The feeder and ledger rig

What it's for

Bottom-feeding coarse fish, on or hard against the bottom, in rivers and stillwaters. Barbel and chub in fast river runs and glides, bream and tench over a baited patch on a lake, and the odd carp that picks up a feeder bait by mistake. The idea is simple: hold a hook bait on the bottom right next to a little pile of feed, so a feeding fish finds your hook among the free offerings. The lead or feeder runs on the main line so a taking fish feels little resistance before it pulls the tip round. It is the rig to learn first for coarse bottom fishing, and on a fast river like the Wye it is the priority barbel method.

The rig at a glance

Read from the rod down to the bait. The main line comes from the rod and passes through a sliding lead or a feeder, carried on a run ring or a quick-change link so it slides freely. A small bead sits below it to protect the knot, then a small swivel that the hooklength ties to. The hooklength is a length of mono or coated braid, lighter than the main line, with the hook on the end tied with a snell. For a running ledger or a cage or open-end feeder, the hooklength is longer, around 50 cm to 1 m on a river, and the lead or feeder runs free. For a method feeder, the hooklength is short, around 8 to 15 cm, and the feeder is semi-fixed so the fish hooks itself against it. The bait sits on the bottom, in or beside the bed of feed. The defining detail is that the lead or feeder slides on the main line, so the fish feels little resistance until the tip pulls round.

Three ways to fish it, one rig

The rig is the same: a sliding lead or feeder, a bead, a swivel and a hooklength. What changes is what you put on the line to deliver the feed. A plain running ledger uses a lead and you feed by hand or by catapult. A feeder carries the feed out with the rig, and there are three feeder forms for three jobs. Pick by water, range and bait.

Running ledger (a plain lead). A sliding lead on the line and no feeder, for when you bait the swim separately or fish a single hook bait in the flow. The simplest form, and a strong choice for barbel on a big river where you bait by hand upstream.

Cage feeder (groundbait, fast release). An open mesh cage that dumps groundbait, chopped worm, casters or wetted pellet quickly on the bottom, so the feed is down by the time the rig settles. Best in shallower or steadier water where you want a fast, visible bed of feed.

Open-end feeder (groundbait, at range). A tube plugged at each end with groundbait around loose feed in the middle, releasing more slowly. The workhorse for bream and tench on a lake, and for casting a tidy parcel of feed to the same spot at range.

Method feeder (sticky feed, a short hooklength). A flat-sided frame you mould sticky groundbait or micro-pellet around with the hook bait pressed in alongside it, fished semi-fixed on a short link. The fish feeds right on top of the lead and hooks itself against it. Strong for bream, tench and carp by-catch on a lake.

How to build it

1. Tie the hooklength and the hook. Tie the hook to the hooklength with a snell knot, whipping the line down the back of the shank so the hook sits square and turns into the fish. Cut the hooklength long (around 50 cm to 1 m) for a running ledger or a cage or open-end feeder, or short (around 8 to 15 cm) for a method feeder. To fish a boilie or a hard pellet, leave a short hair off the bend when you snell, the same hair the carp hair rig uses, and mount the bait on it with a bait stop.
2. Set the lead or feeder to run. Thread a run ring, or a quick-change feeder link, onto the main line so the lead or feeder slides freely, then add a bead below it to protect the knot. For a method feeder, fix it semi-fixed on the link so it sits close to the hook and the fish hooks itself against it. For a plain ledger or a cage or open-end feeder, leave it free-running.
3. Tie the swivel and load the feed. Tie a small swivel to the main line below the bead with a Palomar knot, then clip or tie the hooklength to it. Fill or mould the feed: pack a cage feeder with groundbait, chopped worm or wetted pellet; plug an open-end feeder with groundbait around loose feed; mould sticky groundbait or micro-pellet around a method feeder with the hook bait pressed in alongside.

How to fish it

Bait the swim, then drop or cast the rig onto it. On a river, with a running ledger or a feeder, cast slightly downstream and across, let the rig settle, and use just enough lead to hold bottom for the pace of the run. Tighten down so the quivertip takes a gentle curve, set the rod on a rest pointing down the line, and watch the tip. A barbel bite is usually a slow pull that drags the tip round and keeps going, so let it develop, then lift into it and hold the fish hard out of the snags. On a stillwater for bream or tench, cast to the same spot each time to build a bed of feed, and watch the tip for the lift or drop of a bite over the feeder. With a method feeder the fish often hooks itself against the semi-fixed weight, so the take can be sharp. Scale down hook, bait and feed for chub. Use a big soft landing net, and a wet mat or sling for a big barbel.

Where this rig works

The feeder and ledger is the everyday rig wherever coarse fish feed on the bottom. Across the atlas it is the priority barbel method on the River Wye in Wales and England, holding bait hard on the bottom in the fast runs and glides, and it scales down for the river's chub. The same rig fishes for bream and tench on a lake, and it is the rig a barbel angler is using when a carp turns up as a by-catch (read the carp hair rig for that). As the atlas grows, every new water that uses a feeder or ledger will link to this same page.

Feeder and ledger rig questions