coarsefish-torbay

Hi Bry, Have a look at this for directions: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=28655...=72547&lm=0 The easiest way to get there is to go onto the dual carriageway past Penn Inn and then follow signs for the racecourse at the Kingsteignton/Teignmouth exit. As you come to the racecourse entrance, there is a very large Tesco store opposite and Rackerhayes is behind Tesco. Take the service road into Tesco and continue straight to the Rackerhayes gate, for which you will need a key from any shop that sells Newton Abbot tickets. Newton Abbot FA have a good website with info about the lakes and tickets/rules etc check it out here: http://www.newtonfishing.com/ My website is in serious need of updating, but will give you some idea of other waters locally: http://www.coarsefish-torbay.co.uk As far as fishing Rackerhayes goes, it is not an easy fishery! Once you get to grips with it, however, the rewards can be excellent. Carp to over 30lb, tench to over 11lb, bream close to 10lb as well as the usual roach, perch, rudd etc. The lakes are all clay pits, most finished being worked around the late 1920s, so they are mature waters. Most are very deep with steep margins going down to 15-20' within 10m of the bank. In shallower areas, weed can be a major headache, and finding feeding routes and small gaps is one of the key aspects of locating the fish. I would suggest you get a ticket and key and take a walk around, talking to some of the anglers before fishing. If you see a lake you like the look of, drop me an email (steve@coarsefish-torbay.co.uk) with a few more details about the kind of fishing you like to do and I will give you a more detailed idea of how to approach the venue. Steve

There's a place quite close called Burton Springs see here: http://burtonspringsfishery.com/contact.php . Afraid I've never been there, so can't give you much info. If you email my mate Brian on v2v1@mac.com, he'll give you some more advice about it and possible other venues. Also try calling Somerset Angling on 01278 431777, they know all the local spots. Good luck, Steve

Glad I stumbled on this post. I've just got some plugs, Dexters and those Storm sandeels ready to give it a go. I do a lot of spinning for mahseer in India and after reading Chris Yates' book last year, felt that this bass lark could be great. Hopefully I won't be mixing it with you Dorset guys, I'll be sticking to my local areas!

I've held back from posting my 'how to tie crow's feet together' video! Lassooing pigeons will be up shortly...

I was going to point you in the direction of my You Tube film, but Chavender's done it already! Hopefully more on the way this year...

I'm sure he meant to put: Buy It Now - 100p The good old coffee grinder like I had when I couldn't afford a Mitchell. You can buy a good Mitchell 300 for far less than that, can't you? Not that I would fish with either nowadays, but the Mitchell might be an investment.

"What am I letting myself in for?" Could be some big fish and a brilliant day's fishing, or a load of frustration. Don't forget the things you would automatically think about when float fishing. Bit of feed to get fish into a certain area, or used to the bait. If you think there may be fish in the swim but you're getting no bites, change something. Lengthen the tail, cast a bit shorter, or a bit longer. Put on a bigger/smaller hook and bigger/smaller bait to match. If there is plenty of water on and it's pushing hard, use worms or cheesepaste and don't be afraid to drop it right under your bank. If it is low and clear, use bread and cast down the swim away from where you're sat. Flake or crust worth a go, or try two big punches (8mm) using Drennan punches or meat/boilie punches. And why not try touch legering instead of relying on the rod top or quiver? It is much more sensitive and will allow you to soak in the surroundings.

lol

Good luck with the venture, Prober. I don't envy you starting out now! If I could give you a tip, based more on my experience down here than when I lived in the Midlands, keep your maggots clean. You need to riddle them off and put them in clean sawdust/maize meal/bran every couple of days. I've seen a lot of shops lose trade for the simple fact that they don't keep the fresh bait clean and it is a job they could all do while sitting waiting for customers.

Maybe not Budgie, but he did an excellent job for the Wye & Usk Foundation.

The current Campaign Marketing person is an angler. He fishes for trout and salmon mainly, as he lives in Wales and was previously working for the Wye & Usk Foundation.

Both jobs where you will be up against a strong incumbent who has to reapply for his job since the reorganisation of the various bodies.

Drop an email to: info@alltackledup.co.uk He tries to collate all fisheries information for the South East and will surely know a venue to suit.

You're in the right area to get pike. We used to get plagued by them in matches along that length. I would expect they are more likely to be towards Sellick Bridge where the canal is just a little wider with rushes along the far bank. It is a favourite area to catch silvers, so would also hold pike I expect. As I recall, the pike there were mainly jacks. I don't remember seeing one over 5lb. If you really want a bigger fish, perhaps you should try the Clapperbrook on the Exeter Canal. If there are three of you fishing, it would be easy to cover a lot of water by leapfrogging along. Try fishing one static deadbait and a second by sink and draw. Once you have covered the whole swim with the sink and draw rod, it is time to move 20 yards past the furthest angler of the three of you. If you just need to catch a pike for the experience, why not try some of the smaller Somerset rivers? The Isle would be quite easy to get a pike from and the Brue is well worth a go for fish to 20lb.

