Dunk Fairley

As far as security goes, here's a couple of tips. For up and over doores, you can get lockable slide bolts which are mounted on the door, near the bottom. They are accessable from outside with a key. Blinkin' brilliant actually. Having two alarms is good. You can have one hooked up to your house alarm, but another which works independently, but is activated when you're in the house with the main alarm unset. Don't use a battery powered, or wireless alarm, if you can possibly avoid it. Be aware, that theives have a number of very dirty tricks up their sleeve. If the alarm goes off, don't just go rushing out of the front door, have a look from a window first. Supplementary locks, such as steel cables threaded through straps of luggage are good. Take a look at you local large motorbike shop for inspiration. Bikers have been protecting things in garages for years.

I'm in full agrrement with you on that one Mark. There are probably those within LACS who don't agree with angling. However, as an organisation LACS is not, nor ever has been as far as I'm aware, an anti-angling organisation. There are however, a lot of other organisations, such as PETA, Animal Aid, The Sabs, the Campaign for the Abolition of Angling, and a plethora of other so-called "local-environmental organisations" (which is what they call themselves when they approach local authorities), who are already going at it hammer and tongs, to drive nails into angling and who are attempting to set angler against angler, so that splits can form from within. At the moment, LACS are not anti-angling. So we should be content with upsetting the activities of the enemies we know, but all the time, keep an eye on what may develop in the future. I too was born and raised in the country. I have seen the erosion of country life and the banning of several country pursuits and working practices. In the past few years, I've seen the anti-angling fraternity attempt (and occasionally succeed), in having angling banned in inner cities. There are many many ways, we anglers can attack the real anti-angling groups, or otherwise disrupt their annoying activities, which are more effective than sending telephone books to people who overtly, don't have anything against us. One of the best tactics I've found when figthing against the antis, is to purely stick to the law, for instance. The law is on our side, if we obey it. One of the first things our oponents do, is try and provoke us into breaking the rules. Is it not just feasable that LACS may have found a way to get Nationwide publicity, by publicising their plight, thereby encouraging some people to say "what fun, let's join in" and others to take pity on them? Hmmmm.....

Memory and a digital camera. I occasionally use friends to remind me of mis-fortunes, but they seem to only remember when I fall in!!

Geffaz, While I'm not suggesting that any angler goes out and actually supports LACS, I will say that taking a more considered approach to their activities, would be a better idea. If (ever) they change their long held opinions on angling, I may well be high up in the rankings among those who lends their weight to the campaign to prove that their change of opinion (if it ever happens), is mis-judged. In the mean-time, we should all welcome those who set out to protect angling, from whatever direction they come from. If only that we are able to take their approach on board and criticise, or offer our opinions where required.

As an angler who has worked very hard for a long time, to protect angling from the anti-angling lobby, I must point out that I am not aware of LACS, EVER having a policy on angling. In fact, in face to face discussions with their heirachy, they have stated to ME, that they (LACS) considered angling to be postive for the environment. Now, I can understand that people on Anglers net may not like all the LACS has to say on issues other than angling, but I think to use Anglers net as a podium to launch an un-provoked attack on them, is a bit like sticking your hand into a nest of rattlesnakes. If you don't bother them, they should have no need to bother you. Furthermore, by doiong so, you are undermining very good work done on behalf of angling, by others, who are obviously much better informed than you are.

Appreciated Rabbit. You're top so far. It doesn't have to be a blind auction though. Cheers.

The problem is, that oil DOESN'T emulsify (dissolve, or turn into an easily digetable and attractive food source) in cold water. If it won't break down so the fish can smell it, they won't look for it as a food source. They can still eat it, but it looses it's attractivness basically.

One point to bear in mind is, that in recent communications, the LACS didn't consider Angling as a "cruel" sport. Have a look here. http://www.league.uk.com/about_us/our_policy.htm Sorry, I should ammend that. The quote is that they "have no policy on angling". Worth bearing in mind, I think at least.

Now, this may be an opportune moment. I've an original JW Avon Quiver, sitting in my rod rack at the moment. It's one of my favourite rods, which has taken a lot of fish, and has a lot of memories attached. I'm willing to let it go to the highest bidder up until 5 o'clock on Sunday (29th of January). The proceeds will go to Dot Beeson's Swan Sanctuary at Egham (which is not anti-angling). The reason is, I first became aware of John Wilson, when his first series was aired. On one of the programmes, he met and talked to a chap from the Swan Sanctuary, who was not anti-angling and was very impressed with the (new) lead free shot John showed him. I bought my JW Avon/Quiver shortly after, because it looked ideal for the type of fishing I was doing. I loved it. I later met Dot Beeson and became a sort of friend. I've subsequently done a few bits and pieces for the sanctuary for a while. Details are: it's the original one. With one butt section and two tops. The butt section was the one with a very short duplon handle and no covering to the butt. I've added corks to it, to make it a Duplon top bit, then the reel seat, with corks to the butt. It's a lovely rod to use. Both the quiver top section and the standard Avon, are in very good nick. It still has the original yellow bag. If you're looking for a decent Chub, Barbel, Tench, Carp Float (27lbs taken with no problems) you can't go wrong. OK, that's it. Any bidders?

