Waggler Fishing with a Short Piece of Elastic in the Rig 

I think with feeder rigs then powergum is better but on this waggler rig pole elastic is perfect with it well away from the hook length. It's a method I need to try more in the summer with fish upp in the water.

It is interesting. This video has thrown up a number of ideas regarding incorporating power gum or pole elastic into various float and leger rigs. On my long list of videos to do there is at least one on persuading chub to take a legered bait; quite when I'll do it I don't know but eventually!

@@MarkWintleFishing As you are interested, here's something else concerning hooking Chub on a leger rig. I have found that if you use a light bobbin ( I make my own) in conjunction with a quiver tip you can time the strike better. Typically I have about a 12 inch drop ( the balance against the flow is controlled with shot and fine tuning with AAA BB etc is possible) then watch the tip as usual. When you get a tap, watch the bobbin. Very often it dithers around as the Chub mouths the bait but eventually, many times you will get a good positive lift and hook the Chub. I use this a great deal on the Stour but obviously far less on the Avon where often a bolt rig is the only real way due to the flow and drifting rubbish ( not a nice ) way to fish. Many years ago I came across Terry Lampard at Cut Mill above Sturminster Newton using a bottle top but doing roughly the same ( about 1980) so it's hardly my idea but you don't see many people doing it. Try it. It works!

I've achieved a similar thing with a bow as well as holding some spare line in my left hand. Come th esummer I'll do a proper video on this.

@@MarkWintleFishing Yes I've done that as well. The bobbin allows you to be a little more relaxed though. The other thing I do when not using a bobbin is to gently move the rod towards the fish when you get a knock essentially reducing the resistance. All these things work to some extent but the bobbin is best for my money.

I think the opposite approach may be better for grayling; I use a more powerful rod, small hooks (18 or 20) that are usually barbless (much easier top unhook on the bank) and strike hard and play the fish hard. I think the problem with grayling is that their mouths are very tough so the common approach of using realtive thick wire barbed hooks often means that the hook hasn't penetrated properly hence them coming adrift. With skimmers and roach the mouths are much softer so the hook is more likely to pull out which the use of elastic tries to address.

Think of it as thought-provoking idea. I've now used it three times, When lots of very small fish (ones of an ounce or less) are about I tended to miss some bites but not when the fish were 3oz to a pound. I do have some very soft rods ie Microlites but playing the fish isn't quite the same. I suspect I won't use the elastic generally but may try it again in teh summer for up in the water tare fishing.

Ones sold through the shop were signed though not always by Ivan! I have a copy of his Ivan Marks on Floatfishing that is signed (genuine signature).

@@MarkWintleFishing oh well. No way to know if it’s genuine.

Contact me via FB or the email on my YT home page and I'll let you see the genuine article. The chances are that the signature you have is genuine.

I've just been using loop to loop but I can't see why using a knot (tucked blood knot or Grinner) wouldn't work just as well.

@@MarkWintleFishing thanks - will give this a go. take care

I haven't had any tangles though I'd caution against casting into a facing wind. I feather the float down which tends to straighten out the rig.

The main line to the elastic is 2lb Maxima which breaks at nearly 3lbs, then the elastic which breaks at 2lbs, then finer line to the hook length at 1.5lbs, then a 1lb hook length, so the line shouldn't break above the elastic. The elastic won't have the same effect above the float - it will cushion the strike against the float but not against the fish. It's not a rig I would use for big fish, or with heavy tackle or in snaggy situations.