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Rod Share Timing?

1K views 34 replies 15 participants last post by  Hardyreels  
#1 ·
With the expense of fishing in Iceland, I have booked a rod share through Sportquest, my question is, how would you work each rods time on the beat, most beats being three hour slots, it seems to me that 15min slots works out better than any other timing giving each rod six periods during the three hours, what do others think?
 
#2 · (Edited)
We used to swap once somebody had caught a fish, trouble is (and i am aware that this going to sound very big headed but is what happened), as i was a more experienced angler i could cast further (i was able to cover fish that had not yet seen a fly) than my brother so it would take me far less time to catch a fish than him, sitting on a bank watching fish come into the pool while you can't cover them is frustrating!!

PS: It was the guide who told me the above regarding casting further.
 
#3 ·
I think swapping over once you have caught is a good idea and I have suggested that to my rod share partner, watching fish entering a pool and not being able to cast too them would be quite frustrating, but then directing your partner to them and they hooking up has it's own reward, We are both in our 70's and I think a bit of fatigue will set in eventually.

It's going to be interesting as we have been partnered up by Sportfish and have never fished together so an unknown relationship, we talked on the phone two days ago and seem to get on OK, but then I am a thoroughly nice chap so should be easy for him. 😇
 
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#4 ·
I's say swap after one catches a fish but only for so long. So person A catches a fish after 5 minutes. Person B fishes the next 25 minutes (or 55 minutes if half hour slots) then back to 15 or 30 minute slots.
Depending on how well you know the other rod and how keen you are for them to catch a fish rather than allowing you to fish a bit as well.
Otherwise person A might only fish for 5 minutes in the whole 3 hour window !
 
#6 · (Edited)
I's say swap after one catches a fish but only for so long. So person A catches a fish after 5 minutes. Person B fishes the next 25 minutes (or 55 minutes if half hour slots) then back to 15 or 30 minute slots.
Depending on how well you know the other rod and how keen you are for them to catch a fish rather than allowing you to fish a bit as well.
Otherwise person A might only fish for 5 minutes in the whole 3 hour window !
Thanks for the suggestions, at my visit earlier this year there where others at the Lodge rod sharing, will ask them how they organise it, they book year on year, In a three hours session 30 minutes slots do not work out fairly with beat allocation, but can see the merit of timing after catching at 5 mins and then the other rod fishing for 25mins, then back to 15mins slots, could get very complicated if not written down, but does seem a fair way of working together.

Calculating the time allowed to fish over the four days it works out to £140.00 an hour, I don't think either of us would like to take time out.
 
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#8 ·
Ah ha, there is a conundrum, if rod A is playing a fish are they still fishing per Oxford definition "fishing" refers to the sport or business of catching fish, encompassing the actions of trying to catch fish"
If rod A has a fish on their line they are no longer encompassing the action of trying to catch a fish, so in theory Rod B can commence fishing whilst Rod A tries to land the fish. 🤔
 
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#9 ·
I have been fishing for over 25 years in Iceland and a shared rod for most of the time. Always with good friends whose habits I knew well. Usually one starts at a pool whilst the other is moving to the next one and starts once the other has finished. If there a good pools you rotate there. We never count the minutes but if you are fishing with someone that you don’t know I would strictly employ a 15 or 30 minute Rotation depending on the quality of the pool. A good ghillie should be also able to manage this.
Icelander05
 
#10 ·
I have been fishing for over 25 years in Iceland and a shared rod for most of the time. Always with good friends whose habits I knew well. Usually one starts at a pool whilst the other is moving to the next one and starts once the other has finished. If there a good pools you rotate there. We never count the minutes but if you are fishing with someone that you don’t know I would strictly employ a 15 or 30 minute Rotation depending on the quality of the pool. A good ghillie should be also able to manage this.
Icelander05
Having done a reasonable amount of rod sharing over the years (always with people I know well) this would be the approach I'd take with someone I'd never fished with before. Also, I'd make it 30 minute slots for two main reasons:

1. Each time you change over there is a potential loss of fishing time. The more change over times you have the more of each session you will lose.

2. 15 minutes is not very long. When does it start and who is keeping the time? If you have to get in the water, get in to your casting rythm, I'd wager that's 5 minutes of your session gone already. You then have to factor in time at the end of your session to get out. Typically, if you are targeting a known salmon lie you want to start above it to get in to a good rythm before you start covering it. There's another 5 minutes gone. Say you then hook a fresh 15lbs salmon then on the old 1 minute per pound playing rule (which is typically about right) there's 15 minutes gone. If that fish is hooked at 14.5 minutes of a session it immediately cuts out the next rotation etc.

