MikeT

Thanks, John. Yes, that sounds like a clever compromise. Funnily enough, one pike actually took a lobworm almost at the end of a (fishless) retrieve on Saturday- I played it for a minute or so before it cut the line. Alarming stuff on light floatfishing gear! I like the idea of quickly putting a wire trace on my chub/roach outfit, rather than taking a separate rod and reel just in case of pike attacks, but I fear it would be a toe-curling experience playing a feisty pike on a flimsy match rod. Having said that I once successfully landed a pectoral-fin-foul-hooked 12.5lb common carp on my Normark Titan with 3lb line, so I reckon it would cope okay. Good idea- many thanks!

Thanks for the advice. It sounds like catching the offending esox is the best strategy, but my reservations were more about the effect (of the disturbance doing this would doubtless cause) on the roach and chub fishing. I suppose my question is really whether there’d be much to gain by targeting the pike (apart from a bit of extra-curricular pike fishing). Will he have made his presence felt already by attacking fish (in which case the swim is already turned off, and catching him would serve no great purpose; it could even make things worse by all the piking commotion)? Or is it reasonable to hope taking out the pike would improve the chances of rescuing the swim for roach and chub fishing? I strongly suspect the presence of a feeding pike can kill the fishing- I’ve often wondered if this is the cause of a sudden and inexplicable ‘turning off’ of a well-feeding shoal. The dilemma here is with the disturbance a pike’s activity causes to a swim. I travel light (so would ideally prefer not to carry pike gear), and creep about very quietly to improve my chances of catching shy fish. I wonder if this sneaky-upsy tactic is more likely to be spoiled by the predatory activities of a pike, or my angling activities in trying to remove it. I guess the answer is, 'It depends...'.

Whilst float fishing for roach on the middle Dorset Stour this weekend, I was repeatedly hit by pike as I reeled in fish. It happened about six or seven times, in three different swims, with four to six pound jacks taking dace and roach and breaking my line. There were as many misses that I saw, and goodness knows how many I didn’t. In two of the swims, the splashy pike attacks signalled the end of the fishing, with previously frequent bites drying up completely. On the other swim, the pike attack seemed to make no difference to the feeding shoal, and I continued to catch roach (which the pike continued to attack). What’s the best thing to do when your swim becomes attacked by aggressive pike? Should you just pack up and find another swim? Should you switch to targeting the pike themselves? Is there any point taking pike and releasing them away from your swim (I couldn’t kill one, as my Association rules implicitly suggest, however troublesome it may be to me)? Or would the whole pike-fishing kafuffle only kill the swim anyway? Is the best thing to do to ignore the pike and carry on fishing regardless? I’m not sure about that, because it means turning innocent roach into easy targets. I understand about the need for top predators in the food chain, and that a good head of pike indicates an excellent head of prey fish. I love pike as much as roach, but they can ruin the fishing and I wonder what the best solution may be.

I have recently acquired this Paul Witcher creation, the Avon Elite. It is 4 and 1/3inch diameter, and has a 4/5inch drum. The reel is Number 47, which was made in September 1995, and is one of about 15 in this specification. Paul has just serviced and tuned it for me, and it runs so exquisitely it makes your hairs stand up. The spool will start turning if you sigh on it, and it eventually stops three and a half minutes after a good tap. The spin is undoubtedly enchanted, being tight and true and utterly vibrationless and soundless. It turns so freely and lightly that it will start to rotate in the opposite direction after it’s stopped. The whole reel weighs only 222g, and the spool is light enough to run spontaneously under the pull of a 2BB stick float on a slow-paced swim. It is quite simply a perfect reel, and I’m hugely privileged to own it.

For the attention of all you traditional gear fanatics, Mullock's are holding another auction of vintage fishing tackle, on 5th July 2008. Here's a link to their online catalogue: Mullocks auction There are several nice Allcocks Aerial centrepin reels, as well as a beautiful and rare Richard Carter 'Bernard Venables' Aerial 'pin, (here) which I like the look of (though I rather dislike the estimate price!) Mike.

