BoldBear

I don't like reading fiction much although I enjoyed the Pub Landlord's book by the comedian Al Murray. I have about 150 coarse angling books which I've read from cover to cover. I am just finishing 'Falling in again' by Chris Yates which although still good; is not one of his best and I am then gong to start reading 'Big Barbel - Bonded by the challenge'. One of my favourites is 'Confessions of a Carp Fisherman' - by BB which is a small book which I think is the first fishing book to concentrate on Carp only and I think was written in 1950 when the UK record was in its 20s. Besides two different reprints of the Compleat Angler by Isaak Walton I also have various books dating back to 1910. One book that I want to read next is 'Barbel Rivers and Captures' (Barbel Catchers club book).

Hi Bucksflyfisher, I live in Hertfordshire and usually fish the Herts/Beds rivers (Lea, Gt Ouse) and streams for Barbel etc. so Im afraid I cannot help as far as father Thames Barbel are concerned although I have fished some of the shallower parts of the Thames tributaries like the Lea and the Kennet, but I just wanted to say welcome to the forum. I look forward to your posts.

Hi Zoran, Welcome. AnglersNet is a nice friendly Forum with some great experienced anglers from around the world so you should be able to get a great wealth of information from AnglersNet. If there is any Match/Pole fishing information/advice that you can't get on here you could also try the following website which is aimed at Match Fishermen in the UK and has some top UK match anglers contributing --> Match Fishing Forum However 'AnglersNet.co.uk' is one of the better sites which seems to have a far better spread of angling expertise amongst its friendly contributers. I look forward to seeing your posts on the AnglersNet forum. BB

Hi Kayak, I haven't done any Kayak Fishing myself but I have a couple of friends that are into Kayak fishing and they keep trying to get me interested in it; but I cannot seem to be able to pull myself away from Tench, Barbel etc. but hey one day I might have a go at it as it sounds like fun. Welcome to the AnglersNet forum.

I have a pair of Greys 12' Prodigy Barbel rods of 1.7lb tc and have cast 5oz PVA bags of pellets on large rivers without any problem with them. But I have never used them at really long range for Tench and I would probably go for my 12' 2lb Diawa Powermesh's for Tench at range.

Quote from Zardos: Although I'm new to using the normal(?) sized lures; I have used very small Mepps on 3lb line for Perch and have had some really succesful days using them on canals and small lakes and moats. I have a book indoors from one of the 'Osprey Anglers' group of books about Bream where the author mentions using tiny Polystickle lures to imitate fish fry for Bream which most Bream anglers in the UK wouldn't normally think of using. Has anyone else heard of this? and had any luck with them? or is this more akin to wet fly fishing?

Are you sure that some software is not down-loading updates in the background? It may be your anti-virus updates or Miscrosoft updates etc. It may just be a scheduled virus check that is causing it to happen? Try looking at the processes that are running by pressing Ctrl/Alt/Delete (at the same time) and selecting 'Task Manager', this should give you some idea of what is currently running at the time. My wife sometimes has her cursor dissappearing when her virus checker is running in the background.

I can't see why football or cricket has anything to do with it; unless you need to pay for new worms that have been trampled underfoot to be restocked each year . I suppose it could depend on the area you are living/fishing in, as the EA do a grand job for our stillwaters, lending us manpower and equipment when needed. Advising us on fishery matters, netting and restocking, repairing damaged banks, introducing young anglers to the sport etc. etc. However; it may not be the same in other areas; I don't know. Perhaps they may need a kick up the jacksy in some areas? I agree they do use some of our money on non-fishing related thiings (which they shouldn't) as well. Also it makes me mad when I see canals having all their overgrowing trees/bushes completely removed instead just being trimmed back if they are causing an obstruction to the boats. NB. I appologise for taking the thread off topic again, Doh!!

Although I don't own any Okumas I have also heard from some good anglers that they are really superb reels; (NB. and a lot cheaper than the shimanos that I use).

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I also find this hard to answer; as it depends on the time of year and the fish I'm after at that time. Should it be the Diawa Amorpherous Whisker float rods that I've had for donkies years and still find a joy to use for float fishing?. Or should it be the Diawa Powermesh 2lb carp rods that Ive also had for donkies years and still use for Flood work for Barbel and Floater fishing for Carp and fishing at range for Tench? Or should it be my new Greys Prodigy Barbel rods that look and feel like they will be my latest all rounders for Tench, Chub, Carp, Barbel and even big river Roach. I think I will plump for the latter (Greys Barbel rods) as they feel like they would be suitable for almost everything that I fish for.

