weirwulf

I have used rods of many materials even a tank aerial and it is true to say there are certain characteristics attached to each. Now for me there is only one material and that is carbon fibre with the exception of the quiver tip which I still prefer made from glass fibre. Perhaps one of the important things of note about rod building improvement is the quality, lightness and durability of a good lined guide.

VINEY, CONGRATULATIONS ON THE CHEVIN AND MAY 2010 BRING YOU SOME MORE

What was your last fish of the decade? Mine was a plump chub that took a liking to my cheese paste

A well documented reply to which little can be added. However, if you put your unused maggots into a plastic bag and seal it and then place the bag in an escape proof container like a bait box just in case the bag goes the whole lot can go into a fridge where the maggots will keep for ages fast asleep until you need them say a week later. Do not place them in a bag outside of a cold temperature as they will go very dead and smelly! If you can locate a river that has either chub or grayling you should get a bite no matter how cold it gets. Other topics on the forum reveal the kind of baits and tactics you need to catch chub and grayling but a rough guide is you will find chub out of the main flow and in sheltered areas especially close to snags whereas the grayling likes a bit of flow to live in. I wish you the very best of luck and hope you soon enjoy catching from the river

As far as I know all driftbeater floats are fished "bottom end only" and with just the sight tip showing. The difference between fishing these and normal wagglers is as you say they are fished over depth and I sometimes even put a small shot behind the float if depth allows as this also helps to sink line behind much quicker

Rather depends on how you intend to present it. If you intend to trot a bait past a chub then a caster and a pinkie seems to go well whereas dropping a bait in to a sheltered part of the river I would attempt with 2 different baits but both are paste. The first would be a cheese paste made largely from soft cheese and used in conjunction with bread flake rather like a critically balanced bait but not so technical as the flake is just there to waft and have small particles breaking free. Some liquidised bread in a feeder helps the presentation. The other is a soft almost runny paste made entirely from "special G " groundbait mixed only with water and moulded over a soft jelly pellet slid onto the hook to keep it in place. With this method some half inch balls of the paste can be loose fed prior to casting. The latter works well in summer too but with some small hali pellets pressed into the surface of the bait. Finally let us not forget the humble lob worm for trot or drop

I am a newcomer to this forum but I congratulate the administrators and moderaters for building it into a good and open clean place. Many forums suffer from slow reaction to argumental and abusive comments and it is refreshing that people here can put forward a point of view as they see it and it is taken into account with all the other comments to create a rich library of experiences. Thank you team for providing a place to learn from others and to give to others

Watatoad that is a revelation! I never knew there were so many rivers of the same name. I can't help with any of them but I can tell you I have never known a chub not to feed no matter how cold but occasionally when the change is sudden they can go a bit shy. There are of course other factors to consider when trying to judge whether you stand a chance and as Chris says the salt from the melt will have a profound effect. I took a look at my local river and with it running with an extra 5 feet and very much coloured decided the chances were slim. I diverted to a tiny farm pond that has recently melted and bagged a dozen or so small carp on the maggot feeder. Who says carp don't feed in the cold

If you have the luxury of an open river then the longer the rod the better the control but the down side is the weight and sometimes a heavier reel will give better balance.

The snow is a pain even when melted. I turned up at the river this afternoon and found it has risen about 6 feet! Needless to say the dog got an extra 2hr walk.

If all else fails, remember the tip is just an indicator really so even the soft tip will handle all the fish that the other tips do. it is the other sections that do all the work

May I add my name to the list of those who use a Leeds for Mullet. Nice cheap simple construction but if you like to impress other anglers with a ratchety sound when you let a fish run then forget it as the reel I use has a simple brake instead and makes no sound. Just apply a little drop of duck oil to it when you finish cleaning. It did register that you prefer to have new and were perhaps considering a wide spool but another reel worth considering is a Trudex.These have solid quick release spools (not spokes) that pop off easily and reveal all the gubbins ready for oiling plus a detachable line guard which you might find useful if your tidal river gets as windy as mine.

I feel like a cheat buying mine but I would hate to lose one of those beauties.

I hope so too but as with most organisations of most interests there is always a high proportion of apathetic people. A prime example is a club with lets say 300 members and the same 5 people turn up for the work party. If only more of the remaining 295 turned up they would find out that it wasn't hard work after all but a very enjoyable, worthwhile and educational few hours. Within this forum it is most likely there are no apathetic people because we love what we do and are proactive but how do you get a message across to those who want someone else to do things for them and then turn up at the river and whine because the swim has not been cut out for them?

