JW

Our club come sover to England once a year to fish a few matches over a weekend on a Carp venue (something we don't have many off in Ireland). Last year was my first and we went to Woodlands near Thirsk (same venue this year). I asked advice from anyone that would offer any on baits and studied all the mags. Pellets were stocked up, luncheon meat cut and flavoured all that jazz. What did we catch on? Chopped worm, caster and sweetcorn! Now I don't know whether this was just because we're used to fishing these baits or not but I'll not run short of worm and caster this year I can tell you.

I'm finding at the minute particles are the answer to sorting out the bigger roach. Hemp/Caster/sweetcorn/maize in the feeder just sealed with a wee bit of groundbait. I would fish a blockend but can't get it to work right. Also Chopped Worm is something traditionally used for Perch or Bream but Roach love it too.

Yep have a good one peeps!

The most important thing in pacey water is that the rig is balanced. If the rig is balanced right you'll have no problem seeing bites from all but the smallest of roach. A 3oz tip may seem brutal but if you're fishing with that much lead you can't fish any other way. I see others have said about "fishing upstream" what we generally do is very similar. Just cast normally but when the feeder is about to hit the water lift the rod to 12o'clock, wait until the feeder hits bottom then simply lower the rod into the rest (which should be set so the rod is pointing up in the air). The resulting bow helps the feeder stay static in the flow. If it starts bouncing add a bit more weight until you get it balanced. Using braid is useful with this method as the low diameter helps cut the amount of drag on the line. Any sort of bite at all will dislodge the feeder and show very positively on your tip (usually a big drop back).

.... and final Standings now online. http://ebcac.netfirms.com/Results.htm

http://ebcac.netfirms.com/Results.htm EBCAC Winter League Round 5.

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No sir I don't fish many of the team matches - get the good lady used to me going out every other week first! Slowly slowly catchy monkey...

http://ebcac.netfirms.com/Results.htm Results from the latest round of the Angling Times Winter League in Northern Ireland.

Latest EBCAC Winter League results, from Portglenone 23.11, now online - http://ebcac.netfirms.com/Results.htm

Another big problem is judging just HOW popular angling is in Britain. This is where clubs (no matter how small or casual) have a big influence. The more structure you can show the easier it is to get funding. How many anglers around the country are not in some sort of club or society? I would guess the majority....

I was reading through some old literature about Coarse Fishing in Northern Ireland when I came across this little snippet that applies every bit as much today as it did in 1968 when the booklet was produced. Sometimes the more things change the more they stay the same..... Thoughts about good manners "Angler's as a group tend to be among the best behaved of visitors to the countryside. They know that gates should be left closed; that tins and botles are always unsightly and can be dangerous to farm animals; that a clean river is better for fishing. They therefore consider the well being of the countrysideand its inhabitants while they enjoty their sport. Nevertheless, good manners are one of thefew things which can never be overdone. The pressure on our countryside is increasing as more and more people from the towns turn to it for recreation.This movement will be better, and freer, and more enjoyable if it takes place with the willing agreement of farmers, landowners and country people generally.It never does any harm to say PLEASE and THANK YOU."

I think the problem is probably that most people don't see Angling as a "sport" preferring to label it a "pastime".

An excellent rod in that price range is the Shakespeare Odessa 12ft "Medium" feeder. I think Fisherman's Friend are doing it for about £55 and there's none better at this price. It comes with 4 tips - 2 glass, 2 stiffer carbon ones and is a very versatile rod. For this sort of money it's a snip!

Just on this subject. Anybody out there used to fishing big rivers with fast flow? I tell you why I ask..... Last year we fished a few matches where it took at least 2 and a half ounces to hold bottom. I got the distinct feeling groundbait is a waste of time as the particles are too light and just get washed away. I'd like to try a blockend with just hemp caster and maybe corn but I'm not really confident that the feeder will empty. Any hints/tips??? :confused:

... from Northern Ireland http://ebcac.netfirms.com/Results.htm

IF people take a fish for the table I don't see anything wrong with that, no matter what size the fish is. It would be a different story if he'd caught a dozen and took them all.

Oh and when I said "bag" I meant they sell it in big sacks.

Just another idea for dirt cheap groundbait... If you have a biggish bakery nearby the chances are they will sell big bags of stuff they sweep from the floor around their machines. This is usually sold to pig farmers to make swill for pittance,a couple of pound a bag, but grab yourself a sieve and you'll get some quality crumb from it after you pick out the half loaves and big crusty bits!

You're quite correct what you say about Ireland Peter at that time of year. Where the fish are to be found is usually dictated by the weather up to that point in the year. If you are planning well in advance the safest bet would be to book accomodation somewhere in the middle of Ireland Cavan/Mullingar, and then just use this as a base. You can cover a mighty amount of options within an hour and a halfs drive (maximum) from those locations.

I seen a squirrel swimming on the Lower Bann about a month ago. Again At first I thought it ws a mink but the tail was too big. It then proceeded to get out of the river and scamper up the tree between myself and the next peg.

Or the "You wanna been here last week" guy. Usually some oul bloke who doesn't even fish but wanders up and down the river delighting in telling you about last week's huge catches while you're struggling for a bite.

Most of them would have been perfect live-bait 3-4oz . The Lower Bann is alive with them at the minute. Unfortunayely for the Pike anglers there seems a distinct lack of pike about, which is strange because the River contains some monsters. I heard they'd been dying off because of the lime leaching into the water from a bridge building works (apparently pike are very sensitive to this) but this hasn't been confirmed.

Indeed it was. Pieced together a nice wee bag of 127 roach only for clappy balls beside me to land 4 big bream to add to his few bits, Gutted!

but here goes anyway... Latest EBCAC Winter League results.. http://ebcac.netfirms.com/Results.htm