larsagi2010

That is nuts! Or maybe its carrots??

Couldn't agree more. The advantages of an inflatable really do seem to be more justified with the situation you have regarding a small yard, and limited space over a motorbike! I bet your wheels are better than mine though!

I recently wanted to purchase a fishing boat. After some hunting I decided to buy a heavier ledger weight instead At our local fishery they have several small fiberglass boats moored up to the island. They are only small 1-2 people in but look like they would be very light/stable. They are pretty shallow also meaning they should go on the roof of a car with ease. I know they are pretty cheap to purchase... Next time we head down I will ask the owner about them. As they stand they only have oars in them so sadly it would be manual labour! But it looks like they have a bracket on the back for the addition of a small motor.

:clap: LMAO, love it! I have a really strong urge now to tempt a pike using a Dilly

Ok, so I am after a feeder rod. I currently have a Red Wolf feeder rod which I purchased for like £18.99 its 11ft and came with two quiver tips. Downsides are: Reel doesn't screw in, it has the plastic push rings, handle is like felt (I prefer Cork) also the tips seem to be the exact same only different colours. Its served me really well, I have had Carp up to 10lb on it, and used in conjunction with 12lb line so its really been given a beating (And still works perfectly!) I am now after (Not a replacement) but a feeder to use as a primary rod keeping my old one for seconds. I have spotted this: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/11FT-CAMO-CARBON-FIS...9#ht_2245wt_905 sadly it doesn't state test curve ect: Price range. Anything up to about £35..... I use heavy line and a good reel so I will need something that can take a good beating. Also I have a habit of uprooting trees on the opposite bank so I need something I can pull firmly without risk of failure. Any recommendations? I know my budget is low, but I spent £18.99 on the one I have now and its worked brilliantly for 3 years, I have literally abused the poor rod but it still stands strong! Any recommendations or comments on the above rod would be much appreciated. Dan

I wouldn't imagine the design would need to be scientific at all. Just more ''Creative'' My dad who is currently making neolithic lures/hooks ect: has adapted almost like the ''Fly'' for pike fishing. It comprises of a bone hook that has been hand made, laced with feathers, string ect: which will cause some nice shiny sparkles/flashes and movements through the water. All you really need to do is ensure the size is adequate, and the lure would perform reasonably (My means of not weighing 7kg's and instantly hooking the bottom Spoons are a personal favourite. I have saw people purchase a standard wooden brush handle. They cut it into 3-5 inch strips and that is the body of their lure. Then they just drill and attach hooks/swivels and paint/decorate it with bright colours and things like feathers ect: You can also drill small holes and insert weights for different depths of fishing. I have even saw people drill a hold just shy of right through it, chuck in some ballbearings, and then seal the top with waterproof tape or resin creating a rattle. You can angle the front of the broom stick slightly to create a wobbling effect. The possibilities really are endless! The only part where I would say you have to be careful is the design itself. You want a lure which you can be 100% positive will not fail (Thats why the spoons work well!) as they are metal. With wooden broom lures its always good to test the strength of the trebles fittings before doing the decorating. I personally liked putting them into a vice and then grabbing some sturdy pliers and ensuring the wood wasn't going to fail where the treble hole was drilled. The last thing you want is the trble to become detached. Also a good sanding is recommended. Make sure there are no splinters/sharp edges on it. You can also use a waterproof varnish (The the stuff for your outdoor shed door) as this strengthens up the lure, provides water protection, and also seals it better protecting your paint/decorating.

Well, my fishing trip is looking a bit tainted today due to the fact my two boys have been vomiting all night, and so has my wife The kids seem ok now though so hopefully when the Mrs has had a nap she will feel more up to going (After all the fresh air may help!) So it seems we are all going to hit the river Dee in a shattered state of mind... Lets hope the fish will add some sunshine to the day!

I have never used one of these. But surely they would be suitable as a light/low cost shelter??

I would agree with the above. The hair rig would give you more of a chance of connecting with the fish. Also I would head for maybe a size 12 hook instead of 16 on the hair rig. I am not sure if you can tie hair rigs? But if not let me know what line/hooks/size of bait your after and I will make you a few and send them to you free of charge. Thanks to the guys on here, I have now mastered making hair rigs... Which is why I have like 20 of them made up for all different occasions. Would anyone agree its really theraputic making hair rigs?? Or maybe its just me?

