davedave

Evening, The only advantage (kind of) from all the rain we've had this year, is that it has washed a lot of silty sand down the stream that feeds one of the club ponds, making a solid jetty about a metre and a half into the pond. From here I can cast to a line of dead reeds which i'm hoping may hold perch. I'm going to be using roach deadbaits. I'll let you know how I get on, tight lines to those braving the weather tomorrow. Dave

Yeh I was thinking that!

I'm thinking one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20-x-Hairstyling-Metal-Bobby-Pin-Clip-Clamp-Black-for-Women-Girl-/390515162703?pt=UK_Hair_Accessories&hash=item5aec847e4f stuck into a straight wine bottle cork painted orange. With some pole float rubbers over the metal clips to protect the line. Write korum on it and i'd make a fortune!

Andrew - Two or three. Yes this thread reminded me of the cork bobbins I used to make, I might whip another couple up actually. Thanks Steve - So what weight would you recommend for a bobbin used when perch fishing? I always assumed it was a case of the lighter the better. Do you think my pipe bobbins are too light? Are the gardner indicator clips metal or plastic? I don't know about photobucket, I just copied in the image code, don't know if thats what you meant or not. Thanks

Thanks Rob Old geezer I did a similar thing a few years ago from putting a hair clip in a cork, I got rid of it in the end ironically as it was too light for carp fishing on my bite alarms, I'm wondering if it would be worth making a couple up again. Cheers Thanks steve. This is what i'm using as bobbins at the moment. http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t377/gudgey06/DSC00068.jpg Do you think making the balsa bobbins would be any better than what i'm using at the moment? Cheers

Hi there. I recently bought some drennan series 7, which is top of the range stuff, it had very thin diameter for the breaking strain, but was prone to tangles and kinks. Although outdated I don't think you can go wrong with maxima. Daiwa sensor is also good stuff. Dave

Thanks guys. Steve, do you just get one in a pack? Seems a bit dear for just one.

PS just saw this, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-X-CARP-PIKE-FISHING-SLIM-LINE-DROP-OFF-CHAIN-BITE-INDICATOR-BOBBIN-/300724506992?pt=UK_SportingGoods_FishingAcces_RL&hash=item460493d170 Who the hell pays £62 for bobbins!

Hi all, I was looking into making my own bobbins, after seeing someone on the bank with bobbins made of balsa wood and painted orange. The clip for going on the line was not homemade, but he didn't say where he got them from. Does anybody know where I could buy some? An ebay search of 'bobbin clips' brought no luck, but I don't know if that's the correct term. If anybody has got any idea of where I could find some i'd appreciate it. Also does anybody know which shops would sell balsa wood? Cheers

Although I haven't got much knowledge of perch fishing as I only really started last year I found that on the water where I was fishing, deadbaits were superior to any other bait. Before using deads I would always use two rods, one on prawn, one on worm, and bites were normally very jerky, the bobbin often moving 2 or 3 inches then stopping. I put this down to eels, chub or smaller fish tugging on the end of the worm. On my worm rod I did get a lot of small eels but on my prawn rod I never actually hit any of the bites so I couldn't tell you what it was. In the end I decided to just try a deadbait, so my friend caught a small roach, I knocked it on the head, lip hooked it, and put it on the exact same rig I had been using with worm and prawn. That morning I had a pb of 1lb 7oz, which although not huge, was a lot bigger than what I had been catching. The bite was a steady lift, not hugely fast but I had just enough time to strike. I keep meaning to try deadbaits again as it was really succesful, but haven't got round to it. Overall I found worms and prawns meant I was pestered by smaller fish and had frustrating jerky bites, whereas with deadbaits bites were not as often at all but steady and fluid, and in my case resulted in better fish. Dave

Thanks guys, got a lot to try out and see which one I find works best. Cheers

Hi all, I was trying a new line (drennan series 7) out when fishing yesterday, and found when tieing the hook knot the last inch or so would kink. The line I was using was 3.4lb but had a very thin diameter, I normally use maxima and very rarely do I find the line kinks when tieing hooks. One of the regulars on the lake came round and showed me a knot he used, and without lubricating it it tied prefectly, he said it was one he had always used but couldn't remember what it was called. So now i'm thinking I should be using a better knot for tieing eyed hooks. I've always used the half tucked blood: It's a knot i've always used, and to be fair, it is quite strong and i've never really had a problem losing fish because of it, but i'm not sure if it gives the best presentation. Which knot do you use for tieing eyed hooks? Would I be better off with a grinner knot? Thanks

