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Tackle
There are now hundreds of various
addons for fishing tackle - some good and some not so good,
and maybe just nice to have for
fun - no discredit to anyone as if you have made an addon at
sometime, you do deserve credit,
and many people will gain pleasure from it, but we want
the tackle that will make that
difference and maybe catch an extra fish or two.
One thing you don't do is use your
own tackle - use only what is available to everyone
on the Addon Submitter,
otherwise it could be classed as cheating !
So here I try to explain what to
look for and some of my preferences.
Rods
This down to your choice really
and what ever you feel will do the job
There are no rules to what you can
and cant do except that it is available for everyone
Most matches are one rod only,
except where the organiser states two
rods can be used, like most sea
matches.
My choice here is a rod that will
cast long distance and be strong enough to handle big fish.
Spinning rods will cast well and
any of the Carp rods will pull the biggies in
Try the margins - get the fish as
close as you possibly can - it's quicker
The 5ft PG special will do a good
job but is limited on depth
Try the poles ( long rods really )
they can make a big difference
I must say that sometimes the
choice of rod can affect the number of bites you get
but this could be my imagination
lol.
The choice is yours for
experimenting with
Lines
Use the Mono lines, they have a
smaller diameter than Nylon
Don't be afraid of using a heavy
line - you will still get the same number of bites
but on some of the harder venues
like the Pro venues it is more important to choose
correctly - again experiment
Floats
Your choice of float can make a
difference here
Depending on how cautious the fish
are you may miss those bites if the float is too heavy
Always fish with the lightest
float you can - If you hear the bite warning and your float
moves
but you keep missing the fish, it
could be your float - try a lighter set up.
All floats have a buoyancy setting
for this very reason and will affect bite indication
If you are fishing a deep lake or
river make sure you put heavy shot nearer the hook
to make your bait sink faster - it
can catch you extra fish over the match period.
For still water fishing I always use
a
waggler set-up, where-as on rivers I use a
stick float.
However for fishing a light bait at
shallow depths I will use the
Dibber floats ( plug lol )
or one of the tiny bodied floats.
For general use I use the
2BB waggler float with two No 12 at the float and
two No 1 above the hook to make
the bait sink quicker. I always attach
the Digi-Therm above the hook -
the fish will not detect it.
For float fishing on a sea venue I
use the
sea floats - these are sliding floats
and can be set at any depth -
Bites from sea species are quick and will make this float
disappear so the size of the float
does not matter here.
Weights and Shot
Shotting patterns will affect the
way your bait sinks and how your float sits
in the water as in real fishing
For ledgering, the link ledger set
up is best and always use the lightest lead you can
On rivers use a weight that suits
the situation - heavy to hold the bottom or a lighter
one to roll the bait through the
swim.
Free lining is classified as
ledgering in FS2 and can catch the more cautious fish,
this is where no weight or float
is used. Where Boilies are used free lining will be better
as the weight of the bait is
usually enough, to sink to the bottom quickly.
For surface fishing with heavy non
floating baits use a cork attachment, they can
work really well on some venues,
and always a consideration.
For Sea fishing the paternoster
rig is best, or a freelined bait
Hooks
The smaller the better ?
I use the smallest hook I can - If
I am missing bites ( which is regular for me )
I will reluctantly go up in size,
but this seems to affect the bite rate, so you
need to find the happy medium -
you need as many of those fish as possible.
Another thing is the bait you are
using and it's preferred hook size, this will
determine your bite rate as well.
Where hair rigged baits are used,
the hook size is less important.
Always use the hair rig where
possible
Again experiment in practice to
find the best set up.
For sea venues - think big !
Hook Length
The Hook length can be adjusted -
make it as long as you can, it seems to make
a difference - same with Fly and
Lure - use the longest trace possible.
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