Hareshaw quarry bag

[Stuart Whiting]

I'm going to pick your brains here .i fish a place called Spring bank quarry.the bit I fish,only now and again,goes to about 25ft deep.i have tried it a couple of times in winter and usually just put a feeder on and chuck it and see,but I would like to try the float because I have seen them topping even in the cold days.i was wondering where to start depth wise.i don't get bites on the feeder apart from the odd tap so they must be up in the water.is there a general rule of thumb on a starting depth if they are topping in that sort of depth of water.i don't want to start fishing at 20ft then work my way up.what would yous do.

Hi Ian,

Right, from experience I've found the optimum depth to be around 7 feet in most rivers and lakes give or take a foot or so

If for example you were fishing a water that had uniform depths of around 6 feet deep but then come across an area that was 7-8 feet I'd fish the deeper hole as roach luv depressions

However your question is a bit of an awkward one to specifically say what to do for definite,

From what you've described I'd float fish and start at around mid depth at about 10 ft, feed how you normally would but wouldn't want to make bait mix to heavy as as you now don't want it to sink like a stone to the bottom, simply because yer not on the bottom, if after a while you start to get bites on the drop it may then pay to shallow up on yer rig but at the same time I wouldn't get to carried away and go rediculasly shallow because as you most probably already know that as quick as bites can materialise they can also vanish to being bite less where they've had there fill and moved on

Hope this sought of makes sence mate

All the best

Stuart

[ExeAngler]

Very good. I like you feeding method and mind set. On the slider. Not fished that for a long time but may have to dust those floats off. Well done on the bag.

[Ian]

Cheers Stuart.i know it was a bit of a awkward question and I can't expect to get answers to the dot.my biggest problem was where to start and I will start at 10ft on that particular quarry pond from now on..i know for a fact that I would just go straight in at a 3ft drop and if I never caught I would then stick the feeder back on.i still find it hard to get into my thick skull that inches matter.i suppose it's a confidence thing.i better shut up now as this is railroading me down a different track hahaha.cheers,that gives me something to ponder.
Cheers too exe,like I've said,I know my way about the feeding process and the slider method but not much about float fishing.yous guys will keep me right I'm sure,cheers the noo.

[Ian]

[Ian]

A few of my home made roach floats

[Stuart Whiting]

Cheers Stuart.i know it was a bit of a awkward question and I can't expect to get answers to the dot.my biggest problem was where to start and I will start at 10ft on that particular quarry pond from now on..i know for a fact that I would just go straight in at a 3ft drop and if I never caught I would then stick the feeder back on.i still find it hard to get into my thick skull that inches matter.i suppose it's a confidence thing.i better shut up now as this is railroading me down a different track hahaha.cheers,that gives me something to ponder.
Cheers too exe,like I've said,I know my way about the feeding process and the slider method but not much about float fishing.yous guys will keep me right I'm sure,cheers the noo.

Stuart

[Stuart Whiting]

Nice one Ian, they look very nice and well made floats, I like the far left float but Mmmm don't really know about the bent banana float in the middle, to me it gives the impression that the float is gonna be pulled at a bit of a strange angle as the float try's to slip under the surface from a tacking fish, not like if it were nice and straight so to speak, I've got a few bent floats myself but tend to just keep these in me reel cabinet for show

When I'm fishing for roach I like to use a float that causes the very least resistance as possible, it's all about finesse

All the best mate

Stuart

[Ian]

I know what you mean Stuart.i have used a couple of them and they are really good.very delicate.they come into there own when there's a good wave on the water and the float drifts.dont know about on a totally calm day,but I'm not a fan of fishing a flat calm,I prefer a good old westerly.you should get them bent floats out Stuart and give'em a bash.they might surprise you just how subtle they can be

Tight lines

Ian.

[Stuart Whiting]

I know what you mean Stuart.i have used a couple of them and they are really good.very delicate.they come into there own when there's a good wave on the water and the float drifts.dont know about on a totally calm day,but I'm not a fan of fishing a flat calm,I prefer a good old westerly.you should get them bent floats out Stuart and give'em a bash.they might surprise you just how subtle they can be

Tight lines

Ian.

Yea mate I do like a bit of a westerly chop on the water when fishing big open expanses, preferably actually in me face so to speak as it can push the fish right in very close to the margins,

Yea I suppose I could dig me bent floats out of me cabinet and give em go perhaps for a bit of nostalgia but that'll be all there for

I generally like to have the right gear for the job and when talking roach it is critical to get that gear well balanced and I very much like my rigs to be finesse

Big roach can be one of the hardest coarse fish to catch, I rate them even harder than big chub and I've had over 100 x 6lb + chub and definitely need to feel confident in me rigs

All the best mate

Stuart

[Ian]

Couldn't agree more.got to be confident with ones set up.there is a good reason for using a curved float on a still water.maybe not that banana one right enough lol.i,like Stuart,prefer a good westerly breeze.a good wave on the water is ideal,but I prefer to sit with the wave rolling right to left,but that's just my personal preference.i don't really get the chance to use those floats often,but come September,when those winds start to pick up from the west and the water starts to pruduce those big smooth rolling waves,that's when I will use them.you have to fish over depth with them 8 inch or so and they are designed for this.the curvature of the float faces the same way as the flow.the way the float acts in the wave is what makes them work so well.the float will stay level and the crest of the wave will roll over the top of it.the float won't Bob in the slightest.under the wave then reappear,under reappear,under reappear.get used to the timing.the art of using these floats is not to look for the float to get pulled under by the fish but for it not to reappear or not to fully reappear.once you get used to the timing it's a great method to fish and it's amazing how easy a wave rolls over the top of a curved float fished over depth.