In reply to Post #15
I do that, also there is another club rule saying a min of 0.5m of tubing must be used.

Surely if the bars have swan mussels on, fishing on top of it is bad angling?

Really you should be treating them as a snag, fishing up to them locked up so they dont gain any line. Rods tips high to keep as much line off the bottom as possible

In reply to Post #17
That is what the club recommend, sometimes you are fishing over several gravel patches before the one you are on so it can be difficult to avoid the line rubbing on one of them. I suppose beachcaster style might work but would it put the fish off with the line angle?

In reply to Post #18
Less line in the water is not necessarily a bad thing. Many folks fish with raised rod tips regardless of requirements, its the done thing,innit.
Fish on your terms within the rules, fish don't read books on behavioural science.
That's 'old skool'.

In reply to Post #18
Yeah, keep the line out the water and drop the lead with every take (prefer fishing with stones in that particular situation)

I don't what distances you're casting but on a local canal with lots of rocks and stones, I'm using a float to keep the line up. Works like a charm!