james17

And...he didn't suggest they would.

That sounds good how long does it need to be left for?

Just boiled up a parti mix and while other seeds such as the tares in the mix have gone mushy the maize is only slightly softer. I boiled the particles for about 30 minutes. Will maize go completely soft or is it ok to use quite hard?

Yeah that looks good. I was planning on using it for sloppy particles mixes as well as boilies etc. so that covers all areas. Still, I would like to make my own as well just to see if it's worthwhile. No-one else had a go at this?

Sounds good, will let you know how I get on Im sure I remember something about condensed milk being added to the particles mixes. Anyone else heard of/tried this?

Likewise, anyone got any bivies knocking about, i'll even pay towards delivery!

Going fishing for a 24 hour session on thursday so i'll start soaking the mix tomorrow and then compare raisins results with other hookbaits: boilies, corn, meat etc. Do the raisins need soaking though because they are soft already?

My catapults broken and I need a way of getting a carpet of bait out and was thinking about a spod. I don't really want to buy one so has anyone made their own spods or know of how to do it? Thanks in advance for replies

Chilly sounds like a good additive and cheap too, I might try that or some curry powder in one batch and compare with results from unflavoured seeds see if it makes a difference. Just a thought, anyone ever tried or heard of raisins as bait?

I was thinking about an article I read in one of the weeklies were I think it was swimstim was added to make a cloud of attraction, however blending some and adding it back would do that anyway and make a lovely trail for the fish to follow. Thanks for the advice Elton

Just bought my first unprepared particles including hemp, pigeon conditioner and mixed bird seed. Do these need to be prepared separately or can I mix them in advance and boil them together? At what stage of preparation should flavour be added? How long will they last after they have been cooked or can they be frozen? Any other tips will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance James

Thanks for the replies Andy, thats an impressive selection of baits to catch on. I was also planning to try insects like woodlice and centipedes that sort of thing. Newt, that baistick looks like the dogs, though the shipping from the U.S will be pricey, any idea of a similar product closer to home? I wonder if they'll still be about when the river season starts though? I seem to remember them only appearing for a few weeks.

Just wondering if anyone has ever tried them or read anything about them being used for bait?

I watched a fishing programme last night were the angler identified the fish as uncaught because of an intact skin flap at the top of the mouth. How would this show if it had been caught or not if it was there after they had caught it?

Just brought this 2-man bivvy from Dragon Carp for £170 two weeks ago, used it once but something's come up meaning I need the money more than the bivvy. It's literally as good as new. I anyone fancies it - £140.

Im going to be trying to take chub from the surface using bread, bleak livebaits and surface poppers. Night fishing for barbel, aim to catch my first double. River piking using lures and livebaits hoping for anything over 15lb And finally catching some crayfish for the barbeque.

I've heard people say that barbless hooks can cause the hook to move around too much in the fishes lip which is why some fisheries ban them.

When using spam I find it best to hook it through the side, push the hook through, turn it and then pull it back into the meat. This works on a decent sized piece and i've never had any trouble getting the hook to pull through on the strike. Another way is attach your hookling via a swivel and then use a baiting needle to pull the whole hooklink through the meat, again pulling the hook into the spam. A method I tried out of curiosity and had good hook up rates with is a reverse hair rig style were the hook comes out the bottom of the meat. Don't ask me why but even with a size 6 sticking from the bottom of the meat the fish didn't seem to notice.

Not sure when the next one is but fishing shows/festivals are the best place to buy tackle. At the recent Go Fishing show at Thorpe Park I picked up a quality 42" net with pole for £2 from a second hand stall and there were loads of net+pole combos from reputable companies for under £10. Might be an idea to see if there are any similar coming up.

In August I'm going for two weeks to Margarita which is just off the coast of Venezuela for a family holiday and will be doing some fishing whilst there . The fishing on last years holiday in Lanzarote wasn't great mainly due to lack of experience and planning (though my friend did hook then loose a Wahoo whilst trolling) and we only managed to catch a few small fish from the lagoon. Though an experienced coarse fisherman I don't know much about sea fishing and so would like to know what sort of fish I am likely to catch, how to catch them and what baits to use. I know there are lagoons, lakes, mangrove swamps and the Caribbean ocean. If anyone has any experience with anywhere similar then I would be very grateful to hear from you. Thanks in advance James

Unfortunately a little bit hungover on saturday so had to give it a miss this weekend. Will let you know how it is next monday. Thanks again. James

Sounds interesting, how many worms would you expect to get from this technique? I have been out at night with a headlamp pulling them from the ground but have never tried this. Cheers Terry, I have a composter and do indeed have a large number of denddrobena which got in their naturally however lobworms don't seem to breed in their. Thanks for the advice, unfortunately my soil is unsuitable for any worms for some reason and so have to go to my nearest field to gather worms. Not sure they'd appreciate me killing the grass on their cricket pitch!

Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to the Go Fishing Show in March and so will stick with what i've got until then. I'll have a look for all the rods mentioned when i'm there and hopefully i'll be able to try them out and find the one which suits me. Thanks again for the advice. James.

Lobworms being my favorite bait for many species i am tired of paying extortionate prices for them and have little time to collect them myself (there seems to be less recently anyway, maybe due to the weather) and so i was wondering wether anyone has had any success breeding them in captivity. I've not heard anything about it before but if i can't be done, does anyone know why? Cheers

Thanks for the advice. I like the look of the John Wilson rod especially. Would that be suitable for light carp fishing aswell? Cheers