Mat Hillman

Sounds like you are not sinking the line after casting, the wind will then slowly blow a big bow into the line that will both pull the float out of position and cause you to miss bites! Cast a little way past the spot you want to fish, and then put the rod tip well under the water, turn the reel handle sharply a couple of times to pull the float back into position, and at the same time the line should sink below the surface wind/tow. Sometimes a drop (but a small drop) of washing up liquid is needed on the line to help it cut through the surface film

if you swapped the drives so there is still only one in there it would need to be set as Master not Slave. Only use the slave setting for a second drive on the same IDE cable

Who needs a bite alarm when you've got that lovely ratchet sound to wake you up

theres some great pictures of the chris lythe reels on his website at http://www.chrislythe-centrepins.co.uk/ I did seriously consider one, but decided that I was far too impatient to wait for the delivery times people seem to be mentioning!

Well I "only" paid £199 for mine, but I consider it the best peice of tackle I own, and well worth the money When I started getting interested in using a centrepin I went the route most people do I guess, and bought a cheap one - a leeds, then moved on to a trudex, and then a speedia, both from Ebay. All I can say is that after using several 'pins for a few years, the 'BJ' is simply a pleasure to use. As to value for money, well £200 for a reel that with a little care I'm sure will last me the rest of my life seems reasonable enough to me! (Especially as the wife paid for it)

I tried to buy my Bob James reel from the same place, and met the same problem, after waiting the three months they quoted, and not ever hearing from them again I bought mine from a shop in London that had just about the whole Youngs range in stock, in fact I jumped on the train and took the oppetunity to go in and play with them all before deciding on the BJ ;-) Not sure I should post the contact details here as this thread started off with Elton trying to make a few quid , but I'll send it via PM if you want

I've got that weekend penciled into the calender, just waiting for Steve to send out the invite! Mat

Well I'm a member of a local club, mainly for access to thier waters, but I do also participate in thier online message board, and would have gone to the AGM this year if I hadn't been working that weekend. I've also got an application for the ACA sitting on my desk as I write, it's going to get posted next week! Mat

Walking about softly so as not to scare the fish, then lobbing in a bloody great method feeder!

If I ever actually catch something worth shouting about, EVERYONE will know

Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, Teach him how to fish and he'll start moaning about cormarants!

depends if it is a usb or a usb2 hub !

If the water is that bad why not let the owner know in the only way he'll understand, and take your day ticket money to a better maintained fishery in the area. Once his takings start dropping, he'll soon either sort the place out or sell it on to someone who will! Mat

Yup well done Button - I had 50p on him to make the podium ;-) And 50p on Webber to get in the points, great race for me! <G>

The prices do seem a little high - I paid £199 for a Bob James (not the new lightweight) just before Xmas.

The idea of banning smoking in pubs always makes me chuckle "Excuse me but will you please not damage your lungs while drinking your liver into oblivion" ;-)

I prefer cork handles on a rod I'm going to be holding lot of the time, but for Carp / feeder rods that sit in the rests most of the time I'm not that bothered. I do agree that rods look much nicer with a cork handle though! Mat

The Hobbit ! but one I've read recently that really grabbed me was Enders Game by Orson Scott Card Mat

surely the holy grail is how to target the tench without catching the snotties

Assuming they are the lewtham Leeds reels, To clean, unscrew the big screw in the centre of the backplate, this will allow the spool to come away from the spindle. In the centre of the spindle the bearings are held in place by a couple of circlips, carefully remove these, and then the spindle should easily pull out. There are two ball races, probably best to give both a clean in a solvent - lighter fuel, white spirit etc. Then you need to add a small drop of lubricant to each ball race - highly recomend the magic potion from Mill tackle, before re-assembling. Take care when adding the oil not to overdo it, less really is more in this case. the rest of the reel can be cleaned with a damp cloth, if it has a ratchet add another small drop of oil to the moving parts there too. Mat

Try the mill tackle link I posted earlier in this thread, their website quotes from £20 for a service on an aerial Mat [ 18. March 2004, 01:49 PM: Message edited by: Mat Hillman ]

a drop of Gary Mills magic centrepin oil on the bearings probably wouldn't hurt, I use it on my pin and find it much better than anything else I've tried. http://www.milltackle.co.uk/ Be very interested to hear how you get on with it! Mat

I cook hemp in a bucket with a sealable lid. quick and easy with no mess or smells! fill the bucket about 1/3 with seeds, cover the seeds with boiling water, you need at least 2 inches of water over the level of the seeds, and then seal the lid and leave overnight. Next morning you'll have a bucket of perfectly cooked hemp ready to go straight to the bank. Take it to the bank and use it direct from the bucket it was cooked in for best results - it stays soaking in all the oils released while cooking. Mat

Well I've only got out onto my local river 6 or 7 times this winter, but the chubbing on the chelmer has been consistant if not very spectacular. I've averaged 2 chub a session, with the best at 4lb 5oz. with only 1 fish under 3lb the average size has been pretty good too. This is the first season I've fished the river so I don't know if my results are good or not, but I've not had a blank yet which is always good news in my book (famous last words) Mat [ 15. March 2004, 12:09 AM: Message edited by: Mat Hillman ]

I have both a JW Avon quiver, and a 14 foot carp match style rod (browning syntec 14-16) I find the JW Rod much nicer to use close in, and near snags like lilly pads etc as the all through action allows you to really apply pressure when needed. The match style rod comes into it's own when fishing further out, it casts a float further and picks up the line cleanly on the strike, but isn't as much fun to play a fish on ;-) Mat