Hopinc

As a mostly fly and lure fisherman, pursuing predatory fish, I hate barges. It usually takes hours for the silt they stir up to settle. If I can I prefer to be on the water long before they start up, and have been known to "run" in front of them, driving from one spot to another, in order to fish in clearer water. I have often wondering how long it took match/coarse fisherman's pegs to come back on line after one of these things has gone through the swim? They certainly don't improve my style of fishing and are particularly bad in autumn when the dropped leaves have not had chance to sink and stick to the bottom. Good luck with your outing Roland. I hope you get some decent fish. Post some pictures if you do.

Any chance of a few pictures of the rod please? What reel and line are you going to be using?

Hi all, I fell out with one of my two local angling clubs - Todmordern, Lancashire, some years back for doing exactly the same thing. I have never fished their waters since, and never will. It broke my heart. What these blithering idiots cannot seem to understand is that there is a natural balance between predators and prey fish. The Pike, Perch and Chub clear up all the injured, diseased, weak and dying fish. If predatory fish are removed, the whole ecology of the water system deteriorates. I can't believe that this kind of stupidity still exists today. I've signed.

Hi Guys, Following on from my recent post, and the resultant discussion regarding how our Rod License fee is spent, I contacted the Environment Agency to get the latest information. Contrary to what I had been led to believe by one of the popular angling papers I found them to be very forthcoming with any information I asked for. These are the figures I received from Garry Jones, Fisheries Advisor, Environment and Business, and with whose kind permission I reproduce herewith for your interest: (See attached document, which unfortunately does not reproduce properly on the forum) A final word from Gary: "These are allocations, and the actual amounts spent on work done may be slightly different. An example is where we have a target to increase licence sales, then each area sets its programme using a combination of licence enforcement, publicity and customer contact. The total amount spent will be the same, but the proportions across activities may vary." Rod_License_Fee_2010_to_2011.doc

These items would form the crux of my criteria for choosing a new centrepin reel: True running - absolutely no spool wobble. Low Start Up Inertia - how little weight is required on the line to start the spool into motion. Low friction - indicated by how long the spool will spin (please note to test a true centre pin, which uses solid bronze or sintered bearings, it must be spun whilst horizontal, not vertical. Modern ball bearing versions will spin both horizontal and vertical). Ease of removal of the spool - for cleaning and maintenance. Appearance - how good does the reel look. A nice sounding clicker - which should also be easy to engage/disengage. Physical weight - would it balance my favourite trotting rod. BTW- you could add Adcock Stanton to your list of good pin reels.

Hi Stooby, I have Power Pro on all my multiplier reels, it lasts for years. Braid is unaffected by UV rays so it does not break down in sunlight like nylon monofilament does. One of it's biggest advantages, apart from breaking strain to diameter ratio, is that it does not stretch (Nylon stretches by approx 20%). You can feel everything that is going on with your lure and your strikes are far more positive. Imparting action to baits such as spoons and jerkbaits is also much easier. Use a Palomar knot to attach your leader swivel to your main line. Braid should be chosen relative to it's diameter, not it's breaking strain. Twelve pound to 15lb b.s. nylons are good choices for Pike, so correspondingly use 30-50 lbs braid, which is about the same diameter. For jerkbaiting you should step up to 80lb b.s. braid to avoid snap off's on casting out. Another braided line that I have just started using but I feel I can recommend is Fox SoftSteel. It is nice to handle and a bit cheaper than most braids. I hope this helps. Tight lines.

Hi Stooby, Since you haven't chucked lures before it's not surprising that you had a few mishaps. No matter how experienced you are you can still expect to lose a few lures every year - it's just part of the game. Trouble is they are getting quite expensive these days. If you use braided lines in the 30-50lbs range (up to 80lbs if jerkbaiting) you should be able to retrieve almost all of your lures. Either the lure will come free or the hook will straighten with these breaking strains of line. Just make sure that you don't use your rod or reel to pull the lure. Either wear a strong glove or wrap a towel round your hand before you wrap a loop of braid around it and pull hard. Even with a glove or towel it will still feel like the line is cutting through your hand. Good luck.

Stooby, Don't worry about it, the first time out is always your worst organised. You will soon get into your stride. I haven't fished for 12 months and I felt like I was all fingers and thumbs when I took to the water for the first time last week. My casting was off, so too was my abality to judge how much line had left the reel before I feathered it. My score for 1.5hrs fishing on my local cut: Lures lost= 1 Drop shot weight lost= 1 Traces chewed up 1 Hooked branches and reeds= x3 Time spent freeing a spinner from the landing net= 10 minutes and several pricked fingers. Pike landed= 1 x6.5lbs Bream landed= 1x dustbin lid (accidently foul hooked in the tail, so this fish does not count). Annoyance level= 3 On the plus side it was a lovely day.

