Renrag39

That brings back memories lol. Haven't been to Foxhall or Swaffham for a while but still go to GY Stadium couple times a year. Especially around Guy Fawkes. Do a good bash then. Renrag

The more I read on this topic, the luckier I feel. Came to work postively livid @ 0530hrs and feelin far more grumpy than usual (firkin neighbours were up 'til 3am). Now I'm somewhat chipper seeing that others work hard too. Definitely don't se that much in GY! Plus it reminds me of when I was in the Merchant Navy, only did 3 months at sea but that was enough! Renrag

Hi Liam, first of all welcome and let the madness begin! Glad to hear you're all fixed up. Best advice I can give is to keep it simple and always have a disgorger to hand. I'm not a regular float fisher and still getting to grips with it again myself lol. Your best bet is to have someone with you on the bank to show you and guide you through what to do. I would also recommend a basic fishing book. Personally would recommend the one by Tony Whieldon. I'm sure you'll get the advice you need and if you're ever in the Norfolk Broads area I'd be more than happy to show you how I do it. Regards, Renrag

Well, went out yesterday @ Woodbastwick NDAA near the Decoy Broad @ 5mph swim with a normal hook on my feeder rod and a circle hook on my 'chance' rod. #6 Sakuma in a 2" Whitebait straight legered, target- Eels. No takers. So no reports on the circles performance as of yet. May try the larger sizes very soon with a larger deadbait for Pike. Will try a running paternoster next time too. On the feeder however I got 3 good skimmers, 2 nice roach and 1 VERY nice Rudd bigger than the skimmers. All on legered sweetcorn. Kept missing finicky bites tho, not sure if its because of the braids sensitivity? Or just me being too slow? Maybe just have to learn to let them develop perhaps? Hopefully going again tomorrow afternoon, will keep you posted. Renrag

I've never used trebles since my dad caught a 3lb Jack all stitched up, at Belaugh. Got the single he used out in about 10 seconds and noticed the trace trailing from its gills. I held the poor thing in the shallows (got wet and everything!) while my dad got some snips from the boot and then he set about the trebles. Swam off ok, so who knows, maybe we saved it. But thats why I'll never use them now. Hopefully the circles will help not damage the species I'm after. I'd rather blank than kill even the smallest of them. I've never even used a keepnet Its just how I fish. Renrag

Lol, well I can't so you're far more capable, I rely on a 6 turn snell and it works for me! I can't say its the only way to go but with a little effort it can be done and done reliably with less financial outlay. Plus you'll have a far better idea of what is actually going on inside your computer. Sorry I can't help any further as I don't know much more and I'm not on the market atm but it might be worth a look at a DIY PC while you peruse the web for off the shelf systems. Hope you get what you want! Hope its cheap too lol Renrag

Like most things, PC's do occasionally need 'adjusting' and its easy enough to do yourself for most things through the control panel. If the 'brain' melted then he could have been conning you as there are safety limits which can usually only be breached by 'overclocking' so he could have sold you a 1.8GHz processor, clocked up as a 2.2GHZ. Can't work out how you melted the MB tho, maybe a power supply malfunction or a surge maybe, never done it myself. Its quite fun seeing how much you can overclock an old processor tho. Once got a 1GHz up to about 2.8GHz. Ran ok until I pressed a button... a quiet pfft later and all went dark. At least it was an honourable death lol! A bit of research should tell you if you're capable of it or not, after all, if you can balance a carb or tie a spade-end knot, it'll be childs play. Renrag

Thats fair 'nuff lol. Running Vista on my system atm. Only a 3 core but running 4GB RAM and had no probs. Its a home build anyway. If you're looking for a high end PC that works then your best bet is a home build. Its really simple. Just work out what you want. Look on eBay for your motherboard, preferably with processor/s (not essential tho, they're easy enough to fit and cheaper if without) attached and with the requisite RAM and Graphic Card slots. Pick up a cheap power supply unit sufficient/compatible and try to either get a case with the product code for the O/S you want to run on it (wink wink), or get a harddrive (any size) with your preferred O/S already installed and slave a premium drive to it, of the size you really want. Helps keep the initial O/S drive uncluttered. Its far easier to get what you want/need this way, without having to compromise on any part like the readybuilt PC's. First time took me 3 days of research, 2 weeks buying bits and 5-6hrs to assemble with frequent checks on how to do whichever bit I was on. Now its addictive and I buy upgrades whenever I feel like it, knowing exactly what sockets I now need. Keep a little handbook on what sockets your processors and RAM/GC are and then you can go loony if you really want to. Oh, and if you think its too hard think again, if I can do it, really and truthfully, ANYONE can! Renrag