I may let you in on a little secret. I have NEVER used worms for fishing! Making me a worm virgin I will post some pictures of my catches (I better not blank LOL) tommorow evening when I get back. With a bit of luck the fish will be plentiful! I will be taking the scales and a tape measure to ensure any ''Beastly'' perch can be documented well. I am popping down tonight and putting about half a tin of corn in, some hemp and also a little bit of groundbait with liquid tutti/scopex sprayed all over it. I may pop down about 7-8am also and get a light bed of bait in the area also. Then when we arrive at about 10/11am the fish should be in the area and feeding/or at least be encouraged to visit the area on patrol routes. I am still unsure on Barbed/Barbless hooks.... If using worms I imagine Barbed would be a better option.

wifey here again not dan, i was a young age of about 15 when dan insisted i had the wrong idea about fishing, and then found it great when school lessons wernt looking interesting to me to sod off on my own and go to a canal with my little rod, then we stopped fishing when i had my first baby started again properly about a year ago, taking both babies with us with me and dan trying to teach our 3yr old how to fish, pretty much means he gets my rod and smacks the water once yanks it out the water and says LOOK I CAUGHT A HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE FISH, saddly fishing is taking a back seat after tomorrow as baby number 3 is due in less than 3 weeks and im a grumpy cow when im cold

Firstly of all thank you so much everyone for the idea's tips. I will certainly be implementing them on Saturday (That is when I am going!) It will be me, my wife and two kids. Although the kids won't be fishing I will have a Feeder rod out, a float rod out. And my wife will have a float rod and possibly a feeder rod also so we can certainly cover some decent ground between us and we can always start of with different baits on each and see which one/area gets the most attention. Apparantly near the Weir there was a number of Carp spotted today all sitting just below the surface. Shockingly there was several Ghost Carp of a good weight spotted and also what appeared to be 8-10 Koi Carp there also??! The person who spotted them (A good friend of mine) said most were bright orange and white, there was one that was nearly all black with flame red speckles on it... I am not sure if there was mainly Koi there, or if they were easier to spot in the water and there was in fact plenty of Common/Mirrors there also.... Nevertheless it has sparked some interest for Saturdays session. Although I will add he said he chucked some bread in and they seemed reluctant to even investigate them so.... Maybe they will be tricky to catch... We shall see! Hey mate, I will get an e-mail over later on, thanks for the support! The area I am considering is: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ie...mp;t=h&z=17 All along ''The Groves'' between the two bridges. I would probably be fishing on the concrete side (Top) as the buggies don't like rough terrain and also the other side has a sandy slope which makes it difficult to land fish safely. Any info you have on this stretch would be highly appreciated. I will also be willing to share any info I have regarding the location. Dan larsagi@yahoo.co.uk I truly believe I have the two best interests in history. Anglers will always stop to help an Angler like myself. Motorcyclists will always stop to help when mine breaks down

I think 3lb Perch are HUGE! Does the weight of Perch depend on the ''Sex'' of the fish? We had a Perch of 1lb 3oz the other week, and then caught a Perch that was marginally under 1lb... Yet the one that weighed less was literally about a third longer than its bigger rival. We did check the scales and they are digital/accurate. So I assume maybe its the sex/build of the fish that often counts? Not so much the size? This may contribute to the ''added weights'' which people make up. They weigh one, it weighs 3lb... If the next one is larger in size it ''Must!'' be a 4lb-er! Clearly not the case!

You may well be right mate. I did see an angler in the A.T who was using an Irn Bru groundbait to catch monster Perch. Sadly I no longer have the paper and cannot find any info on it on the WWW That was in the Cheshire Dee though, not the Scottish one (Like the link seems to be) I may well have a go for them sometime soon. I hate basing things on ''others'' experiences. I think it may be interesting to get out to the water and see what turns up. They are reported to be there in great numbers and I have saw quite a few pictures to back them up.... So in theory if I get the baits out into the water and apply a little patience.. I should land a few nice specimens! In fact I will take a trip down on Saturday and post pictures of what turns up.

