Four Rivers / VierStromen
(Fly)Fishing the lowlands

Fishing on the bottom

On this page as in real life I don't really make a distinction between fishing a swim feeder, ledgering traditional style or modern style self-hook systems. To me it is all fishing for fish that stay close to the bottom. The targeted fish species for all of these methods are: bream (upwards to 60 cm on the rivers), barbel (60 plus) and to a lesser extent carp.

As with all fishing techniques the main policy is KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid. In other words, more is only too often less. The simpler the rig the less problems. This is especially true on the rivers where undercurrents can lay wonderful knots.

Swim Feeder fishing

Swim feeder fishing is very popular in the Netherlands indeed. That is because Dutch waters are, or were, a haven for bream and bream are most easily caught using a swim feeder rig. By the way the swim feeder most often used in The Netherlands is a short section of open-ended tube made of a metal mesh with a lead strip attached. The idea is to fill the tube with groundbait and use it as casting weight. That way the hook bait is always near the groundbait. See the picture below for a small collection of swim feeders.
The humidity of the groundbait determines its stickiness and compactness. It is very well possible to mix a bait that can withstand several minutes of brutal current without being washed away. And there is almost no limit on the extra weight that can be attached to the swimfeeder (the limit is what your fishing rod is able to cast without breaking). Taken together this makes using a swim feeder an effective method for bottom fishing on the rivers.

Hook line systems

I always use a sliding system whereby the swimfeeder can move freely over the main line. I do use an anti tangle boom to distribute the weight. I almost always attaches a swivel directly to the main line, no shock absorber or leader, because I use .14 gel spun line (referred to as Dyneema in Dutch although that is a brand name) which is plenty strong and I only need one knot (swivel to main line) instead of two.
The swivel is attached to the main line using a loop made with a three-turn water knot. Although very strong this construction is vulnerable on the swivel's eye where line meets steel. I use a rubber bead to protect this area, just to feel safe and as you know confidence is the Holy Grail of fishing.

In another rig the feeder hangs in a loop in the main line. The feeder can move the length of the loop but not more. A lot of anglers that this rig provides more control over the feeder. Personally I think that both systems work and work well. In the end it is a matter of preference.

Swivel

As mentioned before I use a swivel between the main line and the hook line and I feel that this is important. The reason is the current. If your bait is even a bit asymmetrical the current will spin it. Without the swivel this will result in a knotted hook line.

Hook line

The hook line can be surprisingly thick. The fish are not shy or conditioned on the rivers and strong hook lines boost confidence. .14 nylon is as fine as I will go but more often then not I use .16 nylon or .20 fluorocarbon.
The length of the hook line depends on the circumstances but will typically be between 20 and 50 cm. It is possible to tune the rig for a specific kind of fish by varying the length of the hook line. For instance a bream is a bottom dweller that is not really fast: short hook line. Whereas an ide is a hunter that;likes a moving target: use a long hook line that moves in the current. Barbel sits more or less in the middle, some times they hunt sometimes they shovel. But this is only tuning if you realy want to target a specific kind of fish you should consider fishing method, swim selection and bait as well as the length of the hook line.
The give you an idea I usually start with a 30 cm hook line and see what happens. When I catch fish that swallowed the hook I shorten the hook line and or go a size bigger with my hook. If I get no takes I lengthen the hook line and or take a hook size smaller.

Hooks

To state the obvious: all hooks work. If you have a specific brand you like, stick with it. Remember confidence is king.
With that out of the way there are some comments I like to make. The first one is about hook length. A long shaft makes it easy to de-hook a fish and in general hold the hook, but is also gives the fish leverage and because I fish barbless I tend to use short hooks.
A second remark is about size. The most important thing is that the point of the hook is free from the bait used. This means that the hook size must be adapted to the bait size. In real life this means up to a size 12 or 10 for bream and 8 for barbel, something like that.

Line

I use .14 gel spun or .22 nylon as my main line. Experience has told me that there is not a fish in the river that can pull harder than the breaking strain of these lines. However there are swims that demand a thicker line. Musselbanks and stones may demand the use of a heavier line.

swim feeders

I use feeders between 30 and 60 grams depending on the current. This is the weight of the empty feeder, by the way. I have them up to 150 grams. Swims most suitable for feeder fishing have a smooth sandy bottom with some stones and ditches (this is not true for barbel, see Self hook systems below). These are never found in the main current. A feeder of moderate weight will 'walk' across the bottom but it will not be swept away. It will move until it finds a hole or a ditch and then stay there. The beauty is that these are the places the fish congregate as well. Using a relatively light feeder works under circumstances as an automatic fish finder system.
I have been told that anglers, who prefer feeder fishing above all other methods, do not like river fishing because of this walking of the feeders. They want to fish one spot all the time to build a concentration of ground bait. This can only be achieved when the feeder stays in one spot and doesn't wander of. If you try to do this on a river you will soon notice that you need ludicrous weights and that even then the feeder moves from time to time.
Because of this the technique must be quite the opposite: go light and let it move. You only need enough weight to let the feeder rest on the bottom.

A small collection of swimfeeders: closed, 20 grams open and 40 grams open.
Notice the rubberbands used to attach the feeders.
They function as shockabsorbers when a feeder hits the water.

I use feeders with a relatively small diameter. My theory is that the quantity of groundbait is not what is important it is its smell. That is why I use small feeders to deliver a truly compact, long lasting very smelly groundbait. That will create a smelly trail in the water, which attracts the fish without actually feeding them. Such a trail will cover an area much larger then would be possible using ordinary groundbait.
The biggest advantage of using a small feeder is that the pressure from the current on it is less. This means that it can be lighter which in turn means that a lighter rod can be used and a lighter rod means that the bait indicator shows even the pre-takes and gives more 'feel' during runs.

