tony tinca

thats gotta be lovely having such a beutifull stretch of river enjoy . How does it fish these days and do the big roach still congregate at the end of the stretch at the end of season ? me and my dad used to fish a place on the river arun at stopham stopham bridge in pulburough the very last week of the season every year. It was only steve gardener that also knew about the spot and the three of us were there every year catching 40 to 50lb bags of lovely roach and the very occasional bream would show , i had my first proper bream there in 1986 ( 6lb) and it holds a special place in my heart I havent been back there for 10 years now and cant for the life of me understand why ive left it so long. Maybe the roach arent there now i dont know Does anyone else know the stretch im talking about ? Ive probably let a massive cat out here. oh well

gotta agree with you there , im notta fan either , but at framfield fishery on the spring lake in september last year i did take loads to try an attack with it and the fish went bonkers and i ended up feeding 12 cans of the stuff and in 6 hr match weighed in 380lb , but that was once and like you say every dog/bait has its day and i dont tend to fish out an entire match feeding corn because of the spook risk and framfield isnt a great example on whether the corn won the day or not because its such a prolific carp fishery that i got the feeling that day i could have used any bait

yes me and my dad used to make floats using a small electric motor to spin the balsa to sandpaper out fairly simple floats with the larger body at bottom tapering up to fine tops , then we used to dip them in black leaded paint then use the flourescent paint for the tops They used to work a treat and were no worse than floats you bought ,and you could make them to any size but they had to be pretty much the same shape which was ok It worked 20 yrs ago and was good fun anyway making something that still caught u fish

I was wanting to get to sumners lakes to fish with steve gardners lot and was really looking forward to it , but made a reluctant phone call this morning at 5.30 to say im chicken . With the snow thats fallen since then im glad i made the right desision cause there not gonna get their cars out later after match . Still wanna be there thou

thanks newt im gonna get my wife to coach me on stuff computery so i can add links and photos etc I still think im clever when i put a smillie face at the end of a text lol!

totally agree a river catch like that is something special and im sure it holds a dear place in bobs heart and he deserved it. like a few have said if you keep doing the right things you are gonna appear luckier , sure the fish were in front of him but he kept them there , you might class 1 big roach as luck but theres craft to catching that many even if he did know they were around at the bottom of the stretch at that time of year. we can all agree thou we are all the better for him doing it to make passion for angling what it is

Maver superlitium k25 16m pole This is a lovely pole that i paid 400 pounds for last year as a back up to my battered preston gis 8 and i only ever used it twice I have now recently managed to get hold of an imaculate preston gis 8 so the maver just isnt going to get used at all , so i would like it to go to someone whos going to make use of it It is in very good condition but has only 2 top kits ( thats all i got it with) There is no cupping kit Maver kits thou are around 30 pounds or even better a fox universal kit around the same price These poles where nearly 1000 pounds new so it is a very usefull bit of kit My main fishing consists of match carp so even thou the maver pole is more than capable, anyone that knows the preston will know it is bombproof and capable of the demands of 200lb bags of carp I know this pole is absolutely perfect for canal and roach work and will handle smaller carp easily I have had a 12 lb carp on it with no problem at all I am only asking 200 pounds and i know it is gonna make someone very happy I will add that i am willing to travel any distance to deliver it as we all know what couriers are like , all i would ask is petrol money at about 35 mpg so its up to you if you dont want to use a courier .

