Rich_

It is the mentality of those who drop dogs from great heights for fun that is most worrying, but this type of person has always been there along with the other criminal elements & always will be regardless of the deterrents. I reckon the problem of discipline has as much to do with the society that has been allowed to develop over the last 30 or 40 years as it has with the way people are punished, the old social values have gone out the window . We have gone from hangings & corporal punishment, to a point where the offender is seen as a victim of circumstance and has more rights than the rest of us, or so it seems, this makes the parent/teacher/police feel reluctant to take any corrective action at all, and some of the rest of us are frustrated to the point where we suggest extreme solutions. The answer must be in the middle ground somewhere, but that will mean taking at least one step back the other way. Obviously the way we have been dealing with bad behaviour is not working.

Does the histogram always take it's reading from the whole frame or does it take into account your meter setting where the meter reading is taken from, like centre weighted or evaluative metering etc?

Without hopefully straying too far from the original thread,your last question raises another point. In the days of 35mm film I was very choosy which photos went in the album after I got them back from Boots's , because albums took up drawer space. Small hard drives were the electronic equivalent of this drawer. However, since the advent of CD writers & flash drives etc I now have hundreds of pictures going back over about 8 years, most of which I will never print off, or even look at again.

I'd say if you'd rather do someone a good turn than a bad one, you're basically decent, although manners & respect seem to be going out of fashion I'd like to think most people still fit this category.

I use the card reader that is built in to our printer/scanner & it's OK.

I am inclined to agree. I got a Cannon 400D last year, my first digital SLR, & have been having a go processing RAW files lately using the software which came with the camera,Photo Professional it's called. All I seem to end up doing to the RAW files most of the time is tweaking the brightness & contrast if needed which you can do in any basic software with jpegs. Sometimes I play around with the white balance etc, on photos that were probably quite acceptable any way. I find even PS Elements I don't use half it's capability. I am far from being an expert, but to me photographs are about capturing the moment & I try to rely on the settings on the actual camera to get the picture I want. A lot of times it's the composure that makes a good photo.

I have never thought of this as much of a problem, I fish some very clear water & the visibility of theline doesn't seem to put them off as we catch plenty. Of course you couldn't prove it doesn't put some off I suppose & this may affect your confidence if it bothers you.

Use the braid straight through without a mono leader. The advantage of the braid is that it has no stretch compared to mono & you get a better feel with it. Also the advantage of having higher breaking strains comes into play if you are casting heavy lures or even pulling out of a snag the extra bit of strength can help.

Been using Power Pro for a few years now with no problems for heavier lure fishing. & I have some of that Shakespeare Bionic stuff in 35lb test on my light rod & that has been OK too.

Saw one where he was beach fishing abroad somewhere & was given a rod & multiplier reel. After 2 attempts at casting without his thumb on the spool resulted in the inevitable massive birds nests, which were picked, or cut out by his guide, he asked for a "proper" reel and they had to get him a big fixed spool. Not many fishing programmes I choose not to watch, but his annoying over acting is a bit too much.

Pike , like many other predators , scavenge as well as hunt , this must be true due to the success of your dead baits. Smell must play a big part in them locating a dead fish?

I think I would agree that any form of buoyancy is best attached to the trace in some way. If the bait comes adrift with a bit of wood or foam inside, it is likely to float up to the top and be eaten by a bird or animal when it washes ashore. Fish like smelt & freshwater fish seem better suited to injecting air to pop them up. This is a safe enough way to make them float, if the bait comes off whatever eats it only risks getting a touch of wind.

Ahh! Thanks for that !

I can't to access my own or other user profiles by clicking on the names , or send PMs it says .... "Sorry, but you do not have permission to use this feature. If you are not logged in, you may do so using the form below if available." I am logged in though? I can omly get to my own stuff via the "my controls" link at the top of the page

It can be very difficult, especially on days like today when all the snow off the fells has melted & found it's way into the lakes and the temperature is way down ( like yourself I'm from Cumbria ).You have to find for them in the warmer months too, sometimes !!

There's nothing wrong with looking for big fish, I think the problem of pressured venues is a lot of new people are entering pike fishing with the idea it is an easy way to catch a big fish based on photos in the press etc. I have seen messages in the past from people who have only been at it a couple of winters and want to know where they are going wrong , as they have not had a 20 pounder yet. many will obviously be spending a lot of time on waters with a reputation , because the reality is that there are comparatively few places like this every one ends up on the same venues.

Hi Budgie. You're right , I still consider fish in the 5-8 pound size good fish to catch even after over 20 years of fishing for them, and of course there's nothing wrong with seeking out the bigger ones if you get the chance. I think the problem of pressure arises when places get a reputation for having a high average size of fish present even though the number of fish over 20 pound may be quite low. A lot of new anglers will make for these places. I have often seen messages from people who have taken up pike fishing ,saying that they have been at it for a couple of Winters and not had a 20 pounder and they want to know where they are going "wrong". as if pike fishing was an easy route to a big fish.One of the things I like about pike fishing is you can catch them from different types of water & there's a method for what ever mood you are in. As Rustys post has drawn attention to, the increase in popularity of the species is a bit of a double edged sword in some ways. Maybe it would be better if we spread ourselves a bit thinner, rather than concentrating on the popular places, big fish will turn up occasionally, and are a pleasant surprise , like my only fish to date that went over 20 pound.

I think this idea originated more in the South of the British Isles, maybe due to the fact that pike were seen as more reliable feeders in the cold weather and people had other things to target in the Summer. In the North West & Scotland where there's been traditionally little else to fish for in the way of coarse fish , other than pike & perch in the big Lochs & lakes this was not really the case. Most of the rivers are exclusively game fish here. In Winter the pike can be hard to catch and locate especially from the bank in these venues. & the perch extremely elusive until the weather warms up. I think most people realise these days that the variety of situations up and down the land would mean too many restrictions on piking could make life very difficult for people in some areas like the Lake District where you are already restricted to sea dead bait & lures & a host of other restrictive rules & regs. your other points seem quite valid & I personally think a lot of the pressure is because there is an obsession with big 20lb+ fish which you rightly say are not as common as the photos in the press would suggest , many of these will be repeat captures most likely. The places producing these fish will get a lot of attention while ther are stretches of river ,canal, or lakes which hold plenty of smaller fish go unmolested. I have fished a lot of these types of place & they are quiet and you catch a few fish with maybe the odd double if you're lucky.