I've got my old PC up for sale but it all depends on what spec you're after, what O/S you want etc. For example mine is 1.75 GHz on a Rock M/B running 2GB DDR1 RAM, 512MB Graphics card and additional Fan, all hooked up to a 17" Flat Monitor. O/S is primarily Windows XP but I run it with a secondary O/S, Ubuntu, which is a Linux variation on a Gnutella framework (so I'm told) which I find, gets the best out of the power available to it and is therefore faster. Missus don't like it tho hence XP is still on lol. Need your system requirements before anyone can really help. As to the shill bidding, if the winner pays via PayPal, I believe it is regarded as above board and legal. Renrag

Yeah, thats my standard tactic with Eels and Perch I've been unlucky enough to deep hook. Think I'll be trying fish baits as well as the cheesepaste, wont be using a trace but here's to hoping a Pike wont find a single #6 a problem to rid itself of if the obvious happens. Will be using a running paternoster rig on 6lb mono to an as yet undecided hooklength. Probably also 6lb tbh, Eels and Perch mouths are somewhat abrasive. Renrag

Just got the image of a newt power ranger! Terrestrial Mode. GO! Aquatic Mode! GO! Then they all gang up into a giant killer newt and go on the rampage... Sorry i shared that, think I've had a bit too much sugar today! Nice to see them tho. Haven't seen one for a while myself. Renrag

Well that suits me Newt, not after cyps, I'm targeting good size eels and perch with a #6. I can't see how it could really do any more harm than a J hook either but the reports I had read concerning the bent hook problems in carp had me somewhat concerned. At the moment I can catch good bream and roach, one after the other on the J hooks so not too bothered, just hadn't found out if a circle was better or not until now. Thats why I foolishly ordered #12's lol. If I miss the occasional bream on a #6 circle, I won't be too gutted, especially if it means neatly hooked perch and eels when they show up. Renrag

Thanks for the fast reply, it's much appreciated. Will probably never use the 12's but on the flip side I will not be too worried about bait on the 6's. Hopefully, if a bream or other large cyprinid DOES take the bait, the hook wont get purchase and therefore, not damage the fish but if it does, I won't be spending much time getting out the hook. If it doesn't come easily then it'll just have to be left in, shouldn't do too much long term harm I shouldn't think. Could even quickly cut the hook with snips if its reachable. All the barbs will be crushed so hopefully aid removal regardless of species. I think its a fairly balanced approach, we'll see how things pan out. Just waiting for the post now! Renrag.

Well I'm not hacked off with my job but I'm a Signaller (Safety Critical) for Network Rail and I'm allowed to work 12 days max in a row. I think it depends on the work you undertake with regards to how long you can continuously work for, plus the rules can be bent or even broken with your signed permission in a lot of cases. Renrag

Was a very angry little man on there lol! And the sheep bladders do work, just need a lot of them to stuff between the tectonic plates! :-P

Won't bother with the size 12's unless I can find a use for them. In the meantime I'll still give the 6 and 2/0's a go, as where I fish, a big lump of cheesepaste on a 6 (instead of lobs) usually finds Eels (no chub or barbel that I know of in the lower bure and thurne and never had a bream on cheese myself) and will use deads on the 2/0 and see what happens. Might also try targeting perch with a liphooked live on a 6. Am I missing anything else? More for the fishes sake than mine. And one more thing, directed at Mark, I'm not doubting you on any level but want to confirm, do not use them on cyprinids because of lack of improvement in hookup? Or is it detrimental to their health and if so why? I have done a lot of research on this and there are many who go by what they hear rather than experience and regardless of your position, it would be nice to clarify this point regarding soft mouthed fish with experience rather than hearsay or speculation. I just want to know how careful I have to be with bait choice so if necessary I can at least reduce the risk factor to unsuitable fish. Renrag

