Recasting

[Pete Springate's Guns]

Thought this might be an interesting topic for discussion. I’m writing this on the bank and considering why and when to recast. 

The specific situation is one I’m sure we face on a regular basis. Got down yesterday evening and found myself in a swim I’ve fished a few times and caught from a couple of different spots. Left hand rod spot still clear and good drop so baited over it with the Spomb. Right hand spot had weeded over so opted for solid bag in the rapidly decreasing light levels with a view to finding a new spot today. 

It was a quiet night, odd fish heard but no action and no liners. Always leave the rods till midday since I’ve had fish as late as 11.30 am in this swim. New spot found and baited for right hand rod by 3pm. The question is.......should I recast the left hand rod? I was totally confident in its position, the ‘drop’, presentation and bait. I left it till 5pm and did recast it to the exact same spot. On retrieval it was perfect.

So why not leave it, less disturbance might be an advantage?

 

[B.C.]

TBH, if I have had a few liners or seen/heard fish on the spot, and not been picked up I'd be inclined to think something was wrong. perhaps a bad lie with the rig and I'd probably reel in just to check.... But I do think we often reel in and re-cast for the sake of it...… I don't mind leaving one out for as long as my hook bait will stand. If there have been no signs to signal that I may have been done, I mean, if you are confident of where and how it landed first time round, no point in making more commotion imo, just to try to replicate your first cast..... In fact, I'd be more inclined to move swims altogether if I was to do anything at all..... (Which basically means , i'm leaving it lol)

On busy waters, I've found, letting things quieten right down in my swims water whilst others are doing the obligatory recasts and baiting, I've picked up the odd fish, often well outside the usual bite times, completely out of the blue....

53 minutes ago, Pete Springate's Guns said:

I was totally confident in its position, the ‘drop’, presentation and bait.

 

53 minutes ago, Pete Springate's Guns said:

less disturbance might be an advantage?

I recon you've said it all in those 2 quotes...…

Bloomin hard to sit on your hands sometimes though.. Depends how well you know the water and it's residents imo….. If I think they are likely to pass through and I'm confident in my first chuck, I'm leaving it where it is... 

[Pete Springate's Guns]

Yes B.C. I tend to agree with you......I really  debated whether to re-do it or not (as an aside, I ruled out a move since; a) I’d not seen anything particular to move on and b) its a v.tricky water and a quiet night is not unusual).

My default position is to recast but I am beginning to question myself, hence the post.

I’m aware that Rainbow anglers often leave baits in position for several days at a time in what is a very pressured environment.

As a counter point, I’ve often received a take quite quickly after a recast when I’ve thought I should have had action.

Its a proper head scratcher at times, this fishing lark😬🤣

[harpz_31]

Me personally I'm in favour of regular recasting (every 3 or 4 hours) especially if i think I've got fish in my swim

Call it paranoia but I worry about my rig not resetting proper after being moved and woken ive up in the morning to a baitless hook more than a few times.

I started doing this on a very hard water where 20 fish a year is major result and did see an increase in runs

I'd rather risk spooking a few fish on a recast than sitting on rods that have no chance of getting a run at all

 

[B.C.]

3 hours ago, Pete Springate's Guns said:

Its a proper head scratcher at times, this fishing lark😬🤣

So many variables, size of water, stock numbers, other species.... If there are tench and bream in numbers, I might be thinking my rig wasn't sitting pretty after 24hrs without a sniff..... I'd rather leave it, but once those negs enter your head, it's hard not to re cast..... 

2 hours ago, harpz_31 said:

Call it paranoia but I worry about my rig not resetting proper after being moved and woken ive up in the morning to a baitless hook more than a few times.

The birdlife can do that , sometimes without a bleep..... You need rock hard hookers and a rig that resets itself if you are going to leave it out for 24 hrs plus..... I've been done by the coots too many times and found that most shop bought pop ups can soften up quite quickly. OK on runs waters, but prob need checking after 24hrs... By this time , they can sometimes come off on the retrieve, especially with bait screws..

[greekskii]

Persobally for me I will recast if I think I should have had a bite or I get paranoid that my ‘perfect’ cast was not perfect after a while. I’m also equally happy to leave a rod out for as long as possible. As you say, less disturbance and all of that! 

