how do you use feathers effectively?

fishguy · Member Joined: Apr 06, 2008 Posts: 30

hi all

i am quite inexperianced when it come to using feathers! how do you use them from boat and shore to the greatest effect? thanks

fishguyjavascript:emoticon(' happy

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rabbi2 · Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 5:54 pm Post subject:

From a boat they are normally what we call jigged up and down at various depths until mackerel are located, from the shore they are cast out and retrieved in a jerky motion in the hope of locating mackerel. Cod feathers work on the same principle, you can always bait feathers so as to give them a scent so to speak as an added atraction. Hope this helps.

nath160 · Member Joined: Apr 13, 2008 Posts: 13

Hey Rabbi,
When you use them from the shore remember to keep varying your depth on the retrieve until you find the fish, too. On your first few casts you can count up in your head the time it takes from the 'splash' to the weight hitting the bottom - this will give you the relative depth for that distance.

For instance, if the depth was a count of '15', then you could start the retrieve at '15', '10' and '2' to fish deep, midwater and shallow respectively. Taking note of the depth you hit the fish will help you find them more quickly next time, too.

Its the same from a boat (but in reverse), just count the amount of turns it takes from the bottom until you hit the fish. The same principle also goes for fishing other species (like pollack, for instance) where their depth will vary dependent on terrain/tides and other such factors.

Tight Lines

EDIT. oops, when i said 'hey rabbi' I meant 'hey fishguy'! ive just read over it and it sounds like im picking you up on things instead of just adding to the post.

sorry mate, glad no offence was taken!

rabbi2 · Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 2:19 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the help I should have explained that in my post but I have a lot on my mind at the moment. Cheers, keith

nath160 · Member Joined: Apr 13, 2008 Posts: 13

no worries mate, in fact i bet theres still loads more stuff we could add to it, but will only remember when someone elses pitches in their two cents.

Its funny, for a type of fishing usually though of as 'one way and one way only' to do it, there is in fact loads to consider when you begin to delve into it! lol.

fishguy · Member Joined: Apr 06, 2008 Posts: 30

cheers guys anything else like speciecies you can catch or weights information

appreciate it

rabbi2 · Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 5:29 pm Post subject:

Theres so much to answer with you question. Shore fishing or boat fishing?

fishguy · Member Joined: Apr 06, 2008 Posts: 30

shore and boat please - just general tips

thanks

rabbi2 · Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 8:54 am Post subject:

Well here goes, perhaps someone else hopefully will help me out. Boat fishing normally the weight can be anywhere from 5oz to about 1lb. in certain circumstances even 2lb. The setup I normally use for general boat fishing is a running ledger with 2 hooks above the weight. This way you can target the bottom and mid range spiecies at the same time. With boat fishing there are no hard and fast rules. What works for one person dont mean to say will work for someone else. When you first go out on the boat use different baits on different hooks to see what your catching on then swap to that particular bait, Lugworm, ragworm mackerel and squid seem to be the all round favourites. When boat fishing I tend to try to let my weight bounce on the bottom just slightly so as to be in constant touch with any possible take. When using feathers I always tend to bait mine up with a sliver of mackerel, unless Im after mackerel and then I dont bother. Some of my best cod have been caught this way. Hope this helps until I wake up. Keith in blackburn.

fishguy · Member Joined: Apr 06, 2008 Posts: 30

well that was a fantastic answer - thanks keith,
i am now ready to do some feathering

leeman · Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2008 8:37 am Post subject:

When i feather it is for bait collection only - always cut a couple of feathers off and have no more then 3. Just seems to make things a bit fairer.

cheers

lee

rabbi2 · Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2008 12:12 pm Post subject:

I fully agree with you. I was on Blue mink one day fearhering for mackerel as bait. I was using 3 hooks but this guy next to me was using 5 and getting into all sorts of tangles, well by the time he had sorted one tangle out I was back into the mackerel winding up another full load. The thing that suprised me was that he was an old hand and even though he knew what was happening he still persisted using 5 hooks. Why the manufacturers persist on making 5 hook feathers simply baffles me.

sirroms69 · Member Joined: Aug 07, 2007 Posts: 29

LOL! I totally agree with Rabbi2! I have seen so many tangled rigs due to the 5 hooks silly

I typically use 3 and it works a treat!

fishguy · Member Joined: Apr 06, 2008 Posts: 30

i use a 6 hook rig and have not much trouble
in fact, thanks to your tips i caught a whiting yesretday i though they werent round this time of year? when is the season for shore whiting anyway?

rabbi2 · Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2008 3:50 pm Post subject:

Refere to the sticky under general sea fishing chat. Hope this helps