In reply to Post #1
My rods go only up if I'm using a boat to get the rods out
(It's easier to manouvre in between them with a take) or when there is weeds in front of me

Very much depends mate, one of my locals gets a band of candian around the margins up to around 20 yds out all around the lake in this
Situation I have the tips up with the line slack so it drapes over the top

In reply to Post #1
Thanks for all the replies and thoughts. Where I am fishing there is a lot of silkweed everywhere with a few clear spots but no high banks of weed so I think keeping the tips low is the correct thing for me.

I had not thought of pointing the rods away when snag fishing though, I do fish up against reed beds with one rod (the other two are in open water) and have lost several fish there. Would it be worth pointing the tips up in this situation as well as turning the rods away?

In reply to Post #13
No, when snag fishing point the rod directly at the snag and locked up solid. Anything else allows the rod to bend and potentially give the fish chance to get into the snag. That post was more bad advice from that particular"angler"

Where I am fishing there is a lot of silkweed everywhere with a few clear spots but no high banks of weed so I think keeping the tips low is the correct thing for me.
That's got to depend on the situation, again nothing is written in stone. If the weed is relatively static on the bottom fair enough, but if it's drifting about on/near the bottom (which it does at times), couple that with a decent undertow you'd be better having your rod tips up.

In reply to Post #1
Birds can also influence the best method, on some lakes there are so many geese and swans that you have to keep the rod tips as low as possible or even under the water to avoid constant interference from the birds. Nothing beats the mayhem caused by fighting swans flying through three rods with the tips up!

In reply to Post #16
Don't forget the bats when the sun starts falling, they seem to aim for your line!

In reply to Post #14
That post was more bad advice from that particular"angler"
FFS give it a rest ? you come out with some good advice but then you spew this bull**** ?
it depends how close you are to the snag dont it ?

As having your rod tip high and using the slowing down cushioning effect the rod bending can often be the best way to stop a fish as the rod bends it in effect shortens it and the real stopping power comes into play as by then you have got hold of the rod I have done it tons of times

In reply to Post #18
Snag fishing, as in up tight to a snag Gerry. Quite obvious I'd have thought. Fishing towards snags, and snag fishing, are 2 different things imo. Fish towards a snag, yeah a little movement is fine, but actual snag fishing? Hell no. As for stopping a fish, if it doesn't have the momentum to get started in the first place you don't need to stop it, just hold it where it is. I love snag fishing, but it needs so much thinking about it isn't the thing for inexperienced people to be doing, and giving answers like matey without really explaining what was meant(if that's actually what he meant) on an open forum with anglers of all age and experience,is bloody dangerous.

In reply to Post #19
Snag fishing, as in up tight to a snag Gerry

behave ? stop talking utter nonsense
snag fishing is close to or near to a snag anyone who fishes in the snag is a silly billy as I have said I have used the rod tip high method and when its stopped the fish going in I simply walked backwards and got it clear of the snag

in the 70s I fished a estate pond that was rammed full of lily's just a few open spaces in those days it was fast taper 1,75lb SU carp rods these wild carp when picking a hook up went straight into the pads try and stop them one of 2 things happened either a hook pull or the line snapped
in the end my fishing partners next door neighbor built us 2 rods they were 8ozs test curve built on a fly rod blank we called them flop sticks BUT !!!!!!!!! THEY DID THE TRICK we stopped them the tip used to go past your hand but it slowed the fish you could stop them and land them
so please dont tell me about snag fishing I have spent donkeys years doing it

In reply to Post #20
Keep it clean lads please....youngsters read posts too!

In reply to Post #21
They don't they are too busy on tik-tok or games consoles

In reply to Post #21
sorry your right edited

In reply to Post #22
funny, but they do mate

In reply to Post #23
Topman

In reply to Post #20
I'm not talking utter nonsense at all Gerry, if you read what I write properly I've never said anything about fishing in a snag. That, I agree is totally daft and irresponsible. I apologize if my being an angler that thinks about consequences offends you In any way, but that won't ever change. Snag fishing is belt and braces stuff and any form of movement in there is a point where a problem can happen. I don't know why you feel the need the get animated Gerry, with all the capital letter and exclamation marks, it doesn't achieve anything. Can you not put your points across without shouting these days?

In reply to Post #26
Like I and others have said , locked up for snag fishing, the only way thay can swim is away from snags, job done, yes think it out and sit on yer rods

In reply to Post #4
Wait what?? It also allows the fish to reach the snag very bad angling

In reply to Post #23
Great use of silly billy as an edit

In reply to Post #28
Do you pick the rod up and keep it pointed at the fish?

I tend to usually end up with them in the water to avoid the Swans, ducks and floating weed, also because I fish with braid it helps keep it sunk

In reply to Post #29
If the fish cant get momentum up it cant rip the hook out, usualy one bleep fish sits there and u wind it in , not for the faint hearted, had so many fish like that, usually short 3 hr sessions and 100 % alert, think about it

Rod tips up or down for snag fishing? sat on your rods in anticipation? sort of goes against the grain when all the anglers at Rainbow fish rod tips high and are tucked in their sleeping bags at night whilst they fish braided mainline with 40 foot or more of mono leader add in the 25% stretch in most mono add to that fishing in rests going round the back of islands down channels and it is all the recepies for disaster on every take makes you wonder how so many fish get caught everyone should be nailed to a submerged tree with a size 2 hook and 80lb hooklink

In reply to Post #35
2 meters of 100lb leadcore with an 8oz lead one end and a 5oz lead the other end.

