wotnobivvy

Try this. I went this summer and it was great. www.otterfalls.co.uk. It's near Honiton in South Devon so can be done in 3 hrs if you avoid Stonehenge I wrote a report, so if you search for my name it was in August

Just thought I would drag up an old truism - There are more anglers caught by floats than fish. Nuff said

Casual passers-by who ask if you've 'caught anything', followed by 'do you take them home or throw them back' Fish being referred to as 'Nuisance fish' if they are not the target species. Guesting - equates to illegal fishing, nothing to be proud of especially in public Lead shot - we don't use it any more (do we ??)

There are so many that if everyone replied with their favourite you would be inundated with suggestions. Best bets are to try a friends, or take your rod to a shop and try some out for balance etc

Second Sports Direct. Got a set of £85 trainers for £15. You have to hunt around for the bargain section, and it's a bit pot luck. Get all my lads football footware there too

Looks like the same company in both deals

Pack your wall full of the folding stuff and get along to your nearest large tackle dealer and try them out. Some fit some bums better than others, especially the cushioning. Look out for solid build and ease of operation. Unless you have a trolley or barrow watch out for the weight. It's a big selection, both in quality and price. I was given mine by a neighbour, and it does me. It's a Dragon Carp one, but I haven't destroyed it yet

Just make sure you don't mask the hook and bend, as it doesn't slide up the hook like natural corn. It normally comes with hooking info on the packet

Thanks guys. For the price of £25 I will go for it

Has anyone used one of their CK 9' stalking rods or their rod pods. I am considering buying a 9' carp rod, but don't want to spend the earth, but just need a reliable occasional one

Took the family to a place in Devon called Otter Falls. It was my turn to have fishing as the prime reason for choosing a venue, and the wife found this one in the Hoseasons brochure,. I thought I might share the experience in case others can make use of the information. The fishing members were me, a pleasure angler for many many years, 12 year old lad, just starting, and an almost 15 year old daughter, who had more than a passing interest in beating her brother at anything. We all had our own gear but the lads rod had to be replaced during the first week as the butt ring collapsed on a cheap rod. Got a replacement from Trago Mills at Newton Abbott, really cheap shop, great for all the family Accomodation was a 3 bedroom wooden chalet, with the master bedroom having an ensuite (so ok we weren't slumming it). On arival my fussy wife was amazed that for the first time she had no cleaning to do in the kitchen, as it was spotless, as was the rest of the place Environment was peaceful, with a small pool, putting green and tennis court the only other attractions, so it was for a quiet holidaymaker, not the usual attraction filled lovers. Night time was very very quiet. We never switched the TV on for the whole fortnight. Fishing was on three small lakes, spring fed with the water flowing down from top to middle to bottom lake via waterfalls , then off to enter the river Otter lower down the valley. We were informed on arrival that the top lake had the bigger fish, but was the hardest, the middle lake was easier with smaller fish, whilst the bottom lake was a work in progress with small fish being introduced after it's conversion from a trout lake. At the start we caught so many 5-6 inch rudd in the middle lake we got tired of them, but a chat with a fellow angler got us off the sweetcorn onto luncheon meat, and bigger (8-120z) roach and rudd. We moved up to the top lake, where I put a boilie rod out, and carried on tiddler bashing. I managed my biggest fish, a 10:12 common there. I managed a few tench and bream to 1:12. The carp were cruising on the surface all the time, as the weather was hot, but no one managed to hook them. One curious thing was that artificial baits (sweetcorn, bread) were totally ignored by all the fish. Most carp came out to boilies or bread, and some swims were more productive than others, but they got taken early. Having said that, the place was never crowded and it was nice to fish 'proper' lakes, not artificial puddles By the end of the fortnight all three of us had had a great time, my other carp being 4 5-6 pounders which fought well above their weight, especially the fully scaled mirror I hooked on my 13 foot match rod !! Both kids had a great time, as they caught fish all the time and never got bored. Also they got into the mechanics of fishing, baiting, unhooking, untangling, and use of disgorgers, even though they only got rudd and roach. The lad won the big fish award for his 1 pound 2 ounce roach. I must just mention Mr Crabtree, who for the first week had the chalet next to us which overlooked the bottom lake. He started in the morning, no matter what the weather (which was nearly always hot and sunny) wearing wellies, Crabtree hat and smoking a pipe. He would throw in the occasional few grains of sweetcorn, and catch the occasional fish on the waggler. He did this the whole week, whilst his wife sat on the verandah reading. One day my lad was fishing 2 swims down and hooking a fish a cast on meat. Mrs Crabtree was heard to call to Mr Crabtree to ask why he couldn't catch as many as the little boy 'over there'. We didn't hear the reply Speaking to fellow anglers, most of whom had kids, we all agreed we would return. Nice fishing, easy tiddler bashing, peace and quiet. What more could a family want from a holiday. Just one word of caution. As you have to pay for fishing permits, and gas/electricity, take cash or cheque as currently they do not accept any plastic on site