Rod

Which takes me to the rod to use. I prefer a soft-ish rod because it makes the fight a lot easier, especially when using gel spun line, but also because it suits my style of casting. My casting style is more flowing than it is explosive. Having said that any rod designed for feeder fishing classed as medium/heavy will do. It needs bit of backbone but it shouldn't be as stiff as a board.
What is important is the length of the rod: it should be about 4 meters long. This is important because almost all riverbanks are protected by rocks and stones that are very sharp. You will need the length to steer the fish clear of these rocks (and don't worry I have a landing net with a 3 meter handle). Another advantage of a long rod is that more line can be kept free from the water while fishing. This means less line that is under pressure from the current, the better a take can be seen.

The complete swim feeder outfit

My ideal swim feeder outfit will look something like this:

Ledgering

Ledgering is fishing with a lead weight close to the hook. In Dutch this method is referred to as fishing a 'bottomlead' which covers the technique nicely. The idea is to use a lead weight to get the hook bait down to the bottom and to use the rod's tip to show takes.
At first glance feeder fishing might seem the better option: the groundbait is always at the right place. But especially in currents ledgering has its moments. The trick is to use lost of particle groundbait like maggots, casters, corn etc. and create a food trail in the water by feeding little often. Say, a handful every 30 seconds. The fish will start to swim up this trail all you have to do is keep the hook bait in the trail.

From the spring collection the range 20 to 20 grams.
Note the swivels: large and effective.

The skipping lead

A different technique, and one that can be done while wading, is to use a small lead to search the bottom for fish. To do this take a, say 20 grams lead. In itself this lead is not heavy enough to pin the hook bait to the bottom at one spot but it will keep it down when it is allowed to move.
The trick is to cast the lead upstream, allow it to sink and use the pressure on the line from the current to 'walk' the lead over the bottom. If you pull on the line the pressure will increase, giving line will lower the pressure.
When it moves like that it will stay longer in those places that attract fish like ditches, small holes, rocks etc., and when it stays to long in one spot a light pull on the line will start it moving again.

Rod

I use my medium feeder for this technique but it is possible to use an even lighter rod, like a match rod. Most important is the length of the rod. Choose a rod that is close to or just over 4 meter. This length will give you a lot of line control.

Line

I use the same line I use for feeder fishing but that is because I use the same reel. It should be possible to use a lighter line since the weights used are less and the swims tend to be less risky. You can use either nylon or gel spun line.

Rig and hook line

The rig is basic: the lead runs free over the main line. The main line is attached to a swivel with a loop made with a three-turn water knot. The hook line is attached to the other end of the swivel also using a loop. I use an anti tangle boom to attach the lead. This is not strictly necessary but because with this technique the lead tends to move a lot I think that the line will easily wear through just above the swivel. This means that I spend a lot of time checking the main line instead of fishing. So, and there is the all-important confidence again, I use an anti tangle boom.
The hook line should be between 20 and a meter long and .14 or .18 in diameter. The hook size can range from #14 to #10.
If you have read the chapter on feeder fishing you might have noticed that this is almost the same rig. That is by design, it simply means that I can switch from one technique to the other by exchanging the feeder for a lead weight.

When to use

Broadly speaking ledgering works best when fishing for a fish that moves around a lot, say: ide and roach. But circumstances play a role to. Ledgering works best in shallow water. That is the most fun to because it makes wading possible. So, if you want to target ide and roach and you want to do so in shallow, sheltered water and you brought your waders then try ledgering. In all other cases I would go for feeder fishing.

Ledgering the complete set

My preferred ledgering kit looks like this:

Fixed lead system

As the name suggests the lead is not free to move in this rig. In fact it is relied upon to set the hook. The idea is that the fish take the bait and swim away. When they do they will feel the hook and or the weight of the lead, panic and try to bolt of, hooking themselves in the process. Because of this these rigs are also refered to as bolt-rigs.
Because the weight of the hook is used to set the hook it cannot be subtle. The lightest weight I use is 90 grams, my most used weight is 125 grams. Luckily this is not a problem because river fish is not line shy.

The lead weight is attached to the line using what is called a safety clip. This is a piece of plastic that allows the fish to loose the weight if the main line snaps. This is important because the heavy weight could pin a fish to the bottom where it is unable to feed and would die. These safety clips can be bought in any sportfishing shop and I have them on board as well.

Hook line

This rig works extremely well and selective for barbel on the rivers. This means that the hook line cannot be too subtle. I tend to go for .25 to .35 nylon. I know this seems excessive but barbel is out there in the full current, which means that all kinds of things can be expected. The current washes everything down to sea: tree branches, plastic bags, clothing, bits of wood, assorted plastic containers etc. Believe me a plastic bag in a current of 7 km per hour will feel like a ton and you will be grateful for a hefty hook line. Besides the barbel doesn't mind so a heavy hook line is a confidence booster.
And there is another reason. A thick hook line will help to keep the bait stable in the current. Barbel is not really fast it won't be able to snatch a bait that is dancing in the current.
For this reason hook lines should also be short. I use 20 cm.

Leader shockabsorber

Because of the heavy weights used a leader might be a good idea. My standard .22 nylon and .14 gel spun will work fine for the main line but may be a touch light for the leader. A leader is a length of around twice a rod's length, of heavy line that is knotted to the main line. Its purpose is to absorb the forces that develop during casting and especially when the weight hits the water. If you want to use a leader I suggest .30 nylon because it will stretch and absorb the forces more easily than gel spun.

The fixed lead set

My fixed lead set looks like this: