The Diamond Geezer

Thanks for that extra info, Chris. I have of course been past the shop in Thatcham but have never been in there. Always gone to Ron's for good deals (non-rip-off) and top-drawer advice BTW, Chris, do you happen to know if Peter Drennan still owns The Wilderness stretch of the Kennet? DG [ 19. April 2004, 12:38 PM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

quote: Originally posted by Chris Plumb: Field and Stream closed at Xmas (Ron the owner died last autumn. But all is not lost it recently reopened as Newbury Bait & Tackle! Chris Many thanks for that info, Chris. Sorry to hear about Ron .. he was a top bloke ... years of experience, and a major player in Kintbury AA from what I remember. Hard to replace, but let's hope the new owner/shop become as good as Ron. But as johnclarke lives not far from there, he'll most likely have known that info already? Strange he didn't comment on it? DG

quote: Originally posted by Andy Macfarlane: I see...I thought leisure batteries were something 'her indoors' needed when her man can't perform. ... yup & you can get them at Poundland

quote: Originally posted by Bobt: DG,Many thanks I will keep an eye on that reel and put a bid in,problem could be inport duty,have been stung once ordering from Cabelas,depends what mood the custom chap is in. I'll let you know how I get on. Bob. Cabela's are bandits anyway as far as their shipping costs go .... 40% of the cost of the goods!! Give me a break :mad: The eBay guy can deal with you directly and may even send (it to) you (as) a gift ...nudge, nudge, wink, wink DG [ 19. April 2004, 07:46 AM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

quote: Originally posted by johnclarke: How do you know all this? You don't even live here! But thanks. Well, I've got one of these new-fangled things called a car , so that means I can leave my penny-farthing bike at home and travel around .. down the M4, and then the A4 . I've even been further than Hungerford .... even abroad How do you get to Hungerford from Newbury, then? Walk on water i.e. along the canal from that free stretch in the middle of Newbury where you normally fish DG [ 19. April 2004, 03:24 PM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

quote: Originally posted by GlennB: I notice people on Ebay happily selling brand new John Wilson Avon quiver systems, and similar, for not much more than half retail price. Is the retail markup so huge that these prices are reasonable In a word ...... YES In the UK RRP means Recommended Rip-off Price, don't~cha know DG [ 18. April 2004, 10:08 PM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

The thing is, in España, the bass are only of the pequeño variety ___________ This tiddler's from near Zaragoza ... good for use as live-bait but not much else DG [ 18. April 2004, 10:04 PM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

quote: Originally posted by captain cojones: are there any waters in the u.k that have black bass? we have them here in spain, and they are the best thing since sliced bread. or should i say beer!! Surely you mean that they are los cojones del pero Sliced bread is mierda DG [ 18. April 2004, 09:49 PM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

quote: Originally posted by Pangolin: The RRP on the Prodigy barbel is £99: I guess I might get it cheaper if I shop around. I do normally pay around fifty quid for a rod, though. My last purchase, a Daiwa Sensor carp rod, cost £33, and it's a lovely piece of kit! I didn't mean to imply that you're a tight-wad. There's nothing wrong and everything right about being careful with your money. That way you don't get ripped-off. You can definitely get the Prodigy rods for much less than the Recommended Rip-off Price, if you shop around. Otherwise, like I said, have a look at Masterline's equivalents. Your Daiwa sounds a steal at that price, so maybe that's your best bet i.e. to get another one of the same. DG [ 18. April 2004, 09:42 PM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

DG P.S. Newt, what main species do y'all fish for? [ 18. April 2004, 06:39 PM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

quote: Originally posted by Pangolin: Re: Grey's Prodigy barbel rod : I need a new feeder rod, and this one, if I bought it, would be twice the price of any other rod I own. I'd appreciate a second opinion. I rate these rods and own three (one barbel & two carp). I paid a tad under 80 quid each (brand new) ... does this mean that your other rods cost less than 40 quid? If you're worried about the price, have a look at the JW MAsterline equivalents. DG

there r loadsa places dpends wot u want

Well, lure-wise, and in the absence of other guidance from ANers even in the USA, off my own bat, I have suggested that they get [& for me too ] a) Some top-water lures: Jitterbug, Woodchopper; Pop-R, Frog-mimics, Zara Spook, SkitterPop etc Spinnerbaits: a lot ! e.g. ReedRunners & Bushwhackers c) Shallow, medium & deep-diving and suspending plugs e.g. Rapalas, Shads & Minnows & Husky-jerks, up to about 11 or maybe even 13 cm d) Jigs, rubber worms & lizards etc DG

