scottca

Ive heard thats what you do with most smells on your hands (garlic, onion etc), washing them in warm water first opens up our pours and traps the smell, cold closes them and it washes off

Good idea, I think ill put my name down next time.. now im getting better anyway, never wanted to make a fool of myself infront of everyone (ive read some of the catch reports!) Also be good to meet everyone!

All this talk of tench makes me want to get out there right now! The tench is still being elusive to me so im hoping 2011 is the season I actually get one! hmmm.. two rod licenses, 4 rods - double the chance

Stooby thats exactly what we do.. another one of my personal favourites is to arrive, get too excited, throw loads of ground bait in.. only to find its on top of a massive weed bed and move on... hmmm this could explain our recent blanks

Thanks Anderoo, definatly a good option for my next purchase then, bit of an all in one rod

Hi All, Sorry Im not trying to hijack the thread but whats an Avon top? Im looking at the exact same specification rod - 1.25tc avon quiver with 3 quiver tips. does it literally mean I can use the rod as a rod without the quivers? Thanks, Craig

Hi All, Im just wondering how much maintenance is needed to keep your reels in working / good condition. My fishing gear is coming up to a year odd old and a recent topic (thanks watatoad) has reminded me that I may need to actually look at what I need to maintain, and how I actually do it! So in regards to my reels, what should I be doing and how often, Ive seen posts about various people striping the reels down, oiling them etc etc, what do i need to do and what do I need to oil? I dont fish alot and my gear doesnt get that much abuse from the elements, but I would like to keep it in good condition. Any help would be much appreciated! Regards, Craig

Yup thats the one, I know stooby has had some decent perch out of it (in fact I believe he is there as we speak as ive just spoken to him on the phone...) Ive not really fished it for perch yet, but definately will do once close season is over (cant get out this weekend unfortunatly and its the mrs birthday weekend next weekend, so fishing will have to take a back seat

Thats a pretty good drawing BUDGIE!

Yea it does, not sure if you can get day tickets - im pretty sure you can. Got some numbers of some local tackle shops if you wanted to give them a call? There are quite afew nice stretches, although ive only been successfull once so maybe dont listen to me

Down the river near Haversham, Milton Keynes

Rusty - Im quite glad it took it quickly as I would have reeled in without thinking of a strike, I will now bear in mind in future and make sure I take my time just in case gozzer - Hopefully a few more 2lbers will come, shame its nearing the close season!, cant wait to target them again though. Whats chub fishing like in spring/summer months? Spring will be mainly targeting Tench this year for me I think (another elusive species to me!) but its always nice to grab some time down the river for a few hours.

Thanks everyone! I definately will remember it, I was actually starting to reel back in to recast, I had a few knocks but then it went dead, so I waited, started to reel in to recast and then just as I turned the reel handle I felt it go - Chub must have been sitting there waiting and saw the maggots move. Maybe the maggots fell into some weed or something Great rush of excitment though as I saw it through the water - I didnt realise how hard they fight considering its weight and size. Cant seem to get the picture attached

Hi All, After blanking a few times and time edging closer and closer to the close season, last Saturday I set out with stooby for a mornings fishing down at our local river. It was cold, the river was high and was fast flowing with a horrible dark dirty colour. Set up a maggot feeder and placed it in the slack water where I waited... re cast, waited... recast... waited some more.. (repeat about 15 more times) then eventually I finally hooked into something! Not the biggest chub in the world (definately not contending with Anderoo's latest achievements!) - Weighing in at 2lb 1oz. Finally got my chub - only fish of the day but was very very happy .... now come on spring so I can finally get myself a Tench! Trying to attach a picture.. doesnt seem to be working!

Just imagine how much uproar there would be if people started live baiting small puppies - think of the "discussions" on the forums ahhh just read Budgies post Live bait is allowed but only Roach, Bream and Gudgeon caught from the lake you are fishing. no puppies allowed.... what if you called your puppy "roach" ?

its a good way of catching Weils though - washing an open cut in lake water !

Well I was in fact fishing with stooby (only for the morning though and my statistics were as follows) Catches = 0 Bites = 0 Lures lost due to terrible casting = 1 Traces / trebbles lost due to terrible castling = 2 Hooked myself = 5 times at least! Hooked other items = 5, including landing net and tackle box, every tree that was available Annoyance level (0-10 - 10 being hightest) = 11 Must have been a curse on the river stooby or those UFO's as seen here: http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/Threat-...s-t2853090.html

Hi Budgie, Sorry deadbaiting for Pike mainly Regards, Craig

Hi everyone, thank you for your replies, I really appreciate them and will definately be going to the tackle shop to handle some more rods etc before I part with the cash If I dont pick a baitrunner and just leave the anti reverse off, how does that impact using a bit alarm, im presuming I just dont use a bobbin and therefore cant detect drop backs as easily? Thanks again, Craig

Thanks Everyone Now onto the Reel? - Can anyone recomend one for spinning / deadbaiting, would like it to have a baitrunner facility if I do decide to deadbait and want to put it on an alarm ? Tackleshop did recomend a Reel, cant remember the specs so will try and grab them next time im in, only thing I remembered it was 14bb so it was super smooth. will a higher BB suit spinning due to the ammounts of casts, or is a higher quality reel more about the components than the ball bearings? Hope that makes sense, sorry if these are easy questions! want to fully understand so I can make a good decision

Thanks ATS, I was in my local tackle shop today and asked them about a dual purpose rod and that Rovex John Wilson was the exact one they showed me - Glad to know its been recomended elseware. Looks like ill be saving the pennies, convincing the mrs and buying that one after payday! The rod felt really nice and like you said, was extreamly light.

Thanks everyone, helpfull as always! The rods I were refering to are from dragoncarpdirect (apologies if I shouldnt have posted the website, feel free to remove). They have some spinning rods for about £15 or so? Thanks again, Craig Edit: Budgie, just seen your post, sorry I missed it. Probably both to be honest at some point, is there a rod which will handle both, I understand that lure rods are normally shorter is that correct? I have a 1.75 TC Wychwood Rogue Barbel rod but I dont imagine that would be up to the job if I managed to actually hook a fairly decent size pike?

Hi All, I know the saying "you get what you pay for" is normally relevent however I want to start getting into piking / lure fishing etc so would like to get a new rod and reel to accomodate my interest. Now the big issue, I dont really want to be spending loads of money there are some websites that are selling cheap tackle/rods/reels (not ebay, but didnt want to post just incase im not allowed etc) They are doing some 4lb spinning rods for £10 - £20. Now, I know they are not the best rods in the world, and they wont last me a lifetime, but im not a hard core angler, I fish for pleasure and just try to get out whenever I can. Would these cheap rods be suitable, or should they just be avoided as they are more hasstle than they are worth? Thanks in advance Craig

Probably closer to a 2 than a 1.. but rather than seek out specimens, im just seeking out any fish

Thanks Anderoo ! Always wondered the best way of hooking fresh bread but never could work out the best way, after looking at your pics, easy to understand - I was trying to make a firm ball around the hook and shank, the hook would pull through too easy! Thanks again Craig