Well I won it in a raffle :D having seen how successful pole fishing is in Malta I was going to get one anyway, it is up to 13m long, & has come with red solid elastic inside it. Reading the literature it seems that the elastics come in various "breaking strains", what would you suggest I would need for catching mullet, bream etc in Malta? Also there are ready made pole traces available on e-bay which have floats weights hooks already attached, they seem to vary between 3lbs breaking strain & 5.5lbs breaking strain with hooks varying from size 18 up to size 12, what size hooks would you say I need to use? & what breaking strain monofilament. Once I have got all this, all I have to do is learn to use it! :D
blueskip
pole elastic fishing is one of the ways the english fish carp eh?
with a put over rod and stuff! it's good for mullet fishing in Malta and if the pole is sensitive enough you can go down to 0.08mm for mullet!
great to have a 13mtr since you can fish mullet in some deep places like the cottonera area and surroundings.
my sort of fishing, enjoy. used to do it a lot in uk.
I think I need to undertake a bodybuilding course to handle a 13m pole! & I need another pair of glasses to see 13m in the distance!
blueskip
the idea behind pole fishing was for still waters and slow running rivers, with about 5mtr rigs, then unship the pole to 5 mtrs when fish is hooked, i had toyed with the idea of an 11mtr or 12 mtr pole but really a 5 or 6 mtr tele pole is more suited to sea fishing, the main one i use is 5mtr, 300grms and is great for shore fishing. its easy to make your own pole rigs, pick a float and of you go. bye the way the french are masters of pole fishing, its a treat to watch them.
I can make it 5 mts if I want to, its in loads of sections that you just "plug in", so if you want it 6 mts long, you plug in the top 6 sections only. I watched some of you guys last year when Placebo & I were catching garfish, & they had some very nice bream close in using the pole.
I will practice on the small stuff from the jetty in Marsascala before I venture into the open sea with it, it will be the not striking that will be difficult to control, apparently you push down with the hand & just let the pole swivel in the left hand so that the tip rises. That will be similar to fishing a dry fly, where you see the fish take the fly, then you pause & just raise the rod tip to connect, cant wait to try it out!
blueskip
would love to see the french pole fishing. We are also good in Malta!
sometimes we fish with 9mtr poles rigged up with 0.10 monos and landing mullets in the 1kg range using a landing net but all on your own. Believe me sometimes you end up breathless!
blueskip next time you come we do pole fishing if you like.
Of course we will go pole fishing together, Day1 Marsascala Jetty getting used to it catching small wrasse & bream, then from Day2 the wide open sea catching the big ones :D Do you only use bread/paste as bait? or can you use small korea worm or calamari, from what I have seen of the dough bait its 1 fish in every 100 drops down, it must be easier with bits of worm, that doesn't fall off, or dont the fish eat the worms/shrimps?
blueskip
it's completely different in Malta! pole fishing is a good method of speed fishing.
it's a good practice for fishing mullett when the fish are much closer to shores.
in this method one can use bread flake or else bread paste (flake is better than paste when there is no small fish taking away the natural looking flake)
you can also use worms but ideally these are fished on running ledgering or other ledgering methods.
remember that most nice sized fish caught on poles are mostly caught on bread.
at night times poles are used for bigger breams which come closer to shores.
you can do a lot of different fishing just with a pole.
I prefer using korea worms for pole fishing - its good for vopi / paezan / sawrell and other small fish. Shimps are also good but unless you put salt they are too soft imo. bread is used for mullet and xilep.