I’ll happily cast out as many times as I need to in order to get it right (it took me 10 casts to get a rod over to the far margin yesterday. Few hours later it was away with one of 10-12 fish in 5 acres!) 

I think it makes the difference between catching or not. Plenty of times a recast on a rod I wasn’t quite happy with has resulted in a fish in the next few hours. 

I think our biggest challenge as anglers is overcoming your mind, just sitting and chilling out my brain always tends to end up back on the rigs and my casts. Were they perfect? Or did I I just think they were at the time? Could it have landed an inch to the left and be presented better? Etc, etc. 

[Golden Paws]

I tend to agree with Harpz_31, I recheck my rigs and baits every few hours. I normally fish combi rigs so tangling isn't the problem but the amount of times I've reeled in to find a large 'blob' of weed on the hook totally ruining the presentaion and hooking potential always plays on my mind and my local lake is pretty weed free. I used to tie on my cork ball pop ups with dental floss but the amount of times I reeled in a bare hook was getting beyond a joke so gone back to shop bought pop ups and either use a bait screw or pull the floss through and also double secure it with a bait stop. Probably a bit paranoid but rather be safe then sorry.

[harpz_31]

There are so many things that can foul up presentation, even a fish turning over the top of your rig and churning the debris up and mask the hook point

But I do time when i cast as not to do it during "bite times"

[greekskii]

So I’ve just sat all night with a rod snagged up on a branch. I had no reason to recast it. It went down nicely, placed in the margins. Sometimes we just have to take the rough with the smooth. 

[salokcinnodrog]

At times I have had to leave a bait in place for 2 days before getting a take.

It is rare I get tangled on the cast, using foam and PVA means I can prevent tangles. Crayfish can mess up a rig, especially with soft braided hooklinks.

A word on corn foam nuggets, they can take up to 12 hours to dissolve, even with water current. My advice is do not hook them. Wrap them around the hook, and lick and stick the final edge.

 

How often I recast depends on the water. A runs water where I am fishing for a day is a totally different kettle of fish to a larger 'big fish' water that I am on for a few days.

Also having a dog that I walk round the lake first thing and take for a walk in the afternoon means I usually recast twice a day. I try not to cast out when the boats are out. I don't like being accused of aiming for them, even if I think it...

 

Weed moves! In summer it can actually grow or rest over your lines and hookbait overnight.

 

On most waters I prefer to recast for the night before  other anglers, my disturbance is done, out of the way, and other anglers then do their recasting and move the fish onto other areas, hopefully my bait.

 

Golden Paws point about corkball pop-ups, I had the same problem. For some reason corkball pop-ups tend to take on water, maybe through an imperfection or hole in the skin, the dental floss cutting the skin, or small fish picking at them, and then break free as the boiled paste dissolves. You may be far better using pop-up mix pop-ups, which are harder. Crays can also break them free. If it is the knot going, I create a uni-knot loop, put the pop-up in, and pull tight. If it is a complete tie on job, I then tie it to the rig ring, hair loop whatever with a double overhand and lighter blob the tag ends. If crays are a problem, and ripping pop-ups, I mesh them and tie them on above a bottom bait on the hair.

 

Harpz makes a point about not recasting during bite times. I do sometimes do it on purpose. If you get the feeling things aren't right, your hookbait is being ignored, covered in silt or weed, or even 'sussed', then a recast with an old hookbait and fresh bait stringer, can get you a take. The fresh stringer is the danger, the old hookbait is safe.

I have had a number of takes doing that, within minutes of the bait being cast.

 

[B.C.]

3 hours ago, greekskii said:

I think our biggest challenge as anglers is overcoming your mind,

Good shout that......

54 minutes ago, greekskii said:

Sometimes we just have to take the rough with the smooth. 

TBH mate, I think there is only "so much" you can do, especially with time restraints etc...…..  As you know mate, the hardest thing can be finding and getting on some fish that are willing to feed..... We are playing with nature for the most part and even the very best of anglers will blank, even if everything is set perfectly...….. For me, that percentage of unpredictability is what makes it all such a special past- time, in an age where we are normally in complete control of most things with the push of a button.

Angling takes me away from that, there's always a little that is left to chance...….. Keeps the Carp Gods in employment 😊