Odd Happenings

[Alan-Murphy]

Hi all

Just back from a session on my local reservoir, Was set up for 10 am, Nothing happened until around 1, Drop off fell off, I went and picked up the rod but no line was coming off the reel, I struck anyway just in case and nothing, Dropped run i assumed, So i re cast and set the drop off up again, About 15 mins later same thing again, Went to the rod picked it up, No line coming off so i struck again just to be safe, Again nothing there, This happened 5 times altogether, At first i put it down to maybe the trout in the lake grabbing the bait and letting it go, Then i was wondering maybe the wind is knocking the line out of the drop off line gate, As it was a bit windy at times.

So then i said sod it, Ill fish off the baitrunner, All was good for a half hour or so, Then a single beep caught my attention, I put it down to the baitrunner settling, 10 minutes later another single beep, Again i went to the rod opened the bail arm and no line was coming off so i put it back on the rest, this single beep thing was happening for a good hour , It could happen twice in 10 minutes, Then nothing for a half hour, Then 4 times over 15 minutes, It was doing my head in!! It was definitely nothing to do with the wind or drift on the lake because it was blowing a bit and not a beep sounded, But when it was calm it was happening

Anyone any ideas what could be causing this?

[Woodsy]

I think line bite fins brushing against the line.

[David Vaissiere]

yep, sounds like liners to me

[Alan-Murphy]

Im guessing its liners from the Trout and Roach in the reservoir then?

No way could a Pike be so close to my popped up Smelt and not take it

Cheers

[Andrew]

aint eels famous for this ? never had it happen quite as much in one session as you though Alan.

[MarkBerrisford]

its trout pecking at the baits

[Alan-Murphy]

There is supposed to be eels in the lake too, But have never seen one.

There is a lot of trout though, It was doing my head in, I examined the bait for any bite or teeth marks and there was nothing?

[bencarvosso]

There is supposed to be eels in the lake too, But have never seen one.

There is a lot of trout though, It was doing my head in, I examined the bait for any bite or teeth marks and there was nothing?

i was going to say crays as the res is full of them, but no bite marks maybe rules that out

[CraigG]

Possibly undertow?

[Alan-Murphy]

There is supposed to be eels in the lake too, But have never seen one.

There is a lot of trout though, It was doing my head in, I examined the bait for any bite or teeth marks and there was nothing?

i was going to say crays as the res is full of them, but no bite marks maybe rules that out

I had my baits popped up too, So i think that rules crays out

[DavyMc]

its trout pecking at the baits

would say the same, sometimes there are no marks when they been sucking at them

had to go on big tough skinned baits where I'm fishing just no peace from the troot on small or soft deads..

terrible can't get a sleep

[Andrew]

There is supposed to be eels in the lake too, But have never seen one.

There is a lot of trout though, It was doing my head in, I examined the bait for any bite or teeth marks and there was nothing?

i was going to say crays as the res is full of them, but no bite marks maybe rules that out

I had my baits popped up too, So i think that rules crays out

Crays can still get popped up baits. so might be getting beeps from them trying to get at it.

[Alan-Murphy]

Really? I didn't know that, I thought popping baits up was crayfish-proof

Its pretty annoying, Dont think there's anyway around it though

[Andrew]

Ive never experienced them myself but thats what ive heard.

if your getting them a lot you could try leave it, the wee b******s sometimes hold on to the bait as yer reeling it in. at least you can confirm if it is crays

[Mr T]

Be thankful you haven't had to put up with Crays!

They are a pain in the a@@@ around here. They will get to a bait popped up off the bottom, if you go whole length of trace up in the water column your baits will last longer!
We've just found that you need to change your baits more regularly.

And for what it's worth I don't think I've ever had Cray pull line out of a clip.

(My money's on the Eel's face)

[Ash m]

Crays are w**k! Simple as that! They can mess up and tie rigs in knots nick yer bait and f**k you off!

[Slug]

The trout in my local can cause this at times especially if its over and over again with no marks. Try putting a small chunk out on single hook see if it is a trout.

[The predator]

Crayfish can swim!!!!!!

[Crackoff]

I bet it was the phantom line plucke’r
My mate used to use black line says he didn’t get line pluckr’s

Grant

[Ian Crook]

My bet would be undertow, especially on a reservoir, can be some strong underwater currents. Easy way to check is to set your drop off slack and watch it, any bite, Cray, etc will cause a slight jump whereas undertow will slowly lift until it pops.

[Andy Macfarlane]

Really? I didn't know that, I thought popping baits up was crayfish-proof

Nah mate, try fishing loch Ken for a couple of days and you'll really lose the rag with the buggers. I was fishing a 2.5 foot trace with pop-ups and I was still getting harassed. I ended up fishing bits of eel under float rigs and float paternosters 6 feet off the bottom. So much so, if I went back, I'd fish for perch an' coarse species.

Little bleeps could be lots of things.
Before you even look at the water, what are your banksticks like? If they wobble a bit you'll have to sort that to begin with. I suggest some Dinsmore Powerdrives or similar.
Then look at your indicators. Down they only move up and down or is there some side-to-side movement? If there is, sort that too.
Then go to your line clip and make sure it's got a hold of the line properly. Then the head of the indicator itself. You want that tight against your reels so there's no room for it to move upwards. It should pull out or drop back and that's all.
What about the sensitivity of your alarms themselves. Rollers are less likely to give false bleeps than tremor switches. If it's the latter, perhaps turn the sensitivity down a tad.
What about your rods? Are you pointing your tips at the bait? If the line is coming off the tips at an angle, a little movement on the tip might result in a bleep.
Then look at your line. You want braid or a good mono with little give on it.
Now look at your rig. Are you using a heavy enough weight to pin your baits where they are. I'll fish 3-4oz regardless of distance.
What's the bottom like? Are you in weeds, silt, fishing against a gradient. In other words, could your weight be settling or moving.
Once you're happy that there's no room for false indications, then you look at fish. I would think single bleeps are indeed liners as has been suggested. If it's actual bites, top of the list are trout and eels.
If after you've tried all of the above and your baits are still completely intact, so long as your indicators haven't dropped off, I wouldn't be too concerned about single bleeps. It's good to be vigilant but we all get the odd blip.