Never got on with the baitsticks but think that was more to do with my incompetence with a multiplier than the rod. To be honest my accuracy isn't too bad using my patented 'underarm lob' when the swim is tight and my fave method for inaccessable spots is drifting a plug down but regardless, the rod is mainly used for live and deadbaiting the majority of the time. I don't think I have the knack for lure fishing! Fish mainly on rivers, have actually never fished for pike on a lake. Not many rocks on the broads but I do check my braid regularly for wear. Just seems to fluff up a bit from ring wear but BS remains. Feeling much better about my set-up now, thanks. Renrag

Wow, thats pretty comprehensive, thanks. Will first of all try it with the 6's on my old set up and see what happens. Use a diy sidewinder on it. Will be interesting to see how it goes. Still getting the hang of just leaning while using braid for pike and feedering so will give that a miss for the time being and see if I can master the circle hook on mono 1st. I can see the obvious benefits for the hard mouthed predators but any experience of what happens with roach/bream? Or is it detrimental to them and the catch rate. I plan on giving the hooks a good month or so trial while the bites are plentiful. Except for the pike of course. Not that many Trout on the Broads, would be a welcome visitor to my landing net though! Renrag

Yeah I suppose I should downscale a bit but the inital reason for 50lb was because I didn't know the quality of braid I was getting (from fleabay, hong kong). Turned out its pretty good stuff. Will probably go for 30lb next time. On the plus size, I've never lost my end tackle and have inadvertantly (and on purpose) done some riverbed trawling and gotten some free gear from a couple of snags lol. Dragged in an old peat spade once covered in about a dozen feeders. Renrag

Like the title says, is it worth fishing GY or gorleston pier or beach nowadays? What am I likely to catch this time of year? Have a 12' Beachcaster set up and a heavy duty pike/lure outfit too. Should I give the lures a go or just use bait? If so, what works for what fish? Haven't been sea fishing for yonks so I'm well out of touch with it. Sorry for all the questions, Renrag

I know its an old thread but I definitely like the idea of a Norfolk Pike Mafia lol Just get images of Coypu Heads (coypu're still there, I seens 'em). Anyway, got the red mist myself when some grockle off a boat asked me about my tackle (oooh, errr) and I'm more than happy to show them and yak all day but I got narked when he had a pop at me for using 50lb braid, weren't sporting like. I explained I lure fish a lot and besides getting snagged, I don't want a Pike starving to death with hooks sewing up his gut, (use singles mind) then he goes and tells me my rod (11ft Ron Thompson 1-3oz cast) reel (Shakespeare Cypry 6000) and trace (12" Snaplink spinning trace or 24" snaplink to a 2/0 single hook on the snap for bait) aren't up to scratch coz I use the same gear for both luring and baiting. Is that actually wrong? All I can say is that yeah, I have problems chucking out light lures but thats 'bout it. I just use heavy ones instead. I'm asking coz its bugging me the more I think about it and would appreciate your opinion on whether my tackle is, ahem, inadequate for the task? Thanks in advance, Renrag.

Personally I reckon a lot may be to do with the decline in the eel decline. Renrag

Have been thinking for a week or so whether or not to and I guess with all the the controversy there's nowt like tryin' and finding out for yourself. Have got some Sakuma Circles off eBay in size 12 (for general river fishing, bream, roach, perch etc. using sweetcorn,flake and worm. Will also crush all the barbs), size 6 for my 'chuck it and see' set up (old gear, usually use cheesepaste or gre't ol' worm) and also size 2/0 for pike live/deadbaiting. Will let you know how it goes with regards to the fishes' health and hookup improvement or not. Anyone else got any definitive answer or results that they can testify to? Renrag.

Sure worked for me. Caught my first on a bamboo cane rod and some green twine in 1988 (4yo). Finished off with a bobber float and solder wire wound round a knot a foot from the hook. Never eaten what I caught but wouldn't even be a mouthful in those first few years lol. Welcome back, similar situation as me but shorter time frame :-D Renrag

Asp, Burbot and re-introduce the Silver Bream in the broads. There are still a few shoals but think thats about it for them. Renrag