I like to be open minded about these things. This reel might just be the best thing since sliced bread, then again it might not! There is only one surefire way to find out - get someone else to buy one first then try it yourself :D Have a good weekend all. Tight lines

I was surfing the internet and came across this fascinating Strike Technology Live Action fixed spool reel aimed specifically at lure fishermen. I am not sure I would buy one, but I would definitely like to have a closer look, it certainly is different: http://www.ngcsports.com/moreinfo/live-act...ishing-reel.cfm Apparently they are available in black, green or red. If anyone has one, or purchases one, please post your opinions on this forum.

Hi Guys, Just been fishing for the first time this year (1.5 hrs on the Rochdale Canal). I started off drop shotting with the hope of getting the odd Perch. Being so bright it was a pretty much a lost cause, even in the darker areas under and alongside bridges and locks - nothing showed. Switching to a spinner and moving to a different location, the first fish I hooked was a bit of a surprise (foul hooked actually). A massive dust bin lid of a Bream. Despite this fish not counting, as it was hooked near the tail fin, it gave the Prowla Drop Shot Rod a good workout . Changing to a small red and yellow "Dardevle" spoon I quickly hooked into a nice 6.5lb'ish Jack Pike, in superb condition, which tested both line and rod. This fish was caught fair and square this time . I can report that the Prowla makes a very effective spinning rod, that has a strong backbone to put pressure on bigger fish. The line I was using, also for the first time, was 10lb 4oz Fox SoftSteel braided line - I like it and can recommend it. More anon.

Mostly 1) Except, that I always know what fish I am targeting. Sometimes I get the odd surprise though. Once I catch the first fish I relax and go with the flow.

Bumble Bees - excellent suggestion. These strange looking surface popping flies that I have pictured below will drive them crazy. If you aren't into fly fishing you could use a clear bubble float, half filled with water, to supply the weight for casting. This would also work for the Bumble Bee, or any fly pattern for that matter. Leave 18in of line between the float and fly. No doubt you are familiar with Bubble floats, but if not they come in various shapes and sizes, from round to oval.

Summer is the best time for surface baits for Chub in my opinion. I can't see them being that interested in winter, although I must admit I have never tried them in the colder months. If you want to try something a bit different, you could float one of these beyond a likely looking spot - say under overhanging trees, and retrieve with a jerking motion. They do work well - see John Wilson's fishing program where he uses floating mice to very good effect. No need for a fly road, a float rod set up works just fine, although I would recommend the use of braided lines for this method.

That's probably true. I don't need anything more detailed than that. The up to date information that I have asked for from the EA has been requested in a similar simplified manner.

Hello Worms, You haven't really upset me, I just felt that we were going round in circles going over things that were not really relevant to what I wanted to know, i.e. how the license fee is actually spent. I never said that we did not get something in return for our money. I wasn't really suggesting it was a bad deal, just that we should not accept it at face value & question if we were getting the best for our money. I did think that your comments about me wanting jam on it, or as your friend suggested marmite, weren't particularly helpful or warranted. In retrospect I guess that the title of my original post was ill chosen, which I regret, and I would have changed it almost immediately after posting, if I could have edited it. Since my last visit to this thread I have been pursuing an enquiry though the EA about last years accounts. So far I have had a couple of emails, but have not got any factual information. I am hoping that I will have an answer soon, but it could be up to 20 days according to the information sent to me. If/when I recieve the data I will post it on this forum.

Whilst we are talking about braids, I thought I might impart a sure fire way to remove birds nests from baitcasting reels. This works with any type of line, not just braid. Unfortunately I cannot claim credit for this idea. Firstly draw off as much loose line as you can until the drum won't rotate anymore. Place your thumb on top of the spool, apply pressure, and than turn the reel handle one revolution (this might have to be done several times). Draw off the loose line until the spool jams again. Repeat previous steps until all the birds nest has been removed. How it works:- The birds nest is caused by overrunning of the spool which creates loose coils, jamming the spool. Using the method described, the coils can be tightened, and progressively more line drawn off until the jam is cleared. It's brilliant, it works and it means that you don't spend hours picking the line apart. I hope someone finds this useful.

Nylon has a stretch rate of approximately 20%, whereas braid has none. This results in the angler being able to feel exactly what is going on at the lure end. You get so much information transmitted down the line that it is possible for someone with only a little experience to determine if they are touching bottom, or if they have got the attention of a predator. I use braid exclusively on my baitcasting reels for lure fishing. I like the Power Pro in the 30 & 50lb breaking strains. Recently I purchased some Fox SoftSteel, which I am also quite impressed with but have not used it extensively yet. There is no reason why it's use should be restricted to lure fishing, it works well for float fishing too. Braid can be more subject to abrasion damage than nylon, but its advantages vastly outweigh it's drawbacks. It is expensive, it can loose it's colour with prolonged use (can be easily replaced with waterproof pens - Sharpie's for instance). Certain knots work better than others, preferably the none-strangling type. I always tie on my traces using a very simple to tie Palomar knot, which has never let me down. It is thinner than monofilament for the same breaking strain and therefore cuts through the wind and water easier. On the downside of this, if you don't feather your cast, the wind could pick up on the lighter braided line and draw off the reel an excessive amount of line. I have just spooled the Fox line (10lbs 4oz) and some Zander Pro braid (4lbs) onto two spools of my Shakespeare Mach 3 XT reel, which I intend using for drop-shotting. I have not tried the Zander Pro line yet so I can't offer any opinions. Oh yes, one other thing that it almost guarantees, should you get a lure hung up in weeds you will be able to yank it free. Please wear a strong glove to do this or wrap a towel, or similar, around your hand before you get hold of the line. Never use the rod or reel for extraction purpose. Try some braid, I think you will find it a revelation.

