fruitloopy

Just poke a load of small holes in them with a bait needle to enable airout/water in. These PVA bags are much cheaper than the mesh as well.

Fantastic! Call it Tonto

I generally use float stops to make it easy to adjust the depth of a weighted waggler float. When I setup I slide a float stop up the line, then the float adapter, then another float stop. I'm the sort of guy who doesnt like things going to waste so I would prefer to be able to reuse these float stops for another time but I cant work out how to put then back on the "holder". A tackle shop owner once showed my father who then completely forgot once he left the shop. Typical bloke Can anyone effectively demonstrate how to do this? Just for clarification I am talking about the float stops that are supplied on a plastic ring which has 3 or 4 strands of looped wire or line attached to it. Each of these strands has several float stops on it. You pass your mainline through a loop and thread the float stop onto the mainline. How do you get it back home again? This has actually been bugging the crap out of me for ages

Its probably a stupid idea but how about a handful of maggots along with a stone or two in a PVA bag. Use another rod to cast this out to loose feed the area or just attach the bag to your hookbait and cast it. The stone will add some weight, be completely free when you lose it (unless it has any sentimental value) and will get your bait where you want it. I should imagine that the faster flowing water of a river may help to dissolve the PVA bag a little quicker than a stillwater. If you do try this then use a fine mesh bag overwise the maggots will get out of a larger mesh. When you cast a PVA bag the aerodynamics are different and you may end up casting a full bag of maggots where you dont want them to land. To make sure you hit the right spot first time out then put a weight on the line of the rod you'll be using but not a hook. Cast to where you want it and when you have the right spot use the line clip. Perhaps continue to ledger but make some stone weights that were discussed on another topic here, that way it doesnt hit the bank balance too hard.

The heated vest worked a treat! I sat on Willow lake at Decoy Lakes in Whittlesey, Peterborough yesterday and practised my feeder fishing with some nice results - 3 Crucian carp to 2lb a roach to 13oz and a small common to 2lb. Block end feeder with my own concoction of groundbait with a lovely red maggot filling. Yum! Oddly enough I had no good bites on worm so I stayed with maggots on the hook. After a few hours I really started to feel the chill and even a walk to the car and back didnt help so I switched the heated vest on. After 2-3 minutes I felt a lovely warm sensation across my chest that stopped me shivering and cheered me right up. After a few more minutes I switched it off again. It went back on again just before I started packing up at 4pm. I think they are well worth the £19.99 and if you pick up the battery charger that comes with 4 batteries then buy another 4 (the vest needs 6 x AA) then you wont have any more expense.

Sorry I didnt update this thread with the heated vests perfomance. The truth is that, apart from testing it (which was lovely and warm) I have not really needed to switch it on yet. I have been mostly fishing the rivers these last few weeks and because I am wearing two fleeces (the heated vest above the thermal top and a full zip up fleece on top) plus waterproof overtrousers I am lovely and toasty! I went to the river today and its too fast and flooded so I'll go to the stillwaters tomorrow or Sunday. I'm sure sitting down all day will get me cold enough to want to switch it on. As mentioned though I switched it on to test and it heated up within 3 minutes and put some nice heat all around my chest. Very cosy!

I would side with the "Doesnt make any difference" camp but I may try this myself soon. At least all I lose when I get snagged is a swivel and some time and not another lump of lead that cost me a quid from the tackle shop. That sort of thing always annoys me, especially when it happens for the 4th time and you only have one weight left! As Lutra says...a small masonary bit, a vice to hold the stone and a steady hand. Wash the hole you make and allow to dry to make sure all the dust is removed otherwise the glue will not hold too well. You could even write the weight of the stone on it so you know what your chucking out. I dont think the fish can read anyway so it shouldnt spook them!

The only Google search that seemed to give any hope was this website for the Avon Angling Centre based in Hampshire. THIS PAGE showed some promise but you'll have to contact the place via the details ON THIS PAGE to see if they can help. I hope you find what you are looking for.

