pole fishing tidal waters

[pak mei]

Hi
can anyway give me advice on running through or trotting with a pole on tidal waters, any tips on rig, set up and method would be appreciated as it's something I've never done but am interested in

[mark(wilf) williams]

hi, depends on depth, and how much flow . having fished rivers like the bristol avon which is deep, and can push through very fast when flooded, you will need anything up to 10grams, it sounds a lot but if you need to keep the bait static or just get it down floats this big are a god send. dont be put off by there size, if the flow is that heavy and the fish are having they wont care.i can fish sometimes 8m to hand, this gives me more scope, more river to cover and search out the fish. in the summer when the river has less water, rigs are around the 1g mark, fished either with a bulk around half depth and a couple of small droppers. the winter is generally fished over depth , holding back the float so the baits remain fairly still, or edging it through very slowly.
its the same for tidals, keeping an eye on the change of depth, and speed of flow. what i have found on tidal rivers, is that the fish can disappear almost instantly. i have only fished 1 or 2 in the south west, so my advice might not be gospel.
there are easier options , stick floats, swim feeders etc. pole fishing on rivers is fun, but can be tyring.
also, you can use a bait dropper to get the bait on the bottom, does take a bit of practice though. its a lot of trial and error, no river is the same. good luck mate.

[pak mei]

wow thanks for that advice, the river i'm on is the tidal Yare which has a strong flow, matches are usually won there on the feeder or the pole running through, I'm only just starting in this area of fishing and have a match there in a couple off weeks so that gives me an idea on what to practice

[stevelockett]

Quite a big subject. I have an article going in the Angler's Mail in two week's time about using flat floats. It may be helpful.
The tidal river I fish down here (River Exe) responds well to shallow waggler and spraying maggots for dace, but I'm not sure if it would work on the Yare.