bluerinse

Hi Dan Welcome to Anglers Net forum, I can see you are 11 years Old; it seems you have an ambition to catch a 10lb Carp, Well in itself that’s not a bad ambition. I would though like to let you into some secrets about Fishing. If you really enjoy it it will be your hobby (passion) for life. There is more to fishing than catching fish; you will perhaps appreciate this more as you get older. Fisher men get to go places most people don’t even know exist. You get to see all sorts of wildlife many people will never see. You get to spend a lot of time outdoors, which is a good thing. All fish types are worth catching, some people think roach are one of the hardest fish to catch and a big roach is a rare fish, anything over 1lb is considered a good fish and will praise a fisherman who was clever enough to catch it. You can fish in many different styles, but one style you must learn is float fishing, once you have learnt this style you can learn many more. Catching fish is not just about throwing the right bait into the right lake its about leaning to understand how fish live, were they like to go, what they are eating in the lake or river naturally, when they like to eat, how deep the water is in different areas and at what time of the day /year they are likely to be in different depths of water. This and many more thing are called water craft, this has to be learnt. There are a lot of man made lakes which have a lot of fish in them, more than would be if they were wild, these are called commercial lakes, in these lakes its easier to catch fish, normally Carp, as there are more fish than would be naturally and not enough natural food so they are hungry quite a lot, so angler baits are taken more often. These are good places to fish but can become a bit boring after a while. Later on you will realise a lot of the fun of fishing is working out how to catch a fish that is not easy to catch; it’s sort of like a challenge. This sort of fishing is more rewarding in self satisfaction, as when you do catch a fish you know you had to figure it all out for yourself and were smarter than the fish. I really hope you enjoy your fishing, I hope you get your 10lb Carp and I hope you go onto appreciate all aspects of fishing and the reward of catching all types of fish big or small, here are some photos of fish I caught last night , some small some big but all were very welcome. Cheers Richard small rude great color 8lb carp with some green scales! baby carp (first I have ever caught) baby tench, very nice fish

Were and when did you catch the Zander? Were you fishing for Zander or did you catch it by accident? If you were fishing for Zander you need to use a wire trace. Un- hooking Zander in my opinion is easier than Pike, Use long nose pliers (my preference) or forceps. If you are fishing for Zander or pike than you should try and go with an experienced angler so that they can teach you, I am even sure depending on were you live a member of this forum would be happy to assist. It is important that you have the right tackle when fishing for predators, you would need the correct line and terminal tackle as well as un- hooking mat and landing net of the right size. I fish a lot for Zander and pike and would be happy to give you further information on a PM if you want.

I have had the same problems at a fishery called Morton Springs in Warwickshire. It has some great Roach and really big perch, I have been targeting these with red worm over the last 2 weeks, I have had some good fish, but I was getting broken by carp each evening, I now fish with 5lb main line straight throw with a size 14 hook tied on the main line, I am fishing with a stick float and match rod. This has not reduced the number of roach and perch I am catching and is also allowing me to catch the carp, here is one I caught last night. I am not a carp fisherman, but I have to admit its one hell of a fight on light tackle and very enjoyable. This fish is over 10lbs, I did not weigh it as I did not have my scales with me, and it was in fin perfect condition.

Mosquito’s (known as midges in Scotland) are the buggers that bite not the gnats; they can bite through most cloths, I was out last night and have woken to find 3 good bites in my back and two on my legs, I used to worry about them and scratch them, but now I just ignore them and don't touch them, I find that if you don't worry about the bites they go away! it’s only if you rub or scratch them that they become painful. You just have to have a mind shift, a bit like mind over matter. It really does work

Male Bream get these white bums during spawning, totally natural.

Thanks for the reply, I can find campsites that allow fires, even campsites that have course fishing and allow fires, what I can't find is a campsite that has fly-fishing and allows fires. The best I have found so far is a campsite in Cumbria that allows campfires and has a fly fishery 2 miles down the road, but its a stocked lake that charges £35 a day with a 3 fish limit no Catch and release!, I was looking for something more natural. If anyone knows a farmer with a stream or river with trout that will let me camp etc please let me know. Or a remote mountain lake with trout that I can fish with a near by campsite would be great.

