First time using a pole (Birkwood)

[Leafy]

So I went to birkwood to try my little middy margin pole two days ago. I'd been thinking of all the things I wanted to try as it was my first time on a pole, and after just about plumbing up the margin to my right I started to fish mollies lake. It was cold ? I dropped in a small lump of micro pellet and put a 6mm hard pellet in a band over the top with my 6m pole. Somat kept dragging my line to the side and I had signs of small fish in my peg. Like I said.. it got cold ... my hands got cold and holding the pole was becoming a bit of a chore....

After half hour my feeder rod was starting to call my name. 40 mins later I had my feeder rod out with a hybrid feeder on and micro pellets soaked in korda scopex goo and a 8m banded pellet on. Within 55 mins I was in to my first carp... i fished to my clip off the island by mayb 2 meters and caught 5 carp 1 f1 and 2 skimmers in my 3 hour session. I also lost 2 and one was a good un! Rod went as I was packing my pole away arghh. When I got to the lake people were leaving because no one had caught a fish. I had it to myself so I thought I done well. As I was leaving there was a bloke who had lost his wallet up on the main lake.. 500 quid and his driving license and truck license thing he needed... felt proper sorry for him and I hope it was handed in.

Few things I learnt...

1. Dont worry about pulla bungs until you can actually catch a fish on your pole

2. Dont worry about size elastic too much until you can actually catch a fish on your pole.

3. I need a lot of practice plumming up.

4. I have a lot to learn!

Thought I'd just drop this thread. Birkwood fisheries is a good place tho... I'm a rod a reel man and always get a few even in the worse of weather. I'd reccomend it to anyone in the wakefield area.

Leafy

 

[Leafy]

Checking to see if my pics work.

 

[Neil ofthe nene]

If it was cold then you were unlikely to catch in the margins. Must be colder up north though as it is still mild here in Northants.

Holding a short pole should not be a chore. Perhaps you need guidance in getting comfortable with it. My avatar picture shows me with a 10m old, heavy pole but I can sit like that for quite a while.

 

[Leafy]

If it was cold then you were unlikely to catch in the margins. Must be colder up north though as it is still mild here in Northants.

Holding a short pole should not be a chore. Perhaps you need guidance in getting comfortable with it. My avatar picture shows me with a 10m old, heavy pole but I can sit like that for quite a while.

I think it's more of a case of I'm just not used to it, I mean I have a bit of a dodgy back as it is but tbf if my hands hadn't been cold I could've sat a lot longer as I was. Might not be the best time of year to learn. It was also a confidence thing too.

Next time I'm gonna fish out infront of me
on a short line and im gonna have a good plumb around before starting. Find the bottom of the inside shelf and set my trap. Also gonna fish off the hook and not in a band. I only plumbed up towards my right margin. I'll get there tho... once I catch I'll gain more confidence I think. I'll give it more of a proper go next time ? cheers for the reply too any tips more than welcome.

Leafy

 

[Neil ofthe nene]

Loads of advice in my blog including a complete guide for beginners to pole fishing. Click the link below.

 

[lliopp]

As a general rule of thumb, you would tend to fish the margin, last of all the areas of your peg.
So your thoughts of fishing straight out to begin with are probably the way to go. Maybe start on the tip and give the pole a go later in the session. See how and if the other anglers round you are catching to help you decide.

 

[Neil ofthe nene]

As a taster have a watch of my video here on handling a pole. Just over 7 minutes in length.

 

[Leafy]

As a general rule of thumb, you would tend to fish the margin, last of all the areas of your peg.
So your thoughts of fishing straight out to begin with are probably the way to go. Maybe start on the tip and give the pole a go later in the session. See how and if the other anglers round you are catching to help you decide.

That's my thinking for this time mate thanks I had no other anglers to go off last time as the vacated the lake due to it being a bit poor. Think I was just eager to try my pole.

I'm off to birkwood (wakefield altofs) tomoz around 1pm after work if anyone in the area is down I'm planning on mollies lake again.
Thanks for advice.

 

[Leafy]

As a taster have a watch of my video here on handling a pole. Just over 7 minutes in length.

