Peter M

If you are fishing stocked commercials then you don't need boliies you can use basically anything bread maggots spam corn etc. and you use them float fishing. Halibut pellets are good but the mistake people make is to get them in too big a size i use 8 to 12 mil pellets on a bait band. then your only problem is them getting soft and falling off. If you are planning to sit it out on a big lake for bigger fish sitting behind buzzers then this is where boilies come into their own. i like to start with sweet ones like tutti fruity. often a snowman rig with one sweet and one spice can really work well. fishmeal works in summer and has the advantage of pellets but without going soft. you need to feed a little of whats on the hook often very tight to the bait so use PVA or method feeder with bits of the broken boile in the loose feed. Off the top i use bread or soft floating pellet but watch out for ducks when you do this. tight lines

nice write up, inspirational.

We also have a sea fishing section where you can discuss all things salty, and we have a non fishing chat section where you can discuss world events with daily mail readers.

Lots of east anglia anglers on here, hang around. They must be all out fishing!

i have caught tench when using the method with vitalin ground bait with small pellets in and a strawberry or tutiy fruity boilie. i have used 8 mill white bolies side hooked when float fishing over micro pellets and caught some tench in the past.

i have had a fair bit of success using sweetcorn and flavoured with scopex to get some smell in the water. tesco value sweetcorn is 33p a tin (although it was 22p a few months ago- inflation) so not expensive. the downside is that cray fish love it too.

Steve says it like it is as always and i am content to say i agree with what he has posted and feel that it is a sensible compromise.

Hi welcome to AN i don't know this rod and reel set up but canal tench are rarely very big so you don't need heavy gear and balanced tackle is always best ie match the rod to the breaking strain line and is reccomended and you can't go far wrong.

there is actually a face book page praising moat. can you belive it. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20100711/tuk-th...in-45dbed5.html

i would not be trying for a tench on a canal that can be heartbreak. what you need is a lilly cladd lake possibly a commercial fishery that has a bit of history with lots of tench.

when you get a hair cut you pay VAT so in effect you are paying the Govt. for having a hair cut. Tax pays for schools hospitals social care services etc. so i don't mind paying tax either.

I don't mind paying for a licence as i think it demonstrates commitment. i think BTW they should bring back a dog licence as well and introduce licence to those wanting to take a boat up canals and rivers . as anglers (or dog owners or boaters) in think we have a responsibility therefore should have a licence. You have a licence for your car and to be able to drive so why not.

Is this the lake? http://www.rudyardlake.com/wild_about_fishing.htm

2 lb line and 18 hook with maggots on a light float rod should catch you all sorts this time of the year on lakes, in fact maybe a bit light if a big tench or carp put in an apperance. if canal fishing then this is perfect. make sure you have a disgorger with you and plumb the depth properly. have a look at this book or similar. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Freshwater-Fishing...mp;sr=8-3-fkmr0

Well it isn't. Sometimes i like to do this (only two rods though) and i find this just as exciting as stalking for Chub or boat fishing for smoothounds if you don't like it don't do it, no one is forcing you. Mind you i think you might be missing out

You can feel that you have stolen back time. Sneaking out in the afternoon for a couple of hours, wrapped up, flask in hand, a few worms for bait, late winer sunshine giving more light than heat, as the sun drops so does the temperature, you huddle down and stick it out topping up the swim with some chopped worm and changing your hook bait you think i will give it another 20mins. An hour later its almost proper dark, you can still see your tip staying motionless as it has most of the session apart from that one bang that gave you hope. Then a timy knock followed by a proper pull round, you strike and the fish is on. The plump yet small perch lays in you landing net as you unhook it by the light of your head lamp, fingers stiff with cold. after the fish goes back you go home to a hot drink or single malt, proper dark now and its only 5.30 pm. Lovely

Well it would be cat fish. They are already taking over as the speci anglers quarry of choice. i have recently been in a battle to prevent them being put in a CAA water but they have gone in any way last month. Now the club forum is alive with how to catch a big moggie. They can be stocked easy into any water and survive well. You think you have problems with carp but i think we are going to get more problems with Cats in the future. Big carp are becoming old hat now.

please tell what a chub tastes like its meant to be disgusting

I have only started surface fishing for carp this year and its one rod little tackle apporach moving round a water looking for fish and casting to them, its more like fly fishing than coarse fishing. You have to watch out that the birds dont get your bait. great fun on warm evenings at the end ofr the day put all your other gear in the car and go off for a bit of a wander.

Hi all i just want to give this worthy cause a bit of a plug on here, hope that is ok Elton? http://www.reels-on-wheels.org/

That’s easy who started it? Richard walker 1952 by : A) catching the record carp that blew the angling worlds assumption about large carp away. writing Stillwater Angling where he outlined how to catch larger than average fish by design and sold it by the shed load. C) developing the mark 4 rod with a through action that allowed the use of lighter lines and smaller hooks that allowed the carp to be hooked and landed so from being impossible they became moderately hard. He may not have intended it but he is the father of modern carp angling and fanned the flames of desire for generations to come.

river roding in essex low flow and very low so staying on lakes until the autum at this rate, might go for a wander to look at spots while its low as i don't know the river as only joined this club this year so will want to see what it looks like low to remember for when the water level rises.

i agree dawn is the best but i like my bed too much to get up that early in mid summer . that is why i like dusk which is at about 9.00 to 10 pm this time of the year. but if you can get up early its the best.

I think tigger its all about choice and some have pointed out that the rise of carp fishing has been at the detriment of other waters now that carp are ubiquitous. However, I believe that fishing for other speices still has a big following and that clubs can be influenced to make sure that all angling styles and waters are catered for. Just take a look in the anlging press. While there is lots about carp there are articles about river fishing for barbel, bream and tench. I don’t think it is all bad, although I respect the views of those who witness the dominence of carp as putting their own angling choices under threat.

John i agree with what you say about choice and i must admit i realise i am really lucky as both clubs i am in have developed non carp ponds as well as manage streaches of the rivers chelmer blackwater and roding, another big club in the area (billericay) now also has non carp lakes mememberships have increased in both clubs. i do agree that clubs have to compete with the commercials and that is causing them to turn more lakes over to carp and even cat fish which really worries me. maybe the future is for clubs to join forces to keep offering choice and compete with commercials. tight lines