benhben

Ive been fishing properly (As in 2 or 3 times a week) for about 3 year now. Ive never been asked for a licence. Ive never even seen or come accross a bailiff or Environment Agency enforcement officer. Ive also fished a river stretch 2 or 3 times which is owned by angling clubs, and Im still yet to come accross a bailiff from that club. Its not hard to see why so many people dont buy licences and illegal fish poaching is commonplace.

I fish on lancaster canal all the time. Spin for pike. All you need is the normal EA licence. Even then Ive still never been asked for any licence off a baliff.

I have a small (think its 6 ft 6) Shakespeare ugly stick travel spin rod. For use with a fixed spool, Short handle section, good for small hands or single handed casting. Will land most stuff your likely to hook whilst spinning along UK shores and local Canals. I reckon fish up to 10lbs would be managable on it. Only cost 35 quid aswel. Watch out for the 4th tip section flying off on the cast, ive ended supergluing mine together.

Thanks Newt. I am using braid, use it on all my spinning gear. So slow with small twitches is the key. The biggest problem im having is that when twitching the bait accross the bottom I often feel some resistance which could easily be a bite, only to find yet again that its abit of debris, weed, rocks etc that have started to block the path of the worm. Im just thinking that if I did get a take (because i havent yet) that id never tell the difference. Although ill look out for the things you said. Have you had much productivity using them?

Hi, can anyone give any tips on spinning for pike, perch, chub etc using Rubber or jelly worms. Ive got some of these worms which ive rigged which i think is texas style (Small sliding weight above worm, which is rigged weedlessly). However I havent really got a clue what to do with them, ive tried bumping them along the bottom, but cant tell if its a bite or just hitting snags and rocks. Anyone fish with them and dont mind giving some tips? Also I have some small curly tail grubs which I intend to use with perch and also dont know how to rig or fish them. Ben

Lol. No Ive fished for pike for ages, so already have all the tackle to fish and spin for them. I want to target perch etc with small lures, but this I assume will require more delicate lighter lines than pike gear. Also When I tried out the small lures on the normal pike trace their action was swamped by the pike trace. Just wondering if anyone can reccomend a light flexible wire which would allow the small lures to work properly but wont get bitten off if a pike does chose to have a go at the perch intended lure. Surely someone knows what I mean lol

Alot of the time I simply go on the local Canal which has good numbers of Pike and perch reportedly. There are urban canal areas with lots of boats etc, but also more rural areas with overgrown trees, lillies etc. There are a number of basins on the canal and a deep marina at the end of the canal. This is reported to hold good size perch although ive never caught them, and pike to over 25lbs. In the summer im going to give the local River Wyre a go which is also reported to hold Pike and perch although ive not fished there yet so cant comment on the types of swims. Im just after reccomendations on a decent type of trace that will withstand pike, good small snap swivels etc which are needed to attach the lure to the trace and line reccomendations. Ben

Hi. I want to broaden my lure fishing horizons to more than just Pike and Bass. Hoping to target Perch and Chub on the lures. I have afew small lures which I think would be good perch/chub lures, however when I tried them out there swimming action was almost none existent. I think my line and trace were too heavy. I was using 30lb braid and a 28lb wire trace for the inevitable pike attack. Can anyone recommend a small lure setup which is sensitive enough to let the small minnow lures swim properly but is also pike proof. Cheers. Ben

Serious Gaff wounds. Why the feck are people gaffing pike. SOme people make me sick.

I used mealworms everyday when I worked in the local Zoo. Mudskippers and tree shrews especially liked them

I could never bring myself to live bait. I agree there are plenty of ways to catch fish without the prolonged suffering of a small livebait. Deads, Lures and Wobbled baits for me please.

Hey guys. Dont know about sea fishing in winter in Morecambe, can never be bothered sea fishing in winter. I go for Pike. Do any of you plug for bass in the summer in morecambe? I went quite afew times last summer but didnt manage one, but Im going to give it a proper go this summer.

Even if the story isnt true there is no reason why Great Whites couldnt survive off our coast. They are actually warm blooded and can regulate their own body temperature to deal with cold water. Also there would be plenty of food for them around the UK. The porbeagle is a smaller relative of the Great white which is common around the Uk. The Mako and blue shark can also be found. And as mentioned Killer Whales. As theres only 1 bite taken I doubt it was a great white or there would be nothing left. Ill stick with a Porbeagle shark.

No unfortunately no where near kent. Up in lancashire. Yeah they are definately takes, with the tell tale head knocks on the rod tip. Then if I slacken off the clutch to give the fish time to get a proper hold, line is tacken accross the swim. Been using Smelt recently, seem to get alot of takes on it but it doesn't last that long. Roach has also produced bites (which funnily enough were all landed ). I attack the hooks one treble through the head and lips and the other behind the dorsal or half was down the flank. The teeth marks are usually around half way down the flank. Someone on the pike and preds forum says that fish often bite the tail first, so advise to put a treble near the back of the bait (Which i havent been doing). So just wondering if the fish werent really on the feed that agressively and were just nibbling the back of the bait, and missing the hooks. Other than that I cant really understand how the pike can grab the bait, run with it and still avoid 2 sets of trebles :huh:

Am using braid and my rod is a fairly stiff spinning rod. Im loosing the fish when i actually do decide to strike. When i strike there often isnt anything and the bait is pulled from the mouth, with the tell tale teeth marks in the flanks when examined. Just cant work out how long to leave it to strike. Ive tried straight away and also letting them take line. Once there hooked I usually land most of them, its just when setting the hooks that they spit the bait.