We all know how good hemp is for catching big roach on rivers, but too many anglers shy away from using it on the hook. They claim that they miss too many bites, or don’t even get any in the first place, and they struggle to hook it properly.
Hemp is one of those baits that’s either brilliant or terrible but, on rivers like my local Warwickshire Avon, it always plays a part in my attack. As little as 30 minutes of catching on it can be enough to make your final catch a lot bigger.
I always expect to catch roach on hemp when I fish it, but I never totally rely on it. It’s a bait which, on its day, can massively increase your catch rate, but there are many times when you can catch just as quickly or even faster on other lines. So don’t think you’re going to empty the river every time you use it.
On arriving at my swim, I like to work out if and when hemp can play a part. If I decide that I will put a hemp line in, then on most occasions I like to fish it as far away from my other lines as possible, which usually means at 14.5m or 16m on the pole. However, there are other times when it can be fished shorter or over groundbait.
Timing is also key, and I’d never go straight on my hemp line at the start after feeding because it’s important for the roach to gain confidence in the bait. Confidently feeding fish are far less wary and therefore much easier to catch. At least two hours of feeding is needed before I’d consider taking a look.
Where rigs are concerned, I have two ready to go, both offering entirely different ways of presenting the bait. If the fishing is good, a rig with an olivette and droppers is very positive, so I can catch quicker, but if things are trickier, a much lighter float with small strung-out shot will work best. Both rigs have an Edge Tackle Fluorocarbon Pure hooklength to a size 18 or 20 Edge Tackle Hemp hook, which has a wide gape to help with hooking the seed securely.
Starting depth for me is always 3ins off bottom. My thinking being that the fish have gained confidence from feeding on loose fed hemp on the bottom merely have to lift their chins up and suck in the falling hookbait, leaving no time for them to inspect it.
Opening feed is a big pot of hemp, or, in shallow swims, with a little crushed hemp mixed in. After this, I loose feed hemp over a large area. Only when I start to fish the line will I “tidy it up” feeding over a much tighter area in which I then present the rig.
Amounts fed are very positive, as I want to be sure that the hemp is getting to the bottom and not being picked off by little fish. Feed just 10 grains each time, and you can never be certain what’s reaching the better roach, so half a pouch each time, gives me peace of mind.
Another downside of light feeding is that it can cause the fish to come off the bottom and feed at all levels, whereas heavier feeding helps pin the fish close to the deck where I want them.
Top Tips For Fishing with Hemp
Try crushed hemp – I begin by feeding a big pot of hemp, but if the swim is shallow (less than 7ft deep) then I’ll also pot in crushed hemp, which helps pull fish in from a long way downstream.
Set up a bagging rig – When you’re catching quickly, your rigs must be positive. My favourite float is a 0.6g Sensas Lazio using an olivette and half-a-dozen No 11 Stotz as droppers.
Add some finesse – If a lighter touch is required, I’ll switch to a 0.4g DH23 or DH17 float with No11 Stotz as a tapered bulk. This allows for minimal resistance in the rig and a slower fall of the bait.
Feed positively – There’s no point in feeding a small amount of hemp or small fish like dace and bleak will pick it off. I feed half a pouch every minute or two, so it’s getting to the deck.
Hook hemp with ease – The most efficient way to hook hemp is to pierce the top of the seed with a baiting needle and feed the hook through, so the point then sticks out of the slit.
Opt for fluorocarbon – Although I use a mono mainline, my hooklength for hemp is Edge Tackle Fluorocarbon in 0.07mm or 0.08mm diameters. This is almost invisible to big, wary roach.
This article first appeared in October 18th 2022 issue of Angling Times.
