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Neil G

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Everything posted by Neil G

  1. Ah okay, I have fly fished for carp in the margins using sinking pellets and fake dog biscuit so I suppose that is a fairly similar tactic...really like playing fish with no gearing straight onto the reel so maybe I should try one out. Trotting lives on one sounds great!
  2. I got into the braid thing through piking and use it for everything else now. It's prone to wind knots now and again but apart from that it's great, you can use a mono leader before your hooklink tied loop to loop or use 2/3ft of rig tube to protect fish and keep the crucial part of the rig on the deck. Spooling up with braid isn't too bad, just remember to use electrical tape or some mono on the spool before you wind on your braid otherwise the whole lot will rotate!
  3. I've never used one but like the look and idea of them (simplicity)...what are the advantages and disadvantages and what sort of fish are people catching using them. Anything usual being caught using the pin?
  4. It was reasonably productive John, it wasn't uncommon to go out and have 3/4 good size doubles in a day but last year you'd be lucky to have a double in weeks. I'm not blaming it all on that though as there are plenty of contributing factors, it is just one of them. Funnily enough I have fished the same river for chub and roach and it's never been better...loads of good sized fish so maybe the floods has had a positive effect...who knows.
  5. My local river is smashed! In the summer the burnt grass patches, Eastern European tackle wrappers and general rubbish everywhere are the general giveaways. Now I have no problem with taking the odd fish for the pot but the key word to use here is sustainable....in big river systems and lakes over in the EU it's not a problem. Said smashed local rivers are small without a big head of predators and I've seen the pike fishing in particular decline massively over the last few years, nothing else to do now but to go elsewhere
  6. Just watched that vid Poledark and that's a pretty neat rig, definitely useable for small baits such as sprats and roach. I have thought about threading the trace through the bait before but never quite got to grips with perfecting it.
  7. I was under the impression these days that carp rods etc were pretty affordable? I recently bought a Daiwa Black Widow carp rod for my brother and I don't think was over 50 notes...lovely slim blank and the action is really nice on it. As for reels good Daiwa regals are always reliable and affordable. Some stuff in carp fishing is ridiculous though....stainless rod pods for £300 and motorized barrows for £600 and how many bags can you buy for objects...I 'm surprised individual camo hook bags haven't been invented by now! I suppose it's all to do with how people get sucked into thinking they need stuff when really they just want it!
  8. Yep, still got the rod. I can post some pics if you're interested in it, just let me know.
  9. I tend to agree with that. Mick Brown even started experimenting with hair rigs using chunks of mackerel and the like...it certainly looked neat but I don't think it caught on in the piking community. After 4 days on a recent trip pi**ing about with PVA bags, baiting up with pellets etc, and threading boilies and pop ups on hairs it makes me really appreciate the simplicity of pike fishing....if it all works leave as is
  10. I didn't know it was called the uni rig, I just kind of came up with it years back through trial and error and have used it ever since. IMO it's ever so slightly easier to deal with than two trebles when unhooking and I don't think the hook up rate suffers that much in comparison either. Never really tried singles or circles but maybe this year could be the time to test some out.
  11. Why not try a treble and a single? Put the treble (size 4 or 6) by the dorsal then have a sliding single hook of a similar size (ESPs are good) in the tail root to secure when casting. Use shrink tube along the shank of the single to keep it in line with the trace and it allows you to move it to suit different baits. As for lives a single treble seems to work well...keep it simple and all that.
  12. Okay, sounds like your seasons dictate slightly different timings than over here in the UK. Most of the pike I've caught in the winter seem to be covered with leeches suggesting possibly a more sedentary lifestyle in the winter, it's certainly easier to find them when it's colder where I am as the smaller fish tend to move to the deeper areas of the rivers and the pike usually follow close behind this food source. I've noticed this pattern over the past few years, the fishing gets better from say November onwards peaking in Feb/March. Lets hope it doesn't rain so much this year though as then we may actually be able to get to the river to wet a line!
