J.K

Just to update: I shortened the hooklength down to 4inches on one rod and 6inch on the other. The result, nearly EVERY bite was a screamer, bobbin smashing to the top and making me leap out of my seat lol. On the odd occasion I had a few beeps and then it screamed, which im guessing where perch. So that's one problem solved, cheers Rik Next problem, but I think I can solve this, I still didn't hook many of the fish which I'm guessing is down to the hook size. Used a size 6 with two GIANT lobworms on. This was the biggest hook I had but will invest in a few size 4 and 2 to see what happens. Nature has a horrible way of biting you in the back-side and last night was no different. Managed to connect with, what I can only guess was a carp, completely ran me ragged despite using 1.75lb rods. What ever it was it found a snag and transfered the hook into it So this week, fish 2 : me 0 Still lots of fun though and why I enjoy going fishing

Excellent thanks Rik. And no crays in the river but alot of silver fish.

Yes mate but couldnt buy a bite on it, though I did use big chunks which may have put them off? Fish baits arnt an option due to lots of Pike and Zander around which i dont really want to catch if i can help it.

Having recently got the Eel bug I found myself very frustrated tonight with lots of runs but only one landed which was a bootlace. Tonight i changed a few things, Used lobworms on the hook instead of prawn on a hair and Lengthend the hooklength from 6inches to about 14 Im fishing a river so thought using a insect bait would improve my runs, which it has, but I just cant live with striking into thin air. If I left the bite to develop 9 times out of 10 the bait had been nicked. What rigs do people use when fishing worms? Hooks sizes and hook lengths please. Any info greatfully recieved,Joel

Not fishing free but am struggling to get out due to conditions. I will be getting out some time next week what ever the weather lol

Which wire did you go with in the end ?

Rik you cant go wrong with Caliber Wonder Wire from Steve. You can get Steve to make them to any length you want and choose your components or buy the stuff and make yourself at home. I use the 15lb stuff for alot of my lure fishing and it has yet to let me down. Another route to look at is single strand Titanium traces. These are incredibly fine in the lower breaking strains. I stopped using them when I lost contact with the guy that made them for me so cant recommend a brand but I have heard good things about these on Lure World. The seem expensive but they will outlast any wire trace, well unless you loose it first cast lol. Arthur is a great bloke to deal with and you will probably end up buying a few other bits from him too

I personally dont see how these hooks are of any real use. All I need to do to change hooks on lures is to open up the split ring and replace with the hook on my choice, be that a treble, double or single ? What benefit would the above hook offer me unless I have completely missed the point of them ? The ONLY benefit I can see are when using TINY cranks which can be effected by the addition of extra weight, but even most of these come with split rings now to make changing hooks easy. For spinners I tend to chop the hook off and add a split ring, doesnt effect anything and makes changing hooks easy

Sensor or big game here. Neither have let me down and purchase whichever is the cheapest at the time.

Have been using hooks purchased on Ebay for a good couple of years now and not had any problems with them. Can be bought in bulk to save a few pennies too Ebay Hooks

I think I used a 1/0 with a cut down 3 inch grub. They look MASSIVE in the packet but once rigged look perfect. On plugs I use smaller sizes but cant for the life remember what size, maybe size 6 or 4 ? You may have seen the pictures before but hopefully shows you how well they hook up. I use them on lures that consistently attract perch as it makes unhooking easy and feel its better for the fishes soft mouth.

Thanks lads Rik - I was very surprised that the fish were feeding, river was up a good few feet and I couldnt hold bottom with a 3 oz lead. I think because it had been in this condition a couple of the days the fish had become accustomed to it so where happy to feed. TrevBoy - Get a decent Eel on the right gear and your in for quite a battle. I use a bait too big for the bootlaces which seem to be the most frantic while on the bank, the bigger fish seem to calm down fairly quickly but still cant work out how to pick them up without the going a little mental lol. Ken L - You are correct mate. I cant believe just how good the hook up rate is the only downside to this brand of hook is the barb is tiny so the fish can throw the hook a little too easy if pressure isnt kept on. I would say that I hook up rate was just as good as a treble. The key is to use the right sized hook usually going up in size from the treble it replaces. I did find that I had MORE chub hook ups on a single hook, why I cant work out maybe a single just gets engulfed more easily ?

Spent a few days along the river and despite conditions it fished really well. Nothing huge but bags of fun and great to start of the season with a few fish on the bank. Started off trotting double maggot and catching bleak, roach, chub & dace. Really enjoyable even though most of the fish where under 6oz it was just great to get a bend in the rod. The next session I went out with the lure rod managed to get a hat-trick with some cobbled together lures And a few others, stopped taking photo's once I realised the fish were biting lol The lure that did most of the damage, held up quite well to be fair but will be changing the grub before my next outing One big surprise I had was how well the new braid I had purchased performed. Some "cheap" stuff from the far east delivered to the door for under £10! Will require some longer term testing to see if it lasts but it cast' further than power pro and felt alot nicer to use. For anyone on a budget check it out, but please remember I have NOTHING to do with the seller. Braid Link Later that evening I had ago for a few eels using ledgered prawn. Lots of missed bites from the bootlaces but happy to have landed these two. I think after fishing Wingham I have an urge to start catching these strange creatures.

Spent 3 hours trotting some maggots on a local river. Nothing huge but almost a fish a chuck. One surprise was a HUGE bleak, sadly no pictures but was over 6inches in length. Thought it was a strange looking roach at first lol. Hopefully will be out again in the week once things have settles down abit.

You can also use your finger to get the same effect

This is how I do it, very simple, very safe and works very well. The only addition to that picture is possibly a quick change link for the feeder to allow quick change of size and weight.

Could it be due to the recent weather ? I know in these conditions I am unable to give it the lead foot as often as I would like, the intercooler just cant handle it (running more than standard power). The car will go into limp mode if feeling a little hot which is a little scary at first but now used to it lol. Turn off, open bonnet and leave to cool for 2mins and am back in action.

Steve, any chance you could post a link, picture of how you put the bobbins together ? Think I will make a few up for myself as they seemed to work well. Should give me a chance to experiment and learn to read them a little better. Im sure I missed a few fish due to not knowing what the bobbin was telling me, was only after our chat I started to understand what was going on but it was too late as the fish seemed to vacate the area

As has already been said a MASSIVE thank you goes out to the Wingham crew for organising the event, the young and not so young Landed two pike, one of 15lb and another literally on my last cast of 8lb while waiting to be picked up. Thanks for the piccy AddictedToScopex Ok the fish may not have come out to play but it was great fun and will be back again in the future.

Good luck all, just about to set out in the rain

May require two "long" bobbins if possible. I have the "normal" type which I am happy to use if non available though.

application sent in Steve

Thanks Ken, will give your method ago once the rivers re-open

Out of interest Ken, how do you work them ? I get alot of hits on them but the chub just seem to be hitting them hoping to, I guess, sink them so they can go back and get an easy meal once disabled. So despite getting the hits I don't get the hook-ups.

Here you go Ken, may be a little easier to source ? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RIVER2SEA-BEETIT...5-/360356393182 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...id=336762143260