Changing/Use of baits

[Billy-No-Fish]

This is to help give me more insight into feeding. You have identified your lines, including margin and are fishing the match. What prompts you to change the bait or feed? Is it purely fish response, or maybe conditions that make you think, i'll try this and i works? For example you may be catching but something makes you feed more or less, or a different part of your swim because it feels right to do so.

[Matt Love]

I usually know exactly what baits I will be using and rarely change although I will often feed different baits to different swims.

I recall matches where my main attack was for small carp out in front on maggot and my back-up swim was down the edge for small carp, skimmers, tench, ide and barbel. I fed handfulls of caster down the edge all day and fished worm over the top in the last hour to double or tripple my weight.

I reckon if I had fed mircos with expanders on the hook I would have had the same result so maybe it was the feeding patern more than the type of bait?

I guess the issue of change baits is more relative to natural venues or silver fish but again I have found that the feeding pattern has been more critical than the bait, so long as the bait is suitable in the first place of course.

This is a general feeling and not absolute by any means.

[chriscalder]

I try to get a rythm going when feeding so that each fish is coming at the same gap interfal,if its 10 second intervals or 2 min intervals or 5 minutes once the gap between each fish is the same I think I have the feeding right,I try to up the feed gradually to ensure they are getting enough feed so do not go elswhere,if the bites slow down then my thinking is I do not have enough fish in my swim and I am overfeeding the fish so will cut back on feed.even to the extent of feeding less than I originally started with,some times it can take 1 hour to get the feeding patteren right,other times it can take 4 hours.
But on some occasions the reverse could be happening and the bites slowing down because you have underfed and they are clearing of elswhere.
I always try to up the feed to get more fish into swim,but gradually.

If I start on a good session and getting fish quickly and start getting missed bites/liner then i break the swim in two,feeding the right fishing the left and rotating.

My main aim is to fish/feed as smooth as possible and try to get into a rythm.
Its as soon as that rythm is broken that the alarm bell is ringing that you are doing something wrong,you have to shallow/lay on or step up your feed/slow down on the feed to get them competing again.
If the rythim is broken and you do nothing the swim will die on you.

[Billy-No-Fish]

Chris, thanks for that i understand that completely. This has always been a problem for me as i am not exactly serious about my fishing, it's more about the craic. However my time with this lot has made me think more seriously about it. Maybe if i applied myself it may get better.

[chriscalder]

If you like the craic Billy maybe you had better not get into the rythm,once you get into the rythm you will forget anyone else is fishing the lake/river around you.You go deaf for 5 hours.

[Billy-No-Fish]

They must be real serious around me then Chris as everyone seems deaf who is next to me....

[chriscalder]

Yeah Billy everybody goes deaf when you ask them,,what are you catching on mate?