BoldBear

Don’t write Pinkies off at this time of year John as I’ve found some waters switch over to them when the temperatures have dropped through the floor. I’ve fished waters where the fish wouldn’t even touch a normal sized maggot; but will still be willing to take a small Pinkie that’s wriggling in front of their noses. As you must know; fish often start feeding a lot less once the temperatures really start to drop; and a small lively pinkie drifting past them will often stimulate them into grabbing it before it drifts past even if they are not actively looking for food; whereas a much larger maggot will often be totally ignored as it drifts past probably because they are only willing to take smaller morsels when the temperatures start to drastically drop. Using much finer lines and smaller hooks will also make a lot of difference in very low temperatures too. NB: Chub are a noticeable exception and will take large baits right through the year unless the temperatures have drastically dropped over night. Also when it gets really cold the fish are often reluctant to move very far; and if you are using a feeder in these situations you stand a good chance of spooking any fish that are anywhere near the proximity of the feeder; when it falls and settles close to them. Thats what I have experienced in quite a few venues over the years once the temperatures have begun to drop during the coldest months. Keith

I couldn’t believe that this guy is still spouting on about brexit. You’d think he would have bored himself to death by now

Same here Martin, I don’t really like clipping up, and I haven’t needed to clip up for donkey years, however I can see the need for it when wanting to hit the same spot every time when fishing at long ranges; for example on top of a narrow gravel bar or in a narrow gulley at range etc,; and if the automatic clip release works it does sound good for those who do need to clip up. Keith

Sorry to hear about your dad Owen and thanks for letting us know. He will be missed. RIP Ayjay

We didn’t have TVs in our street back in the early 1950s and when we finally bought a TV we could only watch two black & White channels because colour TV hadn’t been invented yet Keith

Back in the 90s I used to Captain our club team in our winter (and summer) matches on the Grand Union Canal just north of Watford and in freezing cold winter weather some of the matches were won with just a few ounces; with lots of dry nets; especially when a match was being held on a featureless stretch not known for its larger fish. I won several of these winter matches and in some matches when the temperatures we’re particularly cold I used to scale right down to 8oz hooklengths and size 22 and 24 hooks with a single squatt on the hook that on the previous night had been prepared by washing in very dilute washing up liquid to remove any grease and brick dust that had been on them, and then after rinsing and drying them well they were then put into the bait box with a slice of bread soaked in milk, and then put into the fridge overnight. In the morning of the match they were nice and plump and a bit more lively and they sank well too, and the bread was full of holes were the squatt had been having a go at the milk soaked bread. I also caught quite a few on small pieces of bread punch or small pinkes on a size 20 hook. To find the odd feeding fish I used to search all the obvious places where there was slightly less flow like under tree branches on the far bank on or near the far shelf and where any boat traffic would not cause too much disturbance and make them move out of the way too much as in the depths of a cold winter when temperatures are close to freezing I don’t think they move very far or are willing to follow their food as it flows past them as much. They did appear to shoal up much tighter than they would in milder conditions for ‘safety in numbers’ reasons however the Perch and Chublets would be a bit more willing to move around and actually look for their food a bit more. I did occasionally have a blank but our team did usually win the winter series of matches overall, and even if I won with an individual weight of just a few ounces I actually enjoyed it as I knew it was because I had payed attention to minor things that made a difference while a lot of the others just sat there moaning about there being no fish in their swims. I think I used to fare better in these harder conditions than I did when it was a bit milder. If the temperatures had been steady for a couple of days or had been slowly rising for a couple of days it often fished well even if the temperature was still only a couple of degrees above freezing, but if it had started to fall over the last couple of days then fishing could be dire. I couldn’t fish in these freezing conditions these days though, I’m getting a bit too old now and I like my comforts far too much. Keith

Happy belated birthday wishes to you both, especially for you reaching your retirement age Martin. Now you can go fishing at a moments notice and pick the best days to go, plus you can pay pensioners rates for your fishing at last Keith

When the leader of the opposition realised that he was the only one who had’nt been invited to that party at No.11 Keith

If you watch Holby City showing at 7:50 tonight you’ll see a part of the estate lake were I often fish. its the second episode that had scenes down there, Holby filmed there last year too. Keith Happiness is fish shaped (It used to be woman shaped but the wife is getting on a bit now)

In my opinion dead’s may be fine for Bream and Tench and Carp when they are stirring up or burying their heads in thick silt and unable to see the bottom or maggots amongst the silt very clearly; especially when they’ve become accustomed to finding more dead maggots than live maggots; such as on a lot of the heavily stocked commercial fisheries where the fish are very often fighting each other to get at an anglers bait; however in my experience they’re virtually useless on the more natural waters where the fish are not as dependent on anglers baits to survive; as is often the case with a lot of heavily stocked commercials. How many times have you been float fishing and catching regularly and your bites have almost ceased either after a missed bite or because your maggot has just stopped moving?, but as soon as you put a fresh live maggot on then the bites suddenly return? This is a very common occurance and always has been in my experience. Given the choice I would choose to use fresh maggots that are alive and wriggling over dead maggots every time. Even in the depths of a cold winter when the fish are just lying torpid and aren’t really looking for food; they can still often be tempted to take a bait that’s wriggling right in front of them; more out of instinct than anything else; whereas dead maggots will often just sit there on the bottom being totally ignored in these circumstances. Keith

