larsagi2010

I am up for the challenge, I think it would be great fun! I got corks for flowing water floats, and matches for stillwater!

Reasons I use quiver-tip with bite alarms are as follows: 1. I take the kids with me, it enables me to see to them and be instantly alerted to any kind of movement of the baits in the water. 2. If you need a slash, you can be alerted and pee all over your pants while scrambling back to the rod 3. I find that a good sensitive bite alarm will often pick up bites before the quiver-tip moves, or sometimes pick up bites the tip doesn't even register. 4. In winter conditions the bite alarm gives you the edge over a quiver-tip moving in the wind. Normally if the tip is being blown about a little I cannot see the little vibrations, and small twitches... The bite alarm registers these and I can be more prepared. 5. I find that the bite alarm screaming off is quite an adrenaline raising part of fishing.... Gives an edge over the tip just bending round. 6. You can set the alarms and do some watercraft, its surprising how many people are looking at their quiver-tip or float while masses of huge Carp are swimming 10 meters away too their left.... Downsides..... 1. Alarms can be annoying to other anglers.... Especially when theirs is going off and your getting sweet F.A in your swim! 2. It can be considered ''Lazy'' as some people take the alarms and let them do everything while they lie down on a £68757 carp chair 3. It doesn't require as much skill, you can be sniffing boilies, playing with matches.... Even reading a book... While the gear does everything for you, like telling you when the fish is on..... ''Ear fishing''

Due to loads of local people not purchasing Rod licences I decided to send the following e-mail. My E-Mail: I am located in Cheshire and have been fishing this area for no less than 12 years. I have always had a license with me when fishing, however I am starting to doubt the reasons for purchasing such an expensive piece of card! All I ever seem to see over recent years is Anglers fishing with no rod licenses at all. In my 12 years of fishing (Shropshire Union Canal, Lower Ridge Fisheries, River Dee and more) I have never yet saw a bailiff on the banks! Its no wonder so many people are not purchasing Rod Licences as the bailiffs are so rare they can get away with it in this area. I have always purchased my License knowing that my money is benefiting the surrounding bodies of water, and the life they sustain..... I don't mind that at all! However, of 27 anglers last week I and 2 others were the only ones who had purchased a license... Next year I assume the price will rise again?? Me and my partner will spend between £50-£60 while they once again get away with it and laugh at me for ''Funding the baillifs christmas party'' Do people ever patrol the waters any more? or are they any plans to start introducing more bailiffs to the waters around Cheshire?? I am more than happy to support the E.A in capturing some of these illegal anglers by any means possible, as it is unfair to myself as a paying angler, and others who stay on the correct side of the law. The E.A response Dear Sirs Thank you for your e-mail regarding rod licences. Annually we check around 160,000 rod licences. That means, on average, every 3 minutes an angler gets their licence checked. We target these checks to catch the greatest number of evaders. Where you fish will influence how often you see a fisheries bailiff. We spend our resources wisely and target the waters where there is the highest rod licence evasion. All waters are visited at least once a year and where we receive reports of unlicensed fishing the number of patrols are stepped up. If you fish in club waters you are less likely to have your licence checked, as many clubs will insist on seeing a current licence before issuing membership. This practice is less usual at day ticket waters and subsequently they will be patrolled more often. Please report illegal fishing to our 24 hour freephone hotline on 0800 80 70 60. This hotline is open 24 hours a day and can deal with your report straight away. You can remain anonymous if you so wish. The maximum possible fine for fishing without a licence is £2,500, although the exact amount will be decided by the magistrates. I trust this information is of use to you. If you have any further queries do let us know, as we would be happy to help. Does anyone know how accurate this response really is? In particular the ''All waters are visited at least once a year'' statement.

Bait????

I think the EA made Gaffs illegal to protect their bailiffs It must be horrible being a bailiff around here...

