weirwulf

The main reason I don't use braid main line is the number of snags in my river and braid has a nasty habit of weakening and snapping as soon as it rubs against sticks and stones. It just does not sink like flouro either though of course as has been pointed out it offers less resistance to water flow. Providing you use a Palomar knot you will retain over 95% of the lines strength. I do have enormous respect for Budgie's knowledge and advice and appreciate too the other comments on this subject but I can only tell you why I make Fox Illusion my number one choice. As for the berkeley line it is one that I tried and after just 2 sessions I scrapped the whole lot despite the expense as every time I had a harsh take it snapped.

As far as I know the area around the locks and weir at East Peckham is free. The nearest landmark would be the Hop Farm (Paddock Wood) and in fact there is a public footpath that goes right through that venue and crosses over the Medway. If you google the hop farm you may well find it

There are 2 types of Illusion the first of which is the hooklength material and I agree it is extremely expensive but the mainline is different. It is still a bit pricey but you can get a 300 metre spool for around £20 which should be plenty for 2 river reels if not 3. As I said in an earlier post there is a huge advantage in that it is heavy and does away for the need to use leaders or other materials to pin the line to the deck. My river catch rate improved very quickly after I began using it but if you do decide to have some always use a palomar knot otherwise you will curse breakages and blame the line. With a well tyed palomar even pulling for a break becomes difficult.

Why would I not reccomend flourocarbon? No reason whatsoever apart from cost. I use it for all my static river fishing purely because of the sinking factor and supposedly because fish can't see it. The best I have found for reel line is Fox Illusion and the best for hook length if you keep those seperate is Grand Max R

I was foolish enough to fish from midnight till 6am but at least it saved the sunburn Good start with the first chub after one minute followed by another 7. Dissapointing on the barbel front though.

My barbel river is quite the opposite, narrow, very winding and very snaggy. Only one line for me and that is Fox Illusion in 10lb usually right to the hook. Sinks like a stone and is very tough but probably the reason for needing a new tip ring

I shall put it down to those hard fighting Medway barbel

If you are using braided hooklengths you could try super glueing the pellets. I always fix mine that way now although I use mainly Elips and glue 2 back to back. I always found that if a pellet stop held the pellet it had to go so far into it that the effective length of the hair increased too much

The rod is 2 seasons use and cost £200. Admittedly it comes with a 1.5 tip,2.0 tip, and a set of 3 quivers but still not at the lower end of the market. The line I use is Fox Illusion and is very abrasion resistant, I wonder if it is a bit too resistant as I noticed my Shimano has slight grooving too! Both rods are supposed to have Fuji. I wonder whether the mud that clings to the line in flood conditions has acted as a grinding paste.

OK I tried the sharp knife and I am now convinced that unless the varnish is really hard I am looking at grooves in the rod rings The attachment is of the tip ring but the butt ring also has some significant grooves too. The intermediates show some lines but not the deep grooves

The replies are much as I expected and I have to say I was shocked to see grooves. I hoped at first that it was just varnish but I am fairly convinced now the actual guides are grooved. I did email Greys but unfortunately when I opened up the reply it went to one of those dreadful mails we all find in our spam box(not the stuff we fish with!) I shall make a proper effort with the sharp blade as suggested and let you know.

What would you consider was a fair life for the average rod ring? I was cleaning my barbel rods and covering the rings in glycerine at the weekend when I noticed that my Greys X Flite rings were completely grooved. This rod has put about 50 barbel on the bank of which some put up a tremendous fight but I consider that a fairly expensive rod should put up with more than that. By comparison my Shimano Beastmaster barbel which has seen more action has only slight grooving in just the tip ring. This rod was only half the price of the Greys rod. Both rods have only had flourocarbon running through them. Most modern blanks seem quite good and even very cheap ones are quite good to use but you would expect the rings to have a short life so I am not querying them just the ones with a higher price tag.

Today is the day to strip off old line and spool up. Clean out the rod rings. Oil the bale arms. Put away all the fishing equipment needed for still water. Yippee! . Oh I almost forgot the bait. off to Lidl for a few tins of pork and ham.

In my early days with a cheap but carbon 2.5 test I used to reckon on 2.5 oz plus the bait and get about 120 yards However, all you need to self hook up a fish on a hair rig is about 1.5 oz so you could add some weight with either a stringer or a golf ball sized mesh bag which would give around 3oz total and cast quite well with a "lob" type cast. I feel sure you could cast way more with a modern rod than that because I can cast 2oz with my barbel rods at 1.5oz test with no sign of a problem. Obviously a slender 3oz weight on its own will cast better than a bag or stringer

Newt's advice is spot on but I shall add too it. Whilst perch can be caught with just about any bait including sweetcorn they can be surprisingly delicate when feeding and dislike resistance on the line. All my better perch have fallen to a bunch of small red worms fished over mole hill soil with either a float or light ledger that would indicate from the slightest interest in the bait. Conversely a perch will of course chase potential food almost as big as themselves when conditions are right.

