wanzelbin

Had a really good day, thanks mostly to Leon who very kindly volunteered to show me round the place. He also taught me to trot a float properly, and within a few minutes I had my first ever grayling. What a lovely fish, though I quickly found out they're not the easiest things to hold. Five or six more followed until like a few others I decided that the afternoon should be spent as dry and warm as possible under a brolly on the slow carrier. Caught four lovely perch, but unfortunately by the time I got back to the car park, most people had left or were leaving. Was great to meet those of you who I did, and thanks so much to Tony, Sue and Lyn for organising and feeding (oh, and the cognac!). David

Well I've bought my maggots, bread and sweetcorn, extra floats and some tiny hooks. Have checked the map and printed out a route. Currently waxing my coat in anticipation of the torrential rain. Can't find my fingerless gloves anywhere. Good luck to everyone and see you tomorrow! David

I'd love to find out how to catch pike (deliberately) with some experts. Definitely count me in.

Hi Mike. Welcome to AN. What tackle / setup are you using - line, hook size etc? I'm far from an expert, but when you say "just off the bottom", are you therefore float fishing mostly? Have you tried a feeder? There are many people on here who know much more about stillwater fishing than me. Hopefully they'll join in...

Thanks Lyn. And sorry for going a little off topic everyone. D

I'm not normally that bad - as a few have said, it was just one of those days that everyone has. Janet - the perch did make up for it a bit

Working for myself at home, I occaisionally take advantage and pop out for a couple of hours fishing when I know the river will be quiet. Thought I'd get in some last chance practise before Timsbury on Sunday... Got to the bank - cold but beautiful and clear - set up the rod, reached into my backpack for my tackle box - realised I'd left it at home after cleaning and sorting out the night before. With much swearing, I disassembled rod and landing net, raced home, grabbed the box, and was back at the river within about 30 minutes. I tried re-assembling the rod as I headed back across the field to the river, but got a ring caught under my arm - the whipping on one side is now all ripped and the base of the ring is hanging free. Set rod up, settled down into swim and cast out. Immediately caught the smallest chub I've ever seen. I think it was a chub anyway - about 2 inches long. Cast again, straight into the tree opposite. Not just slightly either, somehow I'd completed ****ed it, and set it deep into the top of the bare branches. Had to pull for a break and lost my brand new Avon float. [brief interlude where I caught a few fish included a nice 1lb and a half perch]. Nearing time to go, I slightly hooked the line against a nearby branch while attempting to set the float for a near bank trot. It wouldn't come free, and my efforts were quickly making it worse. Deciding I would leave once it was free anyway, I took to bashing the offending branch with my landing net handle to try and break it and release my tackle. To cut an already long story short, I managed to hit my float (another brand new avon, crystal this time) and break it, and appear to have bent my landing net's metal pole so that it won't telescope back into the base section. Should be interesting on Sunday...

I've never used braid, have no idea of the advantages / disadvantages, but why would it be banned from the fishery? D

Yes I saw that the other day. Pretty good when there's only 20 people going. I suspect I'll be using my fixed spool, with an eye to getting you pin folk to give me some tips before I get myself one for Christmas.

Thanks very much Leon. Excellent information. Does help to have a picture in your head before you get there.

As I've not been to Timsbury before, I'm not entirely sure where you're allowed to fish, where the carrier(s) are in relation to the main river, or even where everyone meets up etc etc. Here's a map detailing my current knowledge / guesses - any corrections, pointers etc much appreciated! Thanks David

If you're using Firefox browser with the FasterFox add-on, try disabling the add-on and see if things get better. D

Excellent bag of fish, well done. Was it on float or leger? Stillwater or river?

Must say I'm getting very excited, though also a little nervous as I've never really fished in truly clear water before - not bait fishing anyway. Should be interesting!

Spot on! This place is definitely my fishing substitute.

Not kidding. I've got Drennan floatfish 4lb on there at the moment, but really want to get that pin. Will have a look at the Okumas.

Excellent stuff - thanks again everyone. I just popped out to the local river to have a practise. I was using a 2BB "Big Stick" stick float, and in the moderately fast, broken water it was extremely difficult to see after only a few yards. As suggested, I'll try an Avon or Chubber next time. With my fixed spool, I'm having to do a combination of batting line off the reel one moment when it gets stuck, and then trying to hinder it leaving the spool the next to try and hold back. With practise I'm sure I'll get a bit better and less jerky, but I'm keen to try a centre pin so will have to get one for my birthday (perfectly timed as 2 days before Timsbury). However, it can't have been too bad as I actually managed to catch my first ever barbel - about 10 or 12oz. Hurray!

