AberdeenAngus

You'll get wet!

Its raining; Its pouring; My love life is boring me to tears etc etc etc.

I would have thought that you of all people, Peter, couldn't resist a post on this topic. Go on.... sock it to us!!!!!!!!!

At the risk of reflaming all of the prejudices and opinions cited in similar threads, I thought a few of you may be interested in the views of Kate Hoey (Labour MP and previous Minister for Sport) as they appear in The Telegraph today. For the full article, written by Kate Hoey, buy the paper, but here are one or two extracts. "Those who wish to impose their personal prejudices and ban hunting consider that as just the start.All country sports are threatened and the effect of a ban would be to turn the spotlight on angling and shooting." "When Sports Minister I saw the precautions that had to be taken to prevent disruption when England hosted the European Coarse Fishing Championships in Nottingham. Angling attracts millions of participants from every walk of life - it is truly a sport for all, and yet there still lurks a fear that those who look to criminalise one rural pursuit will use the same methods of lies and distortion to attack others." "In an attempt to isolate those who hunt, The Government have engaged in a summer wooing of shooters and anglers. It suits them to be seen as their friends, so ministers have been told to have pictures taken at Clay Pigeon Shoots and with rods in their hands. It doesn't fool me - I know that hoards of my colleagues in the House of Commons would ban both sports tomorrow if they could get away with it." and finally.... "So there are many reasons why sports lovers should be joining the march. To me it is about living in a society which is tolerant and respects the rights and freedoms of others, even when we disagree. Those who wish to oppose hunting peacefully can do so but nobody has the moral right to force their opinions onto a decent, socially responsible minority by misusing the criminal law. " "We may not hunt, but it is our march too." As you may appreciate by the fact I have found this article in today's Telegraph, I am not a natural supporter of Labour MPs!!!! However, I find Kate Hoey's views refreshing and welcome!

I make this post with a little trepidation having seen the abuse River Lover got for seeking info on Tatton Water. Penns Hall lake is v. close to me in Sutton Coldfield. Many years ago it was owned, I think , by Ansells brewery. (that must have been 25 yrs ago plus, when I used to, er, p..ch there at the age of 10. It was a fantastic mixed silver fish venue, but became I think one of the first specimen waters in the area. I have restarted by fishing recently, and have enquired about Penns Hall, to be told it is now owned by Fosters Tackle Shop (confirmed fact), but only contains Carp since it was netted of all other species and restocked solely with Carp. However, IYCF magazine this month has done an article on this venue, claiming it to contain other species... bream, perch, etc. Can anyone confirm whether this is so,and if so, are the numbers of other silver fish sufficient to make it a worthwhile venue for non-carp angling? On similar issue, I understand Olton Mere has been/is/will be sold by the current syndicate members to British Waterways, who intend unless sufficient people fish it, to convert to Carp water. I know from experience it has a fantastic head of Bream. Midland Angler has been following this saga. Anyone know what the upto date position is?

Howsabout, Guys and Gels, Howsabout: Cat Fish Stevens Eel. L. O. (Featuring on Drums Bivie Bevan)

Waterman, Your response is a shining light among reams of paranoia and diatribe. I have read with incredulity some of the posts on this topic, where conspiracy theory has been taken to new lengths. Are we sure that it is not Al Quaida (!?) who sent the letter in order to distract attention from sept 11. I was not going to join in this thread which seems to be going nowhere, but which is a breeding ground for animosity. However, Waterman's response, deserves praise, and demonstrates commonsense thinking, and measured response

Lets keep a sense of perspective on this one!! A little common sense goes a long way. If it is a hot day, don't use a net. If you catch a fish> 2LB don't net it. But simply to say, dont't use keep nets fullstop is a bit OTT. The corollary of that is lets ban all match angling. I personally don't use one, but if fihing with my lad, he likes to look at what he has caught at the end of a session. However, I alays empty it out after 2 hrs, and put it away if it gets too hot. With regards to cleaning it...... I wondered what the stench was in my car... thatnks for reminding me. Plain tap water and hang it out to dry. Chemicals... why use them? Even after rinsing some residue will be left, and that will end up in the river / lake next time. Summary..... lets be responsible but not killjoys!