Hmmmm ... near-record bream of 17 lb 14 oz .. nice! It must be the relatively warmer climes down there in Kent DG

quote: Originally posted by Pangolin: There have been a couple of threads posted, asking how good these reels are. I have a problem with mine, that I think it's worth sharing because somebody may know of a solution. the problem is that, after casting, I sometimes wind the handle forward, gently, to the point where the bale-arm should flip back over. If I don't hit this point hard enough, the reel gets 'stuck', requiring enormous force on the handle to cause the bale-arm to flip...... Is it just a cheap and nasty reel, or should I persevere? This is a problem with many fixed-spool reels that have a mechanical, rather than a magnetic, trip for the bail-arm, and the problem isn't confined to Okuma reels .... I've had Shimanos that did the same thing. I am guessing that your Okuma is still new~ish and so I would say persevere with it ... after putting a drop or two of Molyslip (available from motor spares stores) on the pawl and the trip. The reel comes with an expanded diagram of all the parts and how to take it apart, so you shouldn't have a problem. Another way to alleviate the problem, but which can be annoying to others, is to keep tripping the bail-arm while indoors e.g. watching a long TV programme. After a few 100 flips, it should get better. DG

There's one like this HERE DG

Are you sure it wasn't simply one of those nice holdalls with a built-in tube for your landing net? It's easy enough to make-up one of your own with a section of plastic tubing, even drain-pipe. If your net has folding or sprung-loaded arms, it's a doddle. DG

What a bummer :mad: . This shop I suggested had them listed. I looked on Ebay, too, for you, but with no luck. I'll see if I can find some elsewhere ... are you (or the insurance company) up for having them shipped from the States? DG

quote: Originally posted by Leon Roskilly: make sure that your hooks are very sharp. You'd be surprised at how little of the force of a strike is transmitted through to the hook. Leon is 100% right. I'd go for some really sharp hooks such as Owner or even Kamasan (Drennan ) I'd swop to a sinking, braided main-line too .. DG

Are you using mono main and/or hook-length line ... or braid? DG

Hmmmmmm ...thanks for the constructive advice. I think I'm gonna suggest that my colleague and his son get all his tackkle while they're over there in the States, as it's so cheap. Baitcaster rod, plus something like a Shimano Curado reel, 30 lb BS PowerPro or similar braid (with the diameter of 10 lb BS nylon mono ), and lures and location advice from the tackle-hypermarket(s) closest to their nearby lake(s). I guess they'll get the whole set-up and 100 lures for less than $80 ,,,, I'm envious :mad: Cheers DG

quote: Originally posted by johnclarke: Diamond Geezer - how do you do that 'originally posted by johnclarke' bit, with 2 horizontal lines? Do you type it yourself, or is there a button to click? quote: Originally posted by johnclarke: The answer to your question is that the only bit of the canal that I'm aware of where the controlling angling society allows fishing in the close season is a stretch belonging to Hungerford Canal AA, and it's one of their rules - no spinning April to Aug, no livebaiting ever. That's weird because above and below the Hungerford AA stretch of the K&A Canal, spinning & live-baiting is OK now. The answer is to join Reading DAA and have fun fishing their stretches of the K&A ... above the confluence of the R.Kennet and the K&A Canal at Kintbury and above Hungerford. Pewsey DAA have the Canal at Bedwyn and they're sensible about things too. Pop into Field & Stream in Newbury and you'll get all the gen straight from the horses mouth The Closed Season on this stretch of the Canal is a bit of a joke really, because, as evidenced by all the fry to be seen, many species have spawned already .... including the carp whose tiny off-spring, inter many alia, were clearly visible on 31 March 2004, the day before I bought my new EA licence DG [ 17. April 2004, 09:20 AM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

quote: Originally posted by johnclarke: ... my nearest open canal at Hungerford. ..... Spinning and live-baiting are banned. John Re: the Kennet & Avon Canal (above Kintbury) ... where does it say that in the Regs???????? DG :confused:

</font> <font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by Bobt: Hi, Does anybody know of any Tackle shop that might have old stock of Daiwa Regal-S 3500iA or 4000iA, I use these for spinning for Pike, and Bass,one has gone missing(STOLEN).I like to have Dual set ups so I would like to replace with the same setup.Phone number or web address would be appreciated. Many Thanks in Advance Bob </font><hr /> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">See HERE They have one of each (£45 & £49) DG

Firstly, ye olde cyprinids prefer warmer climes than your neck of the woods, particularly for spawning, so the lower average monthly temperatures in your area mean that you're up-against it a tad for starters. That said, to me this sounds like a case for some mega pre-baiting ... at some preferred secluded swims. Secondly, ground-bait is very easily made at home from standard ingredients. If that's not convenient, wherever you are, you can always order stuff by mail-order As for hook-baits, with the weather warming-up slowly (down south anyway!), I'd try lobbing-out a few whole slices of bread as part of your pre-baiting, assuming there aren't hundreds of ducks around,... and then use floating crust or bunched bread as your hook-bait. I'd use greased mono or floating braid to take advantage of any wind to drift your bait further afield (I assume boats are banned) Floating breakfast cereals such as Sugar-puffs are also worth a bash, and they'll drift nicely in the breeze. Porridge isn't easy to keep on the hook Worms abound in your area too, I'm sure, so that if you fancy some float or bottom fishing, try a nice bunch of worms ... a favourite of many species. I think a lot of anglers would give their .... left arm, to be able to exclusively fish such a water ... nice challenge ... and where there are small pike there must be biggies too. As for 6 lb perch, don't hold your breath! DG [ 16. April 2004, 04:16 PM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]