Keith: delivers line advice

We can manage without rods (handlines, 'Cuban reels', crab lines), even without hooks (babbing for eels) but without line it isn't angling.

Keith Arthur
Quotes of the week

TIGHT LINES
Friday March 21
6pm, Sky Sports 3
Repeated:
10pm, Friday, Sky Sports Xtra
2.30am, Saturday, Sky Sports 2
6am, Saturday, Sky Sports 3

Apart from an inbuilt compulsion to spend as long as possible at whatever price is necessary beside water, anglers are all connected by just one other common denominator: line.

We can manage without rods (handlines, 'Cuban reels', crab lines), even without hooks (babbing for eels) but without line it isn't angling.

And I'm only delving into monofilament here; braids, fusions, hybrids etc are another issue entirely and may be dealt with at some time in the future. By request only, haha.

Most of us will have personal favourite brands, often going back decades; others will have one make for stick float fishing, another for waggler, yet more for the pole; something different for hook lengths; carp fishing needs reel line, rig line, floater hook lengths; sea fishing would be lost without reel line, shock leader line, snood line...the list is as good as endless.

There are massive claims and statements made about fishing lines; most of us buy lines based on their stated breaking strain. If you are one of those, here's something to think on.

Lines made for northern Europe will usually have the breaking strain on the label hugely understated: if it says 3lb b/s, think nearer to 5lb. The reason given by most suppliers is that anglers prefer to know what the line is likely to break at in a fishing situation; lines are calibrated on a machine using a straight pull, with no knots or any other weak points.

A 'lowest common denominator' theory is applied, based on most anglers not being able to tie decent knots, or not being able to tie decent knots properly, so they under-rate the line to give a margin for error.

To my mind 60% is a pretty large margin - although a VERY badly tied knot, or a hard split-shot bitten on too firmly, even some hook tyers, can generate that rate of failure. So stating 3lb for a 5lb b/s can be seen to be appropriate.

Moot point

Diameters are another moot point. Many match fishermen now buy lines by diameter rather than breaking strain. Often these can be a long way wide of the mark too, 15% under is a fairly common 'margin of error', so buying line that should be, and is labelled at, 0.14mm could quite easily be 0.16 or even more.

The 'reason' given for this is that the extrusion process is not perfect and there can be some parts of a batch of line produced with a 'slight' deviation in thickness so, once again, there is an erring to the side of caution.

It is no surprise then that manufacturers can claim lines to be 'super strong' and that customers still walk into tackle shops and ask for a 'strong' 3lb line.

Try and sell them 5lb line of the same diameter as another 3lb line (exactly the same in reality) and the response will usually be: "Oh no, I'm only fishing for roach, I don't need 5lb, but I might hook a tench so a strong 3lb will do."

Do you recognise yourself yet? Can you see the irony in that paragraph?

In southern Europe the reverse appears to be the case; anglers demand thin lines, as they buy mostly on diameter. The way to identify line as thin is to make it the right diameter (anglers may actually check that, or at least compare one to another) then OVERstate the breaking strain.

One famous Italian brand recently launched some line in the UK where the breaking strain stated in kilograms and grams would have been more accurate if it was in pounds and ounces as it was actually HALF the stated strength.

So, if you are thinking of investing in some super-strong line for pole rigs and, with Italians being masters at pole fishing, you'd be well advised to test some first; not hard to do, just tie some to line that you trust of a slightly LOWER breaking strain, pull and see which side of the knot breaks. If it doesn't break at the knot, scrap it immediately, by the way.

Wisdom

I have always debated the wisdom of Mr Drennan with the line 'Double Strength', one of the first to have absolutely accurate diameters AND straight-line breaking strains stated on the label.

It did, unlike almost every other line at the time, what it said on the spool. Unfortunately anglers bought 3lb Double Strength expecting it to break at 6lb - well, it did say double!

It took more than ten years for the coin to drop and now many specialist anglers use Double Strength where they want a super-thin (there's a better name!) mono with low stretch - because that's how you make lines thinner, by pulling them tight and removing the stretch.

Colour is another issue entirely. When I am fishing with my line in the vertical plane, I demand clear mono, at least the first 25cm or so above the hook.

I use fluorocarbon most of the time for my hook lengths as, to our eyes at least, it is as close as we can get to invisible in water, plus it has the benefit of being denser than copolymide (nylon line) so sinks faster.

