Growing up next to the Norfolk broads and by the sea I did a lot of fresh water and sea fishing when I was younger. Alas, no trout or salmon, for fresh water fishing mostly Roach, Rudd, Bream, Eel and Pike. For sea fishing, whiting, flounder and dabs. Note, in normal situations you should NOT use some of these techniques in the UK as they are illegal and others require the correct permits or licenses.
Back to IndexWhen fishing one of the first areas to understand are the characteristics and behaviours of the fish you are trying to catch i.e. no point fishing in the wrong location, at the wrong time, with the wrong tackle. Fresh water fish species can be divided into three groups; predators (mostly eat other fish), pray (mostly eat plant and insects) and mixed (mostly eat fish and insects). A good indication of category is tooth size, larger teeth indicate a higher percentage of fish in its diet (although it should be noted that most species will eat small fry at some time during the year). In general there will be a lot more pray fish than predators, therefore, play the odds and target this group. Examples of predators, pray and mixed are shown in figures 8.1.0 – 8.1.0.2.
Figure 8.1.0 : Pray fish, roach / rudd (left), bream (right)
Figure 8.1.0.1 : Predator fish, perch (left), pike (right)
Figure 8.1.0.2 : Mixed fish, trout (left), eel (right)
Locating fish is half the battle when fishing, in general fish look for two things; food and shelter. Don’t select a swim (a place to fish) with your comfort in mind give a thought to what a fish is looking for. Most fish are naturally nervous beasties preferring to have an area of cover close by e.g. overhanging tree, reed beds, water lilies, submerged obstacles etc. However, saying this on large lakes they are equally likely to be found in open water looking for food. This is particularly true during the summer when the water is warm (fish tend to be more active), shoals of young pray fish can be found in open water near the surface (float tackle 30cm deep), whereas larger fish will tend to prefer the deeper cooler water. The best way to locate fish is to look for the fish themselves e.g. visual inspection, breaking surface, taking insects, gas bubbles disturbed during feeding, fry jumping to escape predators etc. When a likely area is chosen, select an appropriate bait e.g. caterpillars or fruit (elder berries) falling into the water from an overhanging tree, slugs, worms, crickets on the river bank etc, cut to matched to the size of the fish being targeted.
One of the most common methods of fishing is hook and line, dating back to primitive times, some examples are shown in figure 8.1.1. The hooks of this time tended to be made of wood or bone, with two main types; hook and gorge (toggle hook). The gorge (left, figure 8.1.1, bottom figure 8.1.2) is the simplest hook, cord is tied onto the middle of a sharpened stick and threaded into a bait inline with fishing cordage. When the bait is taken the line pulls tight rotating the gorge out of the bait such that it jams in the fishes mouth. The main difficulties with the gorge hook is that it is hard to bait / conceal and liable to come lose as it does not pierce the lip or mouth as the more traditional hook shape does. Tip, small gorge hooks should be made from bone to increase their strength, don’t forget to file out a notch to prevent the cord slipping off. One of the common mistakes made when using hook and line is to not match the hook to category of fish you are fishing for. In general pray fish have small mouths designed to nibble away at slow moving food i.e. plants and insects, whereas predator fish have large mouths design to capture fast moving food i.e. other fish. As a general rule the hook should be half the size of the smallest axis of a fishes mouth (not true for gorge type hooks, these need to be at least equal to the smallest axis). Therefore, I wouldn’t go bigger than a size 16 hook for pray fish (smaller if bait is regularly lost) and a size 8 for predator fish (can go bigger for pike as this fish is mostly mouth). Remember small fish can nibble a bait off a hook without getting hooked, therefore, bait should be cut down or added to match the hook. Tips, its easier to catch four half pound Roach than one two pound fish, or to put it another way small hooks can catch big fish, big hooks only catch big fish. Some examples of hand made fish hooks are shown in figures 8.1.2 – 8.1.2.7
Figure 8.1.1 : Primitive fish hooks
1. Image reference – http://www.skopelos.net/sporades/gioura.htm
Figure 8.1.1.1 : Fish hooks and octopus lure from "Hawai‘i: A Pictorial History" Compiled and Designed by J.Feher
1. Image reference – http://www.kauaihistoricalsociety.org/assets/images/storyPhotos/img3-fishHooks.jpg