Hi Anderoo, Came across this advert on Ebay for the Fox drop shot rod in the 4.5 to 28g range, with free express delivery. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Brand-New-Fox-Rage-D...223099143267462 I am not sure if this is the exact rod you are looking for, but I hope it is of help to you.

A lot of fluorcarbon lines are known to have a weakness in knot strength if the wrong style of knot is chosen. There has been a fair bit of controversy over the use of the Palomar knot, but according to a lot of European and American drop shotters it works just fine so long as there is no twist in the knot when it is cynched up, the line is wet whilst doing it and both ends of the tag are pulled evenly together. FYI- I have always used the Rio Flouroflex for fly fishing and it has never let me down. Nice to hear from you Steve. Trouble is there is no point telling us about a rod that you and "Caliber Rods" used to make - that is unless you are planning on making some more? If you do let me know. I remember handling one at the LAS fair at Derby Uni. some years back and was mightily impressed with it. I regret not buying one when I had the chance. BTW, Andy Jubb of Harris Sportsmail told me recently that Greys make something very similar to Steve's spinning rod in their Specialist range. It might be worth checking out.

I came across this video on You Tube the other day. It's not in English (German), but I thought you might enjoy it:

Hi Anderoo, that sounds good. I don't use ledger weights myself so I am not very familiar with them. Let us know how you get on with them?

Hi Anderoo, Yes, they look fine for your purpose. I believe that these swivels are actually designed for casting into your own weights, the cross knurling on the swivel body would suggest that. The reason that I chose to use tungsten alloy weights is that I don't want to risk leaving lumps of lead behind in the canals I am going to fish, or in the rivers where there is a higher chance of snagging between rocks. I could be way off the mark, but I get the impression that you are thinking of using lead. I thought that the use of lead weights had been banned for freshwater fishing in the UK, and that only non-toxic ones should be used. Someone please correct me if I am wrong. Tungsten has some advantages, because it is denser than lead, the weights can be smaller and slimmer, and I understand that they make more noise on entry into the water, thus alerting predatory fish. The disadvantage is of course cost. I found that by purchasing them from the States, this cost could be vastly reduced.

Hi Guys, In answer to JV44's question, no it's is not essential to have a rod labeled "drop shot," however they do have a rather specific action, having a very fast robust tip leading to a strong backbone. The Greys Prowla Drop Shot that I have for instance has a casting weight of between 7g and 28g - that is a much larger range that you would normally find on a spinning rod. Most spinning rods in my experience have a more through action, and lack that all important sensitive tip. Drop Shot rods usually have cut away handles too, allowing the user to feel the blank directly, this transmits what is happening to the lure more efficiently as the line can be trapped against the blank with the forefinger. They are designed to work with braided lines also (although that is true of many rods these days). As far as the use of swivels go, I personally wont be using any. The reason is that a true drop shot weight is designed to be easily moved about the line in order to adjust fishing depth quickly and easily - no knotting. I have attached a picture of a tungsten drop shot weight that shows the custom formed top of the swivel link. To use this you just slide the line through and lift it up into the narrowed portion to lock it into place. I got a delivery of the little shads shown today, these are made by Quantum in the States. The last image shows a soft wire 15lbs trace that I rigged up for drop shotting just in case I also draw the attention of a Pike. Regarding how fish react to these things - have a look on the internet where you will find some very interesting videos on drop shotting. I watched one the other day of a pack of perch having a go at one of these shad lures. They just couldn't resist it. I can't see why they shouldn't be just as effective for Chub.

Those full accounts your refer to, aren't full accounts. A dumb reference without a break down for money spent on "fisheries" is neither use nor ornament. Yes, I did request the information I wanted details - something your balance sheet does not convey. The video (which may be out of date) does for the period of time it references. For that I am grateful. Who is trying to dissociate anything, I am not? I will say this for the very last time: ALL I WANTED TO KNOW IS HOW THE LICENSE FEE IS SPENT - end of story! Of course it's not, but as has been pointed by another respondent, the rod license is aimed specifically at anglers - not boaters, not joggers, cyclists or anyone else. More snide comments, dear me, you just can't resist can you? As for me dismissing the figures, I still think that the £38.6M was not used for what you think it was used for. After all it is more than the whole of the budget for the year mentioned in the video, of which only £9M was spent on fisheries. It just does not make sense that that figure would be multiplied by a factor of more than x4? As far as I am concerned this discussion is at an end. I got some enlightenment into how the rod license fee is spent, and that is all I was after. Thank you for your help gentlemen.