Peter M

Yes, the blog is overstated (in my view) but the essence of what it says would be accepted by most on the right wing of politics, whether in Europe or USA. sorry if imy post appears overstated or insulting its not just about America, here we have the English Defence league who are basically a bunch of under achieving morons who like to blame all sorts of people for their own predicament. They have formed an alliance with the Tea party in America. My point is that while the EDF is on the margins here in the UK the Tea party are considered main stream in the US

This is lazy populist right wing neo con clap trap that comes out of the USA all the time. I am not condoning Muslim extremism, drug taking etc but this broad brush narrow viewed blunt tirade does not show the speaker in any good light, except to say he is clearly a narrow minded, small hick town idiot who should stick to duelling banjos and shagging his relatives.

I went to my local commercial to find it iced up, found that the pond in the middle of town was two thirds free of ice and had anglers on it so went there as the club that runs it sells day tickets. i fished maggot under a wagger and blanked but a guy using a pole was catching nice bream, he was feeding liquidised bread from a pole cup and i think using pinkie or bread punch and fishing ultra light. The club baliff only charged be half price for the day ticket which was nice of him. going to try a river at the weekend.

All my club lakes have a lid on them, although many rivers round essex are clear of ice they are full of snow melt and salt and noone is getting any bites. i have heard that my local commercial is fishable so will hopefully get some fishing in tommrow fingers crossed.

i may be forced to go to my local commercial to get some fishing in as the owner as broken the ice on the ponds, my club lakes are all too frozen over as is my local river

Ok its all to play for sitting here and hope that putting them in was a good idea it looks a good batting track to me

Lovly fish caught is snowy conditions and nice photo to boot, well done.

I guess it would be worth a go particularly in the summer when there are lots of people around but I would be wary being there early morning or late evening. its a shame really, back in the late 90's the regents canal held matches with lots of people as far as the eye could see. LAA used to have bailiffs that would come along and collect day ticket money . I have seen anglers on the big lake last year going for carp. As long as you are careful I guess you should be fine. Let us know how you get on I would be really interested.

i know the lake you are talking about as i work in tower hamlets and used to be based next to vicky park in Bethnal Green. i always intended to fish it and asked around, apparently it used to hold tench perch rudd and roach, but we are talking about 10 years ago. i did often have after work sessions in the regents canal where i caught eels, roach, bream and perch. A couple of years later my boss was mugged walking along the canal so i stopped fishing it. the big lake only really had carp in it as the cormorants had all the silvers. they may know more in the tackle shop in roman road.

Give over i have not finished with this year yet, mind you with that list of targets you must be a cross between matt hayes and john wilson. . my target for the next couple of months is i would like to beat my pb of any fish caught december or january, which so far stands at just over three pounds (a pike) so am going to a runs water after xmas to try for a carp, my biggest carp in December or January stands at just over 2 pounds.

I have only been asked for my licence by an EA bailiff twice, and that was in the same week. They were obviously targeting that lake which was Gloucester Park in Basildon.

have a look here sorry to see a local river to me on the worst list. http://bit.ly/c7ygvN

Your hand is never out of your pocket once you buy a car i am afraid. i passed my test in 1981. I sudder to think what i would do wihtout a car as with fishing it just opens up waters that i could not get to without it. Although i think i drive too much and take too little excercise so its not all good. But good luck with your test. if you pass just remember to still drive within your limits. tight lines mate.

It is easy to blank this time of year, especially from a river. If the fish are shoaled up miles away then there is nothing you can do. In fact it’s by blanking that I find out where they are not. I do know a short stretch of river and can normally predict what I will catch in which spot but often I still blank. I am going to treat myself soon and go to a commercial that does not get packed in the winter I will take maggots and almost guarantee bites and fish on the bank, as there are lots of roach, still water chub and F1’s that will keep me amused. I am not a specimen hunter although I like to catch big fish so do sometimes target carp or pike or large perch or large chub so therefore often blank.

My wife has been ill and spends a lot of time at home writing in the garden and likes nature to come in and be all around her. Just like ground baiting for fish we feed little and often just to keep them coming in. we have all types of birds coming into the garden and that is what we like. Anyway mankind has done lots to put nature under pressure and sometimes i think its time we put something back.

Exactly what i was thinking and i may have to point this out to him next time i see him. Oh and chseters if i could find some legislation that said he could not put mouse traps in his garden i would be on the phone like a rocket to report him. At the moment my wife and i are laying off putting bird food out for a while and we will get some bird feeders rahter than just putting it on the table. i only have seen one in the garden and it looked like a wood mouse to me. He is a bit of a **** and his wife is a bit pathetic. thanks for the replies one and all.

Hi all My next door neighbour says he has been having lots of mice in his garden and asked us not to put bird food out for a while, which we have not. He has been putting out mousetraps and has trapped quiet a few. He is still getting them and accusing use of still putting food out. I said that he is the only one putting out food in his traps. Our houses back on to a wood so if he puts out baited traps he will always get mice. Can anyone tell me what the official line is on putting traps out (that kill the mice) in the garden. Surely other animals are at risk of getting the trap springing on them i.e. hedgehogs, squirrels etc. He is being a bit of an arse about it.

i would have to say Ide but i am no expert on them so maybe others will know.

That is very hard and i would have to say carp as they are what i fish for most these days. Mind you i don't fish for them in the winter so can i make a plea for a summer fish and a winter fish and have chub as a reserve.

Oh everyone blanks especially this time of the year, the warm water free biting days are behind us. winter fishing is often about being there and not just about catching fish.

congratulations on your new PB, funny buggers crucians often unhittable bites on the float then they go and hand themselves on a bolt rig. Got to love them

Blanked today lure fishing but did have a pike on which came off, using a single hook in a shad type lure. i usually blank when lure fishing but it was lovely being out. It looked like autum was showing off, the sunlight flecking the yellow and brown of the leaves, the slight nip in the air, I kept warm as i was walking along the river bank, sipping hot sweet tea when i stopped for a rest. Blanks are not all bad (but hope i dont have one next time).

Thanks for that I am bidding on some braid on eBay, 20lb breaking strain with diameter of 8lb. that should do it. i like to use Ondex spinners when the river is running clear as this often works well for me. i also like braid as i want to get my spinner back if i get snagged. I also want to use jigs more and braid should be better for that. tight lines all

Effectively its fishing line that (unlike monofilament) has no stretch so its very good for lure fishing when you want to feel every movement of the lure.

Hi all my type of lure fishng is on slow moving rivers with small lures and a light spinning rod. i have used mono before for lure fishng and have used braid in the past. However, i want to know is it best to use sinking or floating braid? Also what breaking strain line and is there a good make. any reccomendations helpful.