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IGFA Corporate
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My fishing experience on the River moved to bank fishing to have longer sessions and explore the real potential of the darkness and the early morning moments. All my previous fishing was on very short sessions and the incredible score I had was a proof that the River Tiber is a very rich water that needed to be deeply explored. Boat fishing may be very good on very short sessions and when the weather is not too bad, otherwise it would be a real pain. The big problem was that each productive swim was very far from any possible area and initially I was not very keen to fish “side by side” struggling with the Tiber current. But the chance of playing another big fish from the bank and have a chance to improve the score was too exciting to be forgotten.
Bank Fishing
The possibility to have a set of 4 rods on 4 different areas were theoretically very interesting but with lots of obstacles to be overcome. For this reason, I planned a 3 day session from the bank and with the help from my mates Mauro Pitorri and Pino Maffei, we had a good place to set up on the opposite bank. We baited a wider area quite strongly with maize and boilies and then we moved to the fishing action. |
 It was some long range fishing with the far rod at 110 meters approximately; not an exceptional distance on a lake but a real problem when fishing even with the lightest current. First of all the rod position was a doubt; sky high or flat on the water to avoid any floating grass hitting the line? On Zero and Dese rivers next to Venice I experienced that a flat rod with tip dips in the water may be very good and keeps the line free but here the distance was 3 times more than those nice canals. Sky high rods allow the line to hit the water far away and have a better bite indication. On both situations the use of heavy back leads was necessary to have most of the line flat on the river bed. I always use at least 2 big back leads, sometimes even 3 to have the maximum drag against the current, in this case the first back lead slides next to the rod, if there are boats crossing the river (otherwise I use only 2 leads and sky high rods), the second will be sunk in the middle of the river and the third is just a light sliding lead (5 grams) to flatten the end part of the line. Both big back leads are 50 grams and easy to lose in case of snags. The situation with 3 back leads is quite easy to set up when dropping the bait from a boat or when using extra heavy leads or spikes.
The lead Choice
The lead choice is one of the most important technical aspects and the one that most people do not consider as “strategical” for river fishing sessions. When fishing on a slow current river like the Tiber, a traditional 110 gram lead may be dragged away when the distance exceed 40 meters. A 150 gram may keep the bait in the right position for a while but, as soon as floating rubbish catches the line, the drag may cause the lead to drift.
The very first session from the bank we experienced a couple of fish lost due to the hook pulls. At that time I was using a 250 gram Inline and I understood that a heavy lead could push the hook out during the fight, even worse if the lead is next to 300 or more grams. To overcome the problem we initially moved on to a big stone or a brick connected with some 8 Lb line and things got better. |
 Actually I have chosen a double 140 gram lead connected with two Carp Safety Rigs. One is fixed directly on the Fox rig while the other one is connected through a weak 8 Lb line that broke as soon as the fish bolts away. That end solution works well and allows the bait to be steady on the bottom.
The use of two big back leads along the line is another tip for river fishing. The first must be just under the rod tip while the second must be positioned in the middle of the river; this one also helps the line to sink very fast. Some may ask which kind of bite indication we use with such an extra heavy set up. In my experience, a river carp is such powerful fighting machine that the lightest run or drop back is a sort of explosion…
Another choice is the beach fishing Breakaway lead armed with “spikes”; this one is a far superior solution and give us an extra tension even in the strongest current. A 150 gram breakaway lead means an equivalent 350 gram weight.
Rigs and Tackle
River fishing is not a matter for light fishing, In my experience the best rig must have a good abrasion resistance quality. I am using 45 LB Armadillo shock leader where I need to stop the carp getting tangled. Fox XS or similar pattern are very reliable and give us the edge. To protect the hook and the knot I also choose a small piece of PVC tube and the old but reliable “Gibbinson’s line aligner”. Some fish were lost just next to the knot where the braid is weakest even if the knot is carefully made and a short piece of tubing may protect the line against rocks and woods. Rig length is another point; a short rig works better than a longer one in terms of bait presentation and allows the line to lay flat on the bottom and gives further abrasion resistance. |
One or two Fox Carp Safety Rigs is another good option (see the part about leads) to have a weak link and leave the lead as soon as its snagged on the bottom.
I must admit I am a bit reluctant to give an opinion on braided lines after losing some nice fish in the past. Then I had a chance to fish with more reliable braid and this is my actual choice. Another problem, when using dyneema type is that the very limited abrasion resistance capability and its almost natural buoyancy. Very few braids are really sinking and this may be a real pain when fishing on a river. Fox Gravitron seems to be far ahead, even if I would be keen to try some other fast sinking braided lines, just to have everything flat on the bottom in the quickest way. Even the lightest current may push a slow sinking line and a “bow” may cause excessive drag drifting the lead away. Each grass or floating weed caught by the line may cause the lead to move sideways pushing the rig far from the right area. OK, braided line has far superior bite sensitivity but the risk of having the bait out of the fishing area is unacceptable, here the need is to have a fast sinking braid or move immediately to the old fashionable but faithful mono. Traditional lines may detect bites a bit slowly but the abrasion resistance is far superior.
To enhance the abrasion capability I always use a long shock leader like the new Fox Armadillo or the Quicksilver on the 45 lb range and, where the freshwater mussel may be a problem, I add some meters of the Mussel cracker.
The end rig must be very strong and reliable and again, the use of a 30lb plus braid or the Armadillo 45 is highly suggested. This was the first lesson I learnt after having lost 2 fish using 25 lb mono-fluorocarbon. This stuff is quite good when fishing on a clear lake or a clean channel but almost useless when things gets tough. A strong hook - length gives us a good edge to force the fish out of the snags and as soon as the job is done we have the fish in the net at 80% of the time. After this bad experience with mono I understood that only very reliable equipment can be used safely on river fishing; there is no room for tools and rigs that work well in a tank but only in a tank. River fishing is a hard job and tackle must be at the very best otherwise it may become a nightmare.
The winning Choice
My rig choice was quite simple. What the swim was looking for, was a reliable strong hook with a short abrasion resistant hooklink and a weak line to loose the lead as soon as the fish was on. I then took some Fox XS size 2 on a 30 or even 45 lb Armadillo and tied an “Inline knotless knot” rig. The hook length was just 15 cm just enough to let the fish put the bait in the mouth and bolt away in a panic. Each rig was carefully made to put quite a few baits on the hair to keep nuisance fish away from the business ……
but bait will be the subject of the next article. Cheers mate! |
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Roberto Ripamonti
