AddictedToScopex

Ah the old fly fishing method Not learnt that particular skill yet

We ended up getting some cheap biscuits from Morrisons this time. Wasnt sure if they would float or not but they did. On the day though we fished both bisuits and bread and the bread significantly outfished the biscuits even with the baits side by side. I used a pellet band to attach some crust so as to leave the hook hanging below the surface and it worked a treat.

That sounds like it would be spot on. Ive stocked up a little on pellet recently but once that has gone I will bob down. Think I paid £24 for 10kg of halibut the last time I got a sack. Not sure what Bamfords would charge.

How do you fish those Brian?

Hi guys, So it seems my nephew is now into fishing good and proper. The other week we did some surface fishing for carp using floating dog biscuits and he quite enjoyed it. We used pedigree chum original mixers that I had sourced from ebay but they weren't cheap and I can't seem to find them in any shops. Does anybody know any other brands that will do the job and be cheaper than the robbers on ebay? Cheers

Love the look of that pin. Haven't used my pin for a while now. Have just been taking it easy sat behind a ledger for the most part. Nice to be back by the bank though thats for sure.

I haven't had any good ones out of the river but plenty of bootlaces if I choose to use meat on the hook.

She was just posing for a picture there Phone. She isn't really able to fish properly yet so she just came to sit with me for a while. I took my nephew again last night and it resulted in his first ever barbel. He was over the moon with it.

Matt, I myself was like that. I went fishing as a young boy with my dad and then when I grew up I was more into xbox and girls. When I was about 20 though I got back into fishing again and have been for the last 10 years. Sometimes I do stay in for some xbox time with my nephew but more often than not he is asking to go fishing now.

Something I have wanted to do myself in the lakes but still haven't managed to get round to it. Great pics.

I agree that it is seen as less safe. My nephew already wants to go on his own but it is a bit far for him at the moment and he is still to learn about safety by the river etc. I do think my brother would have no issue with him going on his own as he did the same when he was that age and would pedal his bike to ponds etc with his stuff attached to his bike. It was funny to see him last time sit back in his chair, put his arms behind his head and declare to his father that 'this is the life'

I would agree with Peter and say to go for a heavier braid between 25-30lb as canals especially can be very snaggy on the opposite banks and can have all sorts of things at the bottom. Lures aren't cheap and leaving your favourite at the bottom of the canal is a horrible feeling. Ask me how I know lol. Also agree with Peter in taking a bit of time to learn some good tips for handling etc. Many people love the idea of fishing for pike and then when they get a big one on the bank they turn into squeemish girls that dont want to go near the business end

lol she didnt unfortunately and then 5 minutes after she left I moved another rod length out and managed to get among them :)Typical! I had her down the canal on Saturday just gone though and she got to see a few perch and loved it again.

Well my last few sessions have seen some keen young anglers on the banks with me. My little girl at 4 years old was dying to come to the river with me and see some fish after I took her with me to the canal last year in the hunt for pike and perch. She was really well behaved by the river and loved every minute. She stayed for an hour with my wife and is keen to come again. As soon as she is old enough she will be a regular feature with me on the river bank. It was great to have her there full of enthusiasm. Myself and my brother then took his son (12) out to a commercial for his first session and then onto the river on the next one for a night session. Again I took him a few years back and he really enjoyed it then too. He lasted til 12am on the night session before he was wanting his bed as he had stayed up late the night before against our advice. It was nice to pass things on to them and to teach them about angling and to have something that can connect us with our kids as they get older.

It is a long sleeved shirt Ian. Good for keeping the sun off and still pretty light. Bugger wearing a hoody Glad its a Dace. It was a chunky little thing. I think the hardest thing about fishing the maggot feeder was the minnows. I was getting my maggots nicked constantly without hookups although I was trying to use a larger hook to keep the tiny bits away

A nice cheap option is the garbolino rocket picker. It is very sensitive and ideal for canals where the fish are shy biting. I have the shortest length one and it has handled double figure carp down to small roach with ease. Its a pleasure to fish with. Nice and short for commercials too where peg space may be limited.

Ok so I wasn't sure about this one. The fin does look concave which I believe means Dace. It was bloody big and fat if it is a Dace. I had a few like this on the maggot feeder last night. No barbel though. Think the heat put them off and I left at 11pm. Had two decent chub to 4lb though.

Cheers Ian. Looking forward to giving the maggot feeder a bash this evening to see what turns up.

I am quite minimal these days. Long walks down the river taught me that lesson. I just take the essentials now.

Excellent

Great stuff as always Ian

I think we are spoiled with some fantastic barbel sport up this neck of the woods. That night I didnt have one below 8lbs. My usual swim before this generally produced an average of 6lbs so I am hoping this new one will be where the larger stamp tend to hang around. It is a bit of an unassuming swim to look at so most would overlook it I imagine.

Hi guys, Been a while since I posted due to not getting out much due to ill health. Last week I managed to finally get an evening on the lovely river Ribble. I decided to simply sit and wait it out for the barbel using my usual ledger tactics and wanted to try a new swim which looked much slower than my usual stretches. I had high hopes for the chance of a large barbel or even a bream. It turned out to be a great session made even more great by finally catching a confirmed double figure barbel. The first fish was a 9lb 8oz barbel which set the tone nicely and that evening I banked 5 barbel to 11lb and 3 chub to 4lb. Pics are below. I was made up by the double especially after trying a new swim in the hopes of finding one. I am going back to the same swim this evening but for the first few hours I plan to fish the maggot feeder to see if there are any bream mooching around. I am flavouring them with a spicy sausage flavour shaker that I saw today from Sonubaits. I will then switch back to the usual ledger approach into dark for the bigger fish.

I have found the best spot on the river near me is at the end of a faster glide or along the edges of faster water in the slacks.

Agree with all the others. I bought a hige spool of cheap braid from ebay and it has been spot on for all kinds of uses. Even sewing up a rip in an old fishing chair