The Flying Tench

I think the stop-knot is meant to be a 5 turn water knot. I can't describe this in words, but you should find it in fishing books, or someone could show you. It's certainly true, as Seph says, that you need a reasonably heavy float or elso the stop knot will restrict the flow through the rod rings. I use a match rod, and the top ring is really too small for slider fishing, so its difficult to cast accurately - ie the stop knot sticks against the top ring. i guess a waggler rod would be better.

I caught a tench yesterday that was hooked under the chin about an inch from the lips. I'm clear this was foul-hooked, but if it had been 5mm from the lips my understanding is it would have been OK. But where is the demarcation line? Just in case one of us catches a British record!

I'm sure I read somewhere that they're Dutch, but the most commonly used worm by British anglers because they're so lively and last well. I've used them a bit recently, and had a couple of chub, including my pb at 6lb 9oz. But it's intersting i've never had even a small perch - though checking through some magazine articles, one writer says dens are his best winter bait for perch. I think the experience on this thread will push me back a bit to lobs.

Vagabond, You're quite a chess playing family! I'm pleased to hear that chess and fishing still mix. The trouble with chess, for me, is that when you get to a certain level it stops being a relaxation and becomes a bit like work. Whereas fishing.............

Vagabond, thank you for mentioning the book. My two teenage interests were fishing and chess, neither of which, in retrospect, I knew much about. My school team once played Hartston's school. My main memory is that they must have been very courteous people, because we mixed up the tea-pots and poured them all the grouts from the boarders' tea, but none of them said there was anything wrong. They hammered us at the chess, of course. My brother was also playing, but for the last 20 years he's been doing research on the brains of embryo chicks, so he could well feature in the book! I'll buy him the book and send him this thread and tell him to get back to fishing!

I was just about to buy one to use as a slider float, maybe with a paternoster, 'cos I get fed up with the slider knots not running easily through the rather small top ring in my float rod. Then I noticed that it says they are for use in 4-8 feet of water (withthe bigger one). Do they still work in say, 12 feet of water?

ajp - it occurs to me there's another question I'd like to ask. Could it be that the big roach on 8lb line were caught at night?

Bruno, I assume you are a bear. Now many people believe that bears can't operate the internet, but you have proved otherwise. I don't think we should underestimate the memory span of......er ...... whatever fish you were talking about.

It's fascinating how things are so different between UK and USA, particularly in the size of hooks and strength of line. Yet we're not so different from Europe, which makes me think it must be the fish rather than just angling culture. Is it that they don't have small roach and perch? Or just that the bigger fish are so good that no-one bothers with them?

America is an incredible place. I must say, the one time I went fishing there in Utah for trout (on lures in Green River) I can't say I recall seeing loads of female anglers. But it raises questions. Do they all wear tight pink and white striped shorts like female golfers in the films? It would certainly affect the 'ambience'! And are we going in their direction, with a growing trend towards lure fishing? Maybe a little, but I can't really see it. But then we don't have bass.........

Thanks for the advice everyone. Hemp is an interesting thought. When I was a teenager I had a great time with hemp on the Thames for roach, but for some reason, in my more recent fishing days I've failed to get a bite, and have always gone back to maggot. People tell me that it takes time nowadays to get the roach 'on' to hemp, but it occurs to me that on barbel waters they may have seen a fair bit of it, and might come on sooner. I'd love to know where ajp got the 3lb roach, and on what bait. Sounds great fishing!

The bass fishing in USA sounds incredible, and I was amazed to hear there is good lure fishing in Central Park, New york. But do Americans fish with maggots? I sometimes have a dream that the yankee rivers are virgin territory for maggot drowners, and I could go over there and fish out huge virgin roach that no-one had bothered about. But I guess real life ain't like that?