I caught my first Chub yesterday...and not just one but six! I trotted a lobworm on the outside edge of the flow on a bend in the river and had one after another within the space of 3 hours. The biggest was about 2lb I think, I didnt have any scales with me. The others seemed just over a pound. My intention was to stay mobile, cruise up and down the river and trot along some likely looking places. It really helps you to stay warm as well. Later I chucked a jig in to try and tempt some Perch but caught a pike instead, this weighed about 3lb. Fished from 10am to 2pm and had a cracking time. The weather was good, cold but overcast and slightly foggy which I hoped would bring the fish on. I have been moaning about the River Nene and what seemed its lack of potential but I think I am really starting to enjoy it now, especially as there seems to be less weed in the river and out of it. I am sorry Mr Nene...I will be back on Friday for my day off work!

Another vote for Worms Direct, always had very fast delivery, email notifications and great worms from them. Personally I always go for the 0.5kg tub of large dendrobaenas as they are great bait and much easier to look after than lobworms. They also seem to last a lot longer...this 0.5kg bucket will last me a month and even longer in these colder months. I caught some lovely carp and large Rudd the other day with 1 large dendra cut in half and hooked on a size 14 hook, float fished near some reeds on 4lb line. The little blighters just cant resist them!

I've never had much luck with rivers but I really would like to enjoy them more. I live in Peterborough so all I have locally is the Nene and I have had nothing other than Perch and a couple of Dace from here. If I was to up sticks and move to some other part of the country what river would be best? Specifically I would love to catch Barbel and Chub but I dont mind a sprinkling of Carp, Perch and Roach as well. Whenever I watch fishing programs on TV they are always roving around the Avon, Kennet, Severn and the Wensum. No-one ever fishes the bloody Nene! So what in your opinion is the best river to live nearby?

I have bought it along with a battery charger + AA rechargeable batteries. I guess I'll try wearing it above my thermal tshirt and another long sleeve tshirt then put a jumper and fleece on top of that. That'll do it!

Sorry, I was wrong. The one in Maplin is only £20 but needs 6 x AA batteries. Maplin Electric Waistcoat

I was out xmas shopping with my wife on Saturday and popped into a new Maplin store. I saw some heated vests with rechargeable batteries, I think they were about £60 or £70. Has anyone tried or got any of these? Are they worth it for the winter months? I can wear as many as 6 layers of clothing and because I am sitting still for a good portion of the time I can still get bloody cold!

Thanks Colin, I have not had a chance to call that number yet but I'll get round to it soon. So does Rutland Water have the same sort of restrictions, like fly fishing only except for certain days?

I modified THIS amphibious tank that I bought from a really good ebay seller over a month ago. I have used it a few times now for dumping some hemp and pellets above my hook bait and also for dropping my hair rig exactly where I wanted it. If I had tried casting it to that exact spot I'm sure I would have snapped my rod in pure frustration! It cost me £31.98 including delivery. I used heavy duty velcro strips to secure a plastic tub on top of one side of the wheels so that when you press aand hold a button on the remote to unfold the wheels it tips the tub and dumps your bait exactly where you want it. I keep meaning to take a video of it in action but I cant control the boat and keep a handheld mobile phone steady at the same time. Trust me though, with a bit of DIY engineering this boat is fantastic! It has a really nice build quality and good fun to play with as well Bear in mind it does not have a great range and I wouldnt trust it to go further than 50 yards. Also the charge will not hold as long as a £400 boat but there is a way to extend the life. Get an old butt end of a rod and old (or cheap) reel and put some heavy duty line on it. 10lb minimum and braid is well recommended. Tie the line to the FRONT of the boat or if you can use some sort of quick release clip so you can easily remove the line if you want, I butchered a key ring to acheive this. DONT tie the line to the back of the boat because when you reel it back it sinks! Drive your boat out to where you want it and allow line through the old reel by releasing the bail arm, drop your bait and then reel it back in. It saves battery life and gives you security just in case it sinks or a pike grabs it It also has a BB pellet gun on it for fun. The pellets are quite deadly when fired as well!

Local fisheries and clubs have their own rules and they can be anything from hook size, no groundbait, no hemp, no boilies, no live/deadbaiting, no farting, etc. Sometimes these rules can be a bit on the silly side but should still be respected as they may have a valid reason for enforcing them. Barbed hooks are almost always enforced countrywide, although there are exceptions...I just dont know what they are! Unhooking mats, in particular for carp/catfish fishing became fashionable and most fisheries request that you use them. If you fishing for smaller species then its up to you if you have one or not. I bought a small fold up one for £10 a couple of years ago that suits my needs. If your going mobile on a river and the club doesnt enforce them then dont bother using it. Lead shot in the small sizes are banned but I doubt if you'll be able to buy it from a tackle shop anyway, the only place to get this from is Aldi when they do a cheap fishing sale. I dont think that anything else is banned or enforced UK wide but go and ask your local tackle shop as Lyn suggests. They'll kit you out. Welcome back to fishing...all the best.