Couple more thoughts: Copyright on an article would be held by the publisher if you were employed by them and specifically asked to write the articles by them as part of your job. As for the advertising on Fishing Magic, I tried to take out a banner ad with them at various points over the last two years. They never once contacted me about it. I tried emailing them direct, clicking on the link, emailing Graham, no replies, so I gave up trying.

Re: copyright of articles. I'm fairly certain you always retain copyright if you wrote the article unless you have signed a contract to the contrary. EMAP (now Bauer) make contributors sign contracts to that effect, for instance. The people who publish the article do so under licence from the writer or photographer for a limited period. That period should be laid out by the writer/photographer in a set of terms and conditions of useage that you supply before or with the article. When I supply an article to a magazine, it is accompanied by a set of terms and conditions that allow the magazine exclusive use of that article for UK publication for 1 year. It does not include web use, except for the purposes of advertising the article via the company's own site. If you did put the article up on here, the owners of Fishing Magic could take you to small claims court for infringement of their licence and would have to prove financial loss due to the breach. That's assuming they can prove the kind of licence agreement you and they have. They could sue you for breach of the licence with no material loss, but the chances are it would cost a good sum in legal fees with no certainty of winning them back even if they win the case. I can't imagine you have anything to worry about, but that is my own personal judgement, not one of a person in any way qualified in the law. I am simply a photographer who has to deal with my copyrighted work being sold or passed on by the publishers without my knowledge or authority on a fairly regular basis. Unfortunately, the angling market is run on the lowest of low budgets and getting copy for free seems to be the prime business model at present. If that means trampling on the rights (and the law about the rights) of honest writers and photographers, some of the people in control of production have no qualms about stamping!

Thanks for the info Mick, I'll check out the situation.

I assume you were staying at Cofton, Mick?

I think (and I'm sure Ken would back me up on this) that many anglers fish for mahseer in completely the wrong way and allow them too much lee way to get behind rocks, under branches etc. If you get over the top of a mahseer they don't seem to go anywhere and become very ponderous. Historically anglers cast downstream to a rock that a fish may be hiding behind and then have to cope with a wily fish behind a rock several dozens of yards downstream. Also, I feel too many anglers still have this learnt behaviour and stick the rod up in the air once a fish is hooked. That makes fish fight much harder. I've never hooked a tarpon or bonefish or marlin, I'm pretty strictly a freshwater angler. Next time you get out to India (Karnataka), let me know in advance and I'll show you some of the other species in the rivers there...

Sorry Ken, I've never seen one of these threads before. Go back to page 2 and look at Ken L's avatar. They are cyprinids and while they do grow to well over 100lb I would lay any money that a 1lb one of them would beat a 1lb any other fish hands down. I've had 2-3lb mahseer open out a Drennan Specialist forged hook trying to hold them on 8lb maxima to stop them diving over a rock ridge. In much the same way that a 4-6lb carp is a crazy beast compared to a double, a little mahseer has to be hooked to be believed. It has something to do with water temperature, not just the species of fish, but they get my vote.

Without a doubt the best method for match fishing is the one you have most confidence in. Decide whether you are happier fishing the waggler or feeder and choose a venue where it works. If you reach the stage where you are equally as good with either method, you will be starting to be dangerous.

Sounds like the only thing you're doing wrong is having small silver fish in the swim when you want carp! Keep going the way you're going because you will have no problems when a carp picks up that bait. If you want to try a little dodge for carp, cut the worm in half and put both halves on the hook. Tail first because that will be the most lively bit hooked through the cut ends. No need for anything to hold the worms on the hook although they will come off on occasions, just rebait and get out there again fast.

Just back from a couple of days working with Will Raison and, most pertinent to this question, we spent the second day looking at the technique of three anglers and helped them improve. It was very noticeable that these three anglers were all very nervous of compressing the rod properly on the cast at the start of the day. I suspect this is the case here as well. You need to use the 'meat' in the rod i.e. the middle and butt, to cast a loaded feeder in just the same way that you need to use it to play a fish as well. When you fully compress a rod in the cast, you are firmly in control of what happens. As soon as you ease back, you will no longer be fishing so consistently because you will struggle to use the same amount of force each time. I would get out onto a lake, load up a feeder and cast to open water. Make sure you have a drop of around 4 feet from rod tip to feeder before you cast, that will help with both distance and accuracy. Try to put more bend into the middle and butt on each cast and don't worry too much about accuracy at first. You will need to work on one aspect of your technique before tackling other areas, so get casting distance right and then aim to hit the same distance regularly. Once you are happy that you are pushing the rod to the limit, you can then work on becoming more accurate. Distances over water can be very deceptive, perhaps the 40 yards you're aiming for are more like 50? I would expect your rod to cast 40 yards fairly comfortably with the type of feeder you suggest, but unless your technique is spot on, that may be close to the limit. Maybe a slightly stronger and/or longer rod may help you hit the target. Good luck, Steve

Not fished it myself. Best option is to ring Veals of Highbridge and ask Colin or Russ. Call: 01278 786934

Bit of deja vu!