nice 1 watatoad youve hit the nail on the head there - instead of making excusses and wanting to blame something i should be looking at myself and asking whether i could have done things better or what could i have tried differently . It still makes me laugh at the draw of a match with the so called top anglers making the wrong noise because of drawing a bad peg and ive even known 1 man go home in protest - its madness! whats more the knext week he might draw a so called fligher and spout aload of talk about why this peg wont produce today and that its gonna be tough to frame . Theres To many egos in the match circuit , people who talk a good fish but their results speak otherwise. I really believe that an attitude like that has a huge knock on effect on their catching success because of their lack of the right spirit . That lack of spirit means their not seeing the bigger picture , the lovely surroundings , the friendly banter and respect for the fish, but when you are awake to it and gratefull for what youve got , things start happening for you in a positive way in reflection , its karma Dont get me wrong here because up until 3 years ago i used to spit the dummy with the best of em and it was only after i had to change my life that i looked at everything differently. My dad was a successfull angler of the 70s and 80s fishing with the top anglers and i grew up thinking that im the best angler and showing off to my mates just because my dad was good. I wish id actually stopped and listened and watched him more so i could have been learnt something , i spent 20 years of blamming bad luck and making all the usual excusses for not catching enough fish and i was starting to dread going because i was never gonna be satisfied with what i caught and i was gonna be unlucky anyway so what was the point . The difference is finding a power greater than myself , because it was myself that was blocking me all along and not bad luck. I do well nowdays because i put the effort in and watch whats going on and take notice of the great advice on offer and theres alot of passion and advice and friendly banter on this forum so thankyou the most important thing to learn is how to enjoy

That picture with early morning mist has sold it to me and i can already picture myself there in summer . It sure looks special . how big is it and how many pegs ? cheers

hi funny the comparisons stoped after bobs roach lol

its got a kind of haunting quality to it .yes its hard to believe that passion for angling really is 20yrs old . lovely post rusty

hi im fairly new to this site and just starting to get stuck in reading all the topics and jumping in when i think ive got something usefull to add and im really enjoying it so far . yes i think winter fishing tactics is a very usefull subject because you have to use every bit of your fishing knowhow to get a result , i do alot of match fishing and winter is where it really sorts out the men from the boys . in the summer you can get away with trying all sorts of tactics and throwing all sorts of bait at em and get a win and then think that youve done something special . but in a matter of a few weeks when the water temps start falling your left sat there thinking what the hells going on as blank follows blank ( i know ive been there ) but there are certainly ways you can improve your chances.Below are a few things that work for me (or at least give me a chance) i know its gonna sound like sucking eggs to most of you but it may help someone The first thing that we all like doing is chucking out some groundbait whether it be sweetcorn luncheonmeat pellets maggotts etc but its a different creature to that of a few weeks ago in warmer times and they are not gonna come running when dinner is served. They are not gonna be fooled because they arent hungry and when you chuck loads in all you are doing is giving yourself away and they will spook for the day, this time of year i kick off on the quiver into open water with double maggott on straight bomb and cast around every 10 mins covering all of the swim until i get some sort of indication be it a proper bite or liner then i know that at least theres fish in the swim , then i will wind in and put maybe a small maggot feeder on or even better a small 10p size pva bag of maggot or mini pellet and cast back to that same area . Some people like to add krill to their maggotts to boost them a bit. Also before casting the quiver out i would set my pole or waggler line up by potting in only say 30 maggots approx and 1 or 2 offerings of whatever other hookbaits i might try later on . Its suprising sometimes in winter that a large hookbait is often taken ,i think its because they dont want to exert much energy and 1 big mouthfull is worthwhile. these tips are for every fish as a general rule and not pinpointing one species ,these are for places where the fishing is hard . Some places that are full of skimmers and roach you would adopt a much more generous feeding strategy ,but only if you are getting the fish in numbers to start with otherwise you are by far better with very little but often because once youve spooked them they aint comming back (that should be a rule of thumb) Onto line , fish as light as your gonna get away with ,say roach that are gonna make up your main weight its no good using heavy lines expecting maybe the odd carp to show because then your not gonna catch the amount of roach you would by fishing very light (around 0.08mm or 3/4 lb ) lines but if you know that carp are gonna show then its about balance , alot of the waters i fish in winter are mixed with skimmers and the odd bigger bream and roach and carp so on the pole line i would use a good quality tech line of 0.12mm with a no 8 or 10 elastic so ive got a good chance of landing the carp ,ive had doubles on this , also carp dont fight anywhere near as hard in winter and you can take your time because 1 or 2 carp in the bag with all the skimmers is as good a bag as any and can win a match hook and float sizes need to be addressed as well , if things are really looking bleak then you can go down as low as size 24 but i never go lower than 20 and float size 4x8 , but sometimes if its windy you need to use heavier floats just to hold a better presentation, again all about balance , ive also found that size 18 or 20 hooks stay in the fish better than 14or 16s sometimes ,probably down to lighter elastic and balanced tackle. Going back to the feeder and i loved Eltons post about the swingtip and it got me rooting about the garage to find my old one . I found it and just need to get another screw thread in and im away. Its definatly a great way to pick up the shy bites in winter and im gonna be using it in the next comming weeks and i cant believe it got forgotten so cheers Elton its definatly another weapon in the arsenal. hope ur all still awake after all that lot (thank f**k hes finished)

