Wag

Cheers Phone, that looks just the job.

Just acquired a 6/7 weight rod for that very purpose. Never fly fished before, so this summer will be a bit of a voyage of discovery. Not sure that the normal fly type knots are up to the job though, especially backing to fly line - the carp where I fish go to 20+!!!

If you are not too far from March, get your Mum and Dad to go with you to Mill View Tackle. They will sort you out with what you need, and will also be able to give you advice on local waters. Parking is pretty good near the shop too. Great tackle shop:- Mill View Tackle Budgie will sort you a good setup out either way.

Happy to help mate.

Assuming you have a standard Microsoft type keyboard, just hold down the Windows key (the one with the wavy flag symbol) and press the R key - this will give you the new version of the Run/Search box and you can type in whatever program/exe you want in there. Much easier than trying to find it in the start menu. Have a look on the Tinterweb for keyboard shortcuts for Windows, there's loads more useful ones you might want to learn.

Have a look at the Daiwa Twilight 2.25 lb Barbel rods Rob - might suit what you are after. They do them in 2 and 4 piece options. Great slim blank and very well finished. Billy Clarke's had them on offer last time I looked.

I would try to fish balanced tackle for the fish you are targeting and hope that you don't get snapped off on a bigger species, but most cyprinids (chub, bream, roach, carp etc) chomp up snails and mussels into small sharp pieces, so a small hook shouldn't be too much of a problem for them, as long as it isn't trailing a long length of mainline behind it.

I used to do all sorts of things in my teens which I can't imagine doing now (to be honest I'm not sure I can remember how to do some of 'em!) :P

I would do as said and get a matchman type hooktyer for spade ends. You can use them for eyed hooks as well and get a good neat strong finish, you can use the tag end for a hair rig as well. If you can master the Snell knot for spade ends it is brilliant and very strong, but it takes some practice for small hooks. For eyed hooks (and swivels) I usually use a palomar knot - strong as a strong thing that's strong, but only if you can get the line through the eye twice. Otherwise the uni-knot is probably best. I don't find the bloodknot very reliable, but a million fly anglers use it, tucked or not, and seem to manage.

Sounds good to me, I've got a few obscure books that I can review.

Hi Elton, it might help if the book reviews were put in a section of their own. The general fishing threads are getting lost amid all the book reviews, and much as I love reading the reviews, I like to keep up with the other stuff. Just a thought.

Given it's a canal - built for navigation by boats - I would say the boats have the right of way. A bit of common courtesy wouldn't go amiss from the boaters though. A similar issue occurs on a local canal to me, where anglers are constantly moaning at having to ship poles in and out as boaters, walkers or cyclists try to move along the towpath. It's a navigable waterway, specifically built to carry boat traffic, so complaining about boaters wanting to be able to get to and from their boats, and to moor where they are allowed seems a bit rich. If it wasn't for the boats the canal would weed/silt up and there would be nowhere to fish in the first place. The ones who deliberately steer across the waterway to disturb your swim etc are just plain ignorant, but I've met a few anglers who are just as likely to sit opposite and cast into your swim. I'm afraid ignorant to$$ers are something you have to deal with in all walks of life.

Could try here:- Spectre Floats Address: PO Box 2071, Swadlincote, UK, DEL 1AN Tel: 08451201122

Have a look here mate:- Millview Great shop, and these are well made floats - I have a goood selection of their other patterns. Might be a local dealer to you - have a look on here:- Premier floats

Get the Drennan. I bought one last year, and it is now the first piece of tackle I put in my bag. Superb bit of kit. The only thing I would watch is that you don't over extend it.

If you are fishing over gravel or a stony bottom I would look for a strong hook with a slightly in-turned point so it doesn't catch on the stones and blunt. The Guru hooks look quite good, but I've not tried them. I tend to stick with Drennan Super Specialist - they've never let me down. In fact with most things I'd go with Drennan/ESP gear - it all seems well designed and well made.

I'm not a big fan of the high build finish. To get it to work properly you really need a motorised rod finisher that rotates slowly (7 rpm). I like to apply plenty of coats of epoxy to the whippings in thin layers to build up a good finish, but let the whipping show through. Bit old fashioned, but there you go.

I have several pins - a couple of the old Leeds originals in two sizes which get a lot of use stalking and trotting, a Young's Bob James for trotting which is great for Wallis casting, and an old StrikeRite, which I've had from new for over 35 years which is a bit of a winch but perfectly useable. I think if you can produce a reel for around £50 in a dull colour (green, grey, black, khaki whatever) without a line guard with a 4" drum it would hit most of my requirements. If I could get a spare spool for £20-£30 so I can have a couple of different lines available that would be better. If you could make a robust 4.5" - 5" version with ball bearings and a rotating reel mount for sidecasting with braid, as a cheaper alternative to the Ray Walton RollingPin (which is ridiculously expensive at £330), and bring it in under £100, I would buy one straight away. For a removable line guard why not go for a simple loop type, like the attached pic. Best of luck - great to see someone having a go at manufacturing in the UK.

Hi Mark, I've just put a Fuji screw down reel seat on an old DAM qickstick to make it more usable with a centrepin. I also wanted to add another ring to the butt section and move the handle down the rod closer to the butt end as I don't like having a load of unused rod sticking out past the end of my elbow when playing fish. I started by measuring exactly where I wanted the reel to sit then cut back the cork handle to the point where the new reel seat would sit. I then measured the diameter of butt at this point and ordered the right size reel seat from Hopkins and Holloway - it arrived the next day which was a bonus. Being an older rod, the DAM had a butt section diameter of 17mm, so a size 17 DPS-HPS reel seat was a perfect fit. I think the smallest diameter Fuji seats are 16mm, so you may well need to pack out the butt section using rings of masking tape until the new seat is a close fit. Remove the existing rings from the butt section and clean off any old glue or varnish. Mask up the remaining cork handle and the new reel seat well and glue the new reel seat on with plenty of epoxy glue (araldite) Mask the screw down part of the reel seat and glue the EVA foam cover onto the screw down part of the reel seat, also with epoxy glue, and tape the edge tightly with electricians tape to make sure you get a smooth finish once the glue has dried. Once the glue has hardened make sure you you screw the reel mount onto the reel seat BEFORE you whip the rings back on - it won't go on afterwards!

Hi Anderoo, I've been looking for a way of converting these to swimfeeders As a family we get through a good few every year, so I've been saving them from the recycling bin and have a few empty ones to convert. The parts just click together/apart so they are easy to dismantle when empty. Have a look in Boots or whatever - they look just right for some kind of spod/feeder use - I just haven't come up with a suitable design yet

So there won't be any carp then Richard?

Having read mike1234's post on the upcoming changes to one of his favourite venues, I wondered what type of fish would you stock and what rules/bans would you impose if you won the lottery and could design your own fishing lake? I'll let others chip in before I give mine.

No - your just getting old like me

The last time I bought the Angling Times Dick Walker was still writing a column in it! I remember why I stopped buying it now. As a sport we don't do ourselves any favours with all this sensationalism - at least some on here take a more considered view.

Don't they do Hammerite in Cammo?