I'd like to get a pole for the exact same reason, precision perch fishing on a canal. I think i'd also find uses for it on the river. I can't be doing with the pole anglers tiddler bashing with them, I always think it's quicker just to use a rod if casting is suitable. But never using a pole i'd have no idea on all the kit, and I wouldn't want to spend more than about £50, so I doubt i'd get anything half decent that didn't weigh a ton.

Blanked today, 4 hour session. I fished worm on a running rig with about a 2 - 3 ft hooklength. The water was fairly coloured but was better than I expected. It was a shame actually, I had a few bites where the bobbin went about halfway from the floor to the rod but none that fully developed. I bought a thing of van den eyde predator plus before christmas. Has anyone found it to be any good? I put some on some red maggot but in the end never tried it as I stayed on worm. Going to try prawn tomorrow, might put a glug of it on them, how much of the stuff should I put on? This is what the pond looked like: Will let you know how I get on tomorrow. Thanks

Thanks guys, stay well clear is the message I get here. Cheers

Minnows are a pain in the arse, Ive had a bite on a whole lobworm before which when I lifted the bait out of the water was a minnow just sucking on the end of the worm, hanging there, it was nowhere near the hook. Bloody things. I find you either get a peg with loads or none, and if you have loads theres not a lot you can do. Switching from maggot to caster can help but not by much. Dave

Thanks guys, I might leave a day on the pond to my last fishing day, hoping it has fined down a bit by then, but with the weather forecast as it is i'm not particularly hopeful. Anybody go out yesterday?

Not sure where this thread is going: livebaiting, taking a course to pike fish or taking a test to have a fishing license? Livebaiting: I do not livebait but that is down to my own conscience only. I respect other peoples right to livebait and if it was going to be banned i would protest said ban. Taking a fish handling course to fish for pike on a water: Personally I would just see this as a hassle, and there would have to be some pretty good fishing to make me do the course just to fish the water. I think a free, optional pike handling course for new pike anglers joining a club would be a good idea. If I had to take a course on pike handling and care to join a club, again I would do so if the club was one I had a particular desire to join but if not again I would just see it as hassle. For me it would just be an inconvenience but that is my only opinion on it. Having to take a fish handling test to be able to have a rod license: I would be against this as it would just encourage more people to not buy a license. I would also resent it and i'm sure many other anglers would. IMO a better idea, which I know many clubs and day ticket waters do, is to have a mentor to teach new anglers on basic fishing techniques and fish care and handling, if the person fishing would like a bit of help they can have it, if not they don't have to, but someone to spend an hour teaching a new angler how to use a disgorger and a landing net is better than having to take a test. Just my two cents worth. Dave

Can't go wrong with 'wag and mag'. A drennan insert waggler is ideal for this. Put 3 or 4lb mainline on your reel, can't go wrong with maxima, daiwa or drennans line. In summer 3lb line straight through (by which I mean your mainline straight to the hook, without a lower breaking strain line trace, or hooklength) is sufficient for 'silvers', but in winter you may want to buy a hooklength with 1lb or 2lb line to a size 18 or 20 hook. I would advise barbless hooks and most day ticket fisheries will insist this anyway, but you may want to buy whisker or micro barbed hooks. I use micro barbed hooks on rivers but only occasionally on still waters, don't ask me why, just a preference. Can't go wrong with the humble maggot, and will probably get you more bites than anything else at this time of the year. As a last resort pinkie is also an option. A basic rig like this will suffice, with the bulk of the shot around the float and smaller dropper shot strung evenly below. http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=waggler+r...,r:11,s:0,i:121 Heres a suggestion of a shopping list for the next time your in the tackle shop: - 3 drennan floats, 2 insert crystal wagglers (unloaded), 1 straight crystal waggler (unloaded) - 1 tub of dinsmores assorted split shot - 2 disgorgers, 1 micro, 1 normal - 1/2 pint of red maggot, 1/2 pint of white - 1 rod rest - 1 pack drennan barbless, eyed, size 18 hooks - 1 pack drennan 'silverfish maggot' size 20 hook to 2lb line hooks to nylon (hooklength) - 100 metres drennan series 7 3.4lb line - 1 pack silicone swivel float adaptors If you need a rod I would reccomend the maver abyss match rod, and for a reel the shimano alivio's are affordable but reliable and good quality. Remember there's some good information in anglers mail, improve your coarse fishing and on the internet, and of course anglers net. Good luck Dave