I went down too the Kennet today armed with a tin of sweetcorn hoping for some summer roach on the float. All started well with quite a nice dace. The next cast I hooked what looked like a really h efty chub which, unusually, leaped half out of the water and broke me. I don't quite know what happened there. I had 3lb line, and wasn't exerting much pressure, so I shouldn't have lost him. The next cast I hooked something that wasn't really like a fish at all. It didn't go 'thump thump' but went off downstream at medium pace a bit like a motor launch, and broke me. There wasn't much I could have done. I assumed it was a big barbel. I then changed to 6lb line, and on the next cast thought I'd hooked something big again, but it was lightly foul-hooked, and I landed a great big scale from a fish - which I think was a carp, and presumably explains the 'motor launch'. All this happened in the first 20 minutes, but after that I didnt get another bite. Perhaps that wasn't too surprising. the water was less than 3 ft deep and reasonably clear, and I guess the line is more visible floating than ledgering. But how on earth does one float fish for roach, which presumably needs fine tackle, when you've got clonking carp and barbel waiting to smash you? I realise this is a problem in lakes, too, but it seems particularly acute when carp invade a chalk stream. One idea I've had is using, say, a 5lb fluorocarbon trace; I know there's also the option of high-tech lines. But I'd be interested to hear what others do.

I keep telling my dog I'm going to use him as bait, but when you really hear of it happening I guess it stops being a joke. But I don't really understand it . Can kittens swim? Surely, they'll fairly soon be a dead bait if they're chucked in the water?

Chris, I'll certainly be someone who's very interested to read your regular reports

Why do americans only seem to fish with lures? What would happen if someone started maggot fishing like over here? Would they bag up with big roach which had never got wily because the Americans never fished for them?

Yes, I guess it helps, thanks. I can often only fish for a couple of hours, and I've got to say I have tried it at times for that period without much success; to be fair, though, I sometimes get itchy feet and change swim! There's a small weir-pool i know with lots of small chub and dace, but also some better chub and some really big perch. I think I'll see if i can get through to the perch on maggot!

I can't answer your question, but the thread on boat fishing in weir pools (last entry 11 June) could be mildly of interest as it's about Marlow.

I can't answer your question, but the thread on boat fishing in weir pools (last entry 11 June) could be mildly of interest as it's about Marlow.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I take the point about feeeding being easier with small baits, though I guess you could feed hemp and use meat on the hook. But where do I go wrong with maggot? I briefly watched Chris and Spindle fishing the other day, and acknowledge the good bag they had. But in my experience maggot in the summer equals small fish! The winter's different, admittedly, but in the summer on the river maggot on the float equals small roach and dace, and on the feeder equals small perch. Why perch don't take it so much on the float is a mystery. I may know the answer, however. I'm too mean with the maggots! I do what the roach fishing articles say and try to put in ten maggots a minute, but I guess to attract bigger fish you need to heave them in in quantity?

When I read articles in the fishing mags giving rigs for barbel, the float rigs always seem to assume small baits, particularly maggot. Is it viable to use a great hunk of luncheon meat on float, or does the water resistance, maybe, cause poor presentation?

It was the spare spools I meant were cheap, not the reels. My twin brother and I had about 10 between us (I've still got most of them). They must have been cheap 'cos we didn't really have any money - no idea how we paid for all the line!

My Intrepid Standard no longer has a handle, which is as well, really, because it was incredibly subtly designed so that getting it into the box was quite a complex puzzle. It's easier without the handle. The box, of course, isn't a cardboard one but a stylish, curved see-through, polycarbon kind of thing. Come to think of it, the reason it was hard to get into the box was all the spare spools I bought. They were so cheap, unlike today, and I had every conceivable line strength. A great reel.

I can't see a rake. Where is it? Actually, in my dictionary there are 2 definitions of rake, the second being a 'dissipated or immoral man of fashion'. Definitely can't see one, but a brilliant fish!

As a teenager I was desperate for some rod-bending action, and tried tying some line round the collar of our neurotic dachshund. Unfortunately she had little sense of sport and just roared off like a train and broke the line. The cat in question sounds a much better proposition.