Iv watched your vid thanks... iv watched a lot of videos tbh but it's the same as anything, practice will be key. Thanks for taking time to reply.

Leafy

 

[G0zzer2]

Best tip is wait until fish are feeding before using the pole, otherwise you will become disheartened.

 

[Leafy]

Best tip is wait until fish are feeding before using the pole, otherwise you will become disheartened.

Yea I'll do that... I'm gonna fish as I would normally and use my pole towards end of my session, or if I see a reason to get it out. I'll give it more of a go tomoz. I'm never sure if I should fish using a band or straight off the hook ? What would you reccomend? I know it depends what you fishing but I'm thinking of using corn on the hook direct on my pole over a bit of micro pellet. I used a banded pellet last time.

 

[biggsy]

If you can get on try Oscars or Emily's they have more shelter than Molly's plus they are match fished more.

 

[G0zzer2]

Use a bait straight on the hook - it's simplest, and easier to change baits than fishing a banded pellet. And corn over micro pellet is an excellent approach at this time of year. If that doesn't catch nothing will! Good luck.

 

[Leafy]

I caught a big single figure carp today.. ics dont show it but it was a lump prob clost to 9 or 10 lbs ... caught on banded corn in the margins. HOWEVER I lost 2 big carp including my rig on one! Was gutted ... the elastic in the middy white knuckles is too much.. it didnt stretch and I bumped two fish. My technique wont have been good either but I get what people say now about hollow having more stretch... my pole was bent double .. losing 2 decent carp and my new guru float was a downer... but I learnt a lot and landed my first pole carp... fished mollies again..

 

[Leafy]

 

[Leafy]

Need to work on my plumbing up still... I over shorted my float too slightly but it helped me know that I was about a inch on the bottom in my margin ... I need advice on plumbing.. watching videos again tonight :/

 

[Leafy]

I lost my rig at the stonfo connector .. iv ordered dacrons and gonna get hollow elastic with another puller when I can. Iv already fitted 1 pulla and red middy elastic but I'm guessing I wont like that elastic too. I used the blue today without a puller.

 

[Leafy]

Use a bait straight on the hook - it's simplest, and easier to change baits than fishing a banded pellet. And corn over micro pellet is an excellent approach at this time of year. If that doesn't catch nothing will! Good luck.

I caught on a banded hook but after I lost my rig (gutted I'm sure it was the stonfo connector thing) I changed to another and I was just hooking a single bit of corn on.. I caught 2 skimmers like that but I think I'd scared the carp away by this point.

Thanks for advice too

 

[G0zzer2]

Using a anew pole and elastic is always a bit trial-and-error. EVERYBODY has these problems from time to time. But a lovely looking fish in the net.So it's a decent start.

If the elastic feels tight when playing a fish just add extra pole sections if you have any on the bank. Eventually you will get a feel for what elastic suits you. And remember that landing a double-figure fish takes time - up to 10 minutes, and of course more if it's foulhooked. Don't hurry. By the way, your pole shouldn't be bent double. That's when breakages occur. You have to let a fish like that run.

Good luck

 

[Leafy]

Using a anew pole and elastic is always a bit trial-and-error. EVERYBODY has these problems from time to time. But a lovely looking fish in the net.So it's a decent start.

If the elastic feels tight when playing a fish just add extra pole sections if you have any on the bank. Eventually you will get a feel for what elastic suits you. And remember that landing a double-figure fish takes time - up to 10 minutes, and of course more if it's foulhooked. Don't hurry. By the way, your pole shouldn't be bent double. That's when breakages occur. You have to let a fish like that run.

Good luck

I was letting it run I had all sections on and elastic was stretched right out... I dunno if it was because it was new or if it was just not stretchy enough... I'm gonna change it because it felt too heavy and not bouncy enough.

Thanks for advice too I gotta admit it took me a good 10 mins to land the fish... at that point I'd lost one that just seemed to come off so I was letting it plod around before I net it.

Gotta admit I was buzzing I bet lads round other side of the lake heard me Haha. Was a good feeling playing that carp on a pole with a rig I'd made myself.

I had over shotted the rig too by mistake slightly but I left it as I new exactly when I was about a ince or so over depth. Defo need to practice plumbing up better. Again thanks for advice