The simplest way to make small hooks is to use thorns, as shown in figure 8.1.2 (rose and blackthorn tied to nettle cordage). One of the most elegant hooks is the Thames Blackthorn hook (top panel of figure 8.1.2). No knots are required to attach this hook to the line. The looped end of the hand twisted cordage is feed over the thorn securing it surprisingly securely. An alternative design is shown in figure 8.1.2.2, using a quill to form the shank and eye. Cut the quill through the hollow section and trim down a section to form the eye. Grip the trimmed section under your nail and pull through to form a curve, then bend over a small twig and tuck into the hollow section and glue. The glue is made from two parts birch oil (or pine resin), two parts beeswax and one part charcoal, heated and mixed until the correct consistence is reached. Cut a thorn from a rose or similar bush, glue to the quill and bind. Tip, don’t try and heat the quill with a flame to help the glue flow into the joint as it burns like hair, however, you can heat the thorn to help soften the glue, to remove the inner pith of the thorn, pinch the base of the thorn and peel off the outer fibres and thorn together. Medium size hooks can be carved from side branches, taking advantage of the natural curving grain within the wood. Tip, before starting test the strength of the side branch as some snap easily, a fact best found out before too much work is done. Also not sure how reliable this type of hook is, can be difficult to find a piece of wood with a suitable grain structure, resulting in weak spots along the bend. This can be minimised by selecting a hardwood with a close grain. To improve the hooks ability to be set correctly the shank or bend of the hook can be bend / twisted offline, such that when the line is pulled tight the tip of the hook naturally pulls into the side of the fish’s mouth, as shown in figure 8.1.2.3.
Larger hooks need to be made from a number of parts, an example is shown in figures 8.1.2.4 (Canadian trolling design I believe), 8.1.2.5 and 8.1.2.6. Carved in two parts, one part forming the shank and bent, the other the point. In this example both parts are made from wood (Yew), although the point could also be made from bone. To simplify construction I use a little bit of glue to hold the two halves together during binding. The two halves are bound together with cordage, I have used split roots before (flat edges sit nicely on the hook), however, I find that thin string works better (could be replaced by sinew). Lay the cord alongside the point, rotate the hook until the cord crosses, then back up alongside the other size of the point and around the hook such that you get a nice fish bone pattern on the back of the hook. The easiest method is to keep the cord pulled tight and rotate the hook. Repeat until you reach the top of the bend. I now place a little glue on the shank and wind the cord around a few time before securing with a clove hitch. I also place a little glue on the base of the hook and on the clove hitch. One practical use for this size of hook would be for dead baits for pike. Using a bait needle (thin sharpened stick) the line can pass through the mouth of the bait and out of the tail such that the majority of the hook is hidden in the bait. To attach the line to these hooks a spade end knot can be used (similar to whipping). Place a loop of cord on the shank, free end pointing towards the bend. Holding the loop between thumb and finger, rotate the loop over and around the bend to form the binding (five to seven turns). As the top of the hook’s shank is slightly wider, when this knots is pulled tight it grips the hook firmly. Note, when fishing for pike to prevent the line from being bitten through either an extra thick leader made out of natural cordage or a couple of strands of brass wire must be used (approx 20-30cm).
Figure 8.1.2 : Small thorn and gorge fish hooks
Figure 8.1.2.1 : Small multi-part fish hooks
Figure 8.1.2.2 : Small quill fish hook
Figure 8.1.2.3 : Medium single piece fish hook
Figure 8.1.2.4 : Large multipart trolling fish hook
Figure 8.1.2.5 : Large multipart fish hook with barb
Figure 8.1.2.6 : Large multipart trolling fish hook : Spruce wood / root, bone
Figure 8.1.2.7 : Medium multipart fish hook : Spruce wood / root, antler
Smaller versions of the large trolling hooks e.g. figure 8.1.2.6 can also be made, as shown in figure 8.1.2.7. One of the size limiting factors in the construction of these hooks is the size and strength of the cordage used. Thicker roots can be split down into thinner strands, however, I find it difficult to get long, constant thickness strands below quarter splits. The best roots for thin cordage are the ones off the main root, a lot thinner with less bark. However, finding thin roots like these of the required length can be difficult (surprising how much cordage is need to make one of these hooks). The angle of the barb / bend is another consideration as shown in the top middle panel of figure 8.1.2.7. The top hook’s angle is approximately 45 degrees, the one below approximately 30 degrees. The larger the angle the better the hooks ability to lodge into the fish’s month, however, this results in a larger hook making it more difficult for the fish to swallow. Come to the conclusion smaller is better, I think an angle of approximately 30 degrees is about right. Making fine, flexible, yet strong cordage for the hook lengths is also difficult. The example in figure 8.1.2.7 uses artificial sinew with a nettle cordage main line. The hook is attached to this line using a spade hook knot (figure 8.1.3.3). A loop is formed into the free end of the hook length (Bowline), this being used to attach it to the main line using a Prusik knot.
