Dave Lumb

www.sharpes.net

Baitbox, the deadbait suppliers from Grimsby or somewhere over that way, do the oils and the colours.

Didn't have your 'eating teeth' in then Gerry?

You'll have noticed I transposd a smaller number into a larger one....

I don't sell them. I use them.

I'm numerically dyslexic...

or Give it to me. One can never have enough 6501s

http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~jliua/videogal.htm

Ooohhhh. I'm tempted!

There's nothing wrong with them - apart from the spring that operates the 'clicker' broke on one spool before I had even put line on. It's just that they feel, well, plasticky and cheap - the spools particularly are weedy things. Sure the gearing seems fine, but I have a horrible feeling all the bits will fall off! They'll do for what little use I'll be giving them, they are the 30 size to be used for odd sessions after small things like perch and some small stream chub fishing, so they won't get much hammer! For the money they are okay, but I wish I'd gone for the Daiwas I had intended buying - but the dealer only had one in stock. My own fault for being impatient!

The F*x reel looks to have a push button spool - which is different on a front drag these days. I pointed out this, and the differences on 'that pike forum' - but Andy's thread seems to have disappeared... I have a couple of Epix Pro's too. They are the first and last Okumas I'll be buying. I'm not impressed with them.

I'm surprised to hear that Jim. I can't recall seeing many rods without them. Some flat spots are worse than others, some are barely discernable, but a few are over a foot long. So flat are some of these spots that they make the butt look exceedingly soft - but bends, flat spot is flat, tip bends. Yeuk. Doesn't seem to affect rod performance though. I have also seen spigots that haven't been strong enough and have shown a distinct 'kink when under full load. Now that doesn't inspire confidence in a rod!

Of course they have their own overseas production, as they do for all the other products they market - just like a load more tackle firms. Doesn't mean they own and run the production unit though.

Depends on the blank. What little I know from my association with Harrisons is that a seperate mandrel is used for each section of the rod - two, three or four piece. These do not have to have the same taper. Both tip and butt can be strengthened at the join - depending on the blank. Overfits give an economical way of producing a wide range of blanks. Whether they are cheap or not depends on quailty of materials used, not the joint construction. I'm sure someone will corect me if I am wrong, but I'm fairly sure some Sage blanks use overfits these days.

Surely overfits have slimmer butt sections than spigots? After all the butt just a very long spigot. For example tips off the original Hutchy Horizons fit onto Ballista butt sections perfectly - yet the Ballistas have much slimmer butts than the Hutchies....

There is a 9ft, 2 piece 60-120g Harrison available. I don't have price for a built rod as that would depend on build specification, but I'd suggest it would be upwards of £120. I have the 45-90 version and having just been outside and easily managed to chuck a Bull Dawg with it I reckon the 60-120 would have no trouble at all with even heavier lures.

Nine foot two piece to cast 120 gm? I think there might be something available. But it will not be cheap. I can check up tomorrow.

So long as you don't let the critics get to you (I have a thick skin so it never bothered me ) you will be fine, Chris. There are plenty of 'good guys' in the PAC who will support you. I agree that Pikelines is at the highest standard it has ever been - in terms of both content and presentation. I hope that it won't be changed just for the sake of change, as often seems to happen when a new committee takes over. See you in May?

I never pressure people to join/rejoin PAC, Budgie. I'd rather see them rejoin in their own time than be press ganged back. At the end of the day the PAC is the best voice that pike anglers have, and the more experienced pikers that are members the stronger that voice will be. I have never met Mark or Chris, but from what I read of their views on t'internet I am sure they will serve the PAC well.

Yes, they have, but get over it. That was then, this is now. You really must stop living in the past and blaming the current set-up for the faults of previous ones. PAC has done stuff I strongly disagreed with in its time (indeed I almost resigned at one point over a particularly fundamentilist stance) but I stayed in and worked to effect change - which I believe eventually came when common sense prevailed. PAC has learned its lessons and now treads more carefully, taking a balanced viewpoint on contentious issues. You can rejoin on-line here - http://www.pacgb.co.uk/join.html

Peter, I would like to see an end to pike matches as much as you do. However, I think that no matter what PAC does pike matches will NOT go away. So would you rather see PAC members condemning a pike match when they could be helping out and trying to improve the lot of the pike caught in the match? Giving a friendly, helping hand is more likely to encourage those particpating in the match to treat pike with respect than walking away from them

I think Chris's attitude makes him an excellent choice as a PAC committee member. The last thing PAC needs is to adopt a standpoint based on prejudice.

That rules me out!

Well get of your arse, rejoin PAC and do it if you're so bloody clever.

Have you ever tried to educate the 'ill educated' piker? Do they ever listen? There is enough stuff in the weeklies, IYCF and the like each winter about pike handling and techniques, yet still the message doesn't get through. How's the PAC, or anyone else, going to make it better? It's very easy to say, "The PAC should be doing something". But what exactly? Have you got any great PRACTICAL ideas? Perhaps you should have stayed in the PAC and started running a campaign to 'do something' - instead of doing resigning and doing your grumpy old man act...