Can't even get to the river at the mo due to the snow but well done to those who reported. Chris did you catch on your new grayling superbait?

All very fair and sympathetic comment guys and my post was intended only as a report that something positive had actually been completed by the Trust. I also appreciate that the cost is quite high and that more anglers would feel inclined to shell out a fiver rather than 4 fivers. Perhaps the Trust shoot themselves in the foot by asking too much.We still have a situation however where the EA to whom we are forced to pay a licence fee to fish legally are doing very little either and I would ditch them today if I was legally entitled to. I had to contact them a few weeks ago to report some pollution. They have a free phone number but when calling from your mobile it costs quite a bit and there is a lot of time wasting before you get to talk to a human being. Then one of the first questions you are asked is "what is the postcode" When you are a mile down a river that is in the middle of nowhere it is a difficult question. Their operatives seem to not have access to maps so you can say I am along the river xxxx situated half way between xxx and xxx and following the xxx public footpath. For an agency that is supposed to care about the environment I find that response poor and disorganised(and costly). As far as I know they also did nothing positive to either bring the offenders to justice or to win compensation for our club.

I know very little about pike but perhaps they take advantage of the other fish becoming lethargic after the frost. Anyhow, forget the first frost we woke up to the first proper snow, all 9 inches of it

My club recently recieved £15,000 in compensation for pollution and it was all down to this organisation. The club itself had membership but of course individuals can benefit too.The annual fee is the same as you have to pay for a fishing licence to an organisation that is supposed to be on our side but does very little to show for it. That makes The Angling Trust good value in my book and it is a shame we don't have a choice between paying the trust and paying the EA just like we have a choice of electricity providers. The Trust is dedicated to defending the rights of licence paying anglers against unwanted invasions on our peaceful pastime but of course will not win every case. Without financial backing they will not be able to to defend anything.

I believe Budgie that it really only comes down to the suddeness in decline whereas sudden rising in temperature can do magic even just half a degree.

Re the question on a suitable trotting rod for chub I would comment that it comes down to a few things like budget versus enjoyment. If you are on a tight budget then I think leeda still do a combination long rod which is 15/17ft and would provide the right kind of action at a very low price but become heavy after a while. I used to use one and it happily played out double figure carp on a still water using 7lb line as well as allowing me to trot for lightweights such as grayling and dace without bumping too many off on quite light lines and hook lengths. My greys 13/15ft float rod is in the next price bracket and again is a lot of fun and handles well. Ultimately I think you have already concluded that for extreme pleasure you pay loads for a pukka rod. Did someone cough harrison!

A very enjoyable article and an inspiration. I have promised myself to do this for a long time and always fall into the "sit it out" trap although I do not fish a prolific barbel river and do what seems to work. Nice work Chris.

Some of the best chub to grace my net have been caught with deep snow on the ground. Grayling are usually up for it but do remember the glycerine for the rod rings. I never target pike but I had one last year holding on tight to a grayling in very cold weather. For the chub either a nice big helping of bait right on the nose or as little as a single pinkie or caster trotted slowly.

A lot of the barbel I catch on the river are from deep pools of around 13ft that have no movement. I can assure you they still wrap the rod round in summer but I recently had a double that barely twitched a 4oz tip for about 10 minutes and eventually decided to just slowly pull the tip round. I doubt whether it would have continued to pluck at the bait for so long if I had been using the normal 1.5lb tip As far as I can tell the only difference is in the fight as instead of the fish using the current they invariably go deep and just try to hold. Once a bit defeated they do come to the surface and then start leaping around so still a magnificent fight

Heres a little something you can try if you find it hard to drop the float close to a feature. What you can do is limit the length of line below the float by carefully folding it and then tying the loops together with thin pva string. make your cast watching the float and feathering. Once the whole thing has landed the pva melts and really gently presents the bait. Fiddly but worth a try

Since my local river medway produced a record barbel a long time back now there has been a relentless flow of wannabe's tramping it's banks day and night. The unscrupulous and illegal digging of the very dangerous banks coupled with rapidly changing water levels after rain due to additional and blocked open weirs has caused erosion on a huge scale. The recent population of signal crayfish has probably helped to undermine the banks as well and each bit that falls into the river reveals how deep the holes go in the newly exposed face. The population of some species has declined noticably such as the roach and dace much of which I attribute to the cormorants as they are quite recent whereas the mink have been there many decades. Pollution too has had quite a profound effect and the problem with that is not the immediate one of initial fish kill but the greater problem caused by the loss of the lower food chain. Without a doubt mans intervention has done more harm than good