lead free set up

[marksumner]

hello all, just wanted to hear your thoughts on this....i went to a local runs water bout 2 months ago and got snapped up on some snags....as i was only going for a few hours i took bare esentials, i had no spare leads with me and decided to just link my hooklink to my leadcore leader(no lead) i was only fishing the margin with this rod so didn't have to worry about getting distance...i put the rod on the pod and on the bite alarm as i would do usually and got a screaming run to land a pastie...so since then i have been fishing one rod this way the other with normal lead set up......do any of you guys do the same ? have you done in the past? or have i just lost the plot and do i need to just put a lead on it?

[lee]

I have never done this, but makes perfect sense if you were only fishing the margins and would need no casting weight, i have only used light leads this year on running rigs fishing fairly slack when i could, so the bolt effect of the rig does not really work, most of my takes have been one toners when i have had a take, if i do get the odd bleep i just watch the line entering the water to look for movement. Maybe some of the lads on here have made better comparisons, but if its working for you no need to change save money on leads

[silverbirch]

If you don't need it don't use it..

Simplicity is a hook to mainline...everything else regard as an addition to overcome presentation issues.

Before you add any extra lead, knots, floats, hooklinks stop and ask yourself why you need it.....

You have to laugh sometimes on commercial/runs waters...some of the end rigs I see because there in this months magazines...critically balanced snowmen, D-rings, anti eject, leadcore, breakout leads, pva bags, line clips, whatever...all thats needed is a few pellets and corn on the hook under the rod end and wait for the tip to wang round

Done it for years. It's a great method for weedy waters ( think Top Pool ). 3 foot of lead core, decent sized PVA bag and that's your lot. You can get a good distance if you use a moist stick mix and when you get a take, the fish, feeling no lead is less inclined to bury it's head in the weed.

[marksumner]

Originally Posted by Northern Grafter

Done it for years. It's a great method for weedy waters ( think Top Pool ). 3 foot of lead core, decent sized PVA bag and that's your lot. You can get a good distance if you use a moist stick mix and when you get a take, the fish, feeling no lead is less inclined to bury it's head in the weed.

cheers for the info mate as it goes i'm currently fishing top pool most of my time

[doughnut]

yes mate in the old days it was called free lining great way of fishing margins , or close to pads , with bread or floters on the surface, or
meat , on the bottom, then hair rigs and boilies, where invented ,worked well
with them to, then people started putting great lumps of lead on there line and casting to the sky , then came PVA and pellets, but people
still wanted to hit the sky by putting lumps of lead in them to, but it still
worked without one now they are trying to hide them lumps of lead or make them inviserble me thinks the best way to hide one is not put one on in the first place

Originally Posted by doughnut

yes mate in the old days it was called free lining great way of fishing margins , or close to pads , with bread or floters on the surface, or
meat , on the bottom, then hair rigs and boilies, where invented ,worked well
with them to, then people started putting great lumps of lead on there line and casting to the sky , then came PVA and pellets, but people
still wanted to hit the sky by putting lumps of lead in them to, but it still
worked without one now they are trying to hide them lumps of lead or make them inviserble me thinks the best way to hide one is not put one on in the first place

I understand what you are saying about freelining but you missed the point I was trying to make. Using the weight of the lead core and the PVA bag on the hook takes the whole lot straight down through the weed to where the carp will eat in what they belive to be safe conditions. If you use the setup I described, there is nowhere on the Top Pool that is out of reach ... never mind just fishing the margins. It's not about making your rigs invisible, just presenting them in a way that the carp aren't used to.

[doughnut]

I get your point, but if you fishing a realy weedy swim whould the leadcore
not pick up a s@@t load of weed and risk loosing the fish ? if i am fishing
in weed hooklink straight to mainline pva bag of pellets , grease line with floatant so it sits on top of weed better, like the fluff chuckers do , if i do not
want to fish margins or want bag to sink quickly just put a couple of stones in your pva bag with your pellets or stick mix ect, this is my way, i am not saying your way will not work or anything and think it good ,