A quiver tip is a flexible extension to a fishing rod which is designed to vibrate, or quiver, when a fish takes the bait. The main characteristic of its design is its sensitivity. It is a popular and very effective method of bite indicator both on still and running water, and is used far more often in bottom fishing. It is not used in game fishing (i.e. for salmon, trout and sea trout) and is seldom, if ever, used when fishing for very large coarse fish (e.g. carp or Esox). In essence, the angler watches the tip of the fishing rod to detect bites as opposed to, say, a fishing float or an alarm device.
The quiver tip is a means of improving bite detection in conjunction with the bottom fishing method of fishing, whereby a weighted fishing sinker is attached to the line close to the fish hook to assist in casting and keep the hook in deep water. A variation of this method is the swim feeder, which is a small weighted container with small openings in which loose groundbait can be placed to diffusion and olfactorily attract more fish in the area towards the fishing bait.
The reason for this is to allow for the detection of two types of bite.
The first type of bite occurs when the fish takes the Fishing bait and moves away from the fisherman, causing the line to tighten and pull on the quiver tip. The second type of bite occurs when the fish takes the bait and moves towards the fisherman causing the line to slacken and the quiver tip to drop back/straighten.
As a general rule, it is desirable to fish with the lightest tip possible; that means the tip with the lightest test curve. This is because the lighter and more flexible the tip, the more sensitive and accurate the bite detection it provides.
One of the basic skills in quiver tip fishing is selecting the correct weight of the tip to match the target fish, having regard to the type of water and the prevailing weather conditions. For example, if British Common roach are being targeted on a still water in flat calm conditions, a quiver tip of a test curve of no more than an ounce would be a good choice. Alternatively, fishing for a strong aggressive fish like the British Common barbel in a fast-flowing river would require a heavier tip, possibly of three ounces or more - a lighter tip would be permanently bent round by the flow of the water, eliminating bite detection, and playing a strong fish would probably break it completely.
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