Moggy

Hiya Ken...as far as I remember it was not a steep beach, but there were gullies where Bass could hide. It was fairly clean too...not too much rotten bottom. But if I were him I'd be off to Anglesy...not too far away and lots of good marks there...Penmon point is always worth a try, and there are loads of rock marks on the S.W. coast where there are perhaps more species to go at. Not as far to cast but of course rotten bottom, so take plenty of cheap terminal tackle. Moggy

Hells Mouth Beach is good. From Abersoch, follow the signs for Llanengan village and look out for the signpost for Hells Mouth. I would use a single hook paternoster rig, baited with sandeel, rag, king rag or peeler crab if you can get it. Be prepared to use extra lead...the tide rips can be fierce! Moggy

Yes Severus...follow this link and it's about 5 or 6 down the list. You may be interested in the one by Geo. Washington too, which is to be found at the top of the list. It seems to reflect the sentiment. http://politicalquotes.blogspot.com/ Moggy

Cracker Singy! I'd actually thought of simply hooking a sugar puff...should stay on with careful casting, but I do have some blonde deer hair and some pantone pens...may well be worth a try!

This one seems apt, given the current rallying to the christian flag in the US of A... The Bible is not my book, and Christianity is not my religion. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma. -- Abraham Lincoln

Yes Ziggy...stranger things have reached the table! But for the real delicacies you have to go further north to Iceland...all manner of decomposed fish and animals on the menu there!

Yes...maybe I've been in Scandinavia too long Newt! Kind of acclimatised myself to the plethora of venues and fish. Also. though I started my fishing "career" as a coarse angler, I quickly specialised in beach casting, then when the shore catches dwindled I bought a boat. On the fresh water front I got fascinated by fly-fishing when I first moved to Scandinavia, and this has become my favoured niche, though I still enjoy long summer evenings by the lake with big tench and bream in mind. I tend to forget that there are possibly more anglers in the UK than there are inhabitants in Denmark. Most Danes fish for food, though there are a growing number of anglers interested in coarse fishing, which in real terms means that the venues where there are only coarse are virtually virgin. I'm spoilt to death! Moggy

Thanks for that supportive remark...I was beginning to think I'd slaughtered some holy cow or other! Maybe I have. Do you mean to say that the majority of forumites don't even eat SOME of their catch??? How modern! Have they withered under the jackboot of green politics? Have they become "new anglers"? Moggy

Many of us anglers especially the sea- and game fishermen, enjoy bringing a choice fish home and sharing it with friends and family. I tentatively suggested a forum for forumite's recipes, to which he gave a provisional, positive response. I feel sure that there's a wealth of recipes floating around among A.N's users, and that it would be a good resource to those interested in the culinary arts. Opinions please! Moggy

So difficult to answer after 50 years of the sport...but if I'm to chose according to "Knee-tremble factor" Must be late evening at one of my favourite summer codling venues near my home by Oslo Fjord. I treated it like my personal larder...you had to be a real dumbo not to be able to score supper for the family. I only had three or spinners with me and lost all but one to the rocks and kelp. I mounted the remaining blue Toby Slim and began steering it through the obstacle course, when "BANG!#%&@$#"...the lure was hit with a force that a cod could never muster...surely a nice pollock! It was when the silver freight train broke the surface with a violent shaking of the head that I realised it was a sea trout....which is precisely when I got the adrenalin injection and my knees started to tremble. An eternity later, a kind wave picked the struggling beast up and deposited it at my feet on the rock I was standing on. 6 lbs of threshing sea trout! My very first, which lead to an obsession with the species! Got to be my best fish, despite pike of near 30 lbs and wreck-cod at 28! Moggy

The etymology is a bit unclear, but as far as I've always understood it, coarse is to be understood as "Of ordinary/inferior quality or value" As opposed to "Noble" salmonids. Ferret...What about tench? They have tiny scales but come under the umbrella of coarse fish. Moggy

Hi Wil, It's not difficult to tie a leader made up of three x three foot lengths, and I do find that it reduces wind knots in the leader. You'll have to learn to tie a double surgeons knot which is not at all difficult...follow the link below:- http://www.flymartonline.com/article211.html Tie a three foot length of the heaviest line to your fly line using a nail knot,if you don't have a leader loop attached. This is "permanent"; then tie yourself half a dozen, 2 x 3 foot lengths using the Double Surgeon. Trim the knots very closely and smooth over with a rubber based cement. This will stop the tippet section from getting caught up whilst casting. It sounds like a lot of work but in fact isn't once you've learned the knots involved, and it means that you can change your leader very quickly if it gets frayed or knotted. A further cautionary note; if your tippet does get wind knots in it CHANGE IT! These will reduce its B.S. considerably...bit of a bummer to lose a good fish as a result! Tight Lines...Moggy

Weighted buzzers...weight either with lead wire or goldhead beads...I usually tie them in black, claret, light and dark green, and fawn (as in Tup's Fancy). Wouldn't be without March Brown and Silver Invicta either at this time of year! The Czech Nymphs are something I'm going to look at this season too...they look the bizz! Moggy

Hmmm...a tax on smut...interesting concept! I'm fairly sure that if under-18's wanted to access "Unsuitable" material on the net, they could, without any difficulty at all. I do applaud the idea of censouring site content, but if it's to protect the younger members, I think you'll find that the stable door is hanging from it's hinges already! A seperate joke forum isn't a bad idea however, and I would welcome it as a positive addition to an already cracking site. One has to bear in mind though, that not everyone has a credit card, adult or not, and that some under 18's have them too, or at least access to them, so using pay pal as a "filter" won't be that successful. Being moral adjudicator would be no easy task either! Moggy

Sheepy/Sporty...I'll let you know how I fare! It works with insects...why not breakfast cereal?

