Stretpegger

TFG(Total Fishing Gear) have such a product in their range i believe.

Correct it is one rod only for guests, in fact while in Thatcham Angling centre today i spied a large sign stating that fact.

First trip out for me yesterday and the glorious Kennet was my port of call.Unfortunately the Barbel did not come out to play for me or for any of the other anglers i spoke to but the ever reliable Chub saved a blank and a brace of four pounders was a nice way to kick off the river season for me. Thinking back to past seasons the first two weeks has always been a struggle where barbel are concerned...i never learn

While you are in Lidl check out the Lumpfish caviar, put a marble sized ball of it in the Fox bait mesh and either hair rig it to a smaller hook or side hook directly onto a larger one.My local store also sometimes stocks jars of crayfish tails these look the business as well but have not tried them yet.

Funnily enough i never recall swans or other water birds being a problem when i was younger and of course back then carp were far less common than they are now, BTW i cannot take credit for this method as it is as old as the hills have certainly seen it mentioned in one of older angling books possibly Stillwater Angling by Dick Walker.

I grew up in Bedfordshire and at the time early to late seventies i had access to several waters that contained good Rudd.The technique my father and myself used was to anchor a large onion bag or similar stuffed with stale bread to a housebrick and heave it out as far as possible into the swim. The idea was to get the bag suspended about a foot to eighteen inches under the surface and wait for the Rudd to arrive.Fishing a piece of flake under a self cocking float was the tackle set up we used fished alongside the bag.Catches of a dozen or so good sized Rudd(1.5lb plus) were commonplace.We could never fish to far out as obviously trying to launch a brick plus the bag was tricky to say the least but in the margins it was a killer method.I should add that there was a second piece of cord tied to the brick and securely staked to the bank so we could retrieve the bag and brick. We used this method for a few years at such well known lakes as Southill Park, Brogborough Pit and Elstow Pit(this was long before gained Linear took control of the lake) and it served us proud until the quality of the Rudd fishing began to decline.I did try this method about 7 or 8 years ago at a local lake and it still worked, unfortunately though it was also a magnet for the carp not to mention every swan on the lake

Hello All In early July i have to attend a weekend work related course at Ross on Wye and hope to have a few hours in the evening on the Wye.Have looked at the Wye and Usk Foundation's website and am very impressed with the amount of water available.However their prices although reasonable enough for the exclusive nature of the fishing they offer are something i would want to take advantage of for a full day not the three or four hours max i will have at my disposal. Has anyone fished the town waters at Ross?is there any free water available or a cheap day ticket option perhaps.If so what would i expect to catch at that time of the year, am not looking to single out a particular species as such just a few hours pleasant trotting to unwind.

Yes a pretty good day three Crucians five Tench a couple of Perch and a shedload of small Rudd.Actually this is the first time in all my visits to Marsh Farm that i have caught species other than Crucians and Tench, all on 6ml flavoured expander pellets.

Was there today and had no problems the guy in the shop inspected my landing net deemed it acceptable so i was good to go! No problems staying on either after the shop shut as well although i left a bit earlier than i would have liked but that was my choice rather than observing a fishery rule.

The website never has been updated on a regular basis but a call to the on site tackle shop has always provided me with all the relevant info. Is by no means as prolific as in the early years of its existence but the chance of a huge "true" crucian puts it in a pretty unique position, well certainly one that is open to all.

Looking at another websites forum brings up a slightly different take on this issue.Apparently this rule was rushed through pretty quickly and is to be amended to allow day ticket anglers to stay on till 7.00pm. As it happens i am due to visit M.F. sometime in the next couple of weeks for my annual fix of monster crucian hunting so will let you all know of the new rules to be aware of.

At one time i think Drewatt & Neatte controlled the fishing above the weir but i now believe it comes under Donnington Country Club's contol.I know for sure that the club control the fishing above Donninton road bridge and an amazing looking piece of river it is as well.Many moons ago in a previous existence my former employer had a corporate christmas bash at the DD club,a few of us wandered down to the river to have a sneaky look before it got dark and were mightily impressed with what we saw. Thats the good news the bad news is that winter Grayling fishing(fly only) is only available up till 31st December at a bargain £55!

Welcome aboard Viney There are a few stretches of the lower Kennet available on a day ticket via the Reading & District Angling Association (RDAA) have a look on their website or call in at any of the Reading tackle shops and they should point you in the right direction.

A new close face reel from ABU this is music to my ears as i was unaware they had brought out a new model.I was never impressed with Daiwa's version of the DAM "coffee grinder" so perhaps the 706 will be a worthy replacement for my much used and abused 501.

Very well done John and an interesting and thought provoking story to boot.

The only reason i mentioned this was because my brother in law is a regular visitor to OBH in the winter months.Going on what he has told me it seems the majority of the zander caught these days there are on sea deadbaits.He stuck to his guns for about 3 months and stubbornly fished coarse deads or trout livebaits but was totally outfished by the guys on the sea deadbaits. But weirdly most of his pike are now coming to coarse deads!...i am no predator angler so have no explanation for this perhaps some of the more experienced predator anglers on AN might have a view on this.

I understand that contrary to perceived wisdom sea deadbaits ARE effective at Old Bury Hill so dont discount them when thinking of bait choice.

Thanks Davy will have a look in my local tackle shop for them.

I recently fished a water where small eels can be a real nuisance, three in as many casts and the likelyhood of more next time i go.I managed to unhook one easily enough but the other two had the hook not down deep but difficult to extract with standard disgorgers and forceps. In the end i had to cut the line and leave the hook in the fish, is there a technique for unhooking these critters? I have heard mention in the past of a particular type of disgorger that is supposed to be effective on eels i think it is called SLAMMO or something similiar. Any tips would be gratefully received.

Would love to come along as well but i would only be able to stay up till midday or thereabouts so cannot really justify £18 for four hours fishing so will have to decline...

I have an old angling book from the 70s Roach by Dave Stuart (part of the Osprey set of angling books)Without getting out of the loft i think it is this book that shows a photo of Dave Stuart trotting for roach using a baby ABU multiplier.

Excellent days trotting at BC today despite the gusty wind which made float control difficult at times.Definitely one of my best days there in recent years. 6 Trout ( 5 Browns 1 Rainbow ) about 20 or so Perch to 1.5lb roughly the same number of small dace a few small chub 2 Roach about a half a dozen gudgeon and the same of small grayling (best Grayling about 0.75 lb I only needed Bream and Pike and would have had the full set!...Talking of Pike they were extremely active today nicking several fish of the hook, mostly enthusiastic jacks but one "thief" was a good double at least. Good luck to the guys going tomorrow.

Can confirm that Chub approve of "magic bread" as i was using that bait this very morning on the Kennet.As i unexpectedly found myself with a few hours to kill and not wanting to wait for the tackle shop to open so i could purchase maggots it proved its worth.Just mashed up a loaf in my landing net on reaching my swim to use for groundbait with a pinch of magic bread on the hook.

A very enjoyable tale Anderoo and the pic of the fish is a cracker

Thinking about it all my better days at BC(and there have not been that many) have been early season say up till early december.Post new year forays have ranged from scratching around for a few bites at best to blanks in what are seemingly ideal conditions, unless i have been exceptionally unlucky or am just a c**p angler quite possibly both!