  13. Sorry, I may have worded it wrong. I totally agree Andy that a lot of people go fishing for other species in the summer because it's when they're most active. Pike are at a higher weight in Jan/Feb than in the middle of summer but it isn't the only reason people fish for them in the winter.
  14. I know where your coming from Anderoo, I'm not a member of the pac and I don't go on the p&p forums anymore as the vibe was rather salty! I'm pretty much a full time piker but have no issue with people giving it a go..like all types of angling it's there to discover and enjoy!
  15. Exactly, I was happy using size 2 thick gauge hooks and so this rule really threw me. Didn't really stand much of a chance!
  16. Attached is a picture of a size 8 hook after an encounter with a ton up sturgeon....a very, very gutting moment for me as the line went slack and a probable fish of a lifetime disappeared off into the murk. I'm just posting this to see what peoples views are on hook sizes and fishery rules. I turned up with proper size 2 Catfish pro BP hooks and catlink leader as the place contains cats up to 90lb as well as sturgeon to 110lb but changed the rigs due to the rules which stipulated size 8s...now I was a little surprised at this but didn't want to get booted off but after this tussle I was kicking myself for not leaving them on. It was a real dilemma of doing what you know is right or playing by the rules and I obviously made the wrong choice. I will not be going back to said venue as asking people who are paying lots of money and travelling a long way to chance it on carp equipment to me seems a little misguided, there was the added pain of not being able to use proper predator methods (livebaiting) and moaning at using braid. On a positive note the sight of a 7/8ft long fish coming fully out of the water and the brief tussle with it was an experience I'll remember for a long time!
  17. If you read bona fide pike literature the issue/fact of increased weights over winter come up all the time...it's common knowledge in the piking world. Everyone's situation is different as we're all living in different places and fishing different waters, personally I've never had any issues fishing rivers for pike in the summer so will continue to do so.
  18. People don't usually fish for pike between March and October because their weights are low, a 20 in the summer is likely to be a mid 20 in Jan/Feb when they're building up to spawning. Just use some common sense and enjoy piking, I wouldn't rule it out in the summer but just be careful, get them in quick and get them back in the water as soon as poss (making sure they're ready to swim off and are strong).
  19. Anyone before I try the dreaded fleabay.
  20. Lure fishing for pike in the summer offers some of the most explosive, exciting fishing you'll some across all year. Using the right equipment (decent rods with 40/50lb braid and good quality leader) and using some common sense the problems/issues are pretty minimal, no more so than fishing in the winter months with deadbaits really.
  21. Second the above suggestion. I have a 1.75 Wychwood Barbel rod and it makes a fine river fishing rod where there are chub, barbell and the odd big carp present. Talking of carp it's pretty good for commercial ponds too. Couple with a Daiwa 3500/4000 series reel and you'll have a nice setup.
  22. I've just bought a new 10wt fly rod for all round carp and pike fly fishing so have a nice Bob Church pike fly rod for sale. The spec is 9ft, 10-12wt and is designed for shooting heads but I have used it with normal 11/12wt fly line without any problems. Casts pretty much whatever you've got in the box from small epoxy headed lures to big 6/7 inch perch and roach patterns, also good for carping with artificial bread and dog biscuit. In great condition and comes with the original cloth rod bag. You can't buy these anymore so if you're thinking of trying out pike fly fishing or getting on those trout ressies when no one else is there this is an ideal tool for the job. I'm after £40 posted if poss.
  23. The summer/pike thing is a massive generalization, while I wouldn't go fishing for pike in warm, stagnant ponds in the summer I've never had any issues with fishing for them on the rivers with the appropriate equipment. I suppose a lot depends on where you are fishing, I tend to leave the trout ressies alone in the summer due to the amount of weed and, as you say, low oxygen levels.
  24. Possibly! Trout (Pike) season starts March over there so have a bit of a wait!
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