Christy

I can too! Especially 'anglers' with knuckle tattoos!

I'm afraid I have to agree, I recently had a Drennan Puddlechucker rod break on me!

I said that because I've had problems returning faulty items to them in the past...

Yeah, part of me's more annoyed that I lost the fish! If I have any trouble I would very much appreciate your help on the matter...

I haven't actually yet Den, as I'm afraid of what they'll say...

Disgraceful....

Yeah it the cookies would tell it to do that - great idea!

Yeah, I've had trouble with them returning things in the past. I think I will have to revert back to buying all of my tackle online again!

Unfortunately for me, the staff in this shop are pretty simple and are generally ignorant of things like The Sales of Goods Act, so I'm really worried that they will try to f*** me over. Also it definitely wasn't 'consumer fault' as I treated that thing like a baby!

The problem is, that the fault is not present in me! I'm nothing but amicable and amenable towards my father, yet he's nothing but rude, violent and condescending. The problem with sociopaths - and I've read a lot on the subject - is that there simply is no cure - or even palliative treatment for that matter, they are genetically predisposed to ruin the lives of others and I am forced to live under the same roof as him, here in London even the most humble of flats are £200 a week, and I only earn £5.75 an hour as a lifeguard... What kind of things do the Samaritans do to help people? Besides persuading them to not jump of cliffs!

Yeah, what happened to customer service?

Regarding my dad, I did actually report him to social services - I honestly didn't want to. However I'm pretty sure he's a sociopath (he possess a superficial charm and is a very convincing compulsive liar, which in combination with his behaviour and history is heavily indicative of sociopathy.) When the man from social services came down I explained to him everything that my father had done, my father simply sat there calmly and told him that everything I had described was a lie, whilst simultaneously fabricating things which I had supposedly done to him, sitting there seeing the man from social services believe him was the most painful experience in my life. The man left and filed a report a week later stating that he could take no further action as there was no proof of the things that I had claimed my father had done to me - when he hits me he is usually very careful to not leave any marks - almost drowning me in my bath, etc. On a few occasions he has left me with bruises (including a black eye) which has seen me severely bullied at school however on these occasions I lied to my teachers when they showed concern, usually claiming that I had fallen over or been messing around with friends - I did this because I mistakenly believed that my father loved me , I was naive, and I didn't want to split my family up as he was paying for my brother's education; which my mother definitely wouldn't have been able to afford on her own. A few months after this event he attacked me quite brutally during a row, which resulted in me being temporarily concussed. I called the police, they came and took statements from me, my mother and father. My mother and I both told the truth: that my father and I had engaged in a row and he had physically attacked me. He lied and claimed that I had in fact initiated the physical violence and he had only defended himself - despite the fact he's considerably taller and superior in strength, he also denied concussing me. Despite the fact that I had never been in trouble with the law in my life and my father had previously been arrested for punching my mother in face - resulting in a bloody nose (my mother didn't press charges) - the police put me in cuffs and took us both down to the station. This is where my absolute despise for the police and their infinite stupidity began. I was forced to spend the night in a tiny prison cell, with no food, a small toilet with no sink, water or soap and a camera perpetually watching me - when I was guilty of nothing! I didn't want to tell you this, but I consider a lot of the people on this forum close friends and I thought that you better know...

Long story short: went fishing this morning, hooked into a large barbel, was enjoying playing it when *CRACK* the rod snapped half-way through the middle section! It was a Drennan Series 7 Puddlechucker Method Feeder rod purchased for £90 from Gerry's of Wimbledon in late April this year. I was using the reccomended 8lb mainline, through to an 8lb Drennan Doublestrength hooklength, which actually breaks at around 7lb. What do I do? I can't afford to simply waltz back in there and by another one - I earn £5.75 an hour! Please help me - I'm distraught - it was my favourite rod, and still almost new...

These ones?

My father physically and psychologically abuses me and my mother, he shows me no respect and is incredibly rude - please tell me why I should respect him?

Yesterday at roughly 7:00 AM I caught my largest barbel yet, just over 3.5lb a beautiful fish that fought like a true warrior! Unfortunately my bastard father didn't let me take the family's camera with me - even though he had no justifiable objection!

I have an allergy to wasps so that's a no-go. I like the idea of cheese paste however I don't want to muck around making it myself, can I buy it ready-made or in a powder 'just add water' type of thing?

That's not always possible, but definitely a good idea when you can!

I'm a bit of a stickler for consistency, so I do try to cut them all in a uniform size. I then liberally cover the cubes in icing sugar which sucks all of the juicy oils out of the meat and makes it lovely and sticky, I then cover them with Sonubaits Spicy Meat Method mix, which has a lovely bright red colour. The result: a truly deadly bait! PS: if anyone's interested I will happilly post a short pictoral detailing how I do this?

1. They're only reliant on angler's baits if they are present in unnatural densities anyway, which obviously isn't healthy. 2. In nature they stock up on fats and carbs prior to starting their big shagging-session so they have no need to eat during it! Just my two cents.

Personally I find burying the hook in the meat, when using a latch-needle gives a very secure presentation which allows me to use a larger hook and simultaneously get away with a subtler presentation! Although hooking is definitely harder and if you are not vigilant you can end up occasionally hooking a fish pretty deep. I find a hair rig seems to consistently achieve better hook holds which are less harmful for the fish, it also seems to be more suited to the deeper, faster swims in combination with a bolt-rig where finesse is of less importance.

SOLVED - Budgie kindly put me in touch with a local pet food supplier and their prices are very reasonable.

The meat 'cubes' in the picture don't look very consistent! I think I'll stick with my 4" kitchen knife!

I'm very much a practitioner of the second method, I usually fish along a 100m stretch, After reading everyone's brilliant suggestions I think I will try lob-worms on a size 8, although they will cost a fortune at this time of year! I may also give maggots a go, presenting three on a size 14 super specialist. Do chub seem to exhibit any preference for colour of maggot?

I would stretch your budget to £30 and purchase a Drennan Series 7 reel, they're a top quality brand and it even comes with two spare spools which will definitely prove handy as you progress to other disciplines, remember it can actually be cheaper in the long run to buy quality!