manse

I took it up after going along with my 14yr old son on the local canal to make sure he was safe now 18months later my wife and 7yr old twin girls all have there own whips and love to sit for hours at the canal while i watch and help the 3 of them in a row, unhooking fish ,baiting up etc( i dont fish when they do), The girls can now tell what type of fish they caught and i watched amazed has one caught a 1 1/2lb bream, Yes they will handle fish gently and carefully after ive unhooked them so they can let them go also maggots/caster are no probs (only trouble is when i go without them the moaning starts). The looks we get from other folks are from amusment and friendly comments to looks of what the f*** is that idiot doing, but other anglers are great and will allways stop and chat. Must mean something when they turn off the cartoon channel to watch John Wilson mind ya the wife prefers Matt Hayes

Thanks Newt. Hope i never need your advice though, barbless hurt enough, was tying a 16 hook on few weeks back when my son reached over me for something out of the tray when a button on his sleeve caught the line pulling hook clean inside my finger and boy was there a few Dam n Blasts muttered mind u at least i got to use my forceps i brought 6 months ago

On the other hand, barbed hooks can cause more damage than barbless ones on unhooking, especially in the hands of those who haven't learnt how best to extract them. Therefore on waters that are fished by less experienced anglers barbless hooks may be a lesser evil than barbed ones. Even though i've never used one what is the right way to extract a barbed hook.

Thanks guys, Looks like getting the machete sharpened cus it will cost me a fortune in extension leads for me strimmer .

i stopped buying the DPM stuff cus i kept taking it off on the bank when i got warm and could never find it again untill someone tripped over it

The mother in law (yes we do like each other ) has just brought a caravan in Stourport right next to the river. Having spent the weekend there i'm really looking forward to trying fishing the Severn but after numerous walks along the bank and reading the brand new just put up signs on every other tree saying its BAA water i could only find 3 fishable pegs from around 15. The rest are so overgrown its impossable to fish without taking a machete to the nettles and other weeds to reach the peg at the bottom and with my 14yr old son in tow i couldnt find 2 pegs close enough to keep a eye on him. The one guy i found fishing said that the BAA hadnt touched it for around 2yrs when they used to have work partys clearing them just before the season started. On the caravan site virtually all the guys i spoke to fish and where very friendly and helpfull but all said they didn't fish the river because there's around 5 pools within 5 - 10mins drive, Could this be the reason the river is left untouched ? It cost £3 a day for a BAA pass and £4 for the nearby pool. So i'm left wondering. What are the rules to say if i was to cut some weeds/brambles back and a bailiff happend to walk by seeing me (just to sit down and castout). I'm not against paying the BAA even though im told the opposite bank is free fishing but my box is heavy enough allready with out strapping a machete to it or playing David Bellamy when i want to go for a quite few hours fishing . :confused:

Thanks Rich. so it would be ok to go from 8lb main line to 5.5lb low stretch hook line (0.162mm) or would it be better to have just a small difference in breaking strain say 6lb main line. If it helps the water is 5ft max and a reddish brown and the biggest fish caught there is 16lb but most 3 to 8lb but with a lot of reed/weeds

What length off hook line is best to use when using a swivel, Also is there a rule to say main line to hook line strength with one. cheers

"Fun" i've never laughted so much, One of my mates fell in trying to untangle his sons line from a tree,then climbing through nettles to get out(no we didn't take the wee, well only the first 3 hours after) 4 sections of a pole sailing past followed by its owner running round ( mate cast over it and pulled it in) My son fell off his box covering himself in maggots,sweetcorn and other bits. Plus my first ever Carp....Brill

Thanks Grey. Yep thats them, lovely looking fish. Best of all it's a place 5 mins drive away i never even knew was there 4 small pools in all £4 all day

Caught my first ever Carp yesterday (3 in total all day) all Mirrors between 3 and 5lb. Got to say it was the best days fishing ever and was grinning like a crazy fool when it went in the landing net . Caught a few other fish very like big Roach and was told by the bailiff they were Hides,Hydes ?dont know the spelling but thought he meant hybrids but no, he said they were imported from scandanavia or somwhere like that.anyone else heard of or caught these :confused:

The very first one......even if it was a little Roach about 18 months ago it got me "hooked" for life.

Bob Nudds guide to Whip fishing VHS/DVD at W.M.A.C £6-99 few more in his range as well. Ive also seen them in video shops same price.

Whats the best way to store Juicy pellets and boilies, I've never used them before, at the moment they are in the jars they came in. cheers

Cheers. will have a look.

Do you cook Tares the same way has Hemp ?. If not how, and is it best used on the hook while feeding hemp for Roach. Thanks for any tips

Elton, it was a hot day plus it was in a plastic bag so thinking about it should i have left it out in the open air in a tray. I hooked it either hook pushed through and turned or just hooked through a corner. should i slap myself now or later

Thanks all for some great tips, Just stocked up on Bacon grill(buy one get one free at the mo ) so i'll be trying them all. Any good flavours for Tench or just normal. Cheers Guys..

I tried using luncheon meat yesterday for the first time, small chunk on a 16 hook with in 90secs of touching bottom i'd got a 2lb tench ,thought i'm in for a good day ere,, then spent the next 5 hours without a bite :mad: . Problem is i kept loosing the meat on casts plus fish were taking it off the hook and gone before i could even strike, is there a trick to putting it on ? (was in fridge a few days prior to use). or would i be better using a hair rig for both meat and corn which is doing well at the moment as well. Thanks for any advice

Thanks guys. Will be getting the AtoZ out soon. Thanks again

Can anyone help ??. I'm looking for a place to fish, pool,lake ,river anything really that has a park/play area near to keep the wife n kids happy for the day , in the Mids area or nearish. Bewdley /Stourport/Worcester is near but to my knowledge dont think there's a place they can go. Cheers all..

Ive just brought a pair last week and they are a blessing, i suffer from migranes and epilepsy so the glare can cause problems for me, i could not believe the difference they made,, Fantastic. got the son a pair to , £2 in the bargin bin cus they had sticker glue on them :cool: .

Finaly caught my first fish today on my new pole, Bream around 1lb from the local canal (only one ) not bad for my 3rd try . Bloke next to me giving me tips and landing 4lb Bream at the same time :mad: i'll get him next time

Big Big thanks to all that recommended the Bob Nudds book, Just got it and its the best 7 quid ive spent on "fishing gear" Second is the £2 for the Anchor Quickshot a small pot of shot (refillable) from size 8 to 12 with a built in tweezer thing that puts it on ur line (even lines up the split for u)you dont even touch the shot by hand, fantastic for big clumsy oafs like me and freezing hands,

I'm starting to look like a garden gnome , Putting the pole together and just sitting with it trying to get used to the feel n weight. No time to go down the canal yet and make a idiot of myself