I only carry a couple of made up rigs with me. But I do carry all the neccesary bits & bobs to make them up as I need them. That way, I can make up the exact right size/length (distance between the hooks) trace, to suit whatever deadbait I may take out of the freezer. The hooks come in little boxes and the trace wire on a spool etc. The manufacturers have already invented the best way to store them. I only have to take a pair of cutters and a crimper with me. I do however carry a small plastic pot with a screw lid, so that any knackered traces can be stored safely, ready to be disposed of.

Oh yes, I remember!!! I'll bring some more for you this time, if you want!

Getting exited already! Why is it these trips are so special? Is it because we're (some of us anyway) going to fish a new bit of water?

Some of the parts of the river systems are controlled by Dams and the level of the river in those areas can be controlled, yes. But it's impossible for the whole system to be sorted out. There are "mumblings" in some circles, about introducing a genetically modified disease into the eco-system, which could be carp specific. Interstingly, the idea is not coming from anglers, fertiliser producers or the like.

An Otter will take Carp to over 40lbs. The otter can grip the carp and tear it's skin, gradually weakening the Carp, until the carp cannot swim. the Otter will then drag the fish out and eat what it needs for that particular "sitting". It will then discard the carcass. The next time it wants to eat, it will take another fish. Otters much prefer large fish (as big as they can get), rather than expend energy chasing lots of small fish, which it has trouble catching. Otter attacks to Carp (up to and over 40lbs) have been well documented from a number of fisheries. The Carp Society suffered at one of their waters, as did Cotswold Water Park. I have reported Otter damaged carcasses, to fish over 15lbs from the Medway, in Kent. There have been many problems with large numbers of captive bred Otters, being "re-introduced" into the wild. The only problem is, captive bred Otters, have no faer of Man and actually associatte Man with food. In the wild, Otters would have always bolted, when a human was spotted. now, they accept humans as part of the furniture. We'd all love to see more Otters around, but they can and do cause problems. Chris Burt of the SAA has done a lot of work on the subject and all of the information is available through the SAA.

I've put this up before, go to: www.charliecarp.com The firm is run by my Cousin's husband. He's a perfectly nice bloke, who makes a living out of harvesting a crop of animals, making use of the product, and stemming the tide of something which is damaging the environment in Australia. Carp spread like wildfire in Australia a few years ago now. the weather is much more clement than europe, which enables a much higher success rate when spawning. They are eroding the banksides of many rivers, as they root around for food. Also, because of many soil types out there, the water gets quite cloudy. As a lot of the indigenous fish breeds out there are sight feeders, or predatory, such as the Barumundi (spelling?), they can't feed properly. It's a sad fact off life that many, many species which are introduced to non-original environments, tend to take over, to the detriment of the indigenous species. Examples are: Rabbits - Australia Camels - Australia Rats - Galapagos islands and elsewhere Domestic Dogs & Cats - all over the place European people - The Americas, Australia, New Zealand etc. (A lot of European diseases went over with our explorers, all those years ago. Mind you, a lot of diseases were brought back!). Giant Hogweed - The UK Knotweed - the UK Even something simple, such as the Yellow Water Lily. Very pretty, but stifles our native White Lily, when introduced into a water.

New hooks to nylon are very good value these days. I'd discard the old hooks as well. It could save you losing a good fish. Your local tackle shop will give advice on line strengths etc. Most tackle shop owners love giving advice, if it means they can get a regular customer. There are zillions of hook/line combinations on the market But as a rough guide, most of the time I use: For Chub and bream float fishing on rivers, 5lb main line, with 3 or 4 for the hook. Hook size from a 10, down to a size 16 dependant on bait. Roach and other smallish fish, 3-4lb main line, if fishing rivers, 2-4lb for still waters. Hooks from 14 down to an 18 or 20. For float fishing, I wouldn't go for anything below a size 20 hook, until you've had a bit of experience. Similarly, I wouldn't go for very light line for the same reason. These are for float fishing only, if I were using a Match rod. Good luck.

I'm a big fan of single banksticks as well. But.. I still use a pod occasionally.