Thanks for your comments chaps. Den - as for a "slight lift to the float" etc, I'm always nervous of striking at such small movements, usually waiting til the float has been swept under. I've only very rarely connected with a fish if I strike before that. - not garbled at all. Very helpful and I can see now how it would help balance your presentation. Now I just need a centre pin, learn to wallis cast, and get some idea of what sort of float to use...

Reading up on trotting (in preparation for Timsbury ) many float fishing articles talk about the importance of a dropper shot, saying that it's essential for bite indication. I've always known that you should put a small shot 6 to 12 inches from the hook, but I don't know why, and none of the articles I've read have actually said how/why the dropper shot works. As I see it (and I'm getting really technical now), if a fish takes the bait, the line will be pulled slightly and the float will be pulled under the water. Can anybody explain what difference the small, nearby shot makes? Thanks David Edit: Just found this article which answers my question! http://www.fishingmagic.com/news/article/m...AN/2459/V/3/SP/.

Tony Miles rates crayfish as one of the best possible baits for chub in his book "My way with chub". Didn't realise it was illegal to use them now - I'd always hoped to give it a go. He goes into quite some detail about how to catch them - claiming Trefor West to be an expert. I'm reading "Chub and Dace" by John Bailey and Roger Miller at the moment. It was published in 1990 and at the time Roger Miller says his best chub, after more than 12 years of fishing for them, is a 5lb 9oz. Both authors speak reverently of fabled giants - "actually meeting a man who claimed a near-6lb chub from the region". In Tony Miles' book (published I think around 1987), he had had only one 6 pounder, and that had been many years before. 6lb chub certainly aren't common, but judging by these books' comments, there's certainly a lot more of them now-a-days. I've found the best method of catching bigger chub is in the winter on milder days when water's not too high, somewhere between main flow and slack, with big baits - double lobworm (on which I caught my best 6lb 4oz), or more usually a big lump of spam. The water's never really clear where I fish so I don't know how much that might change things.

That's perfect. After looking at Neil's PAC site I was wondering about the way in which I might "insert one or two fingers under a gill plate", and that shows it clearly. Thanks everyone for your help. David

That's the main reason I don't try and fix stuff myself - I'm afraid of making it worse. And all the time there's a better alternative available - i.e. paying someone else to do it "properly" - I'll take it. Wouldn't mind learning to make my own floats though....

Thanks. Perhaps I'll get some of those pliers. I really don't plan on targetting them, I'd just rather be better prepared in future if I should accidentally catch another one.

I popped out for a couple of hours this afternoon for some cheeky perch fishing with some worms from the garden. Typically it wasn't til I was due to come home that the rod tip started to move, and I decided that I would strike at the first decent chance and then head off home. Well I did strike and after momentarily thinking I was snagged realised that I'd clearly got hold of a large fish. I played it for about 5 or 10 minutes - it's repeated sudden dives made the clutch whizz and indicated it wasn't like anything I'd caught before - I hoped that it might be my first barbel! When it finally came to the surface I couldn't believe how big it was, and then I realised that it was a pike! It came to the net quite easily, and I managed to weigh it at just over 9lb. However, I didn't really know what to do next. I've never caught a pike before - well, except a 1lb or so jack about 12 years ago that spat the hook out once it was in the net. I've seen a lot of folks on this forum mentioning the need for extra care with pike, and with that in mind I've never deliberately gone looking for them. Obviously I was concerned about the teeth and was completely unable to find the hook - eventually having to snip the line as far into it's mouth as I dared venture. I was as gentle as possible and held it carefully in the water for a bit while it recovered, but I'm still annoyed and disappointed that I couldn't retrieve the hook. Can anyone give me some tips on what to do next time, and perhaps a list of handy tools (extra long disgorger perhaps and armoured gloves) that I can make sure I have with me in future? Many thanks David

Anywhere nice in Kent? Saturday morning was indeed horrible, but I'd love to have got out on Sunday. Did manage a couple of hours late Friday afternoon on the shallows near Tonbridge but only caught one tiny perch - also on your super-bait. Been re-reading Chris Yates "How to Fish" to remind me how it was supposed to be!