So I have only really dabbled in using zigs half heartedly on one rod at a time probably on half a dozen occasions and never really had any confidence in it.
However, I'm now on a new water which is very deep, 8ft margins down to 26ft in the middle and it can very hard to get a bite on the bottom at times so zigs are a must.
So it looks like I'm going to have to force myself to fish this way.
Do you have any tips when using an adjustable zig?
I'll probably use one of kits so setting up should be straight forward.
However, I'm now on a new water which is very deep, 8ft margins down to 26ft in the middle and it can very hard to get a bite on the bottom at times so zigs are a must.
So it looks like I'm going to have to force myself to fish this way.
Do you have any tips when using an adjustable zig?
I'll probably use one of kits so setting up should be straight forward.
In reply to Post #1
I think you're making a good call with adjustable as experimenting with the length / depth is going to be useful. Warm weather, a foot or two below the surface can be a sweet spot
Bait wise, I'd always suggest avoiding big hookbaits (unless it's bread) . A lad I know swears by a bit of black foam on his zigs and it works really well for him.
Have a play in the margins where you can maybe do a bit of stealthy watching to see how the fish are taking your bait (hopefully ) then use what is successful in the deeper water.
I think you're making a good call with adjustable as experimenting with the length / depth is going to be useful. Warm weather, a foot or two below the surface can be a sweet spot
Bait wise, I'd always suggest avoiding big hookbaits (unless it's bread) . A lad I know swears by a bit of black foam on his zigs and it works really well for him.
Have a play in the margins where you can maybe do a bit of stealthy watching to see how the fish are taking your bait (hopefully ) then use what is successful in the deeper water.
In reply to Post #1
Listen to Ash Bradburys Korda podcast.
Listen to Ash Bradburys Korda podcast.
In reply to Post #1
A few tips.....
Small, very boyant hookbaits, and dont worry about using a decent sized hook (stuff in the water column has legs and fish dont know what a hook is!)
Make your hook length roughtly the same length as the gap between your butt eye and your bail arm. Buy some binoculars and as soon as you wind down so that the zig float goes under, you know the exact distance you need to wind down further to get the hookbait under the surface
If you are worried about tangles, take some pva foam. Wet one side and stick it to the float, then nick the hook in the top of it
Use them on all of your rods and if you are on fish, adjust the depth at least every 60 mins
Keep an eye out for what nature is going. I.e if there is a midge hatch, use a small bit of black foam with a white top.
If your water is clear, black, brown are a good starting point. If it is really coloured, red, pink etc.
Use a straight pointed hook
A few tips.....
Small, very boyant hookbaits, and dont worry about using a decent sized hook (stuff in the water column has legs and fish dont know what a hook is!)
Make your hook length roughtly the same length as the gap between your butt eye and your bail arm. Buy some binoculars and as soon as you wind down so that the zig float goes under, you know the exact distance you need to wind down further to get the hookbait under the surface
If you are worried about tangles, take some pva foam. Wet one side and stick it to the float, then nick the hook in the top of it
Use them on all of your rods and if you are on fish, adjust the depth at least every 60 mins
Keep an eye out for what nature is going. I.e if there is a midge hatch, use a small bit of black foam with a white top.
If your water is clear, black, brown are a good starting point. If it is really coloured, red, pink etc.
Use a straight pointed hook
In reply to Post #1
Search in the rig section for thread "zig float kit" some helpful posts including mine
Search in the rig section for thread "zig float kit" some helpful posts including mine
Commit all rods to it at different depths and if you use adjustables I find it's better to let them crash into the water instead of hitting the clip nicely and feathering it to prevent tangles!
going back years ago when nobody much had heard about them a mate who at the time was fishing a hard syndicate water decided to try one on a rod using a bit of black sponge/foam shaped like beetle
anyway the weather turned nasty and he stayed in his bivvy falling asleep
at around 02.00 it roared off
the point being it was a cloudy pitch black night using a black bait he had 4 fish that night all on the black foam from a very hard syndicate water where 1 or 2 fish would be the average on a week end session
anyway the weather turned nasty and he stayed in his bivvy falling asleep
at around 02.00 it roared off
the point being it was a cloudy pitch black night using a black bait he had 4 fish that night all on the black foam from a very hard syndicate water where 1 or 2 fish would be the average on a week end session
In reply to Post #4
Bang on advice
Bang on advice
In reply to Post #1
Don't over think it. It just works.
On the waters I have fished with zigs I have found you get a mad hour in a 24 hr period and then no action at all for long periods of time.
Only last year. I had three upper twenties in an hour and nothing again till the same feeding spell the following morning,all on zigs.
On the subject of zigs. I get to guest a really nice water a couple of times a year. It's a large shallowish gravel pit,about six feet. Very very silty bottom and the water not clear. Been fishing it for quite a few years now and was thinking of giving zigs ago. Anybody done any good on short zigs on this type of water?
Don't over think it. It just works.
On the waters I have fished with zigs I have found you get a mad hour in a 24 hr period and then no action at all for long periods of time.
Only last year. I had three upper twenties in an hour and nothing again till the same feeding spell the following morning,all on zigs.
On the subject of zigs. I get to guest a really nice water a couple of times a year. It's a large shallowish gravel pit,about six feet. Very very silty bottom and the water not clear. Been fishing it for quite a few years now and was thinking of giving zigs ago. Anybody done any good on short zigs on this type of water?