Have to agree. I am sure most posters using the AN forums did so initially because it was a sensible place to have a sensible discussion. I have seen some angling forums get into complete disarray over some very trivial things which if you analysed it you would suppose it was not written by anglers at all. I have only been here a few months but each of you up until now have made some great discussion. Having met some of you also at Wingham just reinforced my decision to remain part of the group. We all have something to give and also something to learn but the one thing worth learning is that although we are all different our aims towards fish care should be united even if our methods of catching vary. Getting heated will not achieve that unity and neither shall thinking your opinion counts more than anothers. Rant over!

I caught a good one Friday that was completely red spotted from about half way down but brushed aside the initial idea of disease and assumed it was from spawning. I went on to land about a dozen more Tincas but no more had the marks so I am a bit concerned I have returned an unhealthy fish(apart from the fact it fought like a demon!)

I catch most of my Barbel in the upper reaches of the Medway which is perhaps not the clearest of rivers but is extremely snaggy. My developed approach is as a result of trial and error and it should be good in any river unless the flow is extreme. Firstly the hooklength in snaggy areas and braid has a tendency to shear on snags Flourocarbon is heavy and some are tough too. I mainly fish fox illusion right down to the hook which is pulled through a large piece of pork and ham and then turned. Above that I make a movable link simply by attaching a short piece of line via a grippa stop. The link can be used to add either a shot or if needed some proer weight but will pull free when a fish decides to try and snag you. When I cast I attach a stringer of smaller bits of meat. be confident with using this method and baits that are big(a sixth of a tin) will soon be devoured by even quite small barbel but usually prevent all but the biggest chub from ruining the swim for your ultimate prize. Simple but very effective.

I dont know about stuff made with egg but I regularly make paste from green groundbait and freeze it. I never use egg in paste and see no need for it. Most groundbaits are very sticky and hold together well without egg but I do wrap it round corn or jelly pellet with huge success

My thanks go out to all involved in making the fish in a succes and enjoyable . Thanks to Steve for organising and permiting the event, to Peggy who just knew what was wanted and got on and did it despite the heat, to Glyn and Terry for ferrying the gear and everyone else working away in the background to make the venue the special place that it is. I am licking my wounds and hoping for a more succesful time next time having struggled to make something of my swim this time. I am not sure I would change anything as the features in the sun were eventually quite obvious and I had been on them all the time but there was very little sign of fish in the area. The one eel that saved a blank was fooled by a bait after dark under a float with starlight fitted and was just magical to watch the light disappear! Well done to all especially those who upped pb's and if a blank had occurred Wingham would be my first choice of venues to blank at.

Can anyone help. I have spent ages looking for my feature leads and only saw them a week ago but now they have become lost again. I did go to the tackle shop before closing but the only leads sold as feature leads looked a bit plain whereas mine had big bobbles. I did get one but not confident it will be much use

He he I am so glad I am not the only one who spent ages working it out and still it is way more than I have ever taken in my car. Main problem really is the need to have everything for all eventualities and not really knowing what they may be

It is not about what strength line but how balanced it is to the rod. For example if you put even 6lb line on a rod of say 2.75lb test and strike into a double figure fish with the drag set tight on the reel you will almost certainly snap. Conversely if you put the same line on a light float rod it may well end up with the rod being snapped instead. Most skilled anglers will tell you they have landed a big fish on light line and it can be done providing there is open water to play the fish in and the rod is soft enough not to pressure the line but there really is nothing clever about targetting a big fish with line that is not up to the job. Even a small fish can snap you when it first gets hooked and makes the initial charge when your drag is set too tight and it can't take line. Final point is always make sure your knots are suitable for the line as even 10lb line will break quite easily at the knot if tied poorly or the wrong type. A good safe knot is the Palomar which retains much of the line strength. In summary and rough guide Match type float rod use line up to 4lb but don't use near snags where better fish may be available Heavy float rod use line up to 8lb Carp rod 8lb minimum Heavy carp rod 10lb plus Always check the clutch will slip easily Always wet the knots and tie properly Don't pinch shot on thin line

what you have to do is use the mussels as scent but strengthen them with bait elastic so they form a much tighter ball or oval then pierce them and rig them. I actually prefer to fish them direct hooked.

Very much obliged to you Steve. Any assistance with using the marker will go down very well. I shall bring what I think is the proper stuff but if not some of you will definitely be pestered!