My first choice bait would be bread. I would also take maggot and worm Good luck

In the very early 80's I fished arrow valley Park Lake in Redditch, it was a new fishery then. I was fishing for roach with hemp, but all I caught all day was perch, they went absolutely mad for it. It was fish after fish. I put it down to them thinking it was some kind of water insect or bug. I have also caught perch on corn but again this was when it was being retrieved. I had a 5lb Chub on a static smelt when pike fishing and have caught Rudd, perch and even bream on the fly when after trout. I have caught bream on Toby lures when fishing for sea trout in Sweden. I think fish will eat or take bait for many reasons, food, Protecting territory, out of interest at what the item is. Lets face it salmon don't feed in rivers but they will take a bait out of aggression. I think this can apply to most types of fish.

I have a large pond in my garden, I put in some bog standard gold fish a few years back, not I have hundreds of brown gold fish, and very very few with color. The original fish have all been eaten by herons, the brown ones have faired better and breed each year. I can only say that they seem to go back to brown in one genaration, the odd fish has some color but is never fully gold.

Hi I have posted this on the fly forum as well , but I know many of you do fly fish so Thought I woulod post it here to if thats ok. Im after some help, I want to go camping and fly fishing in the uk, I would like the area to be remote, I would also like to have a camp fire in the evenings, I don't mind what type of flyfishing, if its river, small river, Lake etc... It would be best if the camp was on the water edge. I am planning to go at the end of May with 2 freinds, We have been scouring the internet but don't seem able to find this kind of facility. Belive it or not having a camp fire seems not alowed anymore. many thanks for any help

Hi Im after some help, I want to go camping and fly fishing in the uk, I would like the area to be remote, I would also like to have a camp fire in the evenings, I don't mind what type of flyfishing, if its river, small river, Lake etc... It would be best if the camp was on the water edge. I am planning to go at the end of May with 2 freinds, We have been scouring the internet but don't seem able to find this kind of facility. Belive it or not having a camp fire seems not alowed anymore. many thanks for any help

I think I know what happened to all the fish, someone has put a couple of pike in the pond and they have eaten them all,

In 1987 I worked as the head chef at Newbury race course, I was there for 1 year only, I lived in Newbury and fished the river in the town. In fact I fished a stretch of water that was free or pay on the bank I don’t recall, it was just of the center of town close to some industrial warehouses and there was a smaller stream that ran parallel to the main river, The roach fishing was the best I have ever encountered, I used to trot with bread and feed mashed bread, the size of the roach was impressive with 1lb -2lb turning up all the time. I also caught a 6lb trout on the bread. Further more further up the bank was a sluice gate and around this were some very nice perch. I found that the river was in excellent condition with a lot of weed growth. I really enjoyed fishing the Kennet, I am not sure if you can still fish the town stretch but I have always thought about going back for a days fishing.

I was think the same, baked hard, and then refiled by rain could also explain the clear water.

I don't have a problem with dogs, a little pat and a few words if they are trying to eat something normally have them sitting and wagging there tails. Most dogs are obedient especially if there is some food in it for them. I quite like a visit from a dog when I am fishing. Most owners who let there dogs off the lead know that there dog is not a threat, maybe a bit lively but not dangerous, If you fish the Avon in Stratford, you will be visited by at least 10 dogs in a session, but I know that and still fish there, I have not had any problems with damage or stolen food or peeing, I have once had a dog gets its leg caught in the line of a rod I had laid on the floor, but it was easy to release and the owner apologized profusely. Over all I guess Its just not an issue for me, but I can understand why some anglers would find it annoying. Sorry I must be a bit different

Are fish really more intelligent than monkeys? Alok Jha The Guardian, Thursday September 4 2003 Article historyAbout this articleClose This article appeared in the Guardian on Thursday September 04 2003 . It was last updated at 12:21 on January 05 2006. There is certainly more evidence for intelligence in fish than in monkeys. But this has more to do with the volume of research on fish, work that is sometimes hard to do on monkeys. "If you make a big list and have a look at all the evidence for advanced cognition, the evidence is far more convincing for fish than it is for primates," says Culum Brown, a biologist at Edinburgh University and co- author of a report this week on how intelligent fish really are. "That's primarily because most of the primate literature is based on anecdotal evidence and brief observation." Gone are the days when fish were thought to float around without much regard for their environment or other fish. According to Brown, fish are "steeped in social intelligence". They pursue Machiavellian strategies of manipulation, punishment and reconciliation and cooperate to avoid predators or catch food. They can identify their shoal-mates, recognise the social status of other fish, use tools, build complex nests and even navigate mazes. And, to put the most persistent fish heresy to bed, they even have impressive long-term memories. Brown cites his own recent research finding that fish remembered the location of a hole in a fishing net nearly a year after first learning about it. Apocryphal tales of goldfish having memories that last a few seconds seem mainly designed to make people feel better about keeping them in small featureless bowls. To prevent your fish getting bored, Brown suggests changing its environment from time to time. The fish may recognise the rock you have moved, but the fact that it's in a different place is always interesting to it, Brown says. Paul Honess, a primatologist at the Oxford of University, is surprised that biologists would claim primate-like intelligence for fish. "If the only evidence is quantity of research, then that's no evidence at all," he says. Brown says he is not arguing that fish are more intelligent than primates per se, but that they are more intelligent than we thought

