bites.

Below you'll find a short video and a few diagrams showing my tactics but for now this is how it's done...Let's of course discuss our swim first: So what are we looking for in a swim? Well that obviously depends on many things....First up, what are we hoping to catch or target? 

So let's say for example we're fishing the river Wye for barbel and chub. Ok, we also need to think about time of year too, as conditions of river, day light hours and of course water colour and temperature play a massive part in where we will find our quarry. 

So, we have our venue....typically in summer it's fairly low water conditions with clear water and bright sunlight. Well, in this case we're looking for a good steady flow of medium paced water with a little depth. We don't want a whirl pool or lots of unsteady flow.

 A little cover is also a great advantage, let's say a big over hanging tree such as a willow for example. These will all harbour fish during the brighter times of the day. 

I like to fish an area just after some fast water where the flow is still very good but starting to settle down and not like a cauldron. 

I would look to target either the far bank tree line or even inside if it has good cover below. In winter conditions I would be looking for a steady flow slackening off towards the marginal shelf and presenting my bait there in deeper water. 

Once we have our swim it's time to think about our actual approach. On a large wide river such as the Severn or Wye I would opt for a longer than usual feeder rod such as my fantastic Drennan Acolyte 13ft distance feeder. This I couple up to my trusty Daiwa Ninja 4000 reel. I vary the tip depending on casting weight requirements and flow of water. I prefer to fish as light as possible in winter for bite detection and up the tip and line strength in summer to cope with weed growth and energetic fish.

I position my rod rest high and slightly upstream at maybe 15 degrees angle to my seating position. I try to chose a spot to fish that allows me to cast straight in front or very slightly upstream of my seating position. I start with the lightest feeder I can get away with holding bottom. 

The way this is achieved is by casting an empty feeder into my spot and then allowing some line to come from the spool to create a bow in the line as per the diagram. This bow helps to keep the feeder low down to the bottom and not at an acute angle to the rod, which will cause the feeder to roll quickly away from your spot and not hold bottom. 

With this approach you'll be surprised at how little amount of weight you require to hold bottom in quite strong current! I will then add my hook link, bait and fill the feeder for my first cast. The process is then repeated in the same spot and line paid out until the feeder appears to stop moving.

I will keep this same process happening throughout the day recasting every few minutes in the first half hour to get some bait into my swim. As the day progresses you can increase or decrease the time the feeder is in the water depending on the bites you are receiving. 

The other great thing about this technique is that a majority of your bites will be self hooked fish. This happens due to the fish picking up the bait, turning and dislodging the light feeder, which then in turn rolls in the flow on the bowed line and sets the hook for you. 

Most of the bites will be a few taps followed by a drop back and then a good pull round, which is your time to lift into the fish. Watch the short video for an example of this. Be warned that barbel bites can be brutal and I would certainly set my clutch to insure no break offs on powerful takes.

This is a fantastic method which I employ when fishing for all species! It honestly works so well.