small deadbaits

im struggling to find any roach deadbaits of a reasonable size, so what is the best way mount a smaller deadbait. do i need a single treble trace or a single hook trace. or does anyone know where to find some deacent sized roach.

get on the canal mate theres plenty in there or there is around me mate

If there very small you could get away with a single hook take a look at this
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.hooklinks.co.uk/pike/rigs/images/singlehook1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.hooklinks.co.uk/pike/rigs/singlehooks.html&usg=__eK8H7Vs5rmVg7qUkrnrxpTBJJVQ=&h=295&w=500&sz=20&hl=en&start=27&um=1&tbnid=o6v2h3wmNuse4M:&tbnh=77&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpike%2Brigs%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4WZPC_enGB344GB345%26sa%3DN%26start%3D20%26um%3D1

this is the rig i use if using for cats if there are pike in the water


That’s were trebles are banned for the catfish mouths. But I like a single treble in the back works well on small baits

was thinking more of the frozen kind mate not the killing kind

doesnt your local tackle shop sell frozen deads they will be in a packet labelled up as course fish i think mate.

ye mate been buying them from there but the size is no good, you get 1 or 2 which are boarderline big enough and the rest are all 4 inch ones this means the bottom treble is in the gill cover and so increases the chances of deep hooking .

have you tried sprats??

ye got some in the freezer, but again you have the size issue plus the skin is so soft, so they only have 1 good cast in them. mostly been using sardine maks, trout and smelt reacently, but the waters im fishing contain lots of roach so they would be a logical choice of deadbait. just need to find some 5-6 inch ones.

smelts rate them very high But my fave cheap one is sardine but has to be kept frozen as very soft

i think the likes of woody will be your best bet on where to target them. have you ever thought of setting a minnow trap on the river? i know its not a roach but it will be the size your after and the smaller ones can be released back into the river, just an idea for you mate.

Stotty wrote:smelts rate them very high But my fave cheap one is sardine but has to be kept frozen as very soft

easy to store though as come in a handy tin....

the tins a bugger to hook up though, but once on its not gunna cast off easily

im sure the pike quite like their teeth!! lol

try shortening the distance between hooks i often use small baits and make my traces to fit the bait and even use size 10 and 12 trebles. ive had some good pike on small baits.

you would think that smaller fish will make up a larger part of a pikes diet, especially dead ones as the smaller fish will be most likely to become ill and die.

survival of the fittest and all that

Your best bet is to make up traces to suit the size of your bait rather than find bait to fit the size of your traces.

The other alternative is a single hook trace through the root tail of the small bait.

i'm gonna get some easy twist and start making my own up i think

That's your best mate.
I started on the Fox predator easy twist wire but then moved up to Fox Carbo flex because these come with crimps and give the rig a nice finish.
If you go for the 2nd option you'll need to buy the crimping tool as well

from what i've heard the crimps can be unreliable can you dispell this

ive never had a crimp fail yet...

I fish with 50lb braid and 30lb traces and got heavily snagged last time out.
The trebles bent open and the crimps stayed solid.
Speaks for itself really.

cheers lads

chief wrote:from what i've heard the crimps can be unreliable can you dispell this

used to twist my ones went over to crimps will not go back just need the right tools for the job

just out of interest, what is the legal position on taking fish for deadbaiting. i assume you could only do this from canals and rivers etc. and obviously not commercials?

cheers

rich c