[Give me one good reason why]

I personally have no problem buying a license as i get my money back 10 times over with the pleasure i get from being able to fish, but i agree i haven't a clue what my money is being used for and have never seen anyone from the EA on the banks improving anything.

 

In fact in all the years i have been fishing i have only once ever seen them checking for licenses and even then it was a waste of time as word spread around the lake before he even got out his van, and the non license holders just packed up and left or put the tackle away and put it with a friend who did have a license and sat behind the license holding friend and said "i am not fishing mate i am just watching"

 

I understand why people want more license checks as its frustrating for people who do buy a license being of the minority, but cant really blame those who say they dont want to get one for the reason there money isnt being used for what its supposed to be

[surface fishing]

A zig rig can be fished just below the surface and used with an bite alarm, but as for actually floating a bait i wouldn't recommend taking your eyes off it or you will end up targeting carp, bream, and tench on the bottom fished rod and carp,ducks,swans,geese,gulls and what ever else on your floating bait

[disabled angler (wheelchair user)]

If you drive or can get a lift there are loads of commercials that have access around the Northwest but most of them i know of are around Wigan out towards Southport and a few in The Wirral

 

Do a few google searches most of them have contact numbers

[Large Day Ticket Tench]

Its common practice with a lot of the so called fisheries here to have a specimen pool, which is basically a lake smaller than the mixed lakes on the complex but contains the biggest fish, sometimes an extra fee is needed to fish this specimen lake.

 

Usually when a carp grows over 15lb its taken from what ever lake on the complex it as been living in and is moved to a smaller lake with other large fish.

 

I don't know what effect this as on further growth but i imagine its not good animal welfare letting something grow large in a big open space then once it reaches a certain size to be packed into a smaller area with no other smaller fish just other large fish to compete with for food and space to move.

[Hemp]

try looking for a local animal feed supplier they sometimes have it

[Do fish have a colour preference?]

i have been wondering how much difference it makes to the fish what colour bait is, i am not talking about lures or artificials

 

but if something smells, and tastes good does what colour it is really matter?

Or does the whole making things different colours just come from anglers trying to change the colours of baits such as sweetcorn so that the fish dont associate the colours with hookbaits and might try a red grain over a normal yellow as it doesnt associate the colour with danger?

[Commercial Record Holders!?]

at least the commercials are accessible to anyone who is willing to pay the price of a day ticket

 

most of the estate and private lakes that hold some big fish that could be a new record are only fished by tweed clad types with beards so we may never see such fish

[Soreen]

i have lost count of the times i have brought something for lunch and ended up catching on it

[gelatin with expander pellets]

i have recently tried adding gelatin to my expanders to keep them on the hook but dont seem to be getting as many bites, i dunno if i am using to much and preventing the flavours from escaping or if the gelatin its self is putting the fish off

 

anyone had similar problems?

[Beads]

perhaps if he had more customers to keep him out of trouble he might have been ok

 

must be people who cost him a couple pence for a few beads fault or maybe waiting around for them who buy cheap tackle of ebay to come crawling into the tackle shop when it breaks

[making my own hook links (hair rigs)]

I have decided rather than buying pre-made hair rig style hook links from the tackle shop and getting the hooks swivels and hook link material and tying up my own

 

but as the most expensive material is the braid or fluorocarbon, so just wanted to ask some advice on which brands/breaking strains anyone could recommend

 

i usually us pre-bought hooklinks with size 8 or 6 hooks used with a 2 oz weight on safety clip with 8lb main line, targeting carp, tench, bream or anything else that will take a halibut pellet, piece of mear or boilie

 

but want to try experimentation with the lengths and hook sizes as the shop bought ones seem to be a standard length

 

 

cheers,

 

mike

[Beads]

bought a 9000 off ebay three years ago, new for not a lot of dosh,

 

buying on-line somewhere cheaper than the local tackle shop?

[Beads]

Some might use the argument to use it or loose it. With regards to your local tackle shop.

 

credit crunch time, i support local shops when i can but when it comes to getting a box of 60 beads or a box of 300 for the same cost i have to go with the bargain

[Beads]

i have recently been doing more fishing from the shore for flattys and have been paying a couple of quid for beads, after searching for them online at a cheaper price i found a few craft shops selling beads for braclets and necklaces etc.