I was watching a ''Winter Carp'' video a few weeks ago. They were explaining that having a sensitive bite alarm (Ideally a vibration setting) is vital in the winter due to slow moving intelligent Carp. Especially when you are using the bolt rig. It also showed some examples using splitscreen of a Carp taking the bait, and the rod tip... It was quite impressive what the Carp could get away with without alerting the angler! On one of them the Carp sucked in a 15mm Boilie, then proceeded to shake his head for about 8 seconds on the spot until the boilie fell out! The rod didn't even vibrate as the 5 inch hooklength gave the Carp more than enough line to freely try and eject the bait... What was nuts is the same Carp then recognised which one was the hookbait from his experience, and mopped up the 7-8 free Boilies which has been put in using PVA string around it!!! With a little winter wind on the banks I imagine it would be solid to notice a reasonable portion of the ''Bigger'' carp bites.... They then went on to demonstrate the float. Although it makes it harder for the Carp to go undetected, the winter wind made subtle bites ones again more harder to spot. He was also saying the Carp prefer the deeper water on the bottom, and as most waters go deeper as you leave the margins, your float is also a fair distance away restricting vision of the float... A bigger float means more resistance, which means more dropped baits.... So they both do seem to have their pro's/con's I personally prefer both methods equally! Although I do find I get more Carp on the bank using the Bolt Rig.... I now use, One bolt rig (Bite alarmed) and a float rig in summer or (bearable weather), And two Bolt rigs in winter when I prefer to cast two rods out, and keep toasty while the indicators do the work... It also enables me to enjoy the surroundings a little more as I have the freedom to look away from the rods at times.

I too would have guessed Human.... But surely rather than risk being spotted doing such a thing, and for freshness/comfort in this weather, they would just chuck the fish/animal into a bag and take it right home???? Unless there was any evidence of a fire nearby?? Maybe the meat was prepared/cooked on the bank?? Also the cuts don't look neat enough..... Wierd one!

That is mainly the type of setup I have. Normally 2 rods, but sometimes 3 of em all on Bolt-Rigs.... And due to the fact I take my two boys, 2 and 3 years old I often am reaching into the carrier bag for Biscuits or something, or seeing to one of them..... Also I notice most Carp take the baits when I am re-loading one of the other feeders

Interesting you mention: The point was to show how little the EA staff know About 3 months ago we called the EA to a lake in which there was thousands of fish gasping on the surface due to oxygen starvation. Now don't get me wrong the lady from EA was quick to open her laptop and drop all kinds of ''Probes'' ect: in the lake to take readings.... For the purpose of her job she had to fill in some paperwork documenting the fish that could be seen ''dead'' on the surface, and the fish that could be seen in difficulty. Some ''sod'' has removed her species picture cards from the file so she had to rely entirely on me and another angler to tell her that the dead fish were mainly Roach and Bream.... And that the Perch/Carp were suffering the most..... She said ''Which ones are the perch?? The ones with the stripes??'' Made me laugh!

I am off to the lakes tommorow for some Carp fishing..... Providing they are not still iced that is!

I have been getting confused...... When feeder fishing I fish one of two ways when its on the rests.... 1. I have the clutch set to the line breaking strain. So in theory its quite firm to pull off, which means when I get a take from a Carp the swinger goes up and then the rod starts to bend.... If I didn't grab the rod (Having a slash or something ) it would probably end up going into the water.... 2. I set the clutch to pay off line with practically no resistance.... Which means the fish can take like 200m of line without the rod budging from the rests...... I see method 2 being used more often on TV, especially with multiple rods or long sessions (Night fishing).... I however find that its hard to use this method as when a fish is running on the bolt rig.... If you lift/strike the clutch just pays off loads of line meaning you in essence have not actually lifted into the fish.... Then its a case of adjusting the clutch while playing the fish without overtightening it and risking a line break.... Do they use method 2??? And perfect clutch control while playing fish over time??? Or is there a special reel which allows you to set it to pay off line and when you strike or flick a switch or something it goes to your pre-set clutch settings??? Sorry to sound like a n00b but its confused the crap outta me!

Cheers for all the kind words! Unfortunately my test yesterday didn't go as planned.... I didn't fail... But the DSA cancelled it due to bad weather So I now have to wait for them to rebook it for me, then I can begin worrying again about the test date

Sounds familiar! It was the fact the car kept going in a straight line despite my effort to slight turn the steering wheel in the equivalent manor to my handlebars.... Oh he panicked! LOL

I normally just go in safety boots so I can offer little help with the foot-ware in question.... I will however add, My dad and I used to go to Army & Navy, they sold what we called ''Carpet Socks!'' They were normally bright red or purple... Excellent socks and work REALLY well with any heavy duty foot-ware. They prevent rubbing, keep you really warm, also prevent moisture getting in from leaky boots..... And the comfort they provide is excellent... I will try and find some when I next go into town and post them over.

I have to second the Pringles! Nomnomnomnomnomnomnomnom!!

I thought it smelt like Cream Soda crossed with a hint of Vanilla, and maybe a little sweetcorn juice.

