How to catch fish – without looking

You can catch fish just by using your sense of touch.

 

 Really!

 

It’s  pretty exciting to feel what the fish are doing and to strike and catch a fish without even looking at your rod….it can be done…

…not only that but it’s a lot more reliable than waiting for the fish to hook itself!

 

I call this technique “touch fishing” and it simply uses the rod to do all the talking…and tell you what the fish is doing. I use this when I’m targeting fish up to about one or two kilos…but it has worked on much bigger fish.

 

You just need a light graphite rod with a cork handle. 

 

Why?

 

Because graphite is a light, stiff material that will radiate the knocks, hits and pulls of a fish through to your hand.

 

Fibreglass on the other hand is very flexible and absorbes a lot of these things.

 

A fibreglass rod won’t tell you as much!

 

Likewise,  cork is a light, stiff material that carries the feel from the rod, through the butt (handle) directly to your hand without much loss of feel.

 

EVA (foam) butts on the other hand are spongy and absorb the vibrations so don’t get to feel them.

 

All said, a graphite rod with cork butt will absolutely “blab” on everything that’s happeninga fibreglass rod ‘aint tellin nobody nothin!

I have sat on the bank of an esturary touch fishing for trevally. I could feel when a fish pulled and dropped the bait and I knew when to strike when the fish had the bait in its mouth…the technique works…and its good fun to have this much “data” coming through to your hand!

 

So what’s the set up for touch fishing?

 

Start with a light weight graphite rod of 2 to 2.3metres… longer rods don’t balance in the hand quite as well.

 

The rod should have a cork butt and suit line weighs of 2 to 4 kg.

 

The reel to suit this is in the 2000 to 3000 range and not be heavy.

 

When the reel is fixed in place it should balance the rod so it lies in your hand without tipping too far forward or back.

 

The best line to use is braid, which has almost no stretch. This will put you in direct contact with the fish…

….having said this I have tended toward good quality monofilament in recent years as it’s stretch and toughness help manage fish in rocky spots. Sharp rocks, oyster and mussel clusters will cut braid in an instant…mono is more abrasion resistant…and it’s been tested!

 

So as a start, go with mono until you get a little experience and then try braid if you want to increase sensitivity.

 

You terminal tackle (hooks and sinkers) are simple. A small hook to suit the bait and fish and a running sinker. I use berley cages as my sinker but I set them up in a “running” arrangement so the line passes through them. This running set up means you can feel the pulls and hits of the fish as it touches the baitthis is where the touch comes from.

 

Once you’ve set up your rod and start fishing make sure you  hold your rod…lightly.

 

You’ll hold your rod almost the same way as usual but you’ll do it so it balances in your hand without a strong grip.

 

The way to do this is to open your hand, face the palm to the sky, spread your fingers and push the “reel arm” (it’s the stem from the body of the reel that connects it to the rod)  between your middle finger and ring finger.

 

You’ll be able to hold your rod with an open hand and it will sit on your palm comfortable.  I usually close my hand a little but don’t squeeze the grip. When you’re doing it properly the rod is balance in your hand, angled slightly towards the water.

Touch fishing can be done when you’re sitting or standing but I usually do it sitting – just to be more comfortable.

 

So now hold the rod this way after each cast…it gets exciting when you start to get bites…even very small ones…and you feel the knocks and tiny pulls on the rod.

 

You’re not holding the rod tight so when a fish pulls you give a bitthis way the fish doesn’t get any resistance and feels safe enough to stay around the bait.

 

The fish will often lift and drop the bait as they taste it. You will feel this but don’t strike yet…you want the hook in the fish’s mouth and this won’t happen till it commits to taking the bait.

 

Once you feel a pull on the line that lasts for a few seconds…strike!

 

You don’t have to strike hard, just enough to pick up the slack line and set the hook in the fishes mouth. ..

…then you’re in…

 

and it’s a pretty good feeling!

 

What you’ve done is let your sense of touch guide you …and it’s better than any bite alarm, and twice as much fun!!!

 

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