A quiver tip is a flexible extension to a

fishing rod A fishing rod is a long, thin rod used by angling, anglers to fishing, catch fish by manipulating a fishing line, line ending in a fish hook, hook (formerly known as an ''angle'', hence the term "angling"). At its most basic form, a fishing ...

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 indication both on still and running water, and is used far more often in

bottom fishing Bottom fishing, also called legering in the United Kingdom, is fishing of the bottom (demersal zone) of a deep body of water such as lake or ocean, targeting groundfish such as sucker fish, bream, catfish and crappie. It is contrasted with conven ...

. It is not used in

game fishing Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commerciall ...

(i.e. for

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

and

sea trout Sea trout is the common name usually applied to anadromous (sea-run) forms of brown trout (''Salmo trutta''), and is often referred to as ''Salmo trutta'' morpha ''trutta''. Other names for anadromous brown trout are sewin (Wales), peel or peal ...

) and is seldom, if ever, used when fishing for very large coarse fish (e.g.

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

). In essence, the angler watches the tip of the fishing rod to detect bites as opposed to, say, a

float Float may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Float'' (Aesop Rock album), 2000 * ''Float'' (Flogging Molly album), 2008 * ''Float'' (Styles P album), 2013 Songs * "Float" (Tim and the Glory Boys song), 2022 * "Float", by Bush ...

or an electronic bite alarm.

Description

The quiver tip is a thin, light, flexible extension of the

, and relays underwater information by magnifying vibrations transmitted to the rod from the

fishing line A fishing line is a flexible, high-tensile cord used in angling to tether and pull in fish, in conjunction with at least one hook. Fishing lines are usually pulled by and stored in a reel, but can also be retrieved by hand, with a fixed attachm ...

. The rod is specially designed to take quiver tips; nowadays, they are often called ''leger'' or ''feeder rods''. Very sensitive float rods can be used for quiver tip fishing, but normally fishermen have a specialist rod especially for the task. The eyed tip of approximately in length is attached as a detachable extension to the rod end via a put-in or screw-in method. The quiver tip itself is often coupled with a

jingle bell A jingle bell or sleigh bell is a type of bell which produces a distinctive 'jingle' sound, especially in large numbers. They find use in many areas as a percussion instrument, including the classic sleigh bell sound and morris dancing. The ...

to audibly alert the angler. The quiver tip is a means of improving bite detection in conjunction with the legering method of fishing, whereby a weighted sinker is attached to the line close to the

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

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 Groundbait is a fishing bait that is either thrown or "balled" into the water in order to olfactorily attract more fish to a designated area (i.e. fishing ground) for more efficient catching via angling, netting, trapping, or even spearing a ...

can be placed to

diffuse Diffusion is the net movement of anything (for example, atoms, ions, molecules, energy) generally from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Diffusion is driven by a gradient in Gibbs free energy or chemical p ...

and olfactorily attract more

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

in the area towards the hookbait.

Use

On still water fishing venues after casting, the rod should be placed in a rod rest at a 90 degree angle to the direction of the cast with the tip near to the water to reduce the effects of the wind vibration on the tip. On moving waters such as

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s the rod should be placed on a stand pointing towards the direction of the

cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William * ...

with the tip high in the air in order to reduce the impact of the water flow on the line. The line between the end of the tip and the weight/swim feeder should be

tension Tension may refer to: Science * Psychological stress * Tension (physics), a force related to the stretching of an object (the opposite of compression) * Tension (geology), a stress which stretches rocks in two opposite directions * Voltage or el ...

ed so that a slight bend in the quiver tip exists. 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 bait and moves away from the

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...

, 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.

Types

Quiver tips are, relative to the rods which hold them, inexpensive and found in all coarse fishing tackle shops. They can be bought in various test curves, which correspond to how stiff the tip is (often measured in

ounce The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman units of measurement, Ancient Roman unit of measurement. The #International avoirdupois ounce, avoirdupois ounce ...

s.) The lower the test curve, the less stiff the tip is (i.e. the less weight required to bend the tip.) The test curve of the tip should be carefully considered as it could drastically impact on the bite detection/playing of the fish and should relate to the type of fish targeted and

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...

conditions. 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 roach are being targeted on a stillwater 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 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.

Notes

References

{{fisheries and fishing Fishing equipment