 

They do florescent, metallic, and even glow in the dark ones in bulk for alot cheaper than then tackle shop,

 

But i dont know if they would stand up to being repeatedly cast into the sea and washed around into rocks etc.

 

as anyone else had a go with them? or is it better to pay the extra and get ones from a tackle shop?

[How to handle fish ?]

holding the bigger fish comes with experience and your probably better to ask someone to show you or watch the DVD mentioned,

 

i have seen people catch decent sized fish and run back to the car for a camera causing the fish distress and keeping the fish on the bank longer than necessary,

 

if you have got a camera with you and want a snap it will be ok as long as the camera isnt tucked away in the bottom of a bag,

 

its just common sense not to hold a fish out of water for too long just be careful and dont panic and everything should be fine

[To all you carp anglers]

I am not a lover of the commercials due to my anti-sociality and would prefer to find a secluded little farm pond or nice stretch of river, but its not always possible and like everything the commercials have there good points and bad points

 

the main good points being that they are easily accessible, you dont usually get snagged on shopping trolleys or reel in half of a sunken tree thrown in my local yobs, and you know there are plenty of fish,

 

bad points are there is a high idiot level at most of them due to the fact they can only find fisheries that advertise, catching 3lb carp that all look exactly the same soon becomes tiresome, and if you do manage to hook into something decent it usually comes with spectators.

 

the easy answer is if its not for you steer clear and there are plenty of less fished waters sitting empty because the fashion carpers are at the commercials sat behind there rod pods

[Pre-baiting]

I have been fishing my local lake in the bad weather because its only 500 yards from my house

but when the weather warms up the place can attract a lot of kids and people who make the fishing "difficult" to enjoy.

 

so i was thinking when the weather warms up, of fishing the lake from first light up until about 11am when the banks start to get filled with the kids and local idiots, and figured pre-baiting a swim the night before might be a good idea and save some time

 

but i dont want to over feed the fish and kill the fishing i usually fish with pellets, sweetcorn, maggots, worms, and boilies but know some of these are likely to fill the fish and most packet ground baits dont hold fish for long periods

 

i have only ever fished sessions starting the same day before so any advice on pre-baiting would be helpful

 

cheers

 

mike

[What Would You Cull?]

would cull the have you caught anything yet people who wonder around lakes with no tackle annoying anglers (i dont understand what difference it makes to non anglers if i have caught anything or not) and would also cull my mate chris

[Benifits of the bad weather]

As no one asked on the bank I will.

 

Did you catch anything mate

 

nope that was the only draw back and still had to pay for a day ticket but its was peaceful even the fish didnt bother me

[Benifits of the bad weather]

Thursday and Sunday of last week i got out to a few local waters that in the summer months i wouldnt dream of fishing due to other "anglers".

 

The banks where almost free of litter and i managed to get a swim close to the car and not once was i bothered by someone mixing buckets of groundbait with a big whisk in the end of a cordless drill or by boilies raining into the water by the packet and the have you caught anything yet mate kids where also away

 

i could get used to this

[GF Bite Alarms]

cheers sporty it didnt mention postage when i was ordering mine

[GF Bite Alarms]

does anyone know how much the postage is ?

[any good baits and storys for coy carps]

the coy koi

 

there is a golden orfe in a small pool near me that is near impossible to tempt with a bait (i have caught them before in other waters bigger) but this one shoals with the rudd in the summer months and seems to eat every bait but the one with the hook

 

ornamentals are more frequently targeted and avoiding being landed by the angler soon becomes instinct like avoiding predictors when you stand out like a sore thumb

 

look at the baits and tactics being used in the lake and try something different

[any good areas around wallasey / leasowe]

dunno about carp but there are a few good marks for bass and flattys off morton shore if your local might be worth giving beach casting a blast

 

if you drive there is plenty of commercials round Wigan and Chester overstocked with carp but usually the banks are populated by scallys armed with more cans of carling than boilies

 

good look anyway

[Things need to look up soon]

A few years ago i would have loved all this snow,

 

..but i imagine that all my worms in my wormery i started have snuffed it,

i havent been able to use the time off constructively because all the small roads where all my favourite fishing venues are at are impossible to get down,

i havent had chance to use any of the new gear i got for christmas,

 

and to top it all off my local pub as just closed down

 

 

hope 2010 gets better soon