Fishing Basics – Loop Tying

While fishing recently I was asked by a young angler if I would tie a hook on to his rig. On handing over his rig, and having a look at his set up I was alarmed at how his whole rig was set up. After a brief conversation I persuaded the young angler that some of the knots I knew may mean when he hooked a fish it was less likely to get away and over the next 5 minutes I slowly deconstructed his rig and then carefully put it all back together in a way which (he assured me) made sense and was helpful. But it got me thinking and on speaking to another of my angling friends I found out that only a few knots were consistently used while fishing. So I thought I may do a few posts, hopefully to try to demonstrate what I find the most useful and practical knots and how to tie them; with the hope that some people will find this information of benefit.

Trip #23 - Dickies Pond, Spring End Farm

As I’m sure I’ve said before fishing a new venue comes with a certain level of excitement. The unknown is a factor which means you usually have to prepare for all methods of fishing, and try what you believe is the best on the day. Having done a bit of research into this venue and thinking I had the measure of it from the help of Google Maps, I arrived at the lake in the late morning and instantly felt over prepared. The lake looked more like an overly large duck pond than a fishery. Never the less there were some people scattered around the pond so I knew I was in the right place. I wheeled my gear around to the conifer side of the lake and before long I was setting up wondering what this little lake was going to throw up.

Dickies Pond on arrival

Trip #22 – An afternoon in the Freezer!

I should have realised when my bottle of squash began to freeze that today was going to be a tough and disparaging day. But I was happy to be on the bank and warm because of the thermal suit which once again I was trying to put through its paces. Setting up on the bank of South Accommodation road (a Leeds ASA stretch) I was unsure of what to expect from the venue. Having never fished it before but being told that this part of the river held big numbers of specimen roach, I set up 2 rods. One I setup with a light line on which I would be fishing a single maggot or caster, and the other, a more “beefy” set up ready for any of the Chub the river held. 

Trip #21 – Third times a Trout!

I was once told that fishing well in winter sorts the wheat from the chaff, and can sometimes require a more refined approach to that of the tactics used in the summer. Having altered my reel lines and tied new lighter hooklinks I decided to put this into practice on a small feeder stream off the River Aire that comes into its own when the river is in flood. Having fished the small stretch of water twice before, I knew it contained fish, but the recent cold snap meant that I was going to have to be a little bit more delicate than I had been previously.