VSTOL Lures

Try downloading Lavasoft Ad-Adaware (I think the website is http://www.lavasoft.de) as with most freeware av software u usually need to run a couple of different progs to eliminate the nasties. Hope this helps Rich

With all the excitement about the impending mackerel shoals I'd just like to share the fact I LOVE lure fishing for Gars in the summer. Such a wily fish, and bloody hard to hook (bony beak) and great fun on light tackle. Obviously, you get a fair few macks when spinning for gars too!!! So if your out and about this summer, ditch those feathers and chuck on a spinner and see if you can't get urself one of these elusive creatures.

As we like to use the buzz word in the military it all comes down to 'reasonable force'. In a court of law it would be up to the judge/jury to decide if you had acted within the boundaries of reasonable force i.e. was the use of the knife against your assailant justified and in proportion to the level of force levelled at you. As an example, if he came over and pushed you and you stabbed him - obviously not If he attack you with a weapon (knife, stick, club whatever) - you stab him this could be construed as reasonable force. That fact that you are fishing means that you have a valid reason for carrying the knife (unless its a bayonet, bowie knife etc) much the same as a sparky who defended himself with a screwdriver. Obviously if you are carrying around a 6 inch filleting knife round your local stillwater then you might find it difficult to explain, but I cannot see a problem in a 4 inch victorinox being held by your everyday coarse or sea angler.

New lines expected in the next fortnight: 1) Amikiri Snap Bean ultralight plugs 2) Rebel Big Ant ultralight 3) Scum Frog Junior Weedless Surface lure 4) Rebel Creek Creature Ultralight 5) Frog Lite frog shaped ultralight surface popper As always, I'm adding new stock all the time, pay us a visit!

I haven't used these particular ones Sip but surely from a name brand like Fox they aren't going to be rubbish? Why don't you buy some gucci realtree camo socks or something instead ? lol

As far as Pike are concerned, the maturity of the specimen definitely has a bearing on its behaviour. I've caught a 6lb jack pike on a cold december morning from hole not less than 3 foot from my feet. Similarly, I've "bounced" a small plastic minnow off a lily pad in the height of summer and had an 8 pounder....so water temperature doesn't seem to matter much to the smaller fish. I've found water clarity tends to affect how I fish for Perch more than Pike. Perch tend to follow the lure longer than a Pike (who just grab it) and can often be spooked as the come up to the waters edge after the lure (so try to stand back from the sky line!). I find generally its best to match your quarries fodder fish for larger Pike and Perch, whilst just about anything you can pull through the water will usually tempt a Jack Pike if fished in the right place (regardless of conditions). Another myth I've come across is lure size. Its worth noting that fish of 25cm will have little trouble devouring a 5cm meal, and in the case of Pike there are well documented examples of Jacks of the same size trying to eat one another! I do agree with a great many UK anglers when they say the largest Pike aren't generally caught on lures. My PB for Pike currently stands at 21lb 3oz but this was on rainbow trout deadbait. The largest Pike I've ever had on a lure was 11lb 6. Sorry for the ramblings hope I've (partially) helped! Regards Richard

Hmmmm you just can't beat a luvverly Cypriot kebab from Akrotiri village, Cyprus. Lovely meat with a nice bit of haloumi (squaeky cheese) from the Akrotiri Arms Pub (the kebab counter is located handily next to the toilet?......what could go wrong!). Yum Yum

As I said before Henda the Rebel range is excellent, they do a variety of ultralights that will fish at a variety of depths. Small Mepps spinners (Sizes 00 and 0) are great, as is the classic British pattern fly spoon. I've also used lots of small plastic lures in the past (tiny minnows, insects, worms etc) and the kind of US style Crappie lures you can get. Don't forget you can even use the larger trout and salmon lures on very light line close in by the margins. I've had Perch to 2lb on trout streamers using a 6 foot spinning rod and line of 2 - 4 lb. If you need any more information feel free to contact me by PM. Regards

Just bin IE and download Mozilla Firefox. Its 1000% better than the MS pap and is customisable, has built in pop up blocker and best of all you haven't got thousands of wanabee hackers trying to destroy it!

I'd go for anything design for military type applications. The Berghaus range is pretty good, the RAF Regiment and Army were issued them a few years ago, still got mine that I "acquired" (Uncle is an RAF Supplier) and its fantastic, robust with quality clips etc. Its not cheap but maybe a quick ebay search will turn up a good secondhand one?

I had a 1970s cork handle match rod for quite a few years and never had any problems with it, it was fine. Incidentally, my best ever rod is a 10ft glass match rod I bought from argos in 1990 and its still going strong, made by chevron (probably never heard of them lol) TBH theres far too much snobbery and name brand fads in fishing. If a rod does a job, it does it regardless of price or age.

