Neil G

My cat certainly isn't 'hardwired' like that lol!

Good deals on lures to be had at www.harrissportsmail.com if that fishing is your thing

Cool report That lure in the arm looks flippin painful

I know this all too well !

That 49 strand wire sounds great...I have yet to try it out. I believe E.T tackle sell it

Good luck I haven't got the time to get to Lochs up in Scotland...maybe one day

Ticket price doesn't stop them...have you seen how much builders etc earn these days lol Agree with the boozing....not really the place for it and always leads to people being idiots.

Yep....all about numbers, numbers & more numbers Frankly when I meet people at these places and they start telling me about the hauls or bags they've had out in an hour etc my brain just switches off Zzzzzzzzzzzzz I still have to chuckle at some of these guys though striding around in full camo gear in the blazing sunshine/heat bombarding everything in sight with spods.....it's like battle of the atlantic (laughter).

lol at that comment Tigger I'm not bagging on all builders etc but the ones that frequent my local commercial seem to be particularly lairy in the sterotypical manner that you'd imagine a Bristolian Builder to be (laughter). I haven't been back there since the beginning of the year when it was 'quiet'....I can only imagine the carnage now lol

I reckon some floating crankbaits/minnows should work well in there as you can 'rip' then down under the surface and bump them off the bottom. I've had Chub take a Big S plug recently which is quite a fat bodied, boyant lure that wobbles loads just under the surface.

Enough about the fish...it's the people that go there which are the worst. I turn up and the car park is full of builders, scaffolders & plumbers vans which says it all really...being on some of these places is like being on a site with the same base level humour and lairyness. If it's not that is loads of chavs from Bristol having a day out and adding to the noise levels having lakeside barbeques etc. I suppose like someone said earlier...if your not too keen on these places then just go elsewhere. I'm pretty certain the commercial fishery isn't going to die off in a hurry, if anything they are going to become more common/accessible.

I've caught a couple on rubber shads (25g) from a wierpool Still think red maggot or worm is the way to go with the stripeys

Each to their own I suppose...some of the commercials I have fished have a good head of Pike too but I just hate fishing there due to the atmosphere. I turned up with a lure rod a few months ago and you should have seen the looks (laughter). It's is odd to think that when I started fishing as a kid we used to dream of catching carp and now look at the situation !

I haven't caught any perch for a long time but then again I use pretty big deadbaits for pike. I bet If I did some float fishing with some red maggot they'd still be around...the Avon around where I live always seem to be full of them and at quite good sizes too.

I think there is a certain mentality surrounding some of these places and a lot of it seems to be younger anglers who seem to be swayed by all the new trends and advertising the magazines put out on a monthly basis with kit etc. I does seem the modus operandi is to use the heaviest gear possible and bombard the opposite bank whilst telling your mate a few swims down about the domestic you've had with the missus last night which is clearly audible to the whole lake lol ! A friend of mine actually got sworn at/abused just because he was catching lots of fish....now that is really sour, dumb behaviour

I think the day that pike get nicknames is the day I'll quit (laughter) Your very lucky getting the chance to go and fish such a beautiful place as the lochs in Scotland...enjoy every minute and every pike!

It's not what piking is about anywhere !

I have to agree with every word you say but is it a commercial thing rather than a carp fishing thing? I really can't get excited either about hauling poor carp out of muddy pools....regardless of size

Friend of mine landed an 11 6oz barbel on Saturday at around midday using 16mm pellet. Made it look pretty easy really apart from getting a little snagged early on in the fight.

Thanks for the tips I went out yesterday for a couple of hours and did try quite a few soft plastics bringing them in close to the weed etc without much luck. It was pretty warm though so I have a feeling a lot of the pike were holed up/lying on the bottom not on the feed. In situations like that I suppose you have the balls to cast so close to overhanging trees and fish near snags/weed to really get the lure near the fish to entice/annoy it! Jamie...I've never fished up in Bath on the free stretch but have always wondered what that section of the river is like as I never see any people piking it. I'm looking into getting a folding dinghy as well now as I'd like to be able to get to some spots which I have seen recently. Have to drop you a PM when I go over to fish Bath....I'll also be fishing down Kelston this winter as I hear there are some wiers down there and good stretches of river.

Cheers for the reply mate I'm actually living in Bradford on Avon which isn't far from Bath but has some great fishing close to hand...I have fished over Bath with little success but have heard it's good on the Bristol side down Kelston (Bathampton AA) I really don't know what is going on as the river has, like you say gone so clear in the last week and the flow has slowed right down as well....I thought it would be just dynamite with the lures. I do know that the river does get fished a lot and probably more with lures/spinners by kids (often with no unhooking tools etc) so I imagine a lot of the pike get traces/hooks left in them and may die as a result of this I've had some good pike out of the stretch though up to 18.5lbs and not shy either, all belting off and tailwalking for the nearest overhanging branch or tree but that was in sections that are quite hard to get to so may not see so many fisherman. Off to Cheddar next weekend for days lure fishing with the biggest baits I can find Which sections of the Avon do you fish?

I went fishing on a stretch of water last weekend and caught quite a few pike on baits and my brother caught quite a few in a short time on a Big S plug. Now I saw the river was nice and clear yesterday so I thought I would try out my new jerkbait rod along with my trusty Spinflex with smaller lures.....I was almost certain I would get some action. Anyway, to cut a long story short the fishing was slow....caught a couple of Chub on the Big S but that was it....had no takes/follows from any pike at all on both the lighter rod and the Jerkbait setup trying all kinds of different retrieve speeds and styles. I have to ask myself what all the pike were doing....were they alseep on the bottom or something? I did notice some empty lure packets down there though (why morons do that is beyond me) so I'm getting the idea that the stretch is pretty hammered and by people who don't really have much respect. Is it possible this pressure could be a factor in the pike going off the feed and becoming weary? May have to go back to the baits down there as it seems they are more succesful

PMSL at the cheese sandwich remark I think a lot of people imagine pike swim around all the time searching for food but can more than often lie in one spot motionless waiting for a meal to come by.

Unlucky....feel gutted for you Second the above really..powerpro really is the business and gives you confidence fishing knowing your unlikely to snap off.....people say using heavy gear is 'unsporting' but I'd rather get the pike on the bank. Trace can also get bitten through.....I hooked a decent sized pike of 12lb at the weekend which went like a train...after unhooking I found my seven strand trace had become three!!

At least you'd get a good view of the mouth & teeth while learning a bit about pike strikes/attacks before you lost your camera !