you should also release the bail arm if your gonna wander off , or lose your rod like ive done before

thats a bit less winded than what i said , and absolutely true . we ask to much from our fish to hook themselves and jump in the net

hi i dont do any pike fishing myself but i can try and help on most coarse fishing problems . im new to this site as well so welcome aboard

hi teddy theres nothing wrong about the rod your using and as tiger said because ur using free running lead or feeder you dont rely on the bolt effect hooking the fish . all you need to do is choose your feeder size depending on how much feed you want to put out each time and chuck it out then set a decent angle against the feeder and wind carefully to just set a bend in tip but not to much as to move the feeder ( very important not to move the method feeder) if your using cage feeder or bomb or similar you can afford to move it and it wont matter so much. once youve set a bend then when the fish bites the resistance from the tip acts as your bolt to set the hook (or at least should) and the tip should fly round . or if the fish swims towards the feeder or bomb then you get a back drop and the tip will spring back also hooking the fish (in theory anyway) but you should strike anyway . the browning rod your using is a good soft through action so id keep it . sorry about long winded responce , im new to forum but will learn to sum up with less words.cheers

hello im new on this site but i will soon get upto speed . just thought id jump into this topic as id compleatly forgotten about the swingtip , im only 38 but when i started being taut by my dad who was a great match angler 25yrs ago it was all about the waggler and swingtip and caterpaulting big balls out . i remember the casting had to be dead smooth or youd wack straight down in front of you , and it was an art. i do alot of match fishing myself now using pole and quiver and the quiver is the best method for alround match fishing when carp are the main target and you cant afford tangles, but i do still think theres a use for the swingtip and thats in winter when bites are few and far between , i reckon the presentation you can achieve is better as you can leave the line looser between end of rod and bomb meaning the line can lay on the bottom rather than being tight to tip and more likely to spook weary fish, also the fish do inspect bait more in winter and will expell the hook if they feel the slightest tension.I think the swingtip is a lovely way of seeing and detecting small bites. Thanks for getting me thinking on this , im gonna try my old swingtip out in the upcoming weeks and see what happens . i will certainly use it at a match at old bury hill later this month for the bream,cheers

its ok ive just found someone selling a compleat gis 8 for 300 quid so im gonna be able to use my broken one as usefull spares so im well chuffed. I suppose i cudda spent a bit extra on a slightly newer second hand pole , but i do like the preston . Does anyone here share my opinion on the gis 8 or does anyone know of another good pole for the same sorta money

Hi to all this is my first post so be gentle lol i do alot of match fishing in south east region and starting to get recognized like my dad was, his name was terry sneyd maybe someone will of heard of him , he was succesfull in 70s and 80s . my first question is can anyone help me as ive just broken my 5th and 6th section on my preston gis 8 ,its a fairly old pole i know but still so good and i want to keep on using it . Any top kits i would be interested in as well . I think all preston poles are compatible with each other but im not 100% so if anyone could help that would be reeaally ! great