Leaderboard

Not forgetting the ubiquitous jolly green giant, which can always be eaten by the angler !!

Happy New year for the remaining/surviving dinosaurs.

25 years? I was a bit later in joining a mere 19 years ago. I've looked in a few times, but only just found my password. I was saddened to read of the passing of some of the old regulars, but none of us are getting any younger. I haven't fished for just over a year, having been diagnosed with poly myalgia back in February. My legs just gave way one morning, and I ended up at a&e. Been on a reducing dose of steroids since, and still got about six months to go before I finish the course. Before that I still went fishing but my refusal to fish the over stocked carp waters has limited the waters available. I'm hoping to get back on the bank in the new year, my grandson has been nattering me to take him. It's sad that the site has diminished so much over the last few years, but it always had a niche membership, and that's what always appealed to me, being a bit old school. Anyway take care all, and I'll look in again, now I've remembered my password. (That is if I don't forget it again) John

Blimey, has it been that long? I'm in Kent now, we've got a small campsite and a cactus nursery. Can't get out fishing as Mrs isn't very well and can't sit on a beach for long. She's not too keen on eating fish that have been living in sewage either Kids are all grown up now, still in touch with my youngest. Although we live in the middle of the county we can just see the North Sea from the bottom of the garden. Spend my days growing veg (and cacti) and listening to Radio Caroline. I have 2 Youtube channels, Ziggy's Cactus Channel and Ziggy's Coast and Countryside. Neither of them make any money Just bought a Beehive

Hi Martin, I forgot my latest password and the ‘Forgot your password?’ function wasn’t working properly; but I found my new password on a scrap of paper in the back of a drawer and finally I managed to get back in. Looking forward to being able to post again at last. Keith

Concur with what's been said - I've tried plastic maggots and grubs and had very limted success with them - and will only resort to them if I'm getting totally murdered by - say bleak or minnows. But why not try worms? - easy to acquire and theres not a fish that swims that won't take one!

Eh' up fellas, the "thinking angler" here (as coined by Ian. lol) I've made this Cupping cup which screws into the landing net handle when I don't take my Pole. The thread is a length of 3/8" BSF, screwed bar I "Borrowed" from work, but You could use 3/8" wood dowel (screwed in & out with the Electric Drill, till you can do it by hand) and won't damage the Nut ! The Cup is an "AMBI PUR", air fresher cap and the Ideal size - like a Proper 'un.

Boy what a talent ,couldnt grasp why he polished a tiny bit then realised what it was. https://youtu.be/3jneYK7xebc?si=NAusEmBJcHVHtUmb

Pretty much the same as you Elton, albeit not rooting around barns looking for old cars, and my son is 22yrs old but mentally still wearing me out.

The wife wore a sexy black Negligee for bed last night - I could see right through to her Cardi'.

A friend said that he thought my posting about Amity was just being a proud grandfather. Then he listened to Amity's first single, Bite Me. He said it wasn't just good but PHENOMENAL (his capitals). Amity won the final of Futuremakers for young singer/songwriters at the Royal Albert Hall, and is back there for a solo show in the Elgar Room on Tuesday July 15th. Tickets are just £10 direct from the Royal Albert Hall website. He's being hailed as "the next Adele", so his future performances won't be so inexpensive!

Amity sold out the Elgar Room Amity at the Royal Albert Hall and the standing ovation just went on and on and on......... Amity's now taking this show to the Durham Festival next week. Details at https://durhamfringe.co.uk/events/bite-me/ He's also doing a solo show at the Durham Festival. See https://durhamfringe.co.uk/performances ... the-brink/

Not imitation grubs but; I’ve just sent off for some VMC 7237B Light Inline Single Barbless hooks in sizes 10; 8 & 6 so that I can change the hooks on some very small plugs that I bought for catching some Chub; to single. Hooks, something I’ve been promising myself for a long time. The next time you see them they’ll have single hooks. Let’s just hope the chub like them. Keith

25 years have passed since this site launched and I think it's fair to say, like me, it's past its prime What are you all up to these days? My life has taken me on a different course, dragging old cars out of barns, mostly. I've got a 'late surprise' 7-year old son to keep me worn out, too. I've done barely any fishing. I really need to sort it. I miss the escapism so much.

For about 20 years, I had a chap coming to my place with the thought of catching a 4lb eel. About 8 years ago he was diagnosed with a terminal cancer, and survived longer than anyone else had with that type of 'the big C'. Last Summer, I told him I had lost what I thought must be an eel, short run and then solid, three times in the same place. He set up one night, casting to near where I had been snapped and caught one that weighed 5lb 6oz, his PB. He died 2 months later, but I got him his PB eel! Still getting eels caught from time to time!

