Ever had a run where the line is flying off the reel, you pick up the rod and cant stop him, he's moving at such a pace? Then you turn him, start pumping back and your weeded?….another lost fish!!

Wherever there’s any quantity of weed in the lake or river your fishing, this can be a real danger. There is, however, a couple of things you can try to edge the bets in your favour. Firstly, don’t let the fish gather any speed. Secondly, keep the fish on a shorter line as possible. Here is how I fish 90% of the time, on bottom baits, close to weed.

1. I do not fish super tight lines to the lead, as the first indication is a full-blooded run.
2. I always try to fish with a drop on the indicator, about 4" is ideal. The strength of wind and tow can be a factor here, so try to balance the swinger to suit. Use the lightest setting you can, as line bites count. If you know there are fish in your swim, this will boost confidence.
3. Lock your rods in position, these have to be rock solid. I use banksticks, instead of a pod, and gripping back rests, such as those supplied by Solar or John Roberts. These prevent the rod flying off into the lake!
4. Screw your spool clutch or baitrunner down, so that the fish can only take line begrudgingly.
5. Clip the line above the reel. It's surprising how few fish pull the line from the clip. It also gives you a few more inches of indication, as the line from the clip is higher than from the bailarm roller. Also if you are clipped you will be able to tell if the lead has been moved, following a line bite.

Hopefully now when you get a run, the indicator will whack up to the rod, Mr Carp hits the rock solid set-up and cant gather much speed, therefore on the nylon line he’s bungee jumping, or the tight baitrunner slows him down. Whichever it's less distance to bring him back, or should I say less weed he’s run through. Certainly more so than if using a light spool clutch, baitrunner setting.

When fishing to snags such as tree branches, very thick weed, reeds etc, inches can be vital, ask any nice lady!! (Do you know any? – Ed) I have the rods set up exactly the same, rock solid, but this time I screw the spool clutch right down and don’t use the baitrunners (disengage them). I set the anti-reverse on, and have the rods point directly to the bait. I use the heaviest indicators Ive got and ensure I have as much of the stretch out of the line as I can. There are times I am paranoid about tight lines, but if the bait is up against these kind of snags you have no other option, unless you are stalking. I use a minimum of 12Lb line in these situations, the heavier the better.

One final, but very important point, when I fish this way I sit right on the rods, there is no room for error, and wandering off down the lake for a chat could be disastrous.

A quick note about my set-up. I use coinslotted buzzer bars, banksticks and a stabiliser that is fixed to the back bankstick.