JonJ

Some spare pins (tiny bits of plastic) for my abu 704 reel. Forget who from. And some maggots and stotz from my local tackle shop.

I fished a match on a local river a couple of weeks ago. I feed about 10 maggots twice per trot for 3.5 hours with virtually nothing to show for it. Then all of a sudden I started catching chub, 22lb in the last 90 minutes. Not quite enough to win. The question is whether 1) the feed had drawn the chub from downstream, or 2) the chub just needed to see bait going past their noses for a long time before turning on. Thoughts?

When I wrote "you might..." I didn't mean to imply you personally. I mean you as in "one". Sorry that wasn't clear. Sure. But I don't think these are mutually exclusive. I understand. And I completely agree that pleasure fishing is not a sport. There is an element of competition in pleasure fishing but its between the angler and the fish. A sport needs competition between people. I guess I just find it strange that the default assumption seems to be that match fishing is not a sport when, as you say, by most definitions, when you think about it, it meets the definitions. You could say the same for the 2+ hours it takes to run a marathon. I tend to agree about the commercials though - at heart I'm a river angler. Rodeo events are not in the Olympics (at least I'm pretty sure they're not!) The comparison was simply to suggest another "sport" (also involving animals), that for whatever reasons would seem to have a much better chance of becoming an Olympic sport. Sure. It's only match fishing with its element of competition that I'm suggesting makes it a sport. In all sports you can participate at varying "levels". Professional athletes speak of being in the zone - which has a very spiritual ring to it. Yet most olympic sports have very few participants at any level. Throwing the javelin is an olympic sport but very few people do it and it doesn't have much hype or commercialisim. I tend to think that if angling was made an olympic sport it would simply raise its profile and the main effect of this would be to get more youngsters fishing. £0.02 :-)

So are you suggesting that the aspect of match fishing that causes it to not be a sport is solely the capture of live animals? If so would that mean that lassoing wild bulls against the clock (as they do for example in Canadian and American stampede events) would also fail to qualify? If the fish are released safely surely there is not that much difference? I recall reading somewhere that in one year (a long time ago) there was an Olympic event where the competitors shot at live birds rather than clay targets! And if not what aspects of an activity are required for that activity to be considered a competitive sport? Consider shooting for example. Shooting is an activity requiring specialist equipment and a large amount skill. In a shooting competition individuals have a fixed amount of time to shoot at moving targets (say). Based on fixed objective criteria the competitors are ranked in order. This sounds exactly like match fishing to me! You might say that a sport requires physical exertion but angling requires no more than shooting! You might also say that a sport has professionals who compete for pay - but again there are professional anglers (and professional cowboys too for that matter). You might say that angling is different because it involves a much greater degree of luck (in the draw). I would tend to agree (and this is the biggest difference I can think of) - but most sports have some element of luck - a changeable wind in shooting, the lane draw in athletics, etc. You might say no other sports involve animals - but what about horse riding? You might say that in no other sport do animals suffer (if you consider that fish are sufficiently evolved to be 'conscious' of pain)- but I've never seen a horse that liked it when the bit was put into its mouth - and horses dying in jump events (such as the grand national) is not that rare. I agree with you in that I can't ever see Angling becoming an olympic sport - but I think that's mostly a political decision. Whatever criteria you define a sport by - it seems to me that match fishing qualifies.

How about using one of the waist pouches designed for roving carp anglers? I use one made by ESP. Cheers Jon

Don't know if they're the right size of not but penrose do some nice seat box cushions. http://www.penrose-uk.com/?select=products...ry=Pole%20Seats

I agree natural snags are fair enough. Man made ones are just litter. This snag was near the far bank and I always tried to cast just away from it. But I always get caught up at least twice in a session. If I'm on the float I'd sometimes lose the float, if I was on the feeder I'd often lose the feeder. So more litter accumulates.

Why not invest in a whip and try something totally new? Say a 4m job. They're really cheap £5-£10. Then get some light line. Say 2lb. A few small floats. Crow or jackdaw quills work really well fished bottom end only. Some really small shot, size 8-12. Then a small fine wire hook. About size 18. Then feed a thumbnail sized nugget of really wet white bread crumb every cast at 4m and fished punched bread on the hook. Good luck.

I used two rake heads as you suggest. I managed to drag the offending snag to the waters egde. It's not a trolley as I though but a concrete post with a metal rod attached to it and several yards ot wire netting attached to that. Heavy is not the word! Any ideas what to do now?

Anyone tried to do this with a rakehead attached to strong nylon rope? I just tried it and failed to snag on the snags - so the branches and trolleys and stuff in the swim I'd like to fish (on opening day) are still in the water :-( Anyone got any good tips? Thanks

It is - but I think I will take Paul D's advice....so now I am looking for a good 15' float rod. And once again I would like to know as much about it before I order it blind on the internet. And once again simple things like their weight are not mentioned... Cheers

I do not subscribe to ATA and cannot find a copy in a newsagent for love nor money. I'm interested in the article where Alan Scotthorne revealed some of his thinking on feeding. Has anyone got a copy and can explain the gist of what he wrote? Thanks

Hmm. That's probably good advice. I'm now considering the Drennan DRX Ultralight Waggler MKII or the Drennan floatmaster combo float rod. But once again I cannot find a site that tells me how heavy these rods are...Anyone know? Thanks

any recommendations/information? I've tried googling for info and can't even find out what I'm looking for: rod weights and recommendation line strengths. TIA

The duck was fine. Didn't even cause it to flop into the water.

I was fishing a small inlet near a small bridge (the river was really up) the other week. I was the on the pole, just started. Second cast a flock of ducks flew under the bridge. One of them flew right into my pole and smashed no 4 section. Sections 1,2,3 and half of 4, plus the rig dropped into the water and were swept away by the fast current. I hate ducks. Fortunately it wasn't a really expensive pole.

Just to try and add some balance and facts....In Angling Times Grahame King says "I didn't set out to catch it again" "I was in a swim that hasn't produced for three months and I just fanced it for a fish" "I know there will be some people who will criticise me but I love fishing for big barbel and I love fishing at Adams Mill. It's a magic place that's close to my home and somewhere I can fish with my best mates".

I always use his mega tumeric on maggots. And not just for the spice either - it cuts the ammonia and grease making them sink faster. I definitely seem to catch more silverfish. The only problem is that it's really powerful. The tumeric smell stays on your fingers for a couple of days. Anyone know of a remedy for that?

I've seen a Maver M27 new for £800 pounds. But it's advertised as a "multi-use" pole. I don't want a multi use pole. What I had in mind was something akin to a 16m version of the super-slim Daiwa Tournament Pro 8m whip. But I doubt such a beast exists.... P.S. Sorry for the delay in replying - BT dropped my internet connection for 4 days.

I'm looking for a 14.5 or 16m pole which will be used mainly for far bank work on my local river. It doesn't need to be a carp bagging pole - the target species are roach and big chub. Price range £500 to £1000. Any opinions Thanks

Should that make a difference? It hasn't so far. Last time out it was F$^&*(reezing and I was still catching about 25 minnows to each roach. The guy next to me was feeding hemp and seemed to be a bit less plagued. I can't see why that would make a difference - except that he was getting some nice chub - and it was probably the chub keeping the minnows away....

Ok. I'll give it a shot next time. Thanks Jon

Some days when I fish my local river I get plagued by minnows - regardless of what bait I seem to use. Does anyone have any good tips on avoiding minnows?