Sorry to correct you fish-noob but bread is a universal bait.Every fish eats bread but not every fish bite on worms and shrimps.Always remember that.The most important thing when using bread is to prepare it for what type of fish you are targeting and if there are small fish around like placebo said.When I use shrimps I never use salt because when you use them soft the hook penetrates much easier.The important thing is that you have a good hook. ;)
placebo, i agree the maltese are good with a pole, but when we talk about long poles ie, 11-12-13 and even 15mtrs its a different ball game, i mentioned the french, the italians and the english have all been world champions all using the long pole, the floats are different most are less than 1 gram, but lets face it, the fish they target are different, i learnt to use the long pole by my uncle who fished in the world championships, so i know a little about it, in my humble opinion a long pole would be of no use in sea fishing, 9 and maybe 10 mtrs is fine.
it is good ......i know some friends who tried it and it is good for mullet in some deep places.
it's not very practical that's what i think ..... like the way we discussed as per fly fishing!
why do they actually use the long pole? what are the advantages?
in my opinion 11 - 13 mtr poles are to be used in 8-9mtr deep sea.
the advantages of pole fishing is that you are fishing directly on the float and when you strike you have no loose mono in water.
Else you can always use the running float method on a reel rod.
Else you can always use the running float method on a reel rod.....I was thinking the same thing.Instead of long poles you can fish with the running float method,or maybe they dont use this method?
The problem I have found using a float in the sea with a normal float rod, is that there is always some wind & tide, & its very difficult to get your float in EXACTLY that spot. >:( When I watched the guys fishing with the pole, they drop it in exactly the same spot every time, & because the tip of the pole is directly above the float, you can keep it in the same place. My float drifts one direction in the wind. & another in the swell, meaning that its never quite where I want it to be, & if you are groundbaiting that's no good to you at all, I intend to practice it a bit before I come in my local marina, & see if I can be just a little more familiar with it before I give it the "big test" in Malta! 8)
hi spitec ;) i stand to be corrected, for sure!! when using shrimps at least i put a very small piece at the end of the hook so i can hook immedeatly because when they start playing aroung with it, expecially vopi they just pluck it off. worms i found better because they have a hard time pulling that off and i have a much better chance of a strike. regarding bread i know that every fish eats it. lol. i just dont like it mebbe because it either comes too soft or when making the farka for mullet it ends up as a big disaster.. this is just saying from my limited experience. i have alot and alot to learn and its great.....
Fish-noob, as you said bread is the most effective bait that one can use. You can catch anyfish on it. As regards the way to prepare it, I use golden slices. I go to the factory in San Gwann and buy what is called "RETURN". It will be 3 to 4 days old. I find it the ideal way to prepare the bread or GHAGNA. I take off the crust dip it in water for 3 to 4 seconds, put it in a cloth and squezze, to take out all the water. For sure you will get a good result.
The cloth thing is new, as i think u leave les water in the bread!! great ill try that :)
@ blueskip - to eliminate wind and currents moving your float very quickly there is a small trick.
obviously this when using a running float - as soon as you cast put your rod's tip in the water and lock your reel immediately. This will avoid much slack in the line that will result in a more efficient strike of the fish!
a sinking line is recommended.
.......... but the topis is about pole fishing
blueskip you have hit the nail on the head, the whole idea of the long pole is contact with the float, i remember fishing a match on the river cam in cambridge, (the bob smith trophy) which i won, but the water was only just over 2 feet deep, fishing with an 11mtr pole, the float was 6inches from the tip of my pole, a 0.2gram float and a size 20 hook, by the way my eyesight was a lot better in them days,
long poles are best suited to ponds, lakes, rivers and canals, but not sea fishing, i didnt know of anyone using a pole sea fishing in the uk, but then the shoreline is more suited to beachcasting etc.
You should see the shoreline in Malta 95% are using poles, the other 5% are tourists! ;D
I have seen the differences in catches between the two methods, no comparison, saying that they dont have 300mts of 5ft breakers crashing in, or a stupid mph wind blowing in their faces, its usually like fishing a gravel pit or canal in the UK, only a bloody sight warmer! :D
joking blueskip! it's far more prodcutive using a pole rod!
you can not fish those breams you saw (xilep) on a rod reel.
Actually you can but it's not good to leave such fish in water for many long.
with a reel rod you have to give drag and by doing so it will make the other breams go away for some time and you have to wait a little to catch the next one. You will have to start grounbaiting again and wait until the shoal comes in again.
when we fish pole floats it is in mossy waters and we fish just right on the area where the fish goes up to feed.
such pole (5mtrs ideally) will have to be traced with a 0.20 - 0.25mm line which will enable a lift of a 1kg fish.
that is also the way the kahlija (saddled bream) is fished. This fish is very cunning and by fishing with a reel rod you will make the fish shoal go away for sure.
the thinking is - lifting the fish out of the water ASAP.