I have no problem with downloading films, etc via torrents...I do it so much myself but I always try and quantify my reasons behind it as "previewing" the material before I buy it. I have downloaded many films and then decided I liked it so much I bought them on DVD. There are many I like but cant be bothered to buy or unwilling to buy. Because these films are produced by mega million (or billion) dollar fat cat producers I really dont care whether I line their pockets with another £10, stuff 'em! However, Hugh Miles is not a fat cat producer and he's paid for most of this out of his own pocket because he wants it made...and so do a hell of a lot of us as well. By all means download it and "preview" it but if you want to see more of his work in the future then I hope you buy it after you downloaded it as well. I watched the first episode last night and the quality is absolutely bloody amazing. I think £30 for 3 hours of total fishing bliss is f*ck all compared to the sh*t you'd happily take off the DVD shelf at Tesco's. For those who cant afford it - I'm sorry to hear that, save the pennies or add it to your xmas pressie list. For those moaning about the expense but CAN afford it - dont bloody buy it, miss out and shut up For those who love Passion For Angling, etc - go and get it, to hell with the expense because its damn well worth it! I'm sure Hugh Miles would like to try and recoup the probably substantial losses in making these films, not to mention the time and effort of himself, Bernard Cribbins and Martin Bowler. You lot moaning about it isnt giving him much encouragement to make any more is it? Rant over I'm not picking on you individually here CoryDoras or suggesting in any way that your illegally downloading these films, I am just using your post as a starting point for my angry little strop!

Apologies for doing this but I'm bumping it up to the top again to have another go at a possible reply. I know I spelt the place wrong but has anyone at all fished here?? C'mon...its a big place!! Anyone?

Has anyone fished at Graftham Water and used the boats? I just remember watching Matt Hayes and Mick Brown on Record Breaking Fish on a bot there fishing for Pike (and bringing in some lovely Perch). I dont live to far from the place and my Brother in law and I would like to give it a go. Do they supply the fish finders/radar thing as well or do I need my own?

Its quite a coincidence because I was looking at a small dinghy for the gravel pits around here. Ive been looking at the sniper and the BIC 252 as well. I am not sure how one of these will look on the roof of my Citroen C1! Whats the legal stuff about using these boats on lakes and rivers...anyone know?

They do like deadbaits. I remember getting very frustrated with a pike stealing my livebaits when I was trying to get a big perch on a local water. I reeled in the livebait and it had been shredded and killed by the pike so I took it off the hook and threw it in the water. As I sat there trying to put another livebait on I watched a perch of about a pound swim up to the surface and gulp down the floating deadbait! It was like watching carp feeding off the surface in the summer. I still didnt catch one though, but when I was using a single maggot on a size 18 hook to catch my livebaits I caught my biggest perch yet of just over a pound!

Looks like a bream to me but I havent caught one in so long I'm not sure. It weighed 1lb 1oz.

Damn right Budgie. Condescending tw*t! As budgie says, using lighter equipment means you have more skill at playing a fish than a carp yob, the only way you'll get some experience of catching something other than tiddlers is if you try. Give it a go and see how you get on. Just because you dont have a bivvie, carp coral (b'jesus!) or a first aid kit for an obese mirror carp doesnt mean you arent qualified, able or allowed to catch them. You go for it and let us know how you get on!

As I said I went again last night, I caught nothing this time but I did increase my knowledge a little. I started of with worms but kept getting pestered by small fish so I put some peperami on a hair rig. I only have the one feeder rod with a quiver tip and it states on the rod a 2oz weight is the max recommended so I'm just fishing with what I have at the moment. It is holding bottom though. While watching the tip I saw plenty of times that, on a still water I would have struck, but I sat and waited for a fast whip round. A couple of times I had a quick pull but by the time I lifted up the rod it had already bounced back again. As Tigger said it could have been some sneaky dace. This spot was recommended as a good barbel swim in Angling Times a few weeks ago so I am fairly confident there's some in there. I'll use the tips mentioned by Rabbit when I get there again...hopefully Saturday. Cheers.