Expected Products (In next two weeks) Various Rapala plugs and lures including: Shad Rap Shad Rap RS Rapala Minnow Spoons (now discontinued by Rapala) Husky Jerks Original Original Floating Countdown Dive To Long Cast All in a variety of colours and sizes Also expected: Various "VSTOL" branded plugs and spoons including shallow divers, deep divers and surface lures. More product updates to follow...

They will certainly be fine for Chub and Perch, they take a lot larger lures than some people realise. I'm not familiar with the brand name, so cannot vouch for its quality I'm afraid but at £6 I don't suppose you can go wrong. Just a word of caution, if you are going to fish using ANY size of lure, make sure you use a wire trace, unless you are 110% certain there are no Pike or Zander in your venue. If a pike bites through your line you've lost your lure and the Pike has almost certainly lost its life.

You are so right Phil, I'm sick to the back teeth of people blatantly exaggerating the impact of Pike on fodder fish stocks. Anyone would think a 4lb Jack went through 200 fish a day to hear some people talk. Like all fish, Pike are a natural part of the ecosystem, and should be afforded the same respect as any other species. Sorry, a little off topic there.

One of the best pieces of advice I was given when starting was to have a 'non fishing' session now and again. Basically go down to your venue, armed only with sunglasses and maybe binos (if its big). Have a look at potential swims, what features are there? what snags? Look around weedbeds, submerged trees, overhanging branches, are these likely spots for your chosen quarry? Look for bubbles, tail swirls, or maybe even fish on the surface. If there are small fish jumping out of the water are there predators around? (pike, perch etc). Talk to people who are fishing there, what tackle are they using? what kinds of fish have they caught? what baits are they using? Remember, if you aren't fishing were the fish are you ain't going to catch them!! Observation is the anglers number 1 secret weapon.

The Rebel range of ultralights is great - they do bumblebees, ladybirds, tadpoles, small fish, crickets and grasshoppers. I'm hoping to acquire some ultralights in the next few weeks for my shop. Just be aware though they are (relatively) expensive for such small lures but have great quality. I've had Carp to around 6lbs on the Rebel Cricket in particular. You could also try small soft lures. The types I'm talking about are the ones sold for USA panfish (Crappies) etc these invariably come in a kit. Hope this helps Regards

Depends what you mean as 'regular'. Luncheon meat, salami and other stinky meats are good for lots of fish. You could try ultralight lure fishing for chub, perch and even carp (I've caught carp on small soft lures before). Cheese I've heard can work well on some waters (don't know how easy it is to fish I've never used it myself). Give a *very* small piece of fish a try (oily fish like Mackerel can work) you will be suprised what will scavenege a piece of meat off the bottom! There is also a company called Enterprise I think that seel artificial baits like maggots, grubs meat etc which may work (again I've never used them). Hope this helps regards

Right, after a bit of work VSTOL is finally open for business!!!! There isn't a massive amount of kit on there right now (mostly just fly tying stuff) but rest assured I will be adding stock almost daily as it comes in! As it says on the site, if you are going to buy anything, I'd really appreciate you paying via bank transfer (as its the cheapest!) Also, if you are on the site in the wee small hours (GMT) then you may experience slowness or 'server too busy' this is because at peak times (Canadian site) the basic stores take a lower priority than the premium ones. Once I have the business established I will upgrade to the premium service, but its quite expensive so I want to get VSTOL off the ground before I do. Finally, as always, if you need any assistance or want to comment on the site etc then feel free to e-mail me at richard@middleton1982.wanadoo.co.uk Don't forget website changes and new product line announcements will be made here! Best wishes Richard Middleton VSTOL Lures

I made this a while ago in response to the current wave of idiocy and red tape sweeping across the Armed Forces. Enjoy ;o)

I think I'm going to create a .pdf lure fishing guide (basic) that I will e-mail to all purchasers of my products (if they want it) free of charge. Anyone got any ideas what to (and not to) include? We are talking a billy basic beginners guide, types of lure, fish etc I don't want to spent weeks writing it! Regards

Hi all, I'm currently in the process of setting up a UK lure fishing mail order business. I have a website and a (partial) catalogue set up so far, visit the site at http://www.vstol.vstore.ca It should be stressed that at the moment the store isn't "Go-Live" but feel free to browse, I hope to get the site up and running properly in the next few weeks (just awaiting some stock!) My eventual aim is to have one of the best UK mail order sites for lures, similar to what Harris Angling was before its take over by Masterline. e-mail me at richard@middleton1982.wanadoo.co.uk with any comments or suggestions (constructive only please!). thank you