Since I last posted on here I caught a nice 27lb 2oz Ghost Carp from the Estate lake (See pic) Unfortunately at the start of next year this estate lake is to be no more as the lake is being half filled in and is to be built around, so after at least 75 to 80 years at least our club is having to give up the lease. At least both my son and I have had some very nice Carp up to 27lb plus from it; plus we some nice Tench up to 8lb and some very nice memories going back to 1978 when I first joined the club. It’s a real shame as about 15 years ago I was awarded a lifetimes free membership to the club for services rendered to the club over the years Keith

Told this story before ,I was fishing down Folkestone warren (sea fishing the ponds long gone) A local (I spotted him on his bike earlier from the campsite we were camping on as I looked at the state of the tide) walked over from the next spot who I had noticed kept recasting every few minutes but didn't appear to be using lures etc. What bait are you using mate he says noticing me unhooking a dreaded dog fish . "Lug and squid on this rod " I said "OH" he says" you want to try these they're great down here" Obviously the fact I was considerably older than him and had fished down there longer than he lived didn't occur to him,he obviously thought I was a newbie or gullible ? "What is this miracle bait " I asked He held out a crumpled bag of those haribo sour worm things "bloody brilliant" he says "How much have you caught "I asked "Nothing ,not a bite " he said I didn't bother to question the logic behind his life choices and just said OK thanks for the advise He went back to his spot ,casted every few minutes no doubt to replace his miracle bait that's dissolved into nothing then left just as it started to get dark which of course is the best time to start unless your lure fishing down there .Perhaps he found a better use for them like eating them just like I would . So just like the topic in question everything is viable in "artificial" baits and like the chaps choice so long ago I have only ever caught using artificial "grubs" when your throwing real maggots around the hooked artificial ,I presume they work in the rush to grab the offerings or are accidentally hoovered up by bottom feeders feeding on maggots on the bottom .As an alone bait I have caught nothing on them and I have tried many in desperation on those hot sticky days when nothing else works .Never understood fake worms though they don't wriggle and the real version are under your feet or a rotten branch . Not saying they don't work but I think it's unusual they do and not the first thing that pops into my head when bread is on the list which I have found catches everything inc predators no doubt grabbing it as a involitary response to something moving in the corner of their eye Not saying maties miracle bait hasn't worked either I have caught fish on bare hooks when they were gold plated and sparkled in the water but as a regular bait that's worked regularly I much doubt it. Artificial baits are a moot point flies work great when your fly fishing but stick one under a float and all changes ,I think your "artificial" has to show a semblance of reality to work ,artificial worms and maggots don't wriggle but nor do dead ones or real or fake casters so there's something fish sense we don't that determines if you catch I think ,perhaps what looks real to us isn't that real to fish Take mackerel feathers for instance ,cast them in and your lucky to catch ,jiggle them about and your catching ,both exactly the same thing but acting differently ,acting more naturally looking like what the fish expect them to look like

Imitation grubs don't really work on their own, as said, OK with lives if the fish are grubbing around. Corn meat and above all bread will all catch, and of course worm.

My grandson Amity has just turned 18 and his first single was released yesterday. The distributors, who release 50,000 singles per year, say Bite Me has achieved in less than 24 hours the best reception they've ever had in their history, and is being streamed all over the world. You can listen to Bite Me on all the usual channels including Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. Here's a link to make it easier to download Bite Me from the major players: https://kycker.ffm.to/biteme Warning: it's catchy and a bit of an earworm! The saddest thing is that my wife who unexpectedly died a few weeks ago has missed the launch. The chances of an unknown artist's first single being a hit are very remote. However, with exponential growth, you never know! So can I please ask you to download it and pass this onto everyone you know. Many thanks.

Yes i went back to basics a decade or so ago and found it very refreshing ,long gone are boxes on wheels transporting stuff you never use (i remember a trip back from sea fishing with a box a big bag and a huge rod bag and found the train from folkestone to bromley had been substituted for a great deal of the trip by a double decker and i had to take the lot upstairs as the bottom was full .A truly bad trip) Now if i cannot cram it all in my pockets and a small cross body bag it doesnt go .What do you really need , hooks ,shot ,bait ,disgorger or forceps and a few floats or ledgers and such and thats it ,i dont even go for that long i need food but i have a stainless 1ltr bottle for a drink on a strap and the rod and landing net in my hand .

The book is going to be called Doing it Differently: Perch, Wingham and More. I've set up a website at www.doingitdifferently.co.uk where there's an email link so that you can contact me. I'll put more on the website in due course.

Wishing all those who occasionally drop by Anglersnet a merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

Merry Christmas to you all and your nearest and dearest.

Same to all, keeping the numbers up

A Merry Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year when it comes. With so few on here it feels like we're all 'ghosts of Christmas past' John

The same to you Ken and the rest of "Ye Merry Gentlemen"

The contrarians here sir as always a bundle of fun and gas

Awful news I never met John but he always came across as a fun and top fella. Another one of the Anglers Net legends sadly gone. Best thoughts and wishes to Johns family.