Regards

NHP
 
#11 ·
I appreciate the comments and advice it's good to get different views from those that have actually experienced rod sharing.

I wonder if I have the patience/frustration to wait 30 minutes hopping from foot to foot like a frustrated child, its an age if you are sitting on a bank waiting, as an observation, it's not a Le Mans start once the first angler has started to fish down a pool the top of the pool is open, the next angler does not have to wait for the previous angler to leave the river before accessing the pool from above they can both be in the river at the same time, just only one fishing with mobile phone alarms synchronised both anglers know when to stop and start.

In the end it is all academic and up to the two rod sharing to sort out the timing on who does what and when, perhaps trying both 15mins and 30mins to see what suits both anglers is the answer.

I wonder how many of us truly wave a rod around for a full 15/30 minutes without a break.
 
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#12 · (Edited)
I'd take a large comedy sized 30 min egg timer and a compressed gas fog horn. Make sure your new fishing friend signs a detailed contract before the first cast is made.

You're in the hands of the gods (sportquest in this case and the guide) Might all be ok, might not, not sure how I'd feel about the other rod arriving with a list of his requirements.

Personally I can think of little worse in a fishing context than clock watching as someone I don't know is glancing at his watch and wanting me out of the way.

You'd have to feel for the guide in these situations too - the potential for uncomfortable moments is high. Although I suppose they will have been in this situation before and they should be the one to set the guidelines based on local conditions and their experience, that is probably the best way.
 
#13 ·
I've never shared a rod in my life, it's just not something I'd want to do at all. However I have had my fishing spoiled by those opposite rod sharing and worse still following rod rotations on a sub beat arriving at a pool with the second rod sharer wanting his turn at the pool!.
TBH its not just those who are sharing the rod, but the effect they have on others on the beat or on the opposite bank!.
Speaking from experience I know it's an excuse thats used to reduce the cost of the fishing whilst expecting to continue as normal.
I'm also not the best of people to speak to about this, due in a large part to my honest and forthright opinions!.
Ozzyian hits the nail on the head!.
Pedro.
 
#14 ·
I've never shared a rod in my life, it's just not something I'd want to do at all. However I have had my fishing spoiled by those opposite rod sharing and worse still following rod rotations on a sub beat arriving at a pool with the second rod sharer wanting his turn at the pool!.
TBH its not just those who are sharing the rod, but the effect they have on others on the beat or on the opposite bank!.
Speaking from experience I know it's an excuse thats used to reduce the cost of the fishing whilst expecting to continue as normal.
I'm also not the best of people to speak to about this, due in a large part to my honest and forthright opinions!.
Ozzyian hits the nail on the head!.
Pedro.
Rod sharing is quite common on many premier Icelandic beats. Firstly, the fishing day is often 12 hours long split in to 2 or 3 sessions from 8 in the morning to 10/11 at night. So even that gives you 6 hours of fishing per day on a share - that kind of spell, particulalry if a gale is blowing is shattering if you do it all by yourself. On the big name rivers you'll typically have the beat to yourself(s). So I completley take the point you are making (which I have experienced in the UK, typically on the Dee or in some parts of Norway) but it probably won't apply here.

Regards

NHP
 
#16 · (Edited)
Please guys chill out, nobody is trying to get something for nothing,🙄 nothing in this thread or any post by me or most others was meant to dictate to either rod how they should share, it was an open discussion to see how others thought you could share a twelve hour fishing day split into four three hour sessions on different beats, none of the beats are shared with others and no one is fishing the opposite bank, there is no hidden agenda here, look at The West Ranga Lodge for guidance of how the fishing is organised.
 
#22 · (Edited)
You can not compare Scotland with The West Ranga, there are not queue's of anglers lining the river waiting to fish so no other anglers that any cheapskatery as you call it would effect or cause them inconvenience.

I would think it works by rod two continuing to fish the pool rod one has just finished fishing.

Doing a three hour session means that one of you completely misses out on fishing one of the beats, not fair or sensible, you are out of the Lodge for six hours which would mean one of the rods will be sitting around on the bank or in the guide's car for three hours waiting their turn, then the other rod doing the same, the beats are along a 17km stretch of river at The West Ranga so no option to wait in the Lodge.
 
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#24 ·
There is no such thing as a cheap holiday on The West Ranga, and there is no need to be insulting although you seem to make a habit of it.
 