In built up areas in towns and cities it is often a degree or so warmer than in the countryside away from built up areas which is why the fish can sometimes congregate and feed a bit more often than their out of town brethren. Plus as Martin says; any bread or other feed which is put in to feed the ducks or swans etc. can also attract feeding fish. However in wet weather when the rain water is running directly off of the road surfaces in towns then the opposite can also be true. Keith

Back in the late 70s I used to fish the Kennet at and around Newbury and caught my very first Barbel there (see photo) I also fished the Kennet at Theale and Thatcham and Burfield plus the pits at Burfield for Pike during the winter months too. We also had some nice big Roach from the Kennet while fishing for Barbel plus some superb Chub. The Kennet used to be my favourite river back then however I haven’t fished the Kennet for many years now. You fish a really nice river Peter, Keith

Hi Peter, welcome to the forum. Whereabouts in the UK do you fish? and what sort of venues do you prefer? Keith

That’s the way I usually use it too. Keith

I tie my spade end hooks using the Matchman hook tier both at home and when I need to tie a hook on the bankside after setting up using the bend in my rod to keep a little tension on the line while I’m tying the new hook on. As long as the line is tensioned slightly as you tie your hook, and the turns of line around the hook shank are not overlapping, and you wet your line around your hook shank before you tighten the line up then everything should be fine. You don’t need much dexterity to use a Matchman hook tier as long as you are careful. Keith

When you say that your eyesight and dexterity no longer allow you to tie spade end hooks; do you mean by hand, or using a hook tier or both? I can still tie spade ends using a matchman hook tier but my eyesight and dexterity doesn’t allow me to tie spades by hand. Keith

I use a Stradic with a fighting drag but mine is a 4000 series which might be a bit too large for using with a normal sized waggler; however the smaller sizes of Stradic are fine for light float work. Mark Wintle very occasionally uses a Stradic 2500 when he’s trotting a float as you can see in this video. However; as Tigger suggested I would probably just send it to Felindre for a service and get them to get it running again for you. Keith

Thankfully the rivers that I usually fish don’t have steep slippery banks, however if there is going to be a chance of slippery mud in my swim; I just wear a pair of ankle length walking boots which have a deep tread on them (mine don’t have studs); or I try to find somewhere else to park my butt. Keith

I also have this book. This is the book that has a chapter by F.W.K. Wallis (chapter twenty-four) called ‘The Modern Light Float Cast from the Reel, Nottingham Style’ which was later known by others as the Wallis Cast; which I previously showed on another post about centrepin use. Keith

Looks like you had a brilliant day Ian; Nice Fishing Keith

Never seen or heard of that rod/reel before. Very strange I think I heard on the film that the lever type control on the top (or bottom) was a range control or something like that. Nice thing to have on a shelf in your fishing shed, but I don’t think I would ever use it in earnest on the bank though. Keith

Here’s a chart that I did a few years ago for sticking to the lid of my float box. Hope it helps Keith

This weather page from the met office gives a surface air pressure chart: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/maps-and-charts/surface-pressure NB: I served as a Meteorologist in the Royal Navy when I was in my mid to late 20s (a long time ago ) so don’t get me started on how we used to follow the effect that the weather had on our fishing back then Keith

Hi, welcome to the forum As long as your rod was suitable I think you might have caught a lot more on maggots on a size 18 hook and a 2lb hooklength on your canal and on your coarse fishing pond; however you should have had at least something using half a worm on 3lb line with a size 14 or size 10 hook (depending on the size of the worm of course). Anyway I hope you do better the next time. Glad you are enjoying your coarse fishing. tight lines Keith

That’s easier said than done Norm and there are times when an out of the way stretch of river doesn’t even see an angler or anyone else; especially in the winter months. However I agree that if they could be reliably trapped and moved a long way from that river into a vacant sluggish stream or river that is not already home to too many other beavers; then that should be fine on paper. Perhaps the time and money involved when doing this should be passed over to the people or organisations that were responsible for introducing them in the first place, as not many Angling clubs and landowners on our chalkstreams have the time or the money or the inclination to undertake this sort of thing; especially if it’s an ongoing thing which happens regularly every few months. They are already trying to combat water extractions by the water authorities/companies who don’t believe in spending any of their shareholders money on using existing (or new) water storage reservoirs and are currently taking their water directly from our chalkstreams. Having licences to cull the beavers (preferably without inflicting pain) would still be preferable to many, and be a lot easier and quicker and cheaper to do for most clubs or landowners who are continually trying to preserve these chalkstreams. If only it was as simple and as straight forward as many of us humans think! Keith