Ivan Marks on 'blacks'

[Santiago]

One can increase catch rates, I find, by both increasing or decreasing hook size, but I suspect that this occurs for different reasons. Going smaller because the fish can see or feel bigger hooks, and alternatively, going larger works because the fish find it harder to spit out bigger hooks once baits are mouthed. Increasing /decreasing the distance of the tell tale shot also works, as does shotting pattern, as does reducing line thickness, as does changing the colour of one's maggot or number, sometimes two are better than one, and vice versa. One can also increase catch rates by putting on a smaller or larger float.

So basically all one has to do to increase one's catch rate is to make changes. The trick is to make the right changes according to the conditions and how the fish are feeding at the moment, which can also change during a session. Etc etc etc

[Match Aerial]

Interestingly how posters views can change since the last time we had a similar topic. Ask any good match angler if you sit it out doing the same things after the fish have wised up you can't really expect much in return.
You can allways move on to the next peg if it all gets to much trouble or sit tight and believe there is fish in the peg and your doing something wrong.
It's all a learning curve.

[Ian]

What I find is slight aterations like changing from say a size 14 hook to a size 16 don't really make much difference. However I find more drasitic changes like a 14 to a 20 do make a difference and result is you taking a few extra fish out if a swim.
I think its more to do with visablity because you can get a similar response by instead of just hooking the maggot through the eyes like you normally do. Try threading a maggot and you get a similar extra few fish just like going smaller in hook size.
Changing line dia by only tiny amounts makes little difference also in my opinion.

You have a very good point match aerial.ive threaded the first mag on the hook for years,as far back as I remember in fact and not just when using a single maggot.
This could be the reason for more fish and why I don’t judge it to be hook weight being a factor.a good example is a local pond i fish and during bag up sessions at some point the the fish suddenly become very hard to hook.i usually start with a size 14 and when this happens I’ve found switching to either a 14 wide gape or a bigger hook works wonders,as long as the maggots conceal the hook.

[Match Aerial]

I have no doubt that is the reason if fish can take Reed smutts off the surface the size of a pin head they can definitely see your hook without wearing glasses.
Probably the main reason casters work so well is the hook is buried inside concealed from sight.

[Phil Arnott]

Probably the main reason casters work so well is the hook is buried inside concealed from sight.

That's always been my view MA. When fishing for fish which are taking baits on the drop as I described above, they come in so fast that all the free baits and the baited hook are being swirled about and the speed of drop often does not come into play.

I had an interesting experience with chub at Stamford Bridge on the Yorkshire Derwent. I spotted a group of chub just below a weedbed. I had a steep bank behind me and fairly drab clothing and had the chub on the surface quite close to me. I fed in maggots but found it difficult to present the bait naturally to the fish because of the swirling currents caused by the weed bed. I observed the fish’s reaction to the bait and found that they only went to investigate the bait when the line was pointing directly at the fish. It didn’t matter if the swirling current was dragging the bait sideways, slightly downstream or at an unnatural speed as long as the line pointed directly towards the fish with the bait nearest. Eventually, of course, a fish made a mistake and I caught one. I assume in this case the chub were avoiding the line and when the line pointed directly towards them and they focused on the bait and were less likely to see the line which would tend to be out of focus.

Another interesting experience I had with the Stamford chub occurred when fishing between the streamer weed in the weir pool. I had been fishing for about an hour but despite feeding a steady stream of maggots into the swim had not had a bite. I was a bit puzzled as I would normally have caught a fish or two at this point. I threw in a few maggots and watched them travel rapidly downstream. As they reached the point where the streamer weed ended I saw four or five chub emerge from underneath the weed and take the maggots. I threw in some more maggots and sure enough the scene was repeated. I then threw some more maggots in and dropped my baited hook among them. At the end of the swim I watched as the chub came out and took the maggots but the float passed by without a flicker. A couple more attempts produced the same result. I then cast out my bait without any feed and watched it go down the swim. A chub came out and I watched its mouth open and close. I struck and was into a fish. I took two more fish in the same way before the fish left the swim. I suspect in this case the chub were taking the bait into their mouths and ejecting it when they felt the line passed over their faces as the float overtook them.

[Santiago]

Sometimes it pays not to throw in any freebies, because you don't give the fish anything to compare with and therefore can't see what's fluttering in the water naturally, so are more inclined to take the hook bait with little fuss. This tactic often works with the first few trots!

[Match Aerial]

Interestingly Phil I have had similar experiences. It may not be one singular thing ,it could be everything hook,line,shot and the float combined.
Whatever it's so startingly obverse to them it's the fake. No wonder we catch better with a bit of colour in the water lol.

[Santiago]

They might see the hook but I am sure they don't know it's a hook! They probably just don't fancy eating a maggot attached to a shiny thing. Black and red hooks don't seem to put fish off as much.

[Match Aerial]

I am a big fan of the kamasan b532 red hook for smaller baits maggots ,casters.
Caught quite a few fish on a red hook with no bait on, never done this with other hooks only these red jobs.
My uncle used gold hooks exclusive and was convinced they were the business. Gilt hooks in spades are very few and far between these days unfortunately.

[Santiago]

I think I have some old packets of gilt hooks. I will check tonight. How will I tell if they're gilt?