Tommy

Have any of you got access to BBC2 Northern Ireland? Last night at 8pm their new series Big Six was broadcast. It features Daryl Grimason, he of Coast to Coast fame setting out to catch 6 fish of a lifetime, namely skate, conger, tuna, blue shark, ferrox trout and a 20lb plus pike, all in or around the coast of Ireland. Last night he was fishing for skate of the North Coast of Antrim and in Mayo in the company of Mary Gavin Hughes. A truly fantastic program where he caught male skate to 100lb plus and females to approximately 200lb. All of the skate caught were tagged and released by the skippers. The largest fish took 1 hour and 40 minutes to land. It certainly made me jealous watching it. It's good to see that there are new, quality angling programs being made. Next Monday I think he is going after the tuna - can't wait.

quote: Originally posted by Peter Waller: when it comes to the actual mechanics of angling I really do wonder what we have to defend. [/QB] Peter, Fortunately I do not think that we, as anglers have to defend anything. Unfortunately what we have to challenge is the probable public perception in response to this research. The media have taken something out of the research that is just not there, the majority of the public will take their word for it without bothering to scrutinise the research. Sad, but true.

Liam, Hold fire on any advice that has been given to you so far - definitely do not give any of the money away. If the dole are aware that you are in possession of capital in excess of the allowed amount, and I don't know how they would know this as the content of wills is confidential, then they will treat the money you gave away as still being in your possession. Sounds daft, but thats the way it is. If you are on DLA you can use the money for house improvements, to make you surroundings safer and this will not be touched. Similarly you can state that you are repaying a loan as long as the terms of the loan were that repayment was due as soon as you came into any money. This does not need to be a loan from a bank - it can be from a friend as long as written proof is provided. The purchase of a car, especially if it can be proved that it is for use in getting around due to your disability is another method of disposing of some capital. I could not say for certain, however if your doctor felt that angling was therapeutic for your condition then the purchase of new tackle and even a boat could be deducted. This is a difficult area of Social Security Law, and I should know as I recently helped a friend "dispose" of a £17500 claim. Be very wary of actually disposing of any money before you are absolutely sure that the dole will accept that you are no longer in receipt of it. Good Luck.

John, Living in Northern Ireland I know what a pain in the a**e it can be having stuff delivered. I would suggest contacting some of the online tackle shops, eg. Bennets, Veals etc.. that do deliver to NI and ask them how they manage it. You never know you may just strike lucky. Tommy.

Fisherking, As I said in my previous post my wife bid for and won the auction; the e-mail you sent was to her, not me. I was wondering what the mix up was with the auction. You state that the auction was due to finish sometime today, yet when the bid was placed it was clear that the end time of the auction was just after 3pm yesterday. There seems to be no explanation available as to what this problem was. Tommy.

Hi Fisherking, What was the mix up on the auction? My wife bid for the camera and was informed that she had won. Was there a problem with bidding? Tommy

Alan, Thanks for the offer of looking through the mags, however I don't think that it will be required just yet. As i said I have to gain access to a boat before I can progress any further. Cheers. Tommy

Alan, I live in a small village called Portaferry, at the tip of the Ards Peninsula in Northern Ireland. Most anglers will never have heard of it, yet it is world renowned for the number of wrecks in the area - by divers. As I stated previously there is very little interest in angling in the area and shore fishing, apart from spinning for small pollock and coalfish is unheard of. I have yet to have a real stab at this myself due to lack of knowledge. Boat fishing is qa joke due to the fact that the charter skippers in the area have no real knowledge of angling techniques apart from jigging with feathers. This is one of the reasons that a friend and I are anxious to get a boat for next year. At one point the Irish record conger was captured in the Irish Sea 4 miles from where I live as well as Tope to 60lb and common skate to over 200lb - alas there have been no cpatured skate for a long time due to a destruction of their habitat by nephrop fishermen. We are hoping some time in the future to try and establish if they have returned - I hope to contact Davy Holt if ever I get the chance to try this out. Mike Thrussell fished from Portaferry once before and commented that the area had the potential to be one of the best in Europe. With a large slice of luck and a lot of hard graft I intend to find out if he was right. Tommy

Chris, I believe we have met before on another angling forum regarding the issue of tope fishing. You kindly e-mailed me information, not only on tope fishing but also your telephone number should I want a chat and a gracious invitation to go fishing (across the pond) with you in the summer - an invitation which I hope to be able to accept, everything being OK with the missus and kids. I also hope to give you a ring some time in the near future if you're still up for it. I am glad there are folk like you around willing to impart information so freely; sometimes obtaining information from fellow anglers is like pulling teeth. I live in an area of enormous fishing potential, I am not alone in thinking this - Mike Thrussel agrees. I have at my doorstep over 30 miles of unfished shoreline - this is no exaggeration. I also have numerous virgin wrecks within 3 - 7 miles of shore, and I mean numerous. Due to the lack of interest in angling in the area information is very hard to come by regarding methods, baits etc. I have tried to obtain information previously yet met with limited success - I don't know why this should be. So please, please continue dispensing advice for those poor souls like me who desperatley need it. Tommy.

Just posted a few books, covering most aspects of angling, on the auction pages if anyone is interested. Thanks. Tommy

Just posted a few books, covering most aspects of angling, on the auction pages if anyone is interested. Thanks. Tommy

Just posted a few books, covering most aspects of angling, on the auction pages if anyone is interested. Thanks. Tommy

Just posted a few books, covering most aspects of angling, on the auction pages if anyone is interested. Thanks. Tommy

Thanks Chris, £65 -£80 for a paperback!! Not a bad price. I'll pass on your thoughts. Thanks for the reply.

A friend of mine has turned up an old paperback copy of Casting at the Sun, by Chris Yates. It is in good nick and he is thinking of listing it on e-bay. He wants to place a reserve on the book and has asked me how much it is worth. I have no idea as to it's value - has anyone out there know how much it COULD sell for. Thanks.