davedave

Never bought flavoured/coloured corn but I tried colouring corn red once, my hands looked like a serial killers and saw no difference in catch results. Unless it's a water that sees a lot of 'regular' sweetcorn I wouldn't bother. If it aint broke

Evening, Just saw a few comments on a recent post about using keepnets. I own a keepnet but nowadays only really use it for fishing the occasional match. If i'm honest though I didn't really think they did any damage to fish, I just choose not to use one when pleasure fishing as I don't really see the point, unless you maybe wanted to weigh it. I always thought that if you didn't put fish that were too big for keepnets (ie over a pound), fish that don't cope well in nets (ie barbel) or put too many fish in them then it was fine and the fish were not affected by it. I've seen matches on carp puddles where tens of small carp were all put in one net, in summer, which was obviously very irresponsible (even if they were puddle carp), but is there any problem with a few pounds of 'silvers' in a keepnet just so long as there's a fair bit of water and they're not overcrowded? Dave

Last weeks was the episode I have least enjoyed by far, the girls weren't really bothered and it all seemed very forced. Only seen about half of this weeks so far but am really enjoying it, possibly my favourite so far of the series, good fishing, lovely looking waters and the lad seemed keen. I'm probably going to be lynched now, but I can't help but wonder if it's a gender issue...All the lads in the series have seemed really interested and keen to learn, but the one episode wit the two sisters they looked so bored it kind of ruined that episode for me. Hmm

Steve, the worms aren't that local, so a good supply in the garden would be much more convenient. Where do you keep your bins steve, outside i'm assuming? Do you just add food waste to it like teabags and veg peelings? Do you add much water to it? Thanks

Evening, I'm thinking of making my own small scale wormery for redworm. I was hoping to get advice if anybody had done a similar thing. I've got an old plastic header tank like this: I don't have a lid for it but can easily construct one out of mdf or something. I'm looking for advice really in regards to location, ie in the garage or outside? I thought I could maybe half bury it in the ground somewhere? Or would it be better in the garage? It's got a small hole in it where the original pipe went into it which i'll have to block up somehow, and i'll have to drill a lot of very small drainage holes to allow water out of it. I have a friendly horse owner with a manure heap full of redworm, so I should be able to initially get some manure and worms, and then when it is developed I can top it up with compost, veg peelings and more worms if neccesary. Does anybody know how well redworm breed? There are a few websites with information on building your own wormery but some added tips would be helpful. http://www.watershedactivities.com/projects/winter/wormbin.html It will be very handy having a good supply of redworm in the garden, as in summer they can be a great bait which you never seem to hear of people using anymore but they are brilliant on their own for roach, perch and skimmers, or a half a dozen on a big hook can be deadly for carp too, as I think the fish mistake them for bloodworm. Any information would be much appreciated Dave

This Lidl jobby! Still use it now, it's surprisingly sensitive!

Thanks I've bought mine now but for anyone else in a similar situation, I saw these in the screwfix catalogue today, looked pretty good for the price and seemed to get good reviews on the website. Not bad for £2! http://www.screwfix.com/p/10-compartment-storage-case-240-x-175mm/12880

Oh dear I've opened a can of worms here haven't I

It says hooklengths in the post title azrael. I've always preferred mono personally but it would be interesting to see what others think. Dave

Interesting. Like it has been mentioned it is the most participated sport/hobby in the UK so I think there would be a lot of resistance against it.

Thanks guys, but this morning I ordered the one that I put in the original post, hopefully it'll be alright Cheers

I was just reading back through the 'Hunting shooting and fishing' thread and saw sme references to catch and release fishing in the UK being banned at some point. Say in the next 50 years, do you think this will happen? It already has in Germany, do you think the public could go the way of fox hunting? And if it was made illegal would you still fish? http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/796384-hunting-shooting-and-fishing-poll/ Dave

Yes but no fish over a pound and not in hot weather. Whether all anglers abide that is anyones guess.

Can't say I did. What makes you say that, because they remove the scales of the fish on the bank before cooking and eating it? I'd be sceptical if it was our friendly Eastern European poachers, because there is only one track down to the lakes and that goes past the farmhouse, that is how the owner knows when to come and get your money when your fishing. I don't think they'd get away with it on three seperate occasions without a shotgun wielding farmer giving them a polite invitation to leave the lakes.

WNB thanks. The problem being in somerset is that all the tackle shows are normally in the midlands, and so a good few hours drive away, so i'm yet to go to one The tupperware is good stuff, the plastic doesn't crack or snap like the cheap lunchboxes they sell in supermarkets, but is more flexible. Thanks

Thanks for the suggestion but I really want something to fit into my rucksack, as i'm normally carrying a chair and landing net I like to have everything else on my back or shoulders (ie rucksack and rod quiver). I used to take a small toolbox which I had everything in but it was just uncomfortable walking any distance with a lot of stuff in your hands. Thanks

Went for a walk round a local day ticket fishery today. It has two medium sized lakes which are about 3ft deep, and is home to some mid twenties carp, perch, roach, chub and skimmers. In three places around the lake I found about thirty scales, some of smaller fish but some were clearly of big carp. There were no bones, just a patch of assorted scales. I should also mention it is very very close to a river. Would this be otter or a different predator? Or a fish died of natural causes and eaten by rats maybe. Pictures I see in the magazines of where otters have eaten fish usually contain the bones as well so I wasn't sure. Dave