When you are here i will explain better. There are times when it's more productive to fish reel rod but other times according also to the type of fish being targeted it's more advantageous using a lifting pole.
On the other hand I think that fishing mullet in some deep places it's still good to try the elastic on the 13mtr poles. I do not think much tried it in Malta but I am sure it will work.
In the menatime we look forward maybe one day we can do an international tournament in Malta and then we will compare!
I like to add with the above, using pole in competitions is much useful especially when fast fishing is practiced
great idea placebo, why not pick out the best from all the clubs and have a comp, then go on to international standards, in my humble opinion this is one thing malta could win, but would take mega organising, sponsorship etc, go for it.
something i would love to be involved in.
You read my post wrong Placebo, what I said was that 95% of shore fishing done in Malta is with the pole, & those who dont fish the pole are tourists, & they dont catch anything because they are using "reel rods" & cant get the bait, or hold the bait, in the exact spot. As you say casting & trying to drag the bait to where the shoal is spooks them & they swim off, with a pole you can drop it on their nose without any diturbance, you cant leger a big bottom bait with a pole, but how often does legering work in Malta, it has never been very successful for me out there, I have only ever caught small stuff on the "reel rod" when using a float, I dont think I have ever had a bite legering! :-[
Blueskip, please note that we do use reel rods during our fishing time. Presently I am fishing for mulett with the reel rod, using the pater noste method, i.e. weight underneath and a hook hanging about half meter up. I am fishing with farka, and can cast about 10 to 15m away. I am finding this method very useful especially where there is shallow water or the sea is very clear.
Good for you, but I have failed miserably compared to the pole fishermen in Malta, ok I have caught plenty of small ones, but I have always been well beaten by the pole fishermen. Using a paternoster with a bottom weight, or a running leger is ideal for use with rod & reel, but when it comes to float fishing you wont beat a pole angler!
I know, because I am very keen on pole fishing. With the pole, the strike is more prompt, where you have no access line. The strike with the will be a shortone not like when you are using the reel rod where you have to have a long strike.
all depends on the place where you're fishing and the type of fish targeted.
Weather conditions also play an important part. Pole fishing is more ideal in mossy waters and when the water is not so clear!
Adrian what is "mossy water"? I would have thought it was good in clearwater as well, casting a float then dragging it back to the exact spot causes more disturbance than dropping the bait straight down surely? so I would have thought that clear water pole fishing would have an advantage over the rod & reel?
I know that the pole anglers in the UK are much more successful than the rod & reel anglers in clear water in lakes & canals, but the rod & reel is better suited to rivers where leger tactics & feeder tactics are favoured. You couldn't use a pole in the sea in the UK the sea is far too rough, the water too dirty, & the tidal movement too fast, it would be fine in a marina, but most marinas wont allow fishing in there anyway. So I am looking forward to trying it out in Malta. ::)
mossy water is my explanation for some rough waters. To be more simple is when the swell is coming in and causes a surf on drop ends of shoreline.
this is wonderful to fish in for breams, mullet and other fish.
In this kind of fishing it is not advisable to ues a net so you will need 0.20mm - 0.25 or 0.30mm line to lift fish without landing nets. For this pole fishing method one needs a thicker pole end on rod.
other fishing method is like fishing in a marina with a 9mtr pole with a very fine tip end (preferably solid)
one can goes down to very thin lines in the likes of 0.10mm - 0.14mm fluorocarbons and fish mullet and maybe some breams (if you are lucky enough not to break line! as breams got sharper teeth)
When you will be in Malta will spend some more time and we can discuss further and maybe try both methods.
or if the weather is fine we go out on the boat as we catch some good fish - and then you forget all about shore fishing!!!!!!!!!!!!!