Good to hear that they are good Martin I’ll give them a try for the Tench and Crucians on my local estate lake. Keith

Hi Keith, well fished, both of you. Btw, my club mate won our Match at Tollerton with 398Lb, Mugging 'em on the Top on Pole. 2nd got over 200Lb and Me (nearly last but not quite with 35Lb 6oz, but had a lovely days fishing with Barbel of a pound or so, Pastie size Carp & Bream.

River Kennet - Hambridge 0430 - 1200 Warm and mainly sunny. AT 15º - 20ºC. River quite low - normal summer levels though a lot lower than this time last year. 12 Chub: 10 over a lb, best 3lb 6oz with one other over 3lb - all the others 1½-2½lbs. 4 doz (!) Dace & Roach. More dace than roach and whilst nothing particularly noteworthy all the dace were a nice size. All the roach were quite small save one that needed the net and may have pushed 8oz. 11 Brownies - 1 'pounder' and 10 small uns - probably multiple captures - I caught one with an identifiable scar on it three times! 1 Grayling - c6oz. 1 Bleak. Super start to the new season - great to see sooooo many silvers in the river. After last year's extravaganza here, this had to be the venue to kick off a new campaign and whilst no specimens were banked it was great to see so many fish in the river. Fished 4 swims and had chub from all of them while most of the dace and roach came from the road bridge swim - bite a chuck at times! First fish of the season...

Sorry Keith, Thought I'd put 'em in my bag, but they were still sitting on our worktop when I got home - Next Match in a fortnight - 29th !!

Ey Up fellas, Here's a Hook Keeper I did on 4 of my Rods in about an Hour !! Photo' shows all stages in one Pic' - Ladies Hair Grip, then bent and cut, then Hot Glued to the blank. The wire leg, goes Flat when cut. You Could Whip it on of course, but It's going "Nowhere" with the hot glue And, a quick job !! Maybe a bit of black paint or "Sharpie" now ?? Like, the 2nd Pic' under this one.

Hi Keith, good to see you're still on here and doing a bit mate.

There is another fishing tackle sale at Lidl’s next week on the 1st June and their Crivit 3000-S, 5000-S freespool reels and the smaller 2000 Crivet reels look and feel really good. Definately way above their price mark at 14.99 each. I bought the small 2000 spinning reel to go on my Dropshotting rod and it’s a perfect match size wise. I don’t really need any more freespool reels as I already have several Shimano free spool reels; and a couple of Daiwa freespool reels however I might be getting one of the slightly smaller Crivit 3000 freespool reels as a spare to go on one of my ‘ready made up’ Avon type rods. https://www.lidl.co.uk/q/search?q=fishing+reels#suggestTrackingType=suggest_history#suggestTrackingType=suggest_history Keith

Telephone, Telegraph, TellaWoman.

Sorry to hear that Mrs C has been in the wars, Hopefully she makes a full recovery, and you get to avoid future bum torture.

With today being the 5th anniversary of our leaving the EU, it got me thinking back to Anglersnet at that time. I'm sure that the furore that preceded the vote, and the run up to 2020, was one of the reasons AN ended up like it is today. The amount of anger and animosity that it brought out in some of the posts, caused some to leave, and one particular member kept it going as long as he could, I believe out of spite. He played a big part in me stepping back. Maybe it was just a coincidence that it all happened at around the same time, but I'm sure Brexit played a big part. John

I was recently told that my TV programme in the Predators series was still available. I bought it just in time for Peggy to see it, and have now shown it to my son and his family. It's available on eBay for £4.99 post free if you type in PREDATORS WITH KEVIN GREEN & SIMON SCOTT 2 DVD BOX SET - FRESH & SALT WATER.

Hi Elton, I'm still posting the odd Tip & Pic's, but probably won't get off fishing until this April, our 1st Club Match. Still making my own Floats and other bits & bobs. which I've posted on here. Oh yes, I had a Stroke recently & made a good recovery (and, got away with "Full Use" of etc, etc) Take care bud, yourself & Family. Martin.

Very nice ,never used one ,probably never will .I can add those to chia (sp?) seeds and a whole lot of stuff my daughter natters about having never eaten or saw or drunt i wont and probabley never will . Went to Pompey today .......its still there! \ Isnt gated versions rather than just open or terraced a bit exclusive lol-

Hope you get a photo of the Great white egret ,what has been seen locally are little grebes ,maybe you will see a pair. (dab chicks)

Warwick's Water - Thatcham 1830 - 2230 Warm, overcast and muggy. AT 24ºC - 16ºC. 4 Tench: 7lb 14oz, 4lb 12oz, 3lb 1oz, 2lb 6oz. Another super evening on my 'new' favourite tench water. That's now 12 tench in 4 evening trips here - on what people keep telling me is a hard water! All the action between 8:15pm and 9:15pm as darkness set in - no bites before or after. All caught on float fished lobs. The biggie was the same fish I had out at the end of July when she was 4oz heavier - not surprising she's lost some weight as this was her 4th trip to the bank this summer (at least!), I know of 2 other anglers that have caught it and she was over 9lb when she came out full of spawn in May!

Shouldn't they be "ethnic minority" maggots rather than "black"?