RobStubbs

It was probably the 'wrong sort of rain' or the ground was too wet, or something like that. So yes, I reckon hosepipe bans by June. And lets just wait 'til some bright spark suggests a barbeque ban, because of their contribution to global warming ! Rob.

I use 2 rod lengths all the time for leaders. Why, because you untie, retie your spods etc on every session and what starts off as 4 turns soon becomes 3 and then 2.... Rob.

You don't need to use braid for marker floats, I use mono on my main marker rod all the time, you just need to appreciate the feel is different because mono is more stretchy. One of the downsides of braid is it's tendancy to tangle. Some of the brands float and can therefore get moved by the water in an opposite direction to the wind. Cast a spod over that and it's a nightmare in the making. I remember fishing with a mate who did just that and he ended up losing everything and wasting a good hour or more in the process. Rob.

It's a bit difficult to guess without a little bit more detail. A Jay almost fits your limited description - as does ayjays bee eater Rob.

ECHO that. What Simon does is exactly what I do, no glue, and tapered leaders are more hassle (and pricey) IMHO. I served my apprenticeship sea fishing so used leaders all the time and I never had a problem with them catching up. With the thick mono tied to thin, I'd trim the tags a fair bit and certainly would only have a couple mm, in the thick. For my carp fishing leaders I use 25 or 30lb daiwa sealine, which is ample - certainly with my casting. Rob.

Have a good journey. 675 miles, how long will that take you, about a week ? Rob.

Yep, what he said ! Rob.

Phew, sorted mine out as well, didn't like that 'funny' view Rob.

Yep happy birthday, have a good one ! Rob.

Whilst it's theoretically possible it sounds highly unlikely. Where for example is the remants of the original round that was fired ? If it was blown away then how could it set off the other two. The primer is in the centre of the bullet, it's not like it's a rimfire round so again what force was directed to set off those primers and why did they also rupture ? There's also no obvious sign of burning or scorching that I'd expect if set off by the 1st round. Sorry but I don't buy it. Rob.

Voting is open for the Apr comp, so don't forget to cast your vote - it could be the most important one of the week ! Rob.

umm, interesting that two rounds have gone off, and neither of them anywhere near the hammer. Equally why has one still got the head on it, with no deformities, when it supposedly exploded. Me thinks a bit of artistic licence was involved somewhere. Rob.

It's frankly a fallacy that bivvies cost hundreds of pounds and tents don't. You can spend 100's on either or get one for 50-60 quid. I too wouldn't like to see bright tents around the lake, it gives the wrong impression - i.e. camping and not fishing. The point of a bivvy is that a bedchair fits in with room, and that you can then fish properly and get out rapidly to strike a run. Tucked away in a tent, it's less easy to do that (IMHO). Rob.

As Snakey points out that's how the law is and I personally have no problem with that. Who's to say the guy really was using the knife for cutting fruit and didn't have it for self defence ? He could for example have used something else to cut fruit. If you have good cause to carry such a knife / tool then you can carry it, but if questioned you will have to justify it. I have knifes in with my shooting bag, fishing tackle and in my walking kit, but it's all there for a reason that I believe I can justify should I be asked. Rob.

It would appear that only some are adopting the response you stated most are not. Also under EU law, it is the airlines responsibility to look after their passengers if their flights are messed up. Last I heard buses and trains have trouble crossing bodies of water. It's also pretty much essential to have flight if your stuck thousands of miles away - and there probably aren't enough ships to carry all the stranded people, not to mention how long it would take ! I do find it weird when people harp on about what used to happen before planes etc as if it's relevant. Times change, societies evolve, and reliance on new technologies increase. It's a bit like saying why can't we scrap motor cars and go back to the horse and cart. We can't because billions of people now use and rely on them all. Rob.

Someones probably answered this elsewhere, but I was wondering if the lack of plane flights positive effect on pollution and 'global warming' is better or worse than the effect of the volcanic ash and gases pumped into the air ? Rob.

Not bad John, but I won't be copying you, I'd rather a good nights sleep I wanted to see what the sunset was like but unfortunately I was sat behind the desk at the shooting range all evening instead Actually we had a fair bit of mist/fog this morning so it would have been a wasted early rise anyway. Rob.

Not sure about either of those. In theory you could have a 1000 acre pond if it's only a couple of feet deep. An if you dig deep enough, you can have a lake in your back garden. Also there is a river in my town centre which is only inches deep over most of it, with very little flow, there's plenty of streams with much more depth and power. I wonder if rivers are permanently wet (well before water abstraction) and streams can go dry depending on rainfall ?? Rob.

The full rates is totally down to each individual council. In my local area, we got complete rebate on the flat we have, as long as it's unfurnished - but only for 6 months. A mile down the road, it's either indeffinate or it switches to half rates for unfurnished, unoccupied for over 6 months. As for the trees, the simple way around that is to 'accidentally' damage them or have them removed because of disease. There's plenty of ways of poisoning trees if you search around. You can also weigh up the pro's and cons of keeping said trees. If cutting them down only lends you liable to a 50 quid fine then it's probably worth the hassle, assuming they ever find out. Rob.

Couldn't agree more. I certainly did my 'apprenticeship' general coarse fishing for a couple of years before switching, and I still do a little bit of general coarse fishing every now and again. Rob.

Yeah I know where your coming from and I do actually have one of those, but as you will have guessed I didn't use it. My excuse is that I had too much 'pop' the night before. I think what I really need is a focusing screen with horizontal and vertical lines on it - must see if I can get one for the camera. Makes spotting those few degrees off kilter a bit easier. Rob.

I think he said 'the risk of developing heart disease' - that may not actually manifest itself as disease symptoms of illness or heart problems as we'd know it. Rob.

Sorry I should have said PS Elements 6. Ah, just spotted that and just tried it - and it worked. It's easy (and obvious) when you know how Thanks ! Rob.

After getting PS6 I am now using it with my RAW (or CR2) images. Processing those RAW files saves them as DNG files but I've yet to work out how to convert files into jpg's. So if anyone has any pointers or tips then please let me know. In the meantime I'll continue googling to see if I can find the answers.. Cheers, Rob.

Cheers Fred. These were all taken in Scotland, along the Great Glen Way and the water is Loch Lochy. In the first pic the mountains are in the Nevis range, and the tallest of the group is Ben Nevis itself. I'll need to do some more research to work out what all the other 'peaky bits' are called Rob. P.S. I think my fav is no. 1, it looks even more 'impressive' with all it's megapixels unaltered in RAW or jpg