Evening all, I'm tearing my hair out, i'm looking for a storage box to fit all my 'end bits' in; hooks, forceps, scissors, multitool, disgorgers, weights, shot, hooks, hooklengths etc. At the moment i'm using an old fruitcake tin, which does the job, but is getting a bit rusty and is a bit small, so I have to take everything out of it to get to what i'm after. I've looked all over the internet and mostly all there is is carp accesories and cheap chinese plastic crap that looks like it wouldn't last a week. I've looked in my tackle shops, and most of that is carp stuff (rig boards etc). I've even been looking at buying a lunchbox or something like that but again I don't think the flimsy plastic is up to it. What I need is something that is made of strong plastic, is about 10" x 8" and 2.5" deep, preferably with one or two dividing compartments but not loads of small compartments, is durable, under £15, preferably green or black, with a good strong lid and will fit in a rucksack. Does anybody know anywhere where I can get something like this? I've looked all over the internet and the best i've come up with is this:http://www.dragoncarpdirect.com/products/Carp-Kinetics-Medium-Complete-Storage-Box.html If I can't get anything better that is what I will go with. Thanks, Dave

Hard to say. A lot of the bigger chub have not been caught this season on the river, however match weights are touching nearly 20lb of silvers. I do enjoy seeing an otter though I must admit.

Couldn't agree with this more!

I wasn't entirely sure where I stood on the otter debate. The article was very interesting. The fact that no otters have been introduced since 1990 was what shocked me most, a lot of people I speak to on the bank say about 'all these otters being released' which I now know (assuming the article is fact) to be wrong. Late last year I saw my first otters when fishing, one on the pond when perch fishing near dark, when he popped up in front of me, another time on the river when one went into the water on the opposite bank from where I was fishing and the last time when one appeared in my swim on the river. A friend also saw one on boxing day in the same area. Oddly they all appear to be sighted in the top half of the river, which is generally quicker and slightly shallower, and I have heard no reports of otter sightings on the bottom half which is slower. Very few big chub have come out of the river this season, which I know people blame the otters for. However looking at the match reports the weights of silverfish caught this season have been up to 18lb, which is a lot of small roach, chublets, trout and dace to be caught in a few hours fishing. Whether that implies that the otters have eaten the bigger fish and not the smaller ones I don't know. A few weeks ago a couple of bigger chub were caught in a match on the bottom half of the river, which is one of the only times bigger chub have been caught this season, and in an area where there are no otter sightings, does this mean anything, I don't know. The river I speak of is the river Isle, a small river which is in most places narrow and shallow, and it does make me wonder whether 2 or 3 big otters could potentially do a lot of damage to the river. I don't know what effect the otters have been having on the river, if they are responsible for taking the bigger chub then why, after eating them, would they not move onto the smaller fish, which are continued to be caught in large numbers. I don't even know if there is any way to tell what an otter may or may not eat or which size or quantity of fish it will eat from a river. One thing that a lot of people have told me however, and correct me if I am wrong, is that otters are like a fox in a chicken hut, they will kill everything, even if they only eat one or two chickens. I know this is an animals instinct, but on a small river would several otters have a detrimental effect? Dave

I just wrote a very long reply on how I got on today and yesterday, and a review of the GF bite alarm. I didn't save it though and I just lost it which is an apt end to the day. I'll summarise...I blanked yesterday, and I blanked today. I fished two rods, a float and a leger, both on fresh roach deads but I didn't get a bite. I've had a run of about 6 blanks perch fishing so I am going to stop perch fishing for a few weeks until the weather warms up as it's not even frustrating anymore it's depressing. The alarm is good quality and feels solid and durable however dissapointingly it would not register on my set up of a match rod, 3lb line and a light bobbin, so it will not work on my normal perch set up which I thought it would. Pictures: An old Lidl bite alarm I have is actually more sensitive than the GF alarm and registers with the bobbin: Fresh roach deadbaits tipped with half a fake red maggot to keep the hook point clear: Leger rig: And again: Mist coming off the water: Leger rod: Float rig off the edge of the dead reedbed: Sorry I would write more but i'm not really in the mood I've had a crap day to top a run of blanks and i'm sick of perch fishing and fishing in general at the moment. Dave

Thanks for all the replies. Especially yours Steve thanks for taking the time to write that. I'm going to bed now as i'm up early tomorrow but I shall update you tomorrow or sunday

Hi all, I was curious as to what you have caught best on legered or float fished deadbaits for perch? I have always legered but I have heard some different opinions on the bank today. One guy who I know to be a very good perch fishermen said that legering was prone to tangles which means the perch will drop the bait, the weight can sink into the mud especially with all the recent rain making it unsensitive and you can't see where you are baiting effectively. I have never tried float fishing, but the depths of water I fish (8 foot plus) puts me off. I have also caught on the leger but can't compare it to float fishing as this is something I haven't done with deadbaits. Which do you prefer when using small roach and deadbaits, leger or float? Also any links to float rigs would be brilliant. Also do you puncture the swim bladder of your deadbaits? And where abouts is the swim bladder on a roach? Thanks very much