Been mulling over what to reply with, but all I can say really is that you've had a bloody good year, and you must be pretty chuffed with fish like that. Hopefully next year i'll have a few bigguns like that! Thats one of the most dissapointing things of living in somerset, the tench fishing is crap! Perch fishing pretty good, but tench over 5lb are quite hard to find in a water locally. Dave

I thought i'd get a reply like that, you get what you pay for. However theres a difference between lower end of the market gear and really really bad stuff. Have you bought any of the avanti gear they sell in your tackle shop? My locals don't sell it, I think i'd be more inclined to buy it if I could look it over in the flesh first. Thanks, and merry boxing day

Evening all, Hope you had a great christmas and boxing day. So after way too much food in the last 48 hours I decided to drive down to the pond for a walk. Unsurprisingly I found it very coloured. With all the recent rain it's a few inches higher than normal but with the colour of coffee. I would guess that the hard rain we had a few days ago did the worst of it, but the rain showers of the last couple of days has kept enough water on the already saturated ground to keep the stream that feeds the pond topped up, and water continues to flow into the pond. Water is gushing out the outlet but I would say not nearly enough. If we had no rain now for a week I expect it would drop down fine, but mr forecaster says we have basically got rain until the new year and I go back to work next week With my remaining 3 free days I can fish on before going back to work, i'd love to be able to get out on the banks, for the perch ideally. The rivers are gushing through so it's only the pond and the canal at the moment, and i'd like to have another crack at the perch on the pond before the new year. So my longly drawn out question is, will perch feed in conditions like these on a stillwater? The pond is very deep, if that would make any difference, would the fish go into deeper water? Basically is it worth hitting the perch for a couple of days or shall I forget it and go down the canal (which oddly fishes quite well in flooded conditions)? Thanks

Evening, I was wondering if anybody has bought avanti gear, like the stuff they sell in the back pages of anglers mail. I've never been tempted by any of it, however I saw a £20 seatbox which I did actually quite like. http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=avanti+ge...29,r:0,s:0,i:85 For £20 I wouldn't expect it to last forever, but I don't want to be disappointed the first time I use it. Anyone with experience of Avanti tackle, especially seatboxes, have you found it to be any good or shall I not touch it with a barge pole? Thanks, merry christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Getting to the end of the year, and I can't help reflect on my highs and lows of 2012. My fishing has taken an unusual turn, in which I have completely shied away from carp fishing, and taken to the local canal, pond and river for perch and silvers. My highs of the year have been my 1lb 7oz perch which came after lots of unsuccesful trips, the three stillwater chub I had in may, the 2lb brown trout I had from a small local river (which, was not about weight but it's beautiful colours) and coming third in my first match which was a bit of a confidence booster. Lows have been every piking session being a blank, which has really put me off it, which is a shame. The weather could have been better also, with the rivers being unfishable for too much of the year, with the droughts in the early year, and then all the recent floods. All in all I have had a very enjoyable fishing year which I feel i've learnt a lot. What about your highs and lows? Merry Christmas and a happy new year, and tight lines!

Which species do most people night fish for? Is there any species where night fishing is any better than day fishing? That sounds sarcastic as I type it but it's not meant to be, but with no night fishing experience I wouldn't know. I read magazines where people night fish for carp, eels and catfish but is the fishing any better than in the day, I don't know. The only species that would temp me to night fish would be perch, but I read somewhere, possibly one of steve Burks articles where he mentions that after about an hour into darkness it's not very succesful. Dave