Wag

This Sneddon research could be highly valuable. Injecting trout with acetic acid (vinegar), saline solution (salt)- all she needs to do now is work out how to get a bit of black pepper and some butter in there and the buggers will be oven ready straight out of the water! How can any serious scientist be surprised that injecting fish in the lips with bee venom and vinegar causes a change in behaviour - No Sh*t Sherlock!!! If Dr Sneddon had asked a group of experienced anglers what they thought would happen if she injected bee venom and vinegar into the lips of trout, I suspect she could have saved herself a whole load of time and money by writing down their answers. No one can be surprised that their behaviour changed. They also showed stress behaviour when areas of skin were heated to 40C - their natural environment is mountain streams and rivers and the Atlantic ocean, how often does that get up to 40C, or even 20C. Assuming the trout were reared in tanks, how natural was their behaviour anyway - they are river fish, and tank reared trout behave differently to wild fish. The control group were injected with saline solution and "handled". Their behaviour didn't change - which would lead me to believe that the sharp needle and handling wasn't a problem for them - Now what does that process remind me of - thats it - ANGLING. Dr Sneddon's own report gives the evidence to support our side of the argument, i.e. following the SAA guidelines for the handling of fish causes them no stress. Providing we don't all rush out and buy a box of Bee venom/vinegar tipped hooks the fish are OK. What would the antis suggest happens to all the stocked fish which will die from starvation due to lack of angler's bait going into the water? I consider myself an environmentalist. I grew up in the country, I've always been a birdwatcher, I love studying wildflowers and wildlife in general. A day spent by the lake or river, even if I don't catch anything, is never a day wasted. But I'm not unrealistic, nature is often cruel, and the countryside is a tough place for animals of any kind to survive, that's what keeps species strong. If we constantly project unreal human interpretations of feelings onto animals (and even plants in some cases - are you out there Charlie?) we lose the plot. As anglers we should be pushing our strong environmental case forward at every opportunity. It's a record we should be proud of. Many rivers, streams, lakes and ponds would be completely unviable if it wasn't for us, and yet we feel defensive. It's about time we woke up and started promoting our sport for what it really is and really achieves. Rant over.

Steve, I think the problem with a lot of scientific research is the "thesis" approach which you are taught as a student, ie. you come up with a theory, (which to be fair is usually based on scientific study) which you then attempt to "prove". If you are a research scientist, you need funding. If someone comes along waving money at you to "prove" their "theory", the temptation must be to accept the challenge. This is a problem across all fields of science, and it's as well to treat all new "proof" with schepticism, and one eye on who funded the research (if you can find out).

I like a good tumble too, but I haven't noticed that my stones have become particularly polished Sorry, but it was a leading question

I did the kitchen with the click together stuff that looks like slate tiles, earlier this year. If you are competent at DIY it's a doddle, providing the floor is clean and level. The thing you will need is a good sharp saw, the stuff the backing is made of is rock hard, but it does cut evenly. Follow the instructions in the pack. You need about 20% more than the area you are covering for wastage, because you need to make sure all the joints are staggered.

I've been using BT for about 3 years now, and apart from the odd slow speed issue in the past (but not for the last year or so) I've had no problems. You can access your e-mail via the web from anywhere, and they provide anti-spam filtering free (which is OK, but doesn't catch everything). To be honest they all seem much of a muchness, and all seem to be around the £15 - £16 mark. [ 01. May 2003, 02:50 PM: Message edited by: Wag ]

About 20 minutes, or until it starts to split and you can see small white shoots on the seeds. If you are using it for groundbaiting it's not that critical to get it spot on, but if you want to use hemp for hookbait try not to overcook it, put some cold water in the pan when about a third of the kernels have split to stop further cooking, but don't throw the water away - you need to keep the hemp wet or it will float, and the water has lots of oils and flavours in that you want in your groundbait. [ 01. May 2003, 09:14 AM: Message edited by: Wag ]

No doubt about the pole's effectiveness Rudd, I watched a guy on Good Friday pull out a fish a chuck all morning on a 14m pole, while the rest of us wag/magged to a resounding blank. He could stick the bait right under an overhanging bush where it would be impossible to cast a float, or even a leger. I'd have liked to have seen him cope with one of the 20lb carp that cruise around there though. It's horses for courses, and you need to use the right gear for the conditions and target species, but there is nothing better than a pole for fine presentation and accuracy.

How can anyone consider having six feet of knicker elastic tied to the end of a big stick proper fishing!!

Thanks very much Nick, you must have been a busy boy.

Have a look at the BBC weather site for your town, the 5 day forecast will give sunrise and sunset times, I usually go by those.