Well, Chris, to be quite honest the weather doesn't look very promising. What with more rainfall expected, and a sudden drop of ten degrees of temperature predicted with the arrival of The Great Polar Blast towards the end of this week, there really doesn't seem much point going fishing. You might as well sell all your gear. Including those wonderful centrepin reels you've got, which have been thoroughly distressing me since I read that other thread. Especially the Witchers. Oh, yes- especially those. So. What's your asking price?

Well, it's a very important collection. I'd sell my wife and three kids for it.

O M G !!!!! What a fabulous collection! Words fail. Does your wife know what that lot's actually worth? Just in case someone has you killed by a professional hitman, and then makes her a cash offer for them at your funeral. Or something. Superb reels- I'm glad you love them and use them.

On the Sixteenth I'll be fishing the Dorset Stour a few miles upstream of Throop, and I'm really looking forward to trotting a float for the big Chub there. The river was high and chocolatey on Sunday, but looked just about fishable enough. We've had some heavy rain since then, and I reckon it will take a few days to settle down again providing no more rain arrives. Less than a fortnight to go now! Wouldn't it be nice to have live river webcams, so you could continuously check the conditions instead of doing w*rk?

Thanks, TM and Angly. That photograph is excellent, and gives a great idea of sizes. I've not used Thamsley shot, but I have tried some of that Anchor Double-Cut and found it was considerably bigger than my old defunct lead shot. If you put a lead SSG next to the Anchor SSG, you'd see a dimensional difference of about a third, which makes a massive difference in practice. It's almost like an AAA sized shot for the weight of a SSG. I think the dimensions of shot must make a great difference to the way the bait travels through the swim; the bigger the shot, the greater the affect on bait presentation. Bigger shot offer much more resistance to the water, and of course to the taking fish. We all know how the dimensions of the float tip affect bite sensitivity, but this translates to shot sizes too. Smaller shot works better, but non-toxic materials do seem to be of much lower density, and therefore have to be sized up. I'd love to know which of the available non-toxic shot are smallest, weight-for-weight, because of their highest density.

Thanks, James. Unfortunately, I need SSG and AAA shot, which are like golf balls in non-toxic. I don't use shot smaller than size 4, so lead is off the menu. But there must be a million pounds for someone who can invent soft, dense, non-toxic split-shot!

Thanks, Davy- good tip on the milk powder (I add this to my mash, along with soft rolled oats, like ReadyBrek, which gives a lovely 'cloud' and thickens the mix). I guess the best thing is trial and error- I'll give the crumb a go.

I prefer lead, because it's soft (so, it's easy to use) and dense (so, smaller size for weight), but I don't want to poison swans or go to prison so I have to use non-toxic. Trouble is, non-toxic shot is rubbish. It's hard to open and close, and it's so light that you have to have marble-sized balls on your line, which affects presentation. What are the best split-shots in the world today? I'm not bothered about camo slip coatings and egg shapes. What I'm after is soft, dense shot that's as near to lead as possible.

I often use bread mash as an attractant when float fishing rivers for chub (which works very well) but it’s a bit of a rigmarole to carry the loaves and mash it all up on the riverbank (especially when travelling light, stalking), and it’s relatively expensive with the cost of bread being what it is these days! Four loaves of bread comes to a good few quid, and that buys a big bag of brown crumb- which would do for several sessions. Does anyone have an opinion on whether a stodgy mix of brown (or white) breadcrumb would be as effective as mash, when using flake as hookbait? I reckon it would certainly be more convenient, and cheaper if bought in bulk. Thanks.

Quite right- I was being particularly obnoxious. I'm sorry for the offense, but it's one of my bugbears!

I hate to be such a disagreeable and pedantic sod, but there are so many errors in the spelling, punctuation, syntax and composition of your post that I should strongly recommend a serious reappraisal of your confidence in your writing skills. Sorry about that.

