WickerDave

It seems you are trying to run before you can walk. From no license/tackle/UK fishing knowledge to night fishing in a short space of time. Were any of the others experienced fishermen/women? There are lots of small, easy to fish ponds in Leicestershire, you don't need to travel very far. Most don't allow night fishing though. See http://www.fisheries.co.uk/eastmidlandsindex.htm for details of some. North of Leicester http://www.fisheries.co.uk/grobyfishinglakes/index.htm is probably a good starting fishery, south of Leicester http://www.hollyfarmfishery.com/. One of the biggest commercials in the country, Makins, is just down the M69, see http://www.fisheries.co.uk/makin/index.htm. If you can't catch well there simply floatfishing a large bait (a big enough piece of luncheonmeat to cover a size 6 hook works well) on the bottom in the margins (only a foot or two out) on the Lagoon and Lizard pools on Phase Two then you really are doing something wrong. Evenings are best, as the place begins to empty. The closing time is currently 9 pm.

You can buy your rod license at a Post Office too, it does not have to be online. I fish ponds about 10 miles south of Leicester, a couple of evenings a week (usually one weekday and one weekend). If you have transport and want some basic advice (I'm only a basic angler ) and want to try out using UK style tackle (I have spare you could use) at the waterside then let me know. I've never fished Willesley or any of the north Leicestershire waters so can't help there.

Often discussed, some like it (I do), some don't. Put +john +wilson +avon into the Search facility, this gives lots of hits, with this being one of the longer ones... http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/John-Wi...Rod-t75724.html

I caught a long, lean, pale grey tench a couple of years ago. It jumped out of the water completely during the fight, I thought I'd got a trout on at first . More waters are stocking the ornamental strains, so there's more chance of catching unusual colourations, such as http://www.fishingmagic.com/forum/forummes.../last/1/V/9/SP/.

Nice carp. Closing at 8pm this time of year is ridiculous. If it was a day ticket water, I'd have asked for a [partial] refund .

The original gold coloured Epix? It's certainly it's most annoying feature, and the tangle seems to happen just as it is getting too dark to see to easily untangle it and the fish are feeding well . I have the newer black coloured Epix Pro too and can't recall it happening to the new model.

Very funny. Definitely don't want to see the photos! Pre-baitrunner days I had to jump in (only knee depth shallows) to retrieve the rod when method fishing, I'd only turned around for a few seconds to open the umbrella. It was only a little carp too, not much more than 2lbs. Now I always use baitrunners even if floatfishing or surface fishing, and even remember to turn the freespool on.

The consensus seems to be that most commercial fisheries contain big perch that aren't often specifically targeted. No pike plus lots of small silver fish = big perch. On all such fisheries I fish I've encountered anglers who have been surprised to catch "big" or "3lb" perch, although I've yet to see one caught . They've usually been pole or margin floatfishing. I've had such reports at both Lagoon and Lizard. I've not had any specimens myself, my best last year was 1¾lb on floatfished luncheonmeat in the Lagoon. I keep on meaning to try large worms, lures or even one of those cute little gudgeon (can't bring myself to do this) there to try to avoid the carp, but have never got around to it.

Nice catch, but then Makins is ridiculously easy . There aren't many Makins style commercial fishery fans on this site (and definitely don't mention the barbel ), I like to fish it occasionally but prefer the biggest pools on Phase II (Lagoon and Lizard) as they have more variety of species.

I like the "ornamentals", wouldn't have minded this one... http://www.fishingmagic.com/forum/forummes.../last/1/V/9/SP/

If you reach down in the dark for where you know your bait is, don't be surprised if you get a fingerful of something live. Slugs are active on a warm/damp night and love luncheonmeat. Yuk .

Thanks for the additional suggestions, too late to help! Encouraged by a dry pull that moved it a millimetre or two, I went back to the hair dryer. I must have overheated the glass tip as a ridge appeared on it after further pulling/twisting, so I ended up sawing it off and drilling out the remains. This went better than I expected, with no visible increase in the size of the female joint. The remaining two tips were a snug fit . Checking that everything would bend without breaking, it didn't . The top of the quiver rod section snapped cleanly off directly under the push in section. Anyone got an unwanted quiver tip top section for a JW Avon Mk II, before I go off and see what ridiculous price you have to pay for a spare?

Float rod looks ideal, http://www.park-resorts.com/gallery.asp?id=22, or maybe a bamboo cane and a bent pin .

Thanks for the suggestions. Tried the hair dryer last night, this freed it enough to twist it a little, about 20 degrees, but with no outward movement. As soon as it cools, it can't be moved at all. It's usuable as it is, although I'd prefer to use a heavier tip for method fishing, so I might just leave it alone before something breaks.

Lovely fish. On a run like this, how about wandering down to Conningbrooke for your first 60...

As a variation on the stuck rod/pole section topics, are there any tips on removing a stuck push in solid fibreglass quiver tip? Brute force hasn't worked so far .

Will, that's been on the carp forum for a couple of weeks, with the usual "not again" comments... http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/UK-CARP...d33-t83210.html

There's a new FishingMagic article at http://www.fishingmagic.com/news/article/m...AN/5304/v/1/sp/

It flew again today, the wife was at home and e-mailed this report... "There were all these cars parked on the grass verge after mill farm + police - well we soon found out why - the Vulcan flew over our house and you have never heard anything so loud in your life!!! It was quite big - large wings shaped a bit like Concordes wings. How exciting!!!"

Nice report and super pictures. Not sure I'd want to photograph every fish, especially when you're catching so many .

There's some information here... http://uktv.co.uk/history/britainsbest/site/id/858

Googling doesn't (readily) give anything that big, here's a couple of bigger than average sizes... http://www.fishingwarehouseshop.co.uk/prod...roducts_id/2389 http://www.harrisonstackle.com/acatalog/On...179.html#a22111

Plenty of hits if you Google. It's in the EA guide for local fisheries, see Curtiss and Dexter pools in http://publications.environment-agency.gov...e-e.pdf?lang=_e

See http://www.berkley-fishing.com/cat.php?k=74917&sk=74917 and scroll down to the trout/crappie/catfish baits at the bottom.

Got a catalogue in the mail last weekend, with the "worlds first" camo reel... http://www.trevstackle.com/content/camoreel No comment .