That means it's useless for floater fishing though - what a minefield - although line floating on the surface is horizontal and I believe that when fish look up anything floating blocks out a small piece of the light and therefore becomes black anyway.

Try it in a swimming pool - take a DEEP breath first and hold your nose before turning on your back and looking up.

Legering, which is fishing just about as horizontally as it gets, means any colour is good, even red which becomes monochrome at 3m depth - in fact a deep colour could be better than clear, which some experts insist carries light from above the waterline, almost looking like a fibre-optic. I remain to be convinced of that one!

My advice, if you are thinking of changing your line and want to try something higher-tech, is to use a good, reliable tackle dealer. Tell the best angler in the shop (behind the counter, NOT a customer!) what you want the line for specifically, and let them guide you.

But beware of spurious claims!

Keith answers your questions...

To send Keith Arthur a question, please click here: skysportsclub@bskyb.com

Hi Keith, I love fishing for mostly carp and pike, but when I went pike fishing a few sunny days ago a total of four different pike came up to the surface, one of them quite large. They were in a 5 meter distance from me for a long time thinking about whether they should take the bait I was using, a small lure, and through my polarised glasses I saw one of the pike open its mouth but turn away at the last minute. Do you think the reason for this is because the lure was in a shape of a baby pike? Kane Reynolds

KEITH SAYS: Hello Kane, I have had exactly the same thing happen, not only with pike and lures but trout and flies too. I believe that they aren't really hungry but are chasing for the sake of it, like a cat with a ball of wool. Either that or they are not quite sure. It certainly isn't because they are afraid or uncertain whether it's edible: one of the most successful lures used by anglers in the USA for bass is a small model Budweiser can with treble hooks front and back!

One trick you can try is to 'figure of 8' the lure in front of you. I was reading a couple of weeks ago in the Lure Anglers' Society magazine that one angler catches most of his fish with less than 1 yard of line out of the rod tip! Once he has the lure that close, he describes a figure 8 in the water with the lure and he has regular hits. Give it a try: it can't hurt!

Hi Keith, my question is about bloodworm and joker as a bait. I've often heard you mention it, and also that it is not allowed on some venues and in some matches. Why is this? Also, I know what bloodworm is, as I feed my tropicals on it, but can't imagine how you would use it as a bait!!! Also, what is joker? Kim Marsden (Bognor Regis)

KEITH SAYS: Hello Kim. Bloodworm is the larvae of the gnat, joker the equivalent in the midge. I understand there are 306 species in the UK but most of that used these days in matches comes from Europe, as far afield as Russia. Bloodworm, being the larger of the two, are usually hookbaits. They live in the mud at the bottom of ponds, unlike joker that prefers running water, usually sewage outfalls or close to them. What you buy for your fish are actually joker (unless things have changed in the aquarist trade) even though they are sold as 'bloodworm'. These are most often sold in little plastic bags of water with a teaspoon (the measure used by the shop that used to be next door to where I worked) of joker.

There are several reasons given for bans; the most common being availability. It used to be collected by diligent matchmen, sometimes in sufficient quantities for them to sell their 'overs'. Hardly anyone does so now as the sewage effluent is so clean these days very little joker survives. Now it is available but not as reliably as, for example, maggots. The same excuse was never made for casters though and they used to be unavailable over the counter. Mostly the real reason for bans is superstition. 'They'll never take a maggot again once they've eaten bloodworm' is the usual cry, yet it is the most natural bait there is, occurring in EVERY water to some degree and ALL fish eat it. If every fish that had tasted 'the worm' didn't eat anything else, we'd catch very little!

Hi Keith, I can tie most fishing knots, i.e Blood, half blood, grinner, water and the knotless knot. I am having problems with the loop knot at the end of the hair rig. It always seems to large. Have you got any advice please. Adrian Rhodes.

KEITH SAYS: Hello Adrian, I tie a single overhand loop which is easily reduced simply by pulling on the long and short ends. It crimps up nylon a bit but as it is below the hook it matters not. In braid it is fine. However, when I use nylon or fluorocarbon I invariably revert to the 'old' hair rig: ie tying a loop in a short length of very light line, then tying that to the eye of the hook, using a piece of silicone or shrink tube to keep it on the bend. I don't trust the knotless knot with mono unless the hook has an out-turned eye.