Try Zebco Sports Europe Ltd PO Box 1118 Fulwood, Preston PR2 0DU Fax: + 44 0870 750 2326 info-uk@zebco-europe.com Found by GOOGLE using Zebco Sports

I have used the Avon scales for years with no problems. You just have to remember to look at the colour indicator as they rotate to ensure you don't read them wrong

I have posted before about not being able to buy a licence in advance of a 12th birthday. I wrote to the EA about this, and also asked about rolling annual renewal the same as car tax, instead of a fixed time each year. I post their reply without comment Thankyou for your email regarding your sons rod licence. The system used to issue rod licences can not issue a licence to anyone under the age of 12 as they do not require one. It would only be able to issue a licence after the person has turned 12 even if this falls in the middle of the season. The rod licence season runs on an annual cycle from 1 April to 31 March. This system keeps costs to a minimum and keeps licence duties as low as possible. Treasury rules dictate that income from rod licences must be spent within the financial year and this method makes best use of our income. It would be very difficult for us to plan our work if our major sales period were to occur around Christmas, for example. By operating on a financial year basis, we can remind all anglers to renew their licences through publicity campaigns in March through to June. If all licences were issued on a rolling basis, we would have to operate a system of reminders for every individual licence holder which would result in extra costs that would have to be passed on to anglers. The current licensing set up was created after a public consultation in 1994, which included our Fisheries Advisory Committees. This was then approved by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF). The current system appears to satisfy the majority of anglers

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wear/10498846.stm I hope they are putting in enough fish to feed them

Consider the other option: A weekend away for the wedding anniversary, put the buzzers on, and suggest a bit of nooky in the bivvy. When you get a bite just tell her it's Carpus Interruptus as you leap for the other rod . Downside is you may go on short rations for a while, upside is you get more solo time on the bank

That would be the prize question in Anglers Mail this week then

Nice to see reports from an un-biased source rather than a sponsored angler. Could you add the number of sections, as I sometime have limited capacity in my motor, and 2 piece 12' rods won't fit. Also P & P could be useful as we don't all live close Keep it up

Brings a whole new meaning to colonic irrigation

Agreed. It's not rocket science these days. I can buy tickets for anything, putting amounts for number of adults, and number and ages of children. Can't buy a licence for my 11 year old who will be 12 in July. Additionally they could be for a 12 month . With a new government could it be time for one of those number 10 petitions ??

A few observations Are you matching hooklink strength to main line strength, for example (ott) 8lb mainline to 2lb hooklink so that a big fish will snap it Have you just got a bad batch of hooks to nylon, as I have never had the whipping unravel or the loop break Which line is breaking at the loop, amin or hook link

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/8682058.stm

Try writing via the publishers on his latest book. I don't have a copy, but I am sue one of the forum brethren will have one

Or if all else fails go and buy a tin of Frezied Hemp. Just remove lid and use

I have the same on my local lake. Some of the carp I landed fought hard for their size, until I got them into the net to find them hooked in the belly!!. Sometimes the hook will come back with a scale on it. I am not alone in this, as others have the same problem. The lake is quite shallow with fish in the 3-8 lb range. They seem to swim quite close to the bottom and get foul hooked. It is not only meat, but corn and pellets have the same problem. I now have the bottom shot on the bottom about 12" from the hook, and drag the float back after casting to leave it all on the bottom. This has reduced it noticeably, but not prevented it entirely