"This is an exciting technique that catches the fish other methods can't reach. Barbel, Chub and Roach experts tell how to fish it to deadly effect."
An active and versatile way of fishing a moving bait in running water, the rolling leger can be deadly for chub, barbel and roach. It's suitable for all strengths of current, from the rush of the Hampshire Avon to the sedate flow of the Nene.
But for some strange reason the Rolling Ledger is rarely - if ever - used by most anglers these days. Don't be one of them, or you'll miss out on some great sport!
A Rolling Ledger allows you to 'trundle' a Hook Bait in a natural fashion along the river bed. In many swims it's impossible to do this with a Float, perhaps because the depth is very uneven, or the current near the river bed is slower or faster than that at the surface - or even, as in parts of weir pools, moving in a different direction. Or it may be because the fish are sheltering under the cover of water weed, or trees or bushes trailing in the water.
As well as adjusting the weight so the Rig trundles along the bottom, try fishing with just enough weight to hold fast until water pressure or a twitch of the Rod top shifts it. This way you can 'bounce' your Bait down the swim.
Where the river bed is covered in weed or boulders the Rolling Ledger is difficult or impossible to use, because the current continually sweeps your Rig into snags. The ideal swim for the Rolling Ledger is a clean run of more or less even-sized gravel - with a shoal of hungry fish at the end!
It sounds obvious, but a Rolling Ledger only scores when the fish are in the mood to take a moving bait. In general terms, therefore, it works best in Summer, when water temperatures are higher and the fish are actively searching the river bed for food.
In Winter it's more likely to catch in mild spells than on the coldest days when a static Bait is generally more effective. That said, on cold days it can be an excellent way of searching a swim for fish: once you've found where they are it takes but a moment to add a bit of extra weight to convert the Rig to a Static Leger.
Equally, it's a simple matter to take a bit of weight off a Static Rig and set it rolling. So be flexible in your approach and try both a Static Rig and a Rolling Rig until you find the best method for the day.
You don't need any special tackle to fish the Rolling Ledger - just the same Rods, Reels and Lines you use when Quivertipping a static Bait for Barbel, Chub and Roach. Nor do you need any special Rigs. The only thing that's special about the Rolling Ledger is the attention you must pay to the size of the weight.
Using exactly the right size of weight is the key to fishing the Rolling Ledger. For any particular swim, you have to experiment until the weight is just light enough not to hold bottom yet just heavy enough not to be swept away by the current.
Carry plenty of different sized Arlesey Bombs, therefore, plus some BB, AAA and Swan Shot. In a fast current you may need a 1 1/2oz (43g) Arlesey Bomb, while in a slow flow you may need only a couple of BB shot.
As well as allowing finetuning of weight, shot are less likely to snag up if a hooked fish gets weeded. Pinch them on gently and with luck they'll pull off in the weed, leaving you attached only to the fish.
Sometimes adding one or two Shot to the Line just above the Bomb can make all the difference between the Bomb trundling correctly along the bottom and being swept away with the current. Arlesey Bombs sometimes roll too easily, so carry a range of duplicates that have been flattened slightly in a vice.
Best baits for the Rolling Ledger are ones like Luncheon Meat in which you can bury the Hook to avoid catching up on strands of weed.
Find a clean gravel run before you opt for the Rolling Ledger on a heavily weeded river.
The best Baits are those that enable you to bury the Hook in them. If you fish with the Hook point sticking out of the bait then it risks getting caught up as it moves along the river bed. Therefore Baits such as Maggots, Hemp, Worms and Sweetcorn are better Float fished or Fished on a Static Leger or Swim Feeder Rig.
Old 'traditional' Baits that work superbly with the Rolling Ledger include Bread Paste for Roach and Chub, Cheese and Cheese Paste for Roach, Chub and Barbel, and Luncheon Meat for Chub and Barbel.
Whichever Bait you use, don't forget to introduce 'feed samples' on a regular basis. This is just as important as when you are Float fishing. For example, if you are after Barbel and are fishing Luncheon Meat then chuck in a few chunks before every cast. The beauty of the Rolling Ledger is that if there is a natural Bait holding area where the current deposits the free samples then it is very likely your Hook Bait will end up in the same spot.
Barbel frequently lay-up tight in the shade and shelter of undercut banks that are scoured out by the fast water on the outside of bends.
Such places are natural larders too, but how on earth do you get a baited hook right into them? The answer is...the Rolling Ledger.
The Rolling Ledger is an active form of fishing that's equally suitable for 'roving' from swim to swim, or for sitting tight and thoroughly searching out one swim. It must be fished by holding the Rod as if 'trotting' a Float. You cannot fish it effectively simply by casting out and sticking your Rod in a Rest. Try to hold your Rod well up, pointing at about 45 degrees towards the sky. This helps you to control the Rig and detect bites.
Once you have found a clean gravel run, cast the Rig to its head, leave the Bale Arm open and control the release of Line with the index finger of the hand holding the Rod and Reel.
Provided your Rig contains exactly the right weight it will sink to the bottom and set off on a long trundle down the swim. You may find that the Rig occasionally gets lodged in one spot. This spot may be a natural Bait holding area, so let your Rig rest there a minute before 'twitching' the Rod Top and sending it on its way again.
It's often best to adopt a mobile, roving approach when fishing the Rolling Ledger. Carrying the bare minimum of tackle - but not forgetting your Landing Net - allows you to wander the bank, exploring likely lays in many different swims. Dress drably, tread quietly and cast accurately and eventually you'll be rewarded with a fight to remember and a fish like a 'cracking' Chub.
Bite detection can be difficult at first. A Rolling Ledger itself causes all sorts of pulls and twitches that can be mistaken for bites. If you are lucky a real bite is a strong, positive pull that's easy to identify and hit. Barbel often bite like this but Chub and Roach don't.
These fish often pick up the Bait very gently and so your bite may consist of a very slight pull or twitch or the Rig may simply stop rolling. Sometimes the Rod Top drops back and the Line goes slack as a fish moves upstream or towards you with the Bait. You can identify bites using three methods:
With experience you learn to read bites until it becomes almost a sixth sense. A good rule to start with is to hit any unusual indications.
All fish, but especially big ones, love shelter. They feel secure from predators and anglers when hidden beneath undercut banks, overhanging bushes and trees and underwater weed beds. Casting a Ledger straight at such fish, or even trotting a Float down to them, is often impossible.
This is where the Rolling Ledger really scores, because you can cast slightly upstream then trundle your Rig right into the fishes' lair. It may take several attempts to get right but it's worth it because fish that feel secure usually give very positive bites. Many specimen Barbel, Chub and Roach have been caught in just this way.
Master the method and you've added an invaluable 'string to your bow'.