StephenP

Thanks for the reocmmendations. I'll have a look at some of them and hopefully buy one soon

Thanks for the suggestions. I have had a thought. I am thinking of trying a bit of carping maybe next year when it warms up a bit. So would it be reasonable to buy a rod that can be used for both? I remember reading an article that said you could do this and one of the rods it recommended for heavy carp and pike was a Shimano Alivo with 2.5 tc. Would this be a good idea? Thanks.

Thanks for the replies. Could any of you recommend a cheap rod I could use to start out with? I dont want to spend too much as I'm not sure how often I'll get to use it. Maybe 30 or 40 pounds? I've got a reel with a bait runner which I think will be suitable so thats sorted. Thanks.

Hi guys. I was walking along the canal today which I intend to fish soon for the first time. However I also noticed lots of places where I thought pike and perch would be hiding. I've never fished for these fish using lures before but it looks like fun and I want to give it a go. It would be nice to be able to walk up the canal trying a few different spots with a small amount of equipment in case I hook into a fish. I'm not sure what equipment I'll need though. I have a small 8ft winkle picker rod at home which I've had for years and it also has an old reel with it. Would these be suitable for this type of fishing? I know I'd have to use a wire trace as well incase I hooked a pike and I'd also need some forceps. What other equipment would I need? Thanks.

I'll probably give it a go then. The quivertip rod I'm currently using is about 12 foot but I also have a very old 8ft Winklepicker so maybe I'll dig that out and see if its still usable I'll probably take the float rod just incase though Thanks for the advice.

Hi Guys, I'm planning on fishing a very small pond this weekend. I fished it a few weeks ago but on the waggler and was thinking of trying my quivertip rod out on it. The pond is only about 20 yards in width and a few feet deep. Would it be best sticking to the waggler or is it ok to ledger such a short distance? Thanks, Stephen.

Hi Janet. I have fished there a couple of times but only on the large pond. I've caught alot of small bream on sweetcorn and luncheon meat has also been suggested. The website does say that sweetcorn and luncheon meat on float tactics are good tactics to use. Hope you have fun

Hi, I'm from skelmersdale so have done a little bit of fishing in Wigan. I've tried Orrell Reservoir a couple of times where I've caught bream and small carp. Last weekend I also tried the flashes. I think I was on the back weedy lake but didnt manage to catch anything. I ended up fishing on the canal behind it but only managed a small roach. I've also fished the big pond at charity farm a few times which was quite good however I've heard it hasn't been fishing very well recently. I hear that Spring View fisheries is one of the best places in wigan however the only time I went it had been flooded so couldnt fish it.

Ah ok. Well its a still water. A smallish pond. I was going to start with about 12 inches hooklength. Does that sound reasonable?

Thanks for the reply. Yes I thought the hook was slightly small as well. I'm going to use either 1 or 2 8mm halibut pellets on the hair so maybe I should try a size 12 or 14 hook. I'm using an open ended cage feeder with groundbait in it. What size hook length would you recommend? Thanks.

Hi guys. I recently bought a feeder rod which i intend to use at the weekend. I bought a reel with it which has a bait runner on it. If I'm using quiver tips should I have the bait runner on or off when its in the rod rest? Also if I use a size 18 hook with hair rigged pellets on 8lbs line will that be heavy enough to land decent sized fish? Thanks in advance.

Thanks for the info guys. I'll probably try and buy a bigger bank stick for now and maybe in the future look into buying the octoplus system for my box. Thanks again.

Hi Everyone. I've recently started fishing again just using a basic float setup. The places I have fished have had wooden decking built up on the peg for the angler to sit at. I have a bank stick and a rod rest that I used to use however there it nowhere to "stick it in" so I've just been resting the rod at the side of me no problem. However I am now thinking of trying feeder fishing using a quiver tip to detect bites so I think a rod rest would be a good idea. How do other people get around this? I know you can get arms which come off boxes but I only have a basic shakespear box. Thanks for any help.

Haha dont worry I'm 23 I live in skelmersdale so been fishing the leeds liverpool canal near burscough. Thanks for all the help. I think I'm going to go back tonight and give it another go. I'll try putting hte bread int he microwave for 30 seconds and wrapping it in cling film so it sticks on the hook a bit better and I'll try using flake as well. Hopefully I'll be going with some people more experienced than me soon so that should help me out.

I actually have 3 rods and I'm not entirely sure what I should be using them for. I have a pole rod which I know is mainly for canals. I also have a 13 foot rod and an 8 foot rod. My first time fishing I took the 13 foot rod but felt it was a bit big for the canal so i tok the 8 ft rod today. However I'm not really interested in canal fishing. I've only gone there to practise setting my gear up and getting the hang of casting and things like that. I hope to go fishing in ponds, lakes and reservoirs pretty soon. Thats the main reason I'm thinking of switching to ledgering. I was told the smaller rod is probably the best for ledgering but I've also read that the larger rod would be better so I'm not sure now. Would i be ok using an open ended feeder filled with groundbait with a size 14 hook and sweetcorn this time of year on a pond? Thanks.