[ground bait]

First of all you can even make the crumb yourself, by saving all your old bread. Let it go really dry and then blend it. Either way making your own or using shop bought crumb, you can add what you like to it depending on what you targetting. I use different mixes for different species.

 

I am a big fan of expo for tench but make my own variation of this at a fraction of the cost than that of a the shop bought.

 

Let us know what you are after and we can help further.

[best line for barbel]

I use 10 or 12lb mono for all my Barbel fishing, mainly 10 except for the Teme when it is 12 all the time.

[Bait for barbel]

Anderoo,

 

the W. Avon has burst it's banks in many places and with more rain forecast I can't see it getting any better for a few days at least.

[Daiwa 125M]

Terry,

 

that would be great if you don't mind letting me have it, I am sure my friend at work would be well chuffed. I will get it in tip top shape before giving it to him.

 

It is not the spool that I cannot get off, it is the housing over the spool with the pick up pin on. I have never liked the Daiwa's and have always used Abu's myself.

[Really light chair for roving]

I use the JRC roamer, it has adjustable legs and only weighs around 3 kilo

[Daiwa 125M]

A friend at work has given me his 125m to look at as the housing over the spool will not come off. Upon trying to turn the housing to release it, it just makes an noise and upon inspecting it, it is dragging over the the main gear. Any further attempts will eventually grind the gears down. Everything else is working fine on the reel. Any ideas on how to remove the housing so we can get at the spool?

[Bait for barbel]

Elips pellets are great but as Chavender say's I would leave the pellet alone and stick with things like hemp, caster, meat and corn. I would most certainly take worm along.

[The Glorious 16th]

I will be on the Severn with two options available to me depending on the weather. First and formost on the agenda will be the hungry Barbel that I am hoping encounter, but if there is too much water on or they are not to interested, then I know where some rather large Carp are frequenting. Either way, I will enjoy the weekend. Just by being near running water again will be great.

[our own rod race]

Most of our canal system holds Zander. The Coventry and Oxford canal are full of them.

The W.Avon would be a good place for Barbel and Chub. It would be okay for Eels too, but you would be better fishing for these at night, and I would use worm or pellet as bait, prefferably worm. The BAA have day tickets for all there stretches on the Avon, but these need to bought in advance from local tackle shops or from their headquarters.

 

I believe I saw you at Napton the other week, you were fishing the causeway and I arrived in the afternoon and fished the left hand side.

[cost of fishing]

I have never really thought about the cost of my fishing, I just do it and enjoy it. I spend around £150 a year on books etc. I suppose on average a days fishing is a round a tenner for bait and fuel, fuel being the biggest cost of my fishing. I buy my bait in bulk and make my own pastes and groundbaits, I buy terminal tackle now and again.

[Wingham Fish-in Report]

Rob,

 

That's a clonking Tench, well done to you.

[What would you use?]

I would grind down the pellets you use to a powder and add an egg or two, depending how much you make. I do a similar thing with hallibut pellet I then add oil or oils of choice and mix to paste. This makes a great paste that is quite firm.

[River fishing]

The BAA have dropped some waters in the last few years. I suppose the main one I can think of which was forced on them was Top Barn on the Severn, this went syndicate by the land owner. £50 and acces is still not great and there alot of pegs that still un-fishable. I know somebody who joined it but has dropped it for the above reasons.

 

The Teme and Severn has quite a lot of privately owned stretches, this is increasing year by year too.

 

Mind you there is still a lot of the Severn that is untouched.

[Mainline]

I use Bass pro Excel, but there is nothing wrong with Diawa Sensor for the money. Berkely Big game and Trilene are alos good. I prefer clear line, especially on the Teme and Avon, not so important on the Severn. As for the lines you mentioned GR60 has a great reputation and I know many Barbel Anglers who use it. The Fox soft steel I have heard good and bad about. At the end of the day it is personal preferance, find one you like and stick with it.

[tench in northampton area]

Dog lane, Napton reservoir and Stockton reservoir are all seperate fisheries. Dog Lane has plenty of different sepcies in it, especially Bream. Stockton res is more carp and Napton is a great tench water on its day. Stokton is behind Blue Liars pub. Napton res is a little further up the road and Dog Lane is actually in Napton.

