Mechanics of the 'The Bow'

[CJROSCOW]

Sorry to hijack. Is a bow suitable for cheesepaste with a lead? Had a lot of success in slacker water tight to lead but with the last week of extra water its not quite so effective, quiver tip realy puling over or not holding bottom. Thanks

 

[Total]

Sorry to hijack. Is a bow suitable for cheesepaste with a lead? Had a lot of success in slacker water tight to lead but with the last week of extra water its not quite so effective, quiver tip realy puling over or not holding bottom. Thanks

Yes Clint, exactly the same bow principles apply....

 

[Truly]

Thank you very much @NoCarpPlease . All is becoming clearer. I have had an initial look at Bob Roberts' book, which is a mine of information.
Interesting to see that Mr Roberts no longer recommends certain types of stops because of the risk of killing the fish, in the event of a break-off. That is why I had never used such a fixed stop above the bomb link. I can see the benefit of having a sliding type of 'stop' and will give that a try thanks.

 

[Zerkalo]

Sorry to hijack. Is a bow suitable for cheesepaste with a lead? Had a lot of success in slacker water tight to lead but with the last week of extra water its not quite so effective, quiver tip realy puling over or not holding bottom. Thanks

No need to apologise. I need to practise the bow Chub fishing on the small river I fish.

 

[Zerkalo]

Interesting rig from Alan Scotthorne here for Dace. Unfortunately not much mention of a bow or drop back bites.

 

[160642fishing]

You can even cast downstream and employ a bow. The best explanation I have read was in Archi Braddocks’ book “Fantastic Feeder Fishing”, where a full chapter is dedicated to the method, “The Upstream Feeder”. Bob Roberts also goes into it in his levering book. Both books are well worth seeking out, but may be out of print, so you’ll have to get a secondhand copy/copies. The general principle is to feed a bow out and this, combined with the weight of the leger or feeder will enable you to get the balance so well tuned that only a slight pull will dislodge the feeder, giving that easy to read drop back bite. Whe you lift the rod to connect with the culprit, the direction of pull means that you are pulling the hook into the fish. If you are ever in the area, I would be happy to demonstrate the technique to you. It’s one of those things that is probably better shown than described. Having said that, the two sources mentioned do a far better job than I could.

You can get Fantastic Feeder Fishing from this site

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Can't find 'The Upstream Feeder' anyware.

 

[CJROSCOW]

Yes Clint, exactly the same bow principles apply....

Thanks Total. New to this river business but absolutely loving it. Had 15 chub out in last week since water has risen. Just need to adapt my methods to increased flow. Think my pole will gather dust now until next summer. Ive caught the river bug. So awarding to when you get one.

 

[Total]

Interesting rig from Alan Scotthorne here for Dace. Unfortunately not much mention of a bow or drop back bites.

The flow he had that day he could hold bottom with a 40 gram flat feeder and the elevation of his rod....Primarily fishing for bites on the drop with conventional bites showing up on the feeder via the carbon tip....

 

[Total]

................Can't find 'The Upstream Feeder' anyware.

The Chapter "The Upstream Feeder" appears in Mr Braddock's book "Fantastic Feeder Fishing"

 

[ravey]

When I used to target chub on my Trent match days, I initially started out by using a 4lb Maxima mainline, using the principle that a lighter/thinner mainline would mean I could get by using lighter leads and feeders. While this was indeed the case, part of the effectiveness depends on using weight, and I now use 6 or even 8lb mainlines to achieve the loading needed to increase the self hooking capabilities, while at the same time having the feeder balanced against the flow. Using a single maggot was more effective for the chub than using multiples, and I would often use very small hooks - 22s in Super Spade or Carbon Chub patterns. I found doing this really made a big difference in the number of bites; those Trent chub could be really cute.

 

[dave brittain 1]

If you look at his set up he's casting slightly upstream at 1:41 minutes, he also lifts and drops the rod to pay a little line out so the feeder isn't dragged off line while falling through the water. he also mentions that at 40 grams his feeder is perfectly balanced.

If he was fishing in floodwater for dace he'd fish much closer in but for big fish where you often have to fish the middle and far bank you'd need a bigger bow and more weight which comes back to the point I made when I first posted on this which is critically balancing the feeder.

If you look at the diagrams in the video the line is always feeding down stream with a slight bow, not tight and direct noting there's a big difference between fishing direct which you don't want and in tension staying in touch with the feeder.

The knot or feeder stop simply act as the initiator to dislodge the feeder giving the self hooking effect. This allows 2-3ins of line to pull through the feeder giving the sharp pull you see before the feeder is dislodged which gives the sharp dink and drop back which lets you know the rig is balanced perfectly.

Fishing like Alan is, is standard as you need to adjust the bow depending on conditions. The more water and faster the flow the bigger the bow however the key is balancing the feeder so it works with the bow working in conjunction with the tension on the line

 

[smiffy]

I’m not a physics expert but if you add the weight of the feeder and the drag of the mainline,of which some will be downstream of the feeder because of the bow, and then the resistance of a carbon tip you will find that any kind of stop above the feeder is unnecessary.
As for casting upstream? I‘ve never really done it because, technically, in a match it’s breaking the rules. However, there has been times on a split tide on tidal waters where I’ve done it. But then moved downstream to below me once I’ve had a few casts, after the tide has turned.
The bow works on the bomb, the bow basically depends on conditions not how you want to fish, but I’d have two rods set up. One with a feeder and one with a straight lead. I‘d alternate between the two. I’ll only fish the bomb on its own if I can feed by hand
Again though, if I’m fishing that short that I can feed by hand I’d always look at the pole feeder first.

 

[dave brittain 1]

If you look where Alan is casting its a yard upstream which is within the rules of any match, the ruling being one yard upstream and within one yard downstream.

It gets controversial on some waters where you are allowed to place you box anywhere within the peg providing you do not break the 1 yd rule

 

[smiffy]

I always thought that the one yard upstream was where you were allowed to place your box on the bank. Other than that your peg is downstream from that point to the next peg. As far as I’m aware.
Every competitor must fish from within one metre either side of their designated peg.
(a) On flowing water, they will fish from their position in the direction of the flow as far as the next peg. Is the official wording.

Of course, you can always sit a bit wonky, moving your opposite bank marker downstream

It doesn’t really have any real effect on the mechanics of a bow though

 

[Zerkalo]

The thing I noticed most about the Scotthorne video was his quite 'technical' rig, aside from the nice big bag of Dace.

 

[Wrongfoot]

(...) I had a series of lead moulds made for me so that I could balance the feeder better. You are welcome to some if/when you visit next.

Could you put up a picture of those (either the leads or the moulds) please. Maybe we can copy a good idea?

 

[ravey]

Could you put up a picture of those (either the leads or the moulds) please. Maybe we can copy a good idea?

They’re up in the loft at the moment, but I will did them out and send some photos when I am next up there.