I have personally experienced Perch of a good size coming out of the local area's waters commonly. I live in the NW of England and Perch seem to be a species that really thrives around here. I don't just mean in recent years either. I am talking about for 5-10+ years that I know about. I will attempt to explain why I believe Perch of a good size are becoming so common. The main one is these Carp Waters we are seeing dug out literally everywhere. I don't mean so much the ''Commercial'' waters which are fished daily... But more the little side lakes that few know about. Most around here have no stocks of Pike at all, this means Perch are the top of the food chain.... With all these Protein baits for Carp being chucked in literally in bucket loads these predators are thriving on the endless supply of food and security they have. I have actually witnessed Perch bullying Carp away from a swim that contains food... I mean several 2lb Perch vs two or three 15lb Carp! And the Perch win hands down every time. It seems they have mastered how to dominate these waters they live in. They attack just about anything that moves or poses a threat to their food source or security. These Perch are so adapted to Carp baits that the larger Perch take Boilies over maggots any day... In fact if its the big Perch your after you need Boilies or something like 3-4 sweetcorns just to make it worth their while in bothering to try the food you are offering... If not the smaller perch will destroy your baits in minuites. I will also add the trademark ''Lobs/Spinners'' seem to get no attention from these big Perch.. Maybe they are too lazy to chase the food around??? I have no idea, but based on 8 years of fishing this venue I know this is certainly the case in that particular water. I will be honest, even though it is believed that ''Commercials'' will almost certainly produce the next Perch U.K Record. I have not had my biggest Perch from these types of water at all. In fact my PB Perch from a commercial is 2lb 2oz... Which in my eyes was an achievement worth smiling about, especially when I was fishing for Carp/Tench/Bream! My best Perch have come from two venues. 1. When I was 8-15 years old I used to fish here: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ie...mp;t=h&z=20 This is the Shropshire Union Canal. Very overgrown on one side (Like most canals) and back then it didn't have a tow path on the other size making it almost deserted. I fished where the bridge used to be (Thinner section) and had 9 Perch of 2lb over the season, two Perch of 3lb, and 1 Perch of 4lb. Maybe this was the record at the time?? I have no idea, I am not up to date on records ect: and as I was only a little nipper I didn't have the money to afford a disposable camera, let alone pay for it to get developed! (How things have changed with the Digi-Cam!) I wen't down there about 8 months ago after years of not visiting there. I caught a 4lb3oz Perch on a spinner while Pike fishing... Only the one! But it shows they are still around. I honestly believe there would be some 5lb-ers in there. Never caught one from there.... But I believe there probably is... Until someone catches one though it will always remain a mystery. The second place is the River Dee. I know the Dee is packed with 4lb Perch, I know people who have caught multiple 4lb-ers in a single session. Even a few 5lb-ers in there. I believe the Dee holds multiple Perch that are over the U.K record. Here is a little proof to back it up: Have a look at the top left picture (1st Runner up) http://www.tcfmagazine.com/Korum-Challenge/ Description: A feederful of bread crumb and maggots mixed with Irn-Bru with lobworm on the hook lured this super 4lb 3oz perch. The personal-best fish was caught by Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbrightshire-based Crawford Griffiths from the River Dee.

I might have to dig out my trusty maggot feeder than and give it a whirl! The width is sadly 453ft which makes it hard to cast tight to the overgrown side though

Ok, I am off to a stretch of the River Dee I have never fished before. In fact this part of the river is practically un-fished in general and if its saw more than 20 anglers over the past 5 years I would be surprised! This means that the fish have probably never saw a hook and line before, and probably never will again.... Species that I know are there: Large Perch (3-5lb) Carp (From 6lb to 40lb) Tench (Rare to catch in general from here, and tend to be quite small for some reason? 2-4lb) Bream (Shedloads of them are about!) Barbel (Not so common but are found here) They are also reported to be BIG As well as the usual Eels, roach, dace, gudgeon ect: but all reported to be smaller in size. Baits I have are: 1. Boilie (Peach with maplecream) and they are bright orange. and are 15mm 2. Sweetcorn (I have standard and red strawberry corn) 3. Maggots Maggots are not so good for a Large method feeder rig with size 12 hook.... Last time I used maggots on it a small roach was hooked and couldn't move my feeder to give me a bite..... He was ok as I repositioned quickly but I don't like the idea of the smaller baits. What would you guys recommend for baits? River description: Very wide, very deep, slow flowing. In fact with a method feeder a damn good cast would only get it about halfway across. I will also add that one side is man-made (Concrete bank) the other side has lots of overgrown trees but is much shallower along there. Also the overgrown side has poor accessabillity so unless I can find a way to cast double the distance I am stuck for fishing there... Would you recommend middle channel (As far as I can cast?) or trying my best to squeeze into the overgrown side and fish ledger in the margins?

I have no experience with these baits. But it seems to me they would just be a water pollutant? People chucking in spods of these things can only be bad for the fish. I will add however, I am tempted to get a cod liver oil capsule and see if it would catch anything

The only two main fish I have yet to catch are: Zander Grayling The grayling don't appeal to me so much, but the Zander is something I would love to catch. There are reports of them being in the local canal, and I know they are present in the river.... But I have never targeted them! Nearly all my fishing consists of ''General Fishing'' I always fish maggots on float for pretty much anything that moves... And then Corn on feeder rig for the larger Barbel/Perch/Bream/Carp/Tench/Ide I am really hoping next year to do some ''Target fishing'' in which I specifically try to catch a certain species. The species I am likely to target is of course the Zander so I can check it off my list. And the other two would be Tench/Mirror Carp as they are my favourite fish of all time (Especially the Tench!)