As a child we had a similar ex gravel pit close to home, small perch were the first to arrive, followed by Gudgeon and then roach, as far as I know it was never stocked as it was only a handful of kids that ever fished there. It was next to a tiny brook, but there were only stickle backs, Bullheads and Loach in the brook. It was the same as you describe, at first the water was clear and no weed, then Canadian pond weed arrived followed by Blanket weed, in the end we had to drag the weed out to fish. I had seen it grow from the day they stopped mining it, we only by chance saw a small peach one day and that’s why we started to fish it, the small perch were all the same year class, when we started they were about 2 inches long. I went back last year to have a look, it was completely choked with weed and looked more like a bog, I wonder if the fish are still there? It was and still is as far as I know not fished by any Adults, it was like a secret fishing place, the fish were small (apart from a large 10oz (ish) roach I caught one evening) and easy to catch. I believe its fish arrived naturally.

http://www.idealspain.com/Pages/Sports/Guadiaro.htm I have fishe dthe Guadiaro River, in the 80,s lots of barbel and the river does not dry up. Pleanty of places to fish, the locals catch and kill the fish for food so you get some funny looks when you put the fish back. Perhaps google it fo more info Cheers Bluerinse

When I lived in Sweden a neighboured showed me his homemade worm collecting tool It was a garden folk, connected to a length of electrical cable with a switch on the folk handle which was plugged into the wall socket. He just sprayed the lawn with water put on his rubber boots and thrust the folk in the ground, the worms shoot out, he then collected them as they were semi paralysed Not sure I should tell people about this as it always scared the cr@p out of me but it was successful

You could use a polaris float one of the smaller ones, the bites register either with a lift bite or they sink away, they wont slide or move about.

Ok So you can tell from my earlier posts I would be happy to debate the whole angling and wildlife issue, I have no issue and will always come down on the side of Responsible anglers, and would defend Angling against the likes of the Swan Lady. I will how ever stand firm on the anglers who see fit to leave discarded tackle and rubbish. We as a sport need to take up the challenge of Educating those around us who act irresponsibly, You never see posters in Tackle shops advising on good behavior and bylaws, why can't the EA invest in a campaign against Litter for example, Surly the cost of the campaign would easily be covered by the fact there would be less rubbish to be removed from the banks. One further thought, if the water is so polluted by Lead, why are the fish not suffering, they must eat more out of the sediment than the Swans, Just a thought.

Alan at Alcester Tackle in Alcester Warwickshire always rounds down the total bill, is always pleasant and ready for a chat, he has had it bad in the last couple of years, he had a heart attack year before last, then the landlord of his shop on Alcester high street increased his rent to a price he could not afford, he recently moved on to the industrial estate In Alcester, (not the best location) during the move he was broken into and all his high value rods and reels were stolen, he had not got his alarm fitted as he was in the process of installing it, so his insurance was invalid. This is a man that deserves some good luck and as much custom as possible. If anyone is ever over this way pop in and buy something from him. Top class local info on the Warwickshire Avon and Rivers Arrow and Alne. As well as match fishing info and commercials.

When I last checked I had 90p in my pocket!!!!!

So are you saying it categorical is not Anglers who are responsible of the lead poisoning and if so what proof do you have? And no there should not be a ban on angling, but there should be some way of having a reasoned debate with evidence from both sides being submitted, even if this lady is dogmatic and un-reasonable we should be able to bring the issue to someone's table to make our case. I am sure through her work she will have seen plenty of swans with hook and line injuries and will have plenty of photos to prove it, I just wonder what us anglers will be able to bring to the table?