MikeT

After a day at Timsbury, my centrepin reel needs a good old clean and lube. I always quite enjoy this post-angling ritual, especially when my reel is really cruddy with maggot dust, mud and half-dried water streaks all over it- as it is this morning. So, the first stage is to soak it in a good spray of WD40. I’ve always wondered if bad for the line to be soaked in WD40 in the process. I can’t say I’ve noticed any damaging effect, but perhaps someone here knows different. I imagine it being more of a possible problem with braid, which I suppose is more absorbent of the oil. Any thoughts?

A big thank you to Tony and all those who helped organise the Fish-In. It was great to visit Timsbury for the first time- it’s an excellent fishing venue. I had a lovely day strolling around fishing and meeting people from AN, and even managed to catch a few grayling and a rather splendid dace from the main river!

In that case, I'll have a Witcher Centenary Coxon centrepin reel, thanks. I don't mind which one of the two that were made. I could sit there happily spinning that baby until the rescue ship arrives.

Quite right, CP. Very best wishes in your new job!

The Compleat Angler, naturally (and since How to Fish has already been taken). There's so much in it to while away those desert island hours. Are we allowed a 'Luxury Item'?

'The better part of valour is discretion; in the which better part I have saved my life.' Henry IV, Part One.

Ah. <hums> Brave Sir Robin ran away... Thank you, Anderoo!

How was it, Chris?

That's extremely kind of you- thank you. Yes, please could you bring two pints of white maggots for me, if you can promise it's no bother? I do like to have a change bait just in case, and it would be a terrible shame to have to resort to violence to get some white maggots.

Thanks guys. I'll bring half a gallon of red maggots, and if the fish are only after whites I'll push one of the Burgesses into the river and steal his.

I’m trying to sort out my bait for Sunday. I’ll be float trotting for grayling and (please, Izaak) roach. I’ve got plenty of sweetcorn, but it sounds like gentles are de rigueur at Timsbury. My tackle shop only has red and ‘mixed coloured’ maggots (in other words, loads of crap colours like blue and green, which never catch any fish, ever). Will just reds do, or should I make the effort of getting hold of some whites?

Hi Brian. Why does it have to be a stick? When I need extra-highly visible floats attached top and bottom, I use a big handmade swan quill. The top two inches are painted fluorescent red, and I can clearly see these sticking up forty or fifty yards away on a choppy surface in the semi-dark. Despite my eyes growing dim! They can be surprisingly sensitive to bites, if you balance them correctly.

I'll bring rolls. Please could lyn PM me with an idea of the quantity required?

I think that splendid catch qualifies him to do all the complaining about the weather he wants. What a lovely bunch of chub Great work- well done! Hmm. I wonder what the collective noun for chub is. A 'shoal' of chub, obviously, but could we also say a 'chomping' of chub, or a 'lunge' of chub? Maybe a 'cheer' of chub. Your answers on a postcard...

Fishermouse, here. It'll be fascinating watching you freeze in your shorts on Sunday, and when you start blubbing and begging for my lovely warm heated waistcoat I'll remind you what a fishermouse I am. Windchill? What windchill?

I think you'll like it. I got one very similar, a couple of years ago, and it does what it says on the tin. It takes 8 AA batteries, so I bought some high capacity Li ion rechargeables to use with it, and these last for around three or four continuous hours from fully charged. I tend to switch on the heat in periods of about twenty minutes or so, after which the warmth stays trapped for a good while. That way, they last me all day. It's a good feeling when you're feeling the chill to have a deep heat spread out around your kidney area (the two heating elements are quite small- about eight by eight inches), and I found my waistcoat very effective for warming me up. It serves as an extra insulating layer in its own right, of course. I found it's best to use the waistcoat above a thermal vest and tee shirt, otherwise you can get quite sore from hot spots, and then put a jumper or coat over the top of the whole lot. Toasty!

No, honestly. I can give it up any time I want. *cough*

Don't do that Force thing. Dammit.

Left to right: Paul Witcher Bisterne Aerial 4” wide drum Paul Witcher Avon Elite 4 ½” narrow drum Richard Carter Aerial Gem 4” wide drum Allcocks Match Aerial 4 ½” narrow drum Okuma Sheffield 4 ½” narrow drum Allcocks Aerial 3 ¾” wide drum Right. That's my lot. No more centrepins!

The Aerial Gem arrived this morning. On first impression, it’s a very nice thing. It seems really well made, and is in excellent working order with a smooth, clean and wobble-free spin (though it will need a thorough clean and lubrication service). It is a very robust reel, and noticeably heavier in the hand than the Witcher Bisterne. In that regard, it seems much less subtle and fine an instrument, sort of like a BMW to the Witcher’s Ferrari. Also, it doesn’t appear to have a ‘soul’, which you do immediately notice when you hold a Witcher reel for the first time (don’t ask me to rationalise this- I don’t understand it, but if you get your mitts on one you’ll see what I mean). This Carter reel looks like it would survive a direct bomb blast, and that’s exactly what I was hoping for- I want to be able to chuck it about without fear of hurting it, and I certainly get that reassuring feeling of solidity. I’m glad I got it, and consider £280 was a good price (some of the big name mass-produced reels cost about that). So, a big thank you to all those who encouraged me to give in to the Dark Side. May the Force be with you.

Well, I'm not sure about you lot keeping quiet about the weather. I'm digging out the thermal underpants...

Hi Rog. It was my first visit to Bickerley, and I was very impressed with the quirky little stream. Starting from the car parking area at Hampshire Hatches lane ford, I walked upstream on the left-hand bank as far as the end of the field by the small wood, but found only four or five fishable swims, and all of those were within a hundred yards up from the ford. It was very wet and muddy (over knee deep in places). Apparently, all stretches of the river can be very productive, though I didn’t have a bite there. Downstream of the ford, towards where it joins the main river, there are some great trotting swims, and I believe that’s where most people go. The path was wet on Saturday, but just about negotiable with wellies, I’d say. I mostly fished at the small pool immediately below the ford, as described above, which was within twenty yards of my car (and therefore a great spot if you don’t have time to go hiking around). I didn’t see any bankside evidence of angling activity, and I’m sure it can hardly have been fished recently. It’s a tranquil and pretty place, and I’d recommend it for those who enjoy the simple pleasures of trotting a float for modest-sized but beautiful wild freshwater fishes.

Hi MC. My rod was a 13' Normark Titan II. I found it about right, length wise, because I prefer to stand well back from the water's edge, and I generally find it's helpful to have greater reach for trotting (in fact, I did start off with the little extension piece to take it to 14', but I got annoyed with the imbalance this caused and took it off. I put it in my backpack but managed to lose it somewhere on the riverside, though this is no great disaster because I always hated using the rod with the extension).

Lovely report, Anderoo- I really enjoyed that. It sounds and looks heavenly there!