I was fishing in Sutton Park nr Birmingham with my 7yr old lad 2 weeks ago. A middle aged bloke came up, snatched my lads rod out of his hand and through it in the lake, saying "that's f..ing serves you right, sonny." He then realised I was his father, gave me a mouthful about teaching my son to be cruel to animals, and ran off. What do you do? If my son weren't there I would have chased him andlaid into him... but that would have set a bad example to my lad. He was in tears and frightened by the whole experience. I fished his rod out of the water and took him home. Fortuneately, he still wishes to go fishing, and has been subsequently, but not to Sutton Park. I noticed this guy snatched the rod from a 7 yr old lad, not any of the adults who were fishing.

I have also eaten many Crayfish, and believe I have not been affecetd by any mental illness. I also believe that Tony Blair is a great guy, Roy Keane is much misunderstood, and I look forward to meeting Elvis next week when I visit the moon in a World War II Bomber

A thread in the post re "A Passion for Angling" set me thinking. The thread I refer to is the one whereby a guy jumps in the water after a Catfish, with a rope around his ankle so that when he grabs one, his mate can pull both him and the fish out. This reminded me of a guy I used to watch when I was 10 or 11. There was a little inland sea at a place called Llanbedr just south of Harlech. You could stand on a little rock and watch these Mullet swimming around..... but could you tempt them to take bait? A local guy sorted this out with a Crossbow. Just by the trigger was a fixed spool reel. The line was attached from the reel to the bolt. The theory being that when a fish was "speared" he would wind in the fish, which was impaled on the bolt. I was mesmerised by this tactic... he never caught anything, but it looked impressive. Something to do with "Having to aim a few inches above the fish due to diffraction, boyo." As a bit of fun, what other novel techniques have you witnessed?

Is it true that the address of Canada is 668...... next door to the beast at 666?

The concise guide to angling by Gareth Purnell and others is a great read and book. I too restarted my Angling after about 25 years absence, only last year. It has changed massively, since "I were a lad"... Hair rigs? Boilies? Pods? Bivvies? Bite Detectors? Fish Detectors!!!???? Improve your Coarse Fishing every month has great articles both on rigs, and gear. I purchased a kit from Argos for c. £30 which got me going again... basic but great for silver fish on still waters. Caught loads. 12 months on,now I am certain I want to, I am investing in new and better / more expensive kit. This response may make the purists wince.... buying tackle from Argos, but I did not want to invest serious money until I was sure I was going to enjoy angling again. Mind you, Argos tackle is an incredible improvmenet on my first rod 27 years ago which cost 7 1/2 books of green shield stamps!

What I forgot to say was that he has refused to use my old float rod, and insists upon using his 7ft tree trunk. Dad knows best, hey!

By the way, have considered adoption.... too extreme and Boarding School ..... too expensive

Having acquired a new bit of kit, my very nice 12 ft float rod has become superfluous. My 7 yr old lad has a 7 ft Rod from Argos, which is is stiff as anything, and makes casting any long rig difficult. Have taken him fishing 3 times in past 6 days, imploring him to use my old float rod.... "You'll catch more fish son." "You'll have less tangles son," Says his know all dad. Results: 1.Son 1 x Perch (c.1LB) Dad Nil 2.Son Nil Dad Nil 3.Son 3 Perch all over 0.5 lb, and 1 Roach. Dad 1 microscopic Perch. Does anyone else have these problems? Besides wringing his neck, or using hime as live bait for shark, any other solutions PS I have taken him fishing probably 30 + times in past 12 months. I guess he has beaten me 75% of times

When tying a hair onto a hook with a knotless knot, do you have to use silicon tubing on the shank?

I take my 7 yr old son fishing regularly (actually he takes me!). He has a short 2 piece rod approx 7ft, which we use with waggler. I fix a small swivel just above the float which has made a hell of a difference to float / hook tangles. He still seems to get a lot of reel tangles though, upon casting, but he is becomming less jerky in his action, which is easing the problem.

My last experience of fishing on the wonderful Emerald Isle was that the stuff distilled from the local still, washed done with the black and white stuff made the Angling superfluous, and those of us who did get the tackle out, well...... it didn't really matter!!

I have recently returned to angling at the age of 37 having had a 25 year gap. Tackle has changed a bit, has it not? 12 months ago I bought myself a Coarse outfit from Argos. The rod is a 3 piece float rod, rather floppy tip, and not much action but fine for silver fish. I am however getting increasingly interested in the bigger fish... trotting for river barbel and floating for puddle carp. Have therefore bought myself a John Wilson Avon / Quiver. When using controller float and floating bait on surface for carp, would you use the avon top or one of the quiver tops? PS what is the general consensus of these rods? There was a post about the number of rods people now carry... Why do not more people use an Avon Quiver, which in my naive and inexperienced view, seems to do the job of 2 or 3 rods