I found something interesting while Pike fishing about 2 weeks ago. While casting my lures out into the River Dee (Quite an unfished stretch may I add) I felt a tug and all of a sudden the line went slack (I thought I had hooked a snag in the water) When I had reeled in my lure I found an odd item on the end! It was a small rubber shad similar to this one: I found something interesting while Pike fishing about 2 weeks ago. While casting my lures out into the River Dee (Quite an unfished stretch may I add) I felt a tug and all of a sudden the line went slack (I thought I had hooked a snag in the water) When I had reeled in my lure I found an odd item on the end! It was a small rubber shad similar to this one: http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ...EGX-DYDKXv63NQ_ Whoever had used it had almost used this shad like a hair rig..... And about 3-4 inches from this hair rigged shad was a HUGE barbed hook.... When I say huge I mean bigger than my hand! In fact I would say the shank of the hook was about 5-6 inches long!!! The thickness of the hook was literally like a pencil! I assume it had hooked a snag and I had pulled it the snag off dragging my lure past it..... I would dread to think what state a Pike would have been in if he had of swallowed something of that size... Also the lure had no wire trace! Just 6-8 inches of Braided line....

wifey here, it would be quite nice if his insurance would only be about 1700, he is being quoted just under 3000 for every car pretty much, yet we got a quote for me for the same cars and it would be about 4-500 in total yet i would make a terrible driver i get road rage with the prams

Couldn't agree more. Back when I was just starting out at the age of 6-12 I would often be found on the local canal.... My gear... A small cane rod, a mitchel reel older than me (Which is now vintage!) A simple stick float and 1/4 pint of maggots on a size 16... I would fish about 2-3ft out (On the margin) fishing about 2ft deep catching shedloads of Perch/Dace/Roach/Ruff/Gudgeon/Chub... Maybe the odd eel! Those were the days Now... I moved to Carp/Tench ect: and started hitting the bigger fish.... And invested in bite alarms/feeder rods ect: I have to be honest though, I love putting the feeder rods away from time to time, getting out a £6.99 telescopic rod and maggot bashing for a few hours on the canal... Love it!

Ok, so I have been fishing for a good number of years (Recently got back into it) In order for me to go fishing at my local commercial. I have to walk about 3mins to the bus stop.... Get a bus to the other side of my housing estate, to then get another bus about 3-4 miles... To then walk for about 15 mins down a really steep hill just to get to the bank! When coming back from my commercial I am faced (After a long days fishing) with this really steep hill again Also not only does the bus take a long time to get there and entail some pretty tough walking..... It also means I am very limited to what gear I can take with me, due to the bus.... What I can carry ect: This means that a comfortable chair is out the question... As are rod pods, bivvies and so on..... Its a worse situation with the larger gravel pits that take about 2 hours to get to (1 hour on bus, 1 hour of pure walking!) Well, on Tuesday I am doing something that should change my fishing for the better! I am sitting my Practical Driving test!!! I already own a 125cc motorbike, but I am very limited on its storage..... So the car should be an amazing edition to my fishing! I already have a Ford Focus ST eyed up for hire (£56 for 3 days) for if I pass on Tuesday, This will keep me going for a few days until I can get myself a nice car insured Wish me luck peeps!

I am up at 4am on Sunday preparing for my first day of Pike fishing with dead-baits! Only ever used lures up until this day...... And as I am having little luck using them correctly due to the cold I have decided it would be better to get sheltered up with a nice warm flask and let the Pike come to me Location... Shoppy canal

Hello, I am not familiar with the Gardener ATT's.... However I know the Fox EOS-R's are fantastic alarms and really do offer good quality. To be honest I would head more towards the cheaper alarms, you can get some really good quality alarms these days for reasonable prices, and from my experience many work just as well.... That is of course my (Tight wad) opinion But to answer your question the Fox alarms are decent products.

I prefer micro-barb simply because it results in more landed fish (Inexperienced with playing larger fish) However the rules of my local commercial mean I have to use barbless anyway....Besides the barbless are easier to get out of my t-shirt/shoes/trousers/landing net so... Sweet!

http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx173/r...smoking_911.jpg :lol:

I did go to Egypt once. I came off the boat and needless to say I didn't need to look around for things to purchase, they handed me an egyptian bag and filled it with loads of random items before telling me the cost of it all! I have heard of pressure selling, but this was shocking! LOL They kept saying ''Come on, its Fisher Price!''??? I can only assume they meant ''Asda Price?''