The normal complement to a hook and line is the rod or pole. The rod has two purposes, to increases your casting distance and as a shock absorber. The latter being the most important. If a hand-line or tethered line (staked) is used a thicker main line will be needed i.e. to prevent breakage during a fishes run and landing. The three main fishing techniques are; free-line, float and ledger, as shown in figure 8.1.3. The simplest is free lining (no float of weight), this minimises the resistance felt by the fish as it takes the bait. If possible use a floating bait so that you can see when the bait is taken, on still water you can use the change in angle of the line from rod tip to water as an indicator, or if a flexible rod is used, rod tip movement, alternatively hold the line between thumb and finger to feel the bite. Float rigs have two advantages they suspend the bait at the desired depth in the water (where you believe the fish are feeding) and act as an indicator (float must only have a small positive buoyancy). Normal fishing floats tend to be made from balsa or plastic tubes. As a result they can be a little fragile. The floats in figure 8.1.3. have been carved from wood and therefore more robust, capable of surviving in the bottom of a rucksack. The smaller floats have been weighted (galvanised wired) so that they are self righting i.e. they do not requiring additional weights to sit correctly in the water. The larger floats have been designed to match one of the large weights when long distance casts are required. To reach deeper waters a float ledger can be used (float will need adjusting on main line to match depth, use a sliding knot e.g. prusik). To place the bait on the bottom a ledger rig is used. The weight (small stone) aids casting and secures the bait to the bottom, use free-line bite indicator techniques. A variant of the traditional ledger is the paternoster rig, where the weight is not tied directly onto the main line (bottom middle figure 8.1.3). Here the weight is tied to the main line using a lower breaking strain line such that if the weight becomes entangled the main line and hook can be pulled free. Additional hooks can be added to this rig to allow different water depths to be fished at the same time. Tip, do not make the hook trace too long and space them such that they cant become tangled with each other. Nightlines take this technique to the limit, having multiple hooks tied at regular intervals from bottom to top. Tie this line to a stake and check morning and evening, if available replace bait to maintain scent trail in the water. Tip, be very careful when casting these lines. Figure 8.1.3.1 shows a number of different improvised fishing techniques taken from a Swedish Army manual. One of these is to construct a fishing pole, 3 – 4m long with the same length of line secured to its tip. When using a pole the line must be kept tight i.e. if the line is allowed to drift into the pole a lot of slack line must be taken up when striking, which can result in the hook not being set correctly. Also shown in this figure are fixed line techniques, the simplest of these is a line secured at each end to a pole hammered into the river banks, with hooks attached along its length, spaced such that the hook traces are short enough to prevent tangling. Another technique shown is to tie on, then wrap a length of line around a forked stick, trapping a loop of the free end in a notch cut into the wood with a knife. When the bait is taken the line will be pulled out, allowing the fish to take line. The advantage of this technique is that the fish will not feel the lines resistance and will be less likely to drop the bait, also this longer length of line will have an increased shock adsorbing capability. However, it will also allow the fish to entangle the line in reed beds or around underwater obstructions. Below are some useful documents on fish hooks ive found on the web (due to possible copyright conflicts these are only accessible from the local machine) :
Figure 8.1.3 : Possible fishing techniques
Figure 8.1.3.1 : Improvised fishing techniques
1. Image : reference - Handbok Overlevnad
Figure 8.1.3.2 : Bait
Figure 8.1.3.3 : Fishing knots
1. Image : reference -
2. Image : reference -