Definately glycerine. I also add it to maggots as a liquid sweetener/flavour, and to fruity boilies at 20ml per 6 egg mix, again as a sweetener, but also as a good preservative. It works for all 3

tigger, I fully agree with you. when beach casting, with 4-6oz leads, you need a strong rod. But... when you're down for the day, the sun's out and it's the sort of day where your family want to drag you around shops, a carp rod with 2oz leads, fished in the waves, feeling for a bite using light tactics, is a far better bet. For the record, I leave my beachcaster down at Hastings, at work, ready for lunch. I carry my lure rod in my van, ready for anything. I don't have a problem with saltwater damaging my Shimanos. After use in the Sea, I clean them.

Sea Fishing, to me, is a good way to spend your lunch breaks. I've been working down in Hastings for a few months and so have spent my lunch times fishing off the old harbour wall, whenever I've had the chance. The Mackerel went bonkers in the summer and I've had a few Plaice as well. So all in all, I'm pretty happy. What has struck me though, are the amount of "frustrated" coarse fishermen who come up and say they didn't realise they could have brought along a coarse fishing rod and done a bit of fishing, instead of having to spend the day going around second rate tourist traps (not saying that Hastings is over-run with them, or worse than anywhere else. But all seaside towns suffer the blight of shops which sell "souveniers", such as guadily painted wooden fishing boats, made in East Germany). If more were aware that all you really need to catch fish at the seaside, was a reasonable carp/pike rod, a decent reel, some 2oz leads, a few hooks and a bit of luck, I'm sure there would be a lot more Sea Anglers.

Where is it exactly you are staying? I know quite a few "hotspots" on a few Lochs, which I've found purely by just turning up and having a go. Apart from the pike fishing stuff, I'd certainly take a quivertip outfit as well, as there are a lot of coarse fish around. If you fish worms on the 'tip, you're sure to pick up decent Perch and obviously Trout. But you'll need to check locally if you can fish bait on some of the Lochs, as some are fly/lures only. Why not think about treating both yourself and the Missus to a half day fly fishing course. A half day is short enough so that boredojm won't set in and when you know how to fly fish, you'll be able to take suitable tackle on holiday wherever you go in the future! Won't She be pleased!! There are hundreds and hundreds of good waters to fish all over Scotland, but there are about a dozen decent tackle shops. So be prepared, take lots of lures and if you are able to, frozen deadbaits. I took about 10lbs of frozen deadbaits from Kent to the top end a couple of years ago, when packed properly in a decent cold box, they stayed frozen for the two days it took to get there. Are you staying in a hotel, or tent/caravan? Try and arrange freezer accomodation in advance. A call to the site or hotel should sort it. If you are going self catering, find out the size of the fridge in the accomodation, if it only has a small freezer compartment, adjust bait quantities accordingly. Anyway, give us a more precise location and I'll have a dig around (as I'm sure everyone else will).

A very nice Harrison 11'6" rod blank, all the rings, corks and reel seat required to build a lovely trotting rod. A Youngs BJ lightweight centrepin and some lures. Peace and quiet (My beloved wife worked Xmas and Boxing days).

They definately sound the same as the Drennan Crystal wagglers, which have been around for years (as have other "self cocking" floats). They're very good, but remember that if you have no weight on the line, apart from the weight around the float, you need to have a smallish "dropper" shot, to sink the bait properly. Otherwise, any drift or current, may actually pull the hook bait up in the water. At the very least, you may need some to make the hookbait sink at the same rate as the free offerings (which will sink faster, as they don't have the drag of the line to pull down as they sink. Fish can notice this). Two other tips: 1. When fishing "on the drop", i.e with little or no weight around the bait, if you use double maggot, both hooked in the fat end, the bait has a tendency to spin as it falls. Free offerings don't do this and the fish can tell. You can correct this, by hooking one maggot in the fat end, then the other in the thin end. This reduces or even stops the bait spinning. 2. If you drop free offering maggots in the margins where you can see them, you'll notice that they fall down sideways, as if they're lying down. If you put a hook in one as you normally would i.e. in the fat end, you'll notice it goes down one end first (whichever end you stick the hook in, as the weight of the hook causes it to sink hook first). If bites dry up, hook a maggot in the middle and you may have more success. Don't forget, that a maggot looks a lot bigger to a fish than it does to us. they will nltice very small things (I apologise if I'm preaching to the knowledgeable).

I'm not sure you're correct there ayay, but if you are, I'll happily stand corrected.

I don't think there's a statutory minimum size limit on coarse freshwater fish, in the UK. But it is essential that you check with any fishery owner/controller, whether you are allowed to use deadbaits caught on another water, on the one you want to fish. It is not against the law to do so, just against some rules. Also, some clubs operate a minimum deadbait size rule, so you'd best check for that as well Tranferring live fish is a definate NO NO! But dead fish are OK as far as I know.