SteveP

Open to offers - you never know your luck

Take your point but knowing it's in the cupboard sort of keeps the hope alive that one day I might get the chance to use it Once its gone I know I will wish I still had it - but with so much to do to the house I can't afford not to sell Cheers Steve

Unused but much loved Youngs Purist II 2031 serial number S/R 0632 for sale in excellent condition. Comes in hardwood case with certificate of authenticity - a recent house move and new baby forces a reluctant sale. I know I'm going to miss it but I just can't see me getting time to use it for a long time yet and can't justify the extravagance. Looking for 180 pounds posted Thanks for looking Steve

Thanks for the advice so far, I'm working away from home at the moment so won't be able to reply here until the weekend. Thanks again for your help. Cheers Steve

Hello I'm on broadband. Heres an example of the sort of thing I'm getting - copy of the text from "Mail Delivery System" which is at postmaster@fs2.scg.man.ac.uk With reference to your message with the subject: "Fwd: Re[2]: maybe interesting for you." One or more addresses in your message have failed with the following responses from the mail transport system: User <sstleger@fs2.scg.man.ac.uk> not known at this site. Should you need assistance, please mail postmaster@fs2.scg.man.ac.uk. This is not anything I have sent and I am wondering, are these messages spam dressed up as returned mail? Thanks Steve

Hello Chaps, need some techie advice as I am fairly sure I have a virus. I have just started to be bombarded with email returning messages or delivery failure reports for emails which have allegedly been sent by me. These messages all have peculiar titles and are often start "fwd:" I have also had trouble sending emails of my own either with them takinf forever to get there or being returned. I have Bullgaurd antivirus which is up to date and hasn't found anything and windows defender which also says I'm ok, and spybot which has removed some spyware but these messages keep coming. So what should I check or do differently guys? Thanks for your help Regards Steve

Hello all, Whats the best spyware removal software - I think I've got a few hitchhikers? Thanks in advance Steve

Hi Peter, The product you need is a cold blueing gel sold by gunshops. If you try a google search and there are a large number of suppliers. The best I have used is made by Phillips but Abbey is OK too. From memory Sandwell Field Sports stocked the Phillips product. To ge the best result make sure the parts are well polished and another tip is to soak the parts in oil after blueing for a while as it make the finish deeper - dont try and polish it up right away either of you will buff it off. Cheers Steve

About 28 years for me. I remember when I was 5 or so watching an older lad catching gudgeon in the local brook - I was so impressed I wanted to do the same. My dad got some "Winfield" tackle from Woolworths and made a rod from a length of electrical conduit. We couldn't catch anything when we first went which was really upsetting until someone kindly pointed out that a size 6 hook was probably a bit large for minnows. Changed down to a seemingly tiny one (probably about a 16) which we were given and started catching and that was me hooked for life. A year or so later the brook flooded and when it receded a mirror carp of about 3lbs was beached on a shingle bank. We rescued it