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#25 · (Edited)
The one time I went to the West Ranga, some 12 years ago, there were four of us sharing two rods as two pairs. As each beat on the river fishes two rods, we had a beat to ourselves. And as has been suggested by others, we changed over every half hour or after every fish, whichever came first (I think 15 minute spells would definitely have been too short). It worked well, but we were four friends who had fished together a number of times, and I wouldn't consider any of us greedy or competitive fishers, so the likelihood of friction was never going to be great. Sometimes one's slot might only last a couple of casts; you might find that frustrating, but bear in mind that if the fish are 'on' the chances are that you'll be back in soon enough. And at worst you're only going to be sitting on the bank for half an hour, which allows time for a cup of coffee or a drink. In an ideal world one would want to have fishers of roughly equal ability sharing, but if it's a blind date that cannot be guaranteed.

As a general point, be aware that there is always the potential for friction, and do your best to avoid it. In fishing (as indeed in any other area of life), you should always try to be considerate to others. Don't be greedy or selfish! In particular, bear in mind that not only will you be sharing your rod, but you'll also be sharing the beat with another rod (or even another two sharers), and you must always give a thought them. A couple of sharp-elbowed rod sharers could easily set out to get more than 50% of the fishing on a two rod beat, inevitably be to the detriment of the other rod. You may feel you want to get your money's worth from the expensive fishing, but they, too, are entitled to their money's worth so you should always make sure they get an equal share of the fishing.

One specific about rod sharing is that, in my book, if a rod is to be shared it should be fished as closely as possible to how a single rod would fish it. That means that two sharers can't be positioned away from one another, communicating only by phone, and it certainly doesn't mean that one rod can fish down the best bit of the beat while his partner stands at the top of the same bit waiting to start, effectively blocking out the second rod or pair of rods! So when you change over, the second rod should start where the other rod has finished (or slightly further downstream). If the other rod(s) happen to be following you down, going in upstream of where your partner has stopped is a definite no-no. And when one rod lands a fish, the other one shouldn't be waiting like a sprinter in the blocks to start in as soon as the fish hits the net. A solo rod would naturally take a moment to look at the fish and exchange a word with the guide before restarting, and two rods sharing should try to observe a similar rhythm.
 
#27 ·
Loxie, you’re not painting yourself in a great light. There’s no call for the bullying. If you can’t get your point across without having to resort to insults perhaps your best saying nothing.
 
#29 · (Edited)
It is a shame that this thread deteriorated into a one man bullying session, it was meant to be a discussion on how best to operate a rod share on The West Ranga from those that had done it, not how to stroke you own ego.
 
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#30 ·
Used to rod share with a friend. He would stand in one spot and not move down the pool despite request from the Ghillie and myself. Towards the end of the day he would bugger off down the beat and not reappear until a good 15-20 minutes after the agreed finish time One day just as an experiment I let him fish until he asked me if I wanted a turn. Out of 6 hours fishing I had 72 minutes. After a word with the Ghillie we made him move after every 5 casts. He hasn’t been fishing with me since. Since then if rod sharing I toss a coin for who starts the morning and then we fish down the pool in turn until mutual agreement to move to next pool. This works out well both anglers get to cover the pool and we both get a good time fishing
 
#31 ·
A couple of posts remind me of a day on the Annan many years ago. Two anglers were fishing the best pool on the stretch. One would fish it whilst the other sat on the bank at the head of the pool.

If another angler appeared the second angler would leap up and start fishing right at the head of the pool.

By doing so they effectively kept the pool to themselves.

They did eventually disappear to fish a different pool (they hadn't caught anything) meaning I finally got a chance to fish it and had a nice fresh 12 pounder and missed another.

By the time I got to the tail, they re-appeared and were obviously miffed that someone else had fished the pool and caught a fish.

They hogged the pool again for the rest of the day.
 
#32 ·
They're very used to rod sharing at Ranga (and Iceland generally, apparently it's popular with the locals) so I'd let the guide organise you, it might work best in different ways on different pools.

It also depends when you go and how many sessions you have. Early on with 8 sessions you get to fish each of the beats twice so if you miss a good pool first time around you get it the second.

Home pool is by far the most prolific pool so you want that one organised very fairly! But with that one you can sit it out in comfort from the Lodge with a coffee watching you partner make all the mistakes :)
 
#33 ·
Thanks Tangled, I think you have the right idea and just let the guide sort us out, it then becomes all his fault or his amazing help according to what happens. 🤣
 
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