lutra

And I thought I was doing well with 2. I do get some good bags (100lb+ isn't unknown) of chub at times trotting. One of my most memorable days saw 11 fives sink the float with the best 5.8. Of them 8 big wise chub Chris, how many have you fooled in broad daylight with trotting gear?

I know your tricks, you just want me to buy more and more rods so you can justify your own tackle buying obsession. Well anyway I fancy a longer rod first and keep looking at them Tricast John Allerton's. I see that Mr Robbins has been helping himself to our roach. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi-4za4dN10 It's like a mill pond under your nose there and he's still uses a wire stem. The worlds gone wire stem mad.

I think a lot depends on what you are doing with them Bob. I've had many a chub when salmon fishing with a 20g pike float and they can give very positive sail away bites. I've caught and plenty roach and dace with big wire stemmed sticks, bolo's, avons and big wagglers. Its just that I find it can be helpful to lighten up as much possible in the dead of winter when things is hard and I'm happy for even a 2oz dace or what ever may come along. I know tiddler catching isn't for some anglers like Tigger, they've told me so. May be I'm just a little different and don't need to be looking for lumps all the time and can be happy just catching a bag of bits.

I don't really think of a 3bb or 5bb stick as super light Ian, more medium to big. Yes I would agree its hard to mend your line to a light stick float without moving it. I think the idea is more to fish them straight off the rod tip and stay in good contact so really no need to start mending line. I was really just curious why they (wire stemmed sticks) have become so popular as given the size and weight of them, I don't find much use for them.

To be a little more scientific than just looking at the floats, I pulled the wire stem out of that 10 number 4 stick and suck a cocktail stick in. It now carry's 8bb and is still a little under shotted. I now just need to convince myself that my two new 1.2g balsa and fine pitch pine sticks out fish my old wire one. I think there will be a notable difference fishing for silvers as my rig will be half the weight.

Them's not men's sticks, they got no shoulders.

Yes I get and will go with the leverage and shot bit, but just don't get the metal bit. Metal might make a thin stem, but its heavy and what you gain in the stem is more than lost in the body. and it all add extra weight to your rig. No? A 4g Premier Avon next to a 2g Preston's stick, They Don't look much different in size. Looking at the Premier woody's the biggest Alloy stick they make I don't think will be small, but it only carries 1.1g. http://www.premierfishingfloats.co.uk/premier-woodys/shouldered-alloy-stick Ian, What make and weight are these slim wire stems you have?

I think my dislike of them comes more from the lighter stick ones that I tend to want to use more on the drop for shyer silvers. The body on a 4,5 or 6 number 4 wire stem looks about twice the size of that on a wood or plastic stem stick. If you look at a 5AAA wire stem bolo, it doesn't look to bad in size to me with the extra size of body need to carry the wire stem being a smaller percentage. Also if I was to be using big avon/bolo, the chances are I would be trying to fish hard on the bottom for less shy biting things like chub and barbel, so not so bothered about size, weight and sensitivity.

Results of my stick float throwing comp were pretty poor for wire stems. All my jointed wood or plastic stems seem to fly better. Evan a very gentle throw seems to see the wires going end over end. Seems a bit of a silly test as they will fly much different on the line with a load of shot added, won't they?

Hmm, first one flew ok, but the bloody dogs run off with it so might need a bit of repair.

So wouldn't no stem be even better? And why heavy metal? You can have thin anything. wood, carbon, plastic, ..........

I think thats true of most avons so doesn't really tell me how thin wire stem helps.

So why are they so stable? Is it just the size and weigh of them? If so, if you were using a 3bb wire would it not just be the same as using a 6bb stick or avon but with 3bb tucked up to the float?

I was having to have a clear out of floats in my tackle box as i carry way to many with me. Its never easy choosing which get the boot, but the wires have got it this time round as I can't remember the last time I used one. I think the reason I don't use them is they weigh a ton and are twice the size of my sticks are crow quills that carry the same weight. So my question is why are they so popular? Am I missing some big advantage they have that makes their size and weight worth putting up with?

Moleskins for me. I tried my lightweight Craghoppers once, but never again as the nettles stung me to death through them. I would go with work pants, but its nice not to wear them at least one day a week.

Any talk of barbel eggs being transported by birds or animals would seem highly unlikely to me. They don't spawn in the shallow weedy margins like some fish that may have been transported about like this.

Can't say I've come across many other theories that stand up to much Ian. What have you heard?

Yes I think the Yes I also don't think there was barbel under the ice in yorkshire. They may or may not have survived up other more southern rivers like the thames. The sea you talk of was fresh water until it got so big that it broke through the last bit of land that connected us to europe. As it grow in size and flooded over rivers south of the ice, it will have forced the fish in them to look for a new home. Yorkshire might have seemed ok before the tykes got there.

The last ice age. Something along the lines of as the ice melted and retreated north it flooded them tykes (and some southerners) and mixed up all their fish with foreign ones (let the barbel in) before the weight of water got to much and burst its way out making the English channel. So all these foreign fish are the tykes (gozzers) fault.

I'm not sure when barbel found their way in to more southerly westward flowing rivers Ian, but its still well in living memory that there wasn't any here in the northwest. Not only can you be fairly sure the last ice age pretty much sterilized most of our northern rivers, it will have made a lot of them from scratch. So no barbel, chub, dace, roach,.................... and deffo no carp.

Given that the EA has taken steps to protect carp even in waters that they have yet to find their way into (legally or not). What makes you think they would be interested in helping get them out of any waters? I think the EA just see's carp as an easy way of keeping a lot of anglers happy.

For the last few years I've been doing way more float fishing and a lot less sitting around trying to catch a big this that or the other in the lonely pitch black for hours on end. I may not have had many pb's lately and it may help if you have good general coarse fishing close by, but its definitely kept me a little more interested the last few years. But I think if you do to much of anything, it looses its edge. Variety is the spice of life.

Sorry Ken, but due to my caring nature and that some banks are steep and they may roll back down........ I do think a rock over the head first is a good idea.

Nice one Ian I was at Dave's yesterday and had a nosy at the one he's posted. Its amazing how well they have lasted. It runs perfectly and I could happily a gone trotting with it. Sounds like the black on your fingers is just the soft alloy coming off. Another 100 years and it might all have gone.

Pedestrians always have the right of way, not just when crossing side roads....... If one drops out of the sky and you hits him with your car, its your fault.