In reply to Post #35
Using wire traces for hooklinks too sometimes from what I've been told. Catch at all costs....

#37 200lb wire shark trace as booms your not wrong

#36 does anyone make 100lb leadcore?

In reply to Post #37
or simply a case of adapting and perfecting a method that you can actually reach and fish a spot where its possible to catch and land the fish that otherwise just probably would not get caught

I so enjoyed my time there and was a huge bucket list tick for me got invited twice more after that but declined even though its a great atmosphere and all the guys that fish regularly I got on really well with all of them proper top blokes and a totally unique lake a memory that is locked in my head and I often visit it lol

If I can fish semi fixed tight line or running leads and slack lines, rod tips as low as possible, even under water pointing at the end tackle.

If there is weed present that I need to get the line over, then obviously lift the tips up to get over it.

As has been said, swans especially can be a pain, swimming through every line, so tips down underwater if possible.

Snag fishing, been a couple of years since I have needed to, but it was the rod tip pointing at the snag, horizontal, or tip slightly raised, line as tight as I could get it. On a take the fish can only move 'towards' the rod, it automatically moves in an arc. It is a dropback, which needs to be struck instantly.

In reply to Post #20
There's a difference between fishing for 6lb wildies in an estate lake and fishing for 20 plus pounders in a gravel pit, different beasts geez.

The most important thing about snag fishing isnt necessarily how the rods are set up, its the attention span of the angler. Play close attention dont wander off and make sure you have a solid rod.

Gerneral fishing it doesnt make any difference if the rods are high or lo, just whatevers best for the swim that you are in..

In reply to Post #41
James I been carp fishing since 1960s !

the fish in the Estate lake were 15to 19lb I have lost count of the times I have snag fished successfully in this country and in Europe the fact is I have probably been snag fishing before some of you were born

so I dont need to be told how to fish thanks mate

In reply to Post #42
Did you use black magic

In reply to Post #42
No ones telling you how to fish......Jeez all i mentioned there was a difference between snag fishing situations and while you have used fly rods for extracting fish from lilly infested lakes i dare assume that many anglers here dont have your years of experience fishing not only in UK but also Europe and a slightly stronger rod would probably perform better in snaggy lakes for fish upto 20lb.

In reply to Post #44
Its not necessary about the "strength" of the rod but the length and action of the rod with dictates the force it can exert on the fish, it may well be that the fly rod he used with correct ringing could exert more force than a lot of more modern high test curve rods currently on the market

In reply to Post #45
exactly right mate some people just dont get it and dont understand

their brain says a 3.5lb test rod will pull better than a 2.75 or less but of course its not the case it depends on the action of the rod

You can deadlift more with a flexiable bar (lower test curve) than with a solid bar (higher test curve)

In reply to Post #44
It might seem counterintuitive, a through action rod is going to be able to exert more pulling power than a fast taper long range rod. Bivvy TV did a thing on it years back which you can find on YouTube and showed exactly what I'm saying and funnily enough, out of all the rods tested, a wand like fly rod was the most powerful of all that was tested. Why don't seasoned catfish anglers use fast tapered rods for massive catfish?

As for fishing snags, I'd fish fully locked up and no way for a fish to drag your setup in like a pod carabineered at all 4 corners and pegged down with long tent pegs so it's rock solid. Depending on the type of snag say like a sunken tree...strong braid (not long range casting braid) all day long so they can't take an inch and super tight lines that you could walk along.

In reply to Post #48
Noone who uses a pod should be snag fishing. You need a few years fishing under yout belt first

In reply to Post #49

Nothing to do with tc. Whatever becomes the shortest without snapping will pull harder. That's why people subconsciously grab the rod near the join to subdue a fish, because the 6' between butt and joint that rarely flexes is detrimental to applying force.
Big game fishing involves having an open ocean in front of you so you could use a 100' rod if you wanted, but they are all below 8'
It's misleading to say a fly rod will always pull harder because they will pretty much all blow up if hooped over like a carp rod at the net, you need to use the meat of the butt for fighting fish. I blew up a 12wt that cost £700+ before I realised that stood with sw fly rods too haha
As for having your tips up, if you can get a good fixing in the ground it's sometimes the best way to secure a rod with a locked drag. The rod flex stops it being pulled in, though if you're fishing snags I don't think you should be more than a few feet from your rods and certainly not asleep, however light a sleeper you think you are

In reply to Post #46
You were refering and comparing a 1970's 8oz fly rod.

I would imagine although i could be wrong but these days that when snag fishing a modern day carp rod would be a better tool to use than an 8oz fly rod?

You are now comparing different actions and tapers on carp rods, 3.5lb against 2.75lb that could not be further from your original statement regarding 8oz fly rods!

Gerry I'm presuming you still use these fly rods for snag fishing perhaps you can tell me how you set the eyes out so that you now have a better tool for snag fishing than a modern day carp rod?

2.25lb test. Plenty of bend = plenty of power. (Less and less hair )

In reply to Post #53
yep nice shot too m8