Kayaks and anglers can easily mix, Rabbit! It's just a matter of mutual respect isn't it? I've enjoyed both sports for many years, (Though never combined) and I've rarely had a problem, whether I've had a paddle or a rod in my hands. Used to paddle the Leeds Liverpool canal down Formby way every Sunday. My wife was happy to get me out of the house for the day, and I was happy to visit the Scarisbrick Arms, The Ship Inn, the Saracens Head and the Bluebell, each in turn...(Well...you have to keep your fluids and blood sugar up!) I just asked anglers where they would like me to pass and as far as I remember, only got civilised answers! Live and let live...canoists are usually just passing through and the disturbance to fishing is usually minimal. Moggy

I posted a question regarding the suitability of sugar puffs as floating bait for coarse fish yesterday. It seems to be worth a try. I more or less gave up coarse fishing for the fly many years ago, but since I have access to such good coarse fishing, I thought I would take it up again...then it occurred to me that there's the option of presenting sugar puffs as a dry fly! Anyone tried this? Moggy

Thanks again Dave, I think I know just the spot for this activity thanks to your description. It's overhung by bushes and trees with big beds of reeds and bullrushes at the edge, and lillies and other weed beds further out. My plan is to drag out a few swims in the weed beds and fish these. This could be quite exciting on floating bait, as I'll be able to see the fish taking. Can't wait! Cheers....Moggy

Hi Pete, I was brought up with a match rod in my hands, but I veered away from coarse fishing years ago in favour of the fly rod. But as I said in my opening post...I'm living in Denmark now, and I'd like to take coarse fishing up again. I've found a large, virtually virgin lake where I know there to be both huge bream and tench. I've decided to dedicate more time to the tench and bream and I'm just looking at techniques and baits that will help me target these species. I've always been a great believer in the lobworm when it comes to these two, plus big roach and bream, but if they'll feed as readily on sugar puffs (For example) it would save me a lot of digging! Cheers...Moggy

Thanks for that Dave, I'll give them all a try! Just thought sugar puffs were a convenient, easy to use bait. "Mixers"? I've been off the coarse scene for quite a long time...not heard of this before. It was still water fishing that I was originally thinking of, but there's a slow-flowing river exiting the lake, which is also full of similar species...can I use the same technique there? Also...another thought...could I use crust or even sugar puffs as a "pop-up" bait, and is that any advantage? Cheers...Moggy

Living in Denmark has its advantages, and one of them is the plethora of coarse venues that are hardly touched! I watched Hugh F-W on Riverside Cottage, catch grass carp on sugar puffs. I suspect the carp in that particular pond are used to be being fed bread, but my question is this: can you get other bottom feeders such as bream, tench and roach etc. to feed on sugar puffs on the top? If so...would this be a summer activity? General advice on how to catch tench in almost virgin water would also be appreciated. Cheers...Moggy

It's all about how much "memory" a line has. That's to say, some lines when stored on the reel for a while, come off in loops when cast. The first drawback with this is that you cast shorter distances, and the second is that it disturbs the water more when retrieved, if fished on the top. But there are easy ways to avoid this. One is to take the line off when returning from a trip and hang it in big loops so that that doesn't occur, or alternatively, if you're a lazy sod like me, strip the line off a few hours before going fishing, lay it in warm water for a bit to clean and soften it, and the stretch it between two trees/post or whatever for a couple of hours. This will remove the loops and Bob's yer uncle. But as the other guys have said...they don't need to be expensive if you know where to look! Tight lines..Moggy

I have to agree with Roy Stubbs on this one. If the revenue is used to increase the fish stocks, whether by breeding programs, increased policing or research, this can only be a good thing. New taxes are always unpopular, but as someone said, rod licenses are a part of the deal for fresh water anglers, have been for years, and I can see no reason why the sea angler shouldn't join these ranks . If you look around northern Europe you'll find that this is not at all uncommon. Moggy

Excellent!!! We need to see more of this sort of action! We see SO many illegal nets here in Denmark, but the authorities claim that they don't have the resources to police our many fjords. It's almost seen as a victimless crime, and is accepted by small communities as being a "bit naughty", but the truth of the matter is that these net bandits block the access to our rivers with their nets and take a significant number of salmon, sea trout and whitefish on their way up to the redds...and all for personal gain. It's frustrating when so much money and effort is spent stocking rivers with indigenous smolts and fry to keep up the numbers of returning adult fish, but despite petitions and lobbying, the authories just don't see it as a priority! Moggy Vegetarian...another name for an unsuccessful angler.

Hi Walcott...I lived and fished in Norway for 4 years, and can tell you that you have a rare treat in store! Be sure to take tackle that will handle the heavier end of things, and at least one boat reel with BIG line capacity...you could easily be fishing at 300 metres depth. Maybe a course of upper-body training at the local gym would be a good idea too! Below is the email address of a guy called Atle, a member of the Sotra sea angling club. I'm sure that he will answer any questions you have. atle@sotrahavfiske.no Tight Lines...Moggy