[back on the river]

I will be on the Severn for the weekend after my love, Barbus Barbus. I have booked my pegs so need to rush, I will get there about 9/10 ready for midnight. If it is rubbish then I can always go to the Teme or the Avon for the Sunday.

[Wingham Fish-in Report]

Firstly a big thank you to Steve and all invovled at Wingham, a truly awesome and inspirational place.

 

Steve put me in a peg not noted for Pike which destroyed my fishing last time I attended and you guesssed it, within hours I had a Pike on the bank. The Tench and Bream were once again ellusive and I will have to keep on trying. Nobody caught in the part of the lake I was on and all the fish came from the top end, I did eventually catch a Wingahm Perch though-all 6oz of it.

 

I did avoid the eels and Pike on the Sunday night which plagued me Saturday night, but then again so did everything else.

 

Well done to Richard on his great catch and to Rob on his lake record Tench, you truly are the master of Wingham.

 

BTW Elton, what does a Carp look like ?

[Wingham Fish-In Sat May 19th to Mon May 21st]

As promised here's a picture of one of my bobbins so you can make something similar.

 

The line clip is a Gardner one, although there are cheap copies now for about 60p. The red tubing is made from catapult elastic, whilst the other end of the Betalight is attached with some clear silicon tubing. Alternatively you could use a Starlite or a battery-powered light instead of the Betalight. The SSG shot are clipped to a piece of wire equal in length to the size of the bankstick when closed. I prefer wire as it doesn't tangle but some stiff flourocarbon or thick mono will do almost as well. At the other end of the wire is a bulldog clip (£1.99 for 5 in W.H. Smith or Staples).

 

They're cheap, quick to make, and above all very effective. On windy days you simply rest some of the SSG shot on the ground.

 

 

I've 4 of these, and can probably quickly make another up on the bank as I've some spare components.

 

If anyone wants to borrow some of these bobbins it's first come, first served.

 

I made some up the other day which are very similar to what you have done. I just need a clip to attach them to the bank sticks, thought I had some but will pick some up later when I am out and about. Mine bobbins take internal weights, so hopefully doing away with a string of swanshot down the line.

[line diameter]

All lines will vary from each manufaturer and depnding what line it is will depnd on the breaking strain compared to diameter. For instance one line from one stating a thickness of 0.20 and breaking strain of 14lb could be 12 lb or 10lb from another. Then on the other hand the hi tech lines vary even more. What line is it you have?

[Tips for Wingham]

A very kind offer and I for one would welcome a cuppa.

[Tips for Wingham]

Having only fished Wingahm once before and seeing that each swim is so different, I will wait and see what swim I have before deciding on what my tactics will be, but I imagine they will be very similar to Anthony's, BTW did you know I taught him everything he knows

 

I will not be using Vitalin either but opting for a dark groundbait if I use it. I am looking on the lines of maggot and corn with lobs as the main bait. My fear is that I get Piked out again. I was so plagued with Pike last time, I pulled the rods in and went to sleep int he end. I just could not get past them and everything I tried resulted in you know what- a Pike.

 

I am just pleased to have the chance to fish there again.

 

I can't wait, see you all there

[Prebaiting for River Carp]

If I am correct Andrew will be fishing the Leam. Andrew, you have done the hard work and that is locating them. I would prebait with a mixture of vitalin, pellet and boilies. I would be tempted to do it every day for a week then cut down to every other day for a week and then every 3 or 4 days. In the last week before the season, I would bait it at the begining of the week and the night before you fish it. As for quantity, really depends on the head of fish but say a couple of kilo at first then drop it down to a kilo. Once they get used to the bait going in they will not venture too far from it anyway.

[Method mix?]

Vitalin makes a great method mix, add what you like to it. Just remember it will take quite a bit of water, best to mix it the night before and then more water the next day as it will need it. It is only about a tenner for a 15kg bag.

[Using and making paste]

Crushed halibut with an egg or two.

[World cup cricket]

I see he has failed once again, out for duck. I think he needs to be dropped now, so what if he is the captain. I would have dropped him 2 games ago, no good if you can't score runs, which is what he is supposed to do. 5 matches now with an average of 15, rubbish. Do the team a favour and drop yourself.