UK Coarse
Pole · Technique journey
More line between pole tip and float than a tight rig, so you can lay it in, hold off, and fish past the pole's shadow. F1s, shy silvers, a far-shelf you would spook at 16m of carbon over their heads.
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A long line is a rig with a couple of feet or more from connector to float, so you can ship without putting 13m of pole over the fish, and so you can hold the bait back or lay it in on the drop. It is a presentation, not a different pole.
Wind makes it harder. Learn a tight deck rig first.
Shy F1s, canal far-shelf, laying a bait in past the pole's shadow, a bit of tow.
A gale. Carp in the edge (too much slack). Complete beginners still tangling tight rigs.
From the graph
Venue type
Commercial fishery
Day-ticket lakes built for sport: islands, pegs, F1s, carp, and a café. The easiest place to learn, and still a place you can fish very well.
Venue type
Canal
A towpath, a far shelf, boats, and some of the most thoughtful fishing in the country. Bread punch, pole, and waggler still rule.
A starting point, not a shopping list you have to finish. Match the water in front of you.
A pole you can hold, elastic to match, a dotted float, a short hooklength.
On the peg
A pot, then lay the long line over it — do not slap 16m of carbon onto their heads.
Extra line to the float, still plumbed, still marked. Practise shipping without a bird's nest.
Far shelf, a shy F1 line, past an aerator you would otherwise shade.
Laid in, held, or eased. Depth still matters.
If they want a tight rig, use one. Stretch the line only when they want it.
Manageable wind. Clear, spooky fish.
Ship to the mark, feed, then lay the long line in so the float settles on the spot without the pole over it. Hold or ease. Strike by lifting, picking up the extra slack.
Starting routine
0–10 min
Get a bait in the water on the line you intend to fish. Do not search the whole venue in ten minutes.
10–30 min
A pot, then lay the long line over it — do not slap 16m of carbon onto their heads.
30–60 min
If nothing, change one thing — depth, bait or spot — not three. Read the troubleshooting on this page.
The same dips and holds, with a beat more slack. Do not wait forever.
A fuller lift to pick up the long line.
Net anything with size or spines. Wet hands, unhook, return. A photograph is optional; the fish in the water is not.
A long line in a wind. So much slack you cannot hit them. Skipping the tight-rig basics.
Tangles: too long, or you shipped like a tight rig. Missing: more slack than you thought.
Beginner setup
A foot more line than usual, 11m, maggot, a shy silver line. Not 4m of line 'because long'.
More advanced
Change depth, bait or feed before you change peg.
No linked on-the-bank problems for this method yet.
Catches
Nobody has shared a catch using this technique yet. When someone does, it will show up here — we do not invent anglers or photos.