Christy

Personally I would go with 10mm Halibut Pellets - I'd suggest Dynamite Baits - drill one and hair rig it on a size 12 hook - Drennan Super Specialists are my personal favourite. For extra attraction crush up some pellets, I would suggest using a small Korda Crusha - and stuff them into a 2 inch wide PVA mesh, if possible catapulting in a few freebies can also help. Simply cast close to a feature (I find lily-pads are usually the best) and wait for a roaring take! Alternatively try a Drennan Bolt Rig Maggot Feeder, with a 3-5 inch hooklink and a size 14 forged hook with 2 or three magots on (Red are generally the most effective.) Feed once every 5 or so minutes and it's absolutely deadly!

Thanks you are doing us such a great service and quite an eye-opening one! If you could do some reviews of the cheaper Daiwa, Shimano & Okuma reels that would also be brilliant. Maybe some of us could give you a couple of quid each to help the cause - I personally wouldn't mind donating a few via Paypal if others would follow! Also you could then give them in a lottery style to anglers who are starting out, they could provide the P&P; then everyone's a winner!

Awesome, You make it sound so simple! One of my main attractions to the sport is the finesse involved so I think I will really enjoy getting to grips with it, I'm also attracted by the sheer beauty of trout and the fact that they're so yummy. How do I go about 'dispatching' them humanely? When sea fishing I used to hang my catch in a plastic bag, which I understand in retrospect is rather cruel . Also on an EA owned lake/river how many rainbow trout can I take in a day and what is the minimum size?

Sweet! How about learning to cast? Also where are some good reservoirs/rivers for rainbow trout that are near public transport? (I live in South London)

They gave me a good idea of what I'll need to buy to get started, although I personally wouldn't buy some of the items listed unless I could literally **** money!

A dead fish on the bank is always a sad sight, but even more so when it's such a beautiful specimen, which has given many anglers great pleasure over the years. At least she died of natural causes, loosing a fish with such gravitas to pollution of poachers would have been so much worse! R.I.P Heather!

Hello everyone, basically I would to know if I can get a suitable all round fly fishing outfit, that's suitable for fishing rivers and small lakes for trout and tailored towards a beginner. I have absolutely no fly fishing tackle or experience with it, I've never even touched a fly rod before so I will need all of the essential paraphernalia, I do however have a suitable net, unhooking matt, disgorgers, etc.... My budget is £100, is that too tight? I would much rather buy tackle that's going to last a good few years than tacky junk! Also is it possible to learn how to cast entirely on your own by watching DvDs and reading books? I would consider myself a strong/fast learner, I've taught myself how to fish for coarse fish, build high performance PCs and even websites to a high level with nothing but free material on the internet. If so please recommend some!

Could you reccomend any specific brands then? I really like my Drennan Method Feeder rod although the spinning reels in the Series 7 range lack cork handles, and I like my cork! I think I'll go for a 20 - 60gm rod. What sort of strength mainline should it be able to handle?

Thanks, I think I'd rather go for a Pike/Sea Bass outfit to get started, Can you reccomend any specific rods?

Oh I should have mentioned I've been coarse and carp fishing for ages so I have all of the other paraphernalia I'll need. As for Rod what sort of casting weight range will it need in order to be suitable for casting everything from small spinners to medium sized plugs? Also what length rod is best, and are telescopic ones OK? If you could point out any specific rods that would be great! I was also thinking of getting another Shimano Alivio front-drag reel, as the one I use for feeder fishing is great, should I go for a 2500 or 4000 size? Also what strength braid will I need?

First I would like to apologise if this is the wrong section, I wasn't entirely sure where to post my question as it's to do with lure fishing for sea and freshwater species. Bassically I've recently found myself attracted more and more to the prospect of using a lure, it's something I've never tried before and I've read in many places that it's simply the most exhilerating form of fishing there is. I essentially want an fixed-spool spinning outfit - I've never even touched a multiplier before - that is suitable for using, spinners, soft-lures and hard-lures to catch the following species: Trout, Salmon, Zander, Pike and Sea Bass. Preferably one that is quite portable as I will be in my mum's tiny kia or on public transport when visiting venues. I bassically want the whole outfit, including: rod, reel, line (I hear braid's best for spinning right?,) and a say 5 different lures to get me started, for < £100. Is this possible? Or am I crazy? PS: I don't mind compromising if I have to!

You make me wish I could understand your beautiful language!

After watching a few of Matt Hayes' videos I've decided to just settle for a float rod, I still want it to be able to handle fish as large as a 12lb carp with 4lb line can you reccomend any? Also I'm stuck on which colour line to choose I want to get some Daiwa Sensor 4lb, should I go for the clear or the brown? (I plan to fish, slow/medium flowing rivers and small lakes.)

Oh so do I just loosen the drag so that it's light enough to allow the fish to run with line when it initially takes my bait, then quickly wind it back tighter after I strike?

I decided to purchase the Shimano Alivio RB1000 for float fishing, I just wondered whether it would also be suitale for light feeder fishing? It has a rear drag feature but doesn't include clip that allows you to quickly change the pressure like Shimano's baitrunner range is this a necessary feature for feeder fishing? Thanks in advance for helping a newb

I did a search on Ebay but I could only find 9ft Pike spinning rods does anyone else have a suggestion? Maybe I would be better off just buying two rods?

Thanks Steve I do like the look of the Shakespeare although unfortunately £42 + the shipping is a little too expensive, although I've been looking at some of Shakespeare's cheaper feeder rods and wondered if they would be suitable? http://www.anglingdirect.co.uk/store/coars...shakespeare-jrc

Thanks, The Shakespeare Omni X range of rods look quite good and they offer multiple tips, I wonder if anyone here has experience with them?

Hi my name is Sam I'm new to these forums, Bassically I'm looking for a rod that's suitable for float fishing for chub and small carp, but suitable for feeder fishing at the same time, possibly with multiple tips? (oh and preferably under £40) I'm a complete newby when it comes to fishing so I'm not sure if this is even possible, also if I'm feeder fishing what else will I need to purchase apart from a reel and terminal tackle? If you could reccomend any good online/ebay stores that ship to the UK that would also be cool! Thankyou in advance for your advice!