Did you need to introduce the Boilies to the river before the fish became confident? Or do they just tend to take them based on the fact they are there and smell good? I have some Peach Boilies with Maplecream but hear that the fish only take them if they are used to seeing them? I have never tried them on the River, but I am really considering giving them a go. The problem is as I fish near a Weir (The higher side) and although the river is very wide/deep/slow moving it does get pretty aggressive most days on high tide and therefore would probably take my boilies upstream by a good distance if they had not been eaten before the tide comes in.... The stretch of river is not a ''Known'' Carp spot and although they are supposed to be there in good numbers, they have not really saw boilies before. Would you recommend hitting it with Boilies? or sticking with the Corn or Worm approach?

Chub: Maggots, Bread, Cheese Paste, Lobworm Tench: Bread, Worms, Sweetcorn, Maggots, Casters Not sure about the Mealworms though! Never used em

''Liked!''

Although I have never used my own Boilies I have recently made myself some. My recipe: Dry Mix: 4oz Wholemeal Flour 4oz Seed and Oat flour (Primarily used for those seeded buns) 1 oz of Protein mix (Used by bodybuilders) ''Casilan'' Wet Mix: 1 Medium egg a blob of red food colouring A dash of liquid Scopex spray Make sure the wet mix is slowly stirred. You don't wan't too much air (Fluffyness) in the mixture as it makes the boilies weaker. Simply mix the wet/dry mix together. Roll into balls and then drop into boiling water for about 40 seconds. The boilies come out looking pretty good. They were not perfectly round, and they did dry with a floury coating on them. This was best resolved by dunking them into the Scopex Spray. I found this dyed the flour bright yellow and enhanced the look of them. The smell was also reasonably strong which I liked! I never used them, they eventually wen't mouldy after 2 weeks (Not quite like the shop ones!) so I would imagine freezing them or making them as you need them would be best. So.... That is how I made some reasonable looking ones. I personally would not make them again though, too much effort involved for something I cannot put much faith in! I never really use them for baiting, just as hookbaits so £8.99 for a large bag often lasts me a couple of years anyway (Probably cheaper than maggots!) as they dont keep falling off the hair rig

A lot of bodies of water were once one unit. Earth movement and water movement has left isolated patches around (Pits) of species. You would be surprised at how many area's that are pretty high now were once below sea level. That was how ''Before man'' pits/lakes and other isolated water sources came to have species in them. We have a small ''lake'' near us.... Its on private land and stocked with a good number of fish.... How did the fish get in there? As a matter of fact it was how the fish didn't get out that is the reason they are still stuck in there! That lake was once the main channel of the River Dee, the Dee moved about half a mile over a long time leaving this deep pit which was once the centre of the river.... The fish have never had a chance to make it out due to the river never coming back that way. Not all cases are like this.... But there is an example of before man was around. Where the river once ran is now a main road called ''Sealand'' note the intentional name! And the road is based along the main channel of the river and each side of the road is a sloped bank which were the rivers margins. Fossils and evidence of fish/water can be found just cm's below the grassy banks. In the ghost strip of this river lies a number of large pits and small lakes which still have species that were trapped in there many years ago. Some remained fish friendly, others became polluted and the species died out.

Most of you on here seem to have very controlled waters??? Our stretch of canal is owned by ''British Waterways'' and although it states on a sign 1 mile up from where I fish you should call to pay a day ticket charge I never have, same with any other angler I know... And I fished it daily for nearly 8 years straight at one point? Apparantly these angling clubs own sections of the Canal near me: Wolverhampton AA, Post Office AC, Dawley AC, British Rail AC, George Carter Ltd AC, Codsall Legionnaires AC, Penkridge Anglers, Swan AC, Brewood AC, Hazeldine AA, Izaac Walton (Stafford) AA, Marston Palmer AS, Market Drayton AC, Fusileer AC, Park AC, Stafford Hospital AC, Hodnet WMC AC, Palesthorpes AS, Crown AC. I have never had a word said by any of them about fishing there. In fact sometimes there is like 50-60 people in a row fishing along there (Must be an AC club comp) and I have gone past them on my bike... Finally found the end angler and slotted 5 meters next to him without a word or anything?? Same with the River... Its owned by the Duke where I fish, and some angling clubs own stretches.... If ever anyone tells us to move we just tell them to P*ss off and its extremely rare anything ever comes of it? One time we had the police come and ask us to move.... We shown him the Rod licenses and said we have permission from the EA and that the River is ''public'' not private.... The officer corrected us, but agreed that as long as the AC wasn't holding a fishing session at the time he saw no reason for us having to move.... In fact he sat with us for about 2 hours speaking about what fish are in there.... It seems rules are stricter elsewhere though??? Is everyones fishing stunted by these AC's?