A bloke keeps being pestered by his kids to buy them a pet, so he goes down to his local petshop to have a look. He studies all the various species of animal, but only succeeds in confusing himself. When the assistant asks if he needs any help he explains his predicament - he needs a pet to keep the kids entertained. The assistant recommends a hamster - easy to look after, very friendly and affectionate, and don't need walking. The man decides to take the assistants advice, and to keep the new pet happy he buys the whole package, two hamsters to keep each other company, a cage large enough for them to run around, a wheel for exercise, plenty of nice warm bedding and a good supply of food. When the chap gets home the kids are delighted. They set up the cage and furnish it with nice warm bedding, set up the food and water, and watch the hamsters running around inside the exercise wheel. They go to bed happy and contented. The next morning the man gets up early to go fishing, takes a quick peek into the hamster cage...and they are stone dead on the floor. My God what shall I do! I know, I'll ring the petshop for advice, with any luck i'll sort this out before the kids wake up. So he rings the petshop and explains what's happened. The assistant says there's nothing much he can do, but they have got a couple more hamsters he can have as a replacement. The man agrees to pop down to the petshop for them before the kids get up, but what should he do with the dead ones - if the kids find them they'll be heartbroken. The petshop assistant recommends the man chops them up, mixes them with a pound of sugar and a pint of water, then boils them for 30 minutes, before burying them in the garden. The man is puzzled, but assuming it helps stop them smelling, does as he has been advised. His deception works, and the kids don't notice the replacement pets, but when the man gets up to go fishing again a few days later he notices a bunch of daffodils growing where he buried the deceased pets. Quickly he rushes to the phone and calls the petshop. The assistant listens to the mans story with amazement, and tells him....... . . . . . "That's very strange, you usually get TULIPS FROM HAMSTER JAM!!!" Sorry folks. [ 15. April 2003, 07:33 PM: Message edited by: Wag ]

Keep an eye out for the lions, they get hungry around lunchtime

LMAO Similar to the Gynaecologist who decorated his hall, stairs and landing.........through the letterbox. [ 15. April 2003, 07:08 PM: Message edited by: Wag ]

Nothing new there mate!

14st and rising. I started watching what I ate after Christmas, and put 1/2 a stone ON in six weeks, so I've abandoned that idea. Most of these chairs seem to be rated at 18st, so I've a way to go yet. By the way DG, where did you get the picture of my mother-in-law

Weight is the biggest consideration, and while the JRC Specialist and the Fox chair is cheaper than the TH Classic, for only another tenner I'd rather go for the lighter one. Once again, thanks to everyone for the response - but I expected no less on AN.

Looks like the chair for me then. I've seen it on AA Angling for £40 + postage (£4) which is a tenner cheaper than anywhere else I've seen, so I'll get one ordered for the start of the season. Thanks for the advice lads.

quote: it's light and easily and quickly folded .... ace for legging-it when you spy the bailiff in the distance, DG - don't know anywhere that does cheap running shoes as well do you?

Because I'm getting old and knackered, I'm thinking of buying a JRC Terry Hearn Classic Chair. Has anyone here got one, if so, what do you think? Or can anyone recommend anything else? [ 12. April 2003, 02:30 PM: Message edited by: Wag ]

Rudd, the drain I've pointed Zappa to runs into the Humber estuary, about 50 yards away, so I couldn't agree with you more. It's just that the Humber is a bl**dy big place to fish, and in 10 years living there I hardly ever caught an eel from the the main estuary (plenty of codling and flatties), but could catch a few eels for tea by fishing in the drain for an hour or two before school (I know - they are a much diminished species now, but this was 25 years ago).

Much impressed bitsbobs :cool: Although I do Server and desktop support for a living, I'm hopeless with all that Excel macro stuff. I always tell our users I'm a bit like Schumacher's mechanic - I can put his car together and make it go fast - just don't ask me to drive it!

Steve, when you decide which way you want to go either PM me or send me an e-mail and I'll give you a contact number, then if you get stuck I'll try and help. Unlike Gray we can normally get a 20 workstation network up and running in a couple of hours , on the other hand we do it for a living. If I can't help I have six compadres who are bound to know the answer (although it's pretty straightforward stuff).

Glad to be of assistance. The bill's in the post.....

You ladies weren't supposed to be looking....now you know our secrets...damn...foiled again lads. :confused:

You might find it in Control Panel/Add/Remove Software/Windows Components, if so you can remove it from there. However it is sometimes hidden, so you need to:- Open Windows Explorer, C:WINDOWSinfsysoc.inf Substitute C: if Windows XP is installed in other drive letter. Open the sysoc.inf by notepad, find the line under [Components] section as following: [Components] msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7 Remove the "hide" and change it like this. [Components] msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,,7 Save the file. Open "Add or Remove Programs", uninstall it as usual.