Barry C

As I understand it under 16s do not require a licence. So as one licence permits you to fish with two rods how many rods can you use if no licence is required.

I wholeheartedly recomend these. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROVEX-ARCTIC-THERMAL-FISHING-BOOTS-/360760279950?pt=UK_BOI_Packing_Postal_Supplies_Labels_LE&var=&hash=item53fefd038e This is the third winter wearing mine and will not hesitate in buying again. I expect them to do next winter as well. They are ultralight and warm as toast due to the cellular construction. Bit like an Aero chocolate bar. I believe TF gear also do them branded accordingly and are a bit cheaper.

Thats not a gob. Thats a gob.

The problem of summer piking is a very real one. In recent years it has been worse with the popularity of very light lure fishing. I get told all the time ''I'me using 25lb braid and my rod is strong enough to handle a 20''. But with the very light rods it is almost impossible to land a decent fish until it has fought to a standstill. It is quite likely that a fish played like this in the summer with low disolved oxygen levels will go belly up. No doubt it is great sport but not very good for the pike. Might just as well let the EEs have them, at least they get a meal.

I bought my Speedia pin just before prices went silly about ten years ago for, if I remember rightly £25. Same reel in that condition now nearer £70. Its not the anglers that buy and use them that drive the prices up but the glass cabinet collectors.

I rather like it that theres a bit of mystery and guesswork as to whats happening below the surface.

So if they are removing all signs of the bait without any indication how do you know they were eels. Just wondered.

You should know by now that everything is slanted towards carp. They are a valuable asset both in cost to purchase and revenue brought in. Everything else pales into insignificance.

I had a very similar experience 5 years ago. I to ended up in A+E and eventually had 3 stents inserted. One thing I have been trying to do localy is to get fisheries,especialy little used remote ones to put their postcode on their notice board. If you are there on your own its not much good having a phone and trying to explain between the pain to a girl in a call centre where you are. Its no good saying ''just to the north of the village take the second left and then right by the next phone box'' if your talking to someone 300miles away. So far none have obliged me.

For those of you open minded enough to give it a go here how i mount a bait using a tagging gun. The hook used is a size 2 ESP raptor. Start of by making a loop in the trace wire aprox level with the hook bend. Then finish off with a knotless knot and a piece of shrink tube to reduce the loop size. Then just mount your bait, either head or tail first. If a head end mount through the boney part of the snout. For a tail end I remove the fin and wrap a few turns bait elastic round to beef it up. And heres what I used. Guns are available on ebay for a few pounds and the tags are 25mm long. Only drawbacks are your bait needs to be at least partly thawed to get the needle in and I have had the hook stick in the bait on the cast. A dissolving foam nugget cured that.

Another try. Its a bl00dy miracle.

Be gentle with me I'me not very clever at this stuff. So I want to add a photo. I have put the pics I want in google hosting. When prompted for the URL I copy and paste but just get the link as above post. No photo. What am I doing wrong.

Just a test. https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos?tab=wq&gpsrc=gplp0#photos/111096729180624036778/albums/6051502301300391025/6051502304583242210?pid=6051502304583242210&oid=111096729180624036778 Not what I hoped for will try again.

Glad you all liked it. These guys realy seemed to know what they were doing and were obviously well prepared, except maybe for the net (gotta get a bigger net). There is every chance that the jackets they werte wearing had built in self inflating life jackets. Failing this a self inflating life jacket could be worn under a jacket. I know they are regular equipment for ofshore sailing but are usually a flourescent colour. If they are available in green/brown then I feel sure thats what they would have had. Can't beleive that with all the top notch equipment they had including camera gear they would'nt have this sorted.

Just what it says realy. Turn on subtitles bottom right of screen and prepare to be gobsmacked. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-AlwGQmCQY

Hi Chris I will try and answer the question you have asked. Sprats are a very good pike bait but being small can be swallowed very quickly so make sure you have good bite indication and strike as soon as you get any indication of a bite. I use a single hook for all my piking and would be quite happy mounting a sprat the way you have described. You will not however be able to cast very far without the hook ripping out. My favourite hook is an ESP raptor T6 in size 2. I hair rig my baits using a tagging gun but you should have no trouble. Any similar pattern carp hook should work just as well. With such a soft bait you should have few problems with the hook being masked by the bait as it will easily rip through on the strike. Not wishing to get into the treble versus single debate I will just say that I fish regularly with a pal who uses conventional trebles. Our run, hook up and catch rates are very similar but the ease of unhooking is so much better. I very rarely have to go inside a fishes mouth except to remove other anglers traces.

Well done on your first pike. I know you can get excited by your first especially such impressive fish as pike. It is very important at this time of year with low oxygen levels in the water to handle pike very carefully and quickly. They are quite easily played to exhaustion and frequently do not recover. Many waters even have a closed season for pike between April and October. This is not a winge just a little advice on your new piking adventure.

I have bumped into one or two anglers who have fished there and none were impressed. But then you know how secretive pikers can be. Not a lot of help realy.

Totaly agree, what an A hole. ''All the gear no idea'' springs to mind.

If I had caught it I would call it a Crucian.

Once saw lightning do that on my local res. Gulls had a field day just afterwards picking up dead and stunned fish.

You're trying to tempt me on that long drive from Cornwall ar'nt you. Good luck with the op Steve.

A lake near me had some terrapins released in it a few years back. The way they killed the coots was to grab them by the legs, take them under and drown them. Had lots of one legged and injured coots at the time. A good cold winter seemed to kill them off and all seems fine now.

Wont sleep tonight, too excited. Tackle all ready and bait in the fridge. Although not ideal conditions must go on the first day even if I stop for a while afterwards.

Osprey it is.