oneillbox

i like to eat beaver on a saturday night, does anyone have a problem with this...

firstly.....the guy looks like 'don brennan' of coronation street fame.... secondly, i think i know the water, i thought that before i saw the address of the fella, but as its farnborough this water is about 3 miles or so from there.. so i guess it might be. old still water, not too deep, quite clear water, good carp, decent pike and decent chub !!!

get yourself a second hand mitchell 300 or something similar off ebay, very reliable and the old rolls royce of reels.

why are they not being introduced in deep cold scottish lochs etc, surely it would make sense.

why cant they stick it in their attic for a while till you are ready, i take it they collected your money quick enough through paypal.

just managed to get one of these off ebay, great condition for only 50 quid, these things cost a fortune when new. did i get a good deal? and what is a 'winter sheet'. the winter sheet with this one is unused but im not sure what it does or where it goes?

7lb 10 oz on sweet corn and worm cocktail, that fantastic night last year, had over 50 tench from local water in one single night session, the smallest was 4lb !!!

are they taking loose feed you are throwing in? or are they ignoring all food?

sorry guys, just thought i would pull some legs, christ, you are all bad enough if someone does not even use an unhooking mat !! hope i raised a smile and some tempers even !! Ralph...

i try and leave the pike long enough to swallow the bait before striking (usually 45 secs to 90 secs), then the hooks engage in the gullet area of the fish (which is softer than the hard mouthparts and therefore more likely to set the hooks). with a quick hard tug on the steel trace its quite easy to unhook the pike, however deeply they are hooked.

livebait swim wherever they want , and this includes swimming into snags etc, so always watch out for this, and gently reel in the bait and re-cast if snagging is imminent. there are many different qualities of different livebait species, gudgeon are great because they stay lively by constantly trying to reach the bottom, roach and rudd are quite durable, perch are surprisingly excellent and durable and ive even caught perch on perch. bream are bloody wimps and wont last longer than a few casts, small chub are excellent and lively, dace too make good livebaits.

i tend to livebait most of the time while pike fishing, there is no feeling in the world like the 20 or so seconds after your livebait obviously shows signs of being agitated, it works the float harder as it is obviously scared of something, this is the time when a pike is present in the vicinity and a proper 'take' is imminent. when the pike 'takes' the float moves either sideways or downwards with an agressive 'thud' followed by gentle movement. i wait a few seconds, reel into the fish then set the hooks home with a sharp strike in the opposite direction of the movement of the float. hopefully the fish will be well hooked and only in the mouth. livebaiting is not everyones cup of tea, but in my experience its the only way of fishing that warns you that a bite is imminent !! i love it !!

i bought 2 of the electronic bite indicators today, 7.99 each i think, and they are not cheap quality, they look and seem as well made as items costing 20 quid or more each, certainly great value.

i think its definately a nase, i used to catch these in germany from the river weser when i used to live in germany 92-96

groundbait..... liquidised sweetcorn and liquid worm hookbait..... half a lob worm and a large piece of corn method.... just get it on the bottom with a float and shot set up that will allow 'lift' bites. result..... tench heaven !!!!

important to answer the question correctly, best fish compared to biggest. ive had a few pike and carp in the 20's but the fish i have been most 'proud' of was a 2lb 9oz perch that i caught about 3 months ago.... or a 5lb common bream i caught on the norfolk broads when i was about 10 and was floatfishing a worm near some lilly pads on bridge broad.

i disagree some male species of fish mark and cut up badly during the spawning period as they delve deep into the vegetation in the shallows to fertilise those eggs.. male tench are the best examples of this...when you catch them in about july..they are in a right state. fantastic fighters though !!!!!!

given the list of course fish, all the usual suspects.. pike, perch, zander, roach, catfish, chub, roach, rudd, barbel, dace, gudgeon, eel, tench, carp etc etc list your top 10 fighters pound for pound. here is mine: 1. barbel 2. tench 3. carp. 4. rudd 5. chub 6. perch 7. roach 8. catfish 9. pike 10. zander

is there a picture of this beast anywhere...

i think a pint is 538 mls which is 538 grammes which is 0.538 Kg

its a beautiful fish, my PB is 23lb. lovely clean looking healthy fish too. well done. now retire and let us sods have a go !!!!!!!

was float fishing in my local pond to catch livebait for piking, size 18 hook, 1.1lb bottom, small pole float and single caster......with loose fed caster every second cast....and along came a 4lb male tench, which explains the thing that 'smashed' me yesterday. heres to a good tench summer guys, my favourite fish.

its definately alderfly..... ive a mate who is into insects etc and he confirms it 100% as alderfly. he did say its about a month early though !!!!

the advice so far is sound. i would say use about size 14 or 16 hooks (eyed) and tie them straight onto about 6 or 8lb line. a few weights and a small round float and about 10 metres of line tied round a cotton reel or something.

i agree, its been a crap winter, not a single double pike since december..... untill last sunday, myself and my son had one each. things are suddenly looking up.