Because non anglers saved a couple of waters doesn't make it the norm. Where were the non-anglers when we had to save thousands of fish on the Grand Union Canal when a stretch of it was accidentally drained when all the locks were left open? NO-WHERE even though it was caused by non-anglers (but the EA was there with us), where were the non-anglers when we had the fish in our lake completely wiped out for the third time by pullution from a goverment blood products company? NOWHERE (but the EA was there with us), where were all these concerned non-anglers when the fish where wiped out on the Parrot, the Colne and the Lea? etc. etc. etc. If it has an impact on their sport (canoeing, sailing, bird watching etc.) then they would help but the average person who cares about the wildlife would not even know (or care) if the fish were absent because they would not normally see them (being below the water it is normally out of sight and out of mind). NB. Funny how you never see any anti-anglers trying to save the fish in these cases either. I agree that the payment could be collected differently although having people dealing with dishing out cash for water preservation working under the same boss as the people who are dealing with consenting for companies who wish to extract water or put their outlets into rivers seems a bit contradictary with a conflict of interests. Also maybe the environment costs should be shared by other water sports as well?. But to the question of whether we should pay (regardless of the method of payment) then in my view the answer is a definite yes; as I can't see it being high on the priority list for a goverment who is strapped for cash if it was included in a general water charge for everyone. Whenever we have needed air pumps, boats etc. after a pollution we have usually had them supplied when we asked the EA (including the personel to help man them if needed). Although we also get the ACA involved to deal with taking tests and taking the offending polluters to court. NB. Why dont you carry the licence in your fishing jacket? if you use different tackle bags? or even in the car if you wear different jackets?

Size 20 is a bit small for normal sized corn but if you are only after the Roach and are currently catching with it then fine, However if the corn is the smaller stuff I would use size 16 hooks but if it is normal sized corn I would use either a size 14 or even try 2 grains on a size 12 if there was a good chance of a Carp picking it up. If the roach are very finicky in the colder weather, try a pinkie on a size 20 hook, they are like normal maggots but are half the size and it can be a great bait on waters where they are only used to seeing maggots. They last a lot longer before turning to casters too. you can also try a 1lb to 2lb hooklength as well which could give you more bites. NB. Its not only small fish that like them either so you may need to step up to 3lb line and use double pinkie on a size 18 hook once you get them feeding well. dont forget to catapult out a few (half a dozen) every minute or so, especially once they start feeding. NB. in the summer you may need to increase the loose feed.

Hi Miroku, Welcome, where do you live and what kinds of fishing do you like? BB

Hi Andy, If there was a hooklength that was suitable for catching both small roach and 15lb carp then it would be terrific; however; If you want to catch silvers (roach, Rudd etc.) then you will need to be fishing with a light hooklength (from 1 to 4lb) or else your bites will drop off very dramatically; likewise if you want to catch 15lb Carp then you will need to step up your Hooklength (approx 5 to 10lb) to be able to handle them particularly in waters with lillies and other snags where you may even need to go heavier. So you will have to fish one or the other if you want to have a decent chance of catching them. Yes I know that you can occasionally catch big carp on fine lines but that is the exception to the rule and it is not in the carps best interests to be swimming around with broken line hanging from its mouth. Why don't you get a cheap carp rod and 8lb or 10lb line and fish for the carp on the carp rod while you float fish for roach with the normal rod?. or if there are some decent Tench and Bream in the water why don't you fish for them instead of the roach with 5 or 6lb line and still give yourself a fighting chance to land a 15lb Carp when one comes along? Tight Lines BB

Just a small point: The Salmon does not normally feed in fresh water and only snatches at shrimps/lures etc that are fluttered in front of its nose out of instinct. Salmon do not actively search/hunt for food fish in fresh water. (well thats what I read anyway). The books are full of examples of disastrous effects on native fish/animals that have been introduced in the past by well meaning people who have introduced non-native species into the country. If you want to fish for LargeMouth Bass then take a fishing holiday to America. So there would be automatically more sick/wounded fish for this extra population of fish would there? or are you expecting the new species to just push the existing species out of the picture (eg. as the Signal crayfish and Turkish crayfish did to our native crayfish which as been virtually wiped out??) No keep it to our Native fish and don't be tempted to add Non-Native fish which could change the eco-system and put existing fish at danger. Its bad enough with the existing foreign fish species that have been illegally or legally introduced already.

You have forgotten one of the most important items: The Landing net. Sounds like you do the match fishing style of fishing so you will also need a good soft-wheeled trolly to get your tackle/tacklebox to your swim without scaring all the fish for miles, plus two good Carp friendly keepnets (If you are going to fish matches). BB

Nice one Darren! Cracking fish. If you can be hooked at this time of year then just wait till the spring arrives; there is nothing like being at a water on an early spring or summers morning while the rest of the world is still in bed. You have chosen one of the best hobbies there is. BB

How long does it take to show your licence to someone? When I was a committe member/bailif; I used to check everyone regularly for an EA licence as well as for a Club licence/Day ticket (Unless I remembered them showing me it on a recent check). Likewise I would have expected them to check me if they didn't recognise me or I fished another clubs waters. After all we are all too quick to start moaning when we never see an EA bailif arent we?. The EA do quite a few things that are not readilly known, and they are certainly better than they used to be. Also see this link which shows Graham Marsdens Interview with the EA BB