Wow! It works! What a nifty trick! I wonder what the screws are for then. Hmm. Thanks, John.

Hi chaps. I just bought one of these reels on eBay, and I'd like to give it a good clean and lube. It's in great condition, runs quite well with no wobble, but it does want a little TLC. I can't disassemble it to service it. When I remove the large silver screw in the centre of the back, I'd expect it to come apart, but the spool stays put. Should I be doing something else to dismantle it? Also, do you have any general 'must do' tips for servicing a reel like this? I'm reasonably good at ruining mechanical objects, but feel this should be a DIY job. Many thanks! Mike.

I hope to do some dry fly fishing for chub in the summer months, when weed growth in the lower Dorset Stour can make trotting a float into the best holding areas impossible. I've done some JCB pond fly fishing for trout, but don't know a lot about this mysterious cousin of Proper (Coarse) Fishing. Does anyone have any recommendations for the sort of tackle I should be looking for? I'm starting from scratch, so I'll need a rod, reel, line and flies. I'm guessing a 9' lightish rod at #5/6 weight double-taper line to 4lb tip would do the trick- with the target fish being chunky 5-6lb chevins. Cheers! Mike.

Very helpful indeed, Vagabond, thank you. I haven't got very far in my research of the Avon 'Perfection' in built cane, but I did ascertain that such a thing does indeed exist- though how it differs from the Mk 1V Avon is unclear. It's a built split cane rod of 11' in three sections- more than that I have no idea. Damned if I can find out any more about these rods though. I reckon someone should set up a website to explain the different types of major vintage rods and their history and technical specifications, then my life would be all easy and nice.

I'm trying to do some research on the B James 'Avon Perfection' split cane rod, but can't find out much about it on the interweb. Does anyone know much about these, or can point me in the right direction? I'm hoping to discover their history and how they differ from other B James (R Walker, Mark 1V) Avons, and what their action and ideal usage is. Many thanks.

I'm looking for some old-fashioned floats, and will pay generously if I can find some. They're for fishing with- not for putting in a display cabinet- so they don't need to be collectable vintage stuff, but should be in good working order. I'm particularly after Avons with cork bodies on quill, whipped goose and swan quills, Harcork floats, and the like. If you have any old floats kicking around in a pot in the garage that you know you'll never need, please let me know- I'll offer a good price. Thanks! Mike.

Thank you for posting your report, Stretpegger. I'm glad you had a good day- congratulations on your excellent catch, and well done! Which stretch did you fish, by the way? I had a guided tour of Hampreston with John- the excellent bailiff- last weekend, and it seems very chubby to me. I can't wait to have a go at it next season, when I'll be a member. If you do get a chance to return before the end of this season, would you let us know how it goes? I really enjoyed your report, and found it very informative and helpful. Best wishes, Mike.

Steve, I tried to send you a message last night, but my profile does not list it as Sent, so I presume I did something wrong. On trying this morning, it appears your in box is full, and can no longer accept messages. Thank you for your very kind offer to send me the Richard Walker book- I'm grateful for your generosity. Of course, I cannot accept- so, if you will not allow me to pay for it I shall not give you my address to send it! So there! But I would love to have a copy, so perhaps you'd also recommend another book from your collection, and I can be a more useful customer for you by having both? I'm shortly starting a campaign on the Hampshire Avon and lower Dorset Stour with the RDAA next season, where I'll be fishing for big Roach and Chub (but not barbel, particularly). Could you suggest a suitable book for me? I don't have much knowledge of technique for the big beasts, nor much 'watercraft', and I am completely unfamiliar with the Avon (except from what I've read in Chris Yates' books). I'm grateful for your kind help and generosity. Best wishes, Mike.

I've just spotted the book in your online shop, Steve (ref 1059). Could I reserve the £10 copy for me, please? Thanks!