The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

In the end, if what you're doing is not working then change it! Sometimes the smallest alterations to your end gear can make all the difference - moving the position of the telltale shot, making the telltale shot larger, putting on a heavier float, moving the bulk shot up or down etc etc.

With Liphooks studies in mind, and some high water on the way, Ive got a plan. I’m going to abandon tell tale shotting for the time being. I will for example, fish a seven gram slider with eight grams of loading. A six gram bar will be the bulk weight and a two gram bar, fixed just above my twelve inch hook length will replace any tell tale shots.
Holding back with this arrangement should ensure that the hook and bait are more of less in alignment with the float.....

I think to a greater or lesser degree we are guilty of fishing far too light when stick float fishing... I often hear of folks using 3bb sticks or even lighter... and to be honest when I fish such light tackle, even in the gentlest of flows I find I am fishing way too light to maintain control... I often end up using 2 or 3 swan floats with the bulk either broken up into much smaller shot bulked in a long line or as an olivette or plasticine bulk with a good proportion of the bulk as tell tale lower down... I too have seen odd behaviour of the shot and bait which is why I have upped float size for trotting over the years

You can't really talk about trotting without talking about depth and speed of current both of which have a big effect on the way the tackle and bait behaves. Different set-ups work in different way in these different conditions.

What the fish actually want in terms of presentation is also going to vary day to day and even from fish to fish so this is another variable.

Ivan Marks who knew a thing or two about fishing talks of "Doing it daft!" Your perfect set-up and equally perfect technique may not be what the fish want some days and you have to do it wrong. Also one technique may not produce the most fish and you catch fish during the same session using a variety of ways of fishing your particular set-up. Changing your set-up slightly may also result in additional fish.

What is happening below the surface is very interesting but ultimately what counts it is how the fish respond.

Sometimes the fish don't even want the bait trotted down your chosen line. Trotting about two feet nearer or further away from the bank is often very fruitful, with no other changes required. Equally, simply changing the short pattern often works. However, the most productive change often entails using a finer hook link and smaller hook, especially if you're reeling in nibbled maggots. Another trick is to fish about a foot or so over depth and hold back a little, not all the time but just now and again, and especially at the end of the trot. Also, if you're missing bites and are using a float with just the very tip showing, remove a shot. This will help you strike a little later and gives more time for roach to actually get the bait into their mouths. Striking too quickly is often the cause of many miss bites when trotting using fine tackle.

Some great tips and ideas here gentlemen. People sometimes ask if I get bored spending so many days on the river. Like today with a howling Gale and continuous torrential rain. But we think about all the things mentioned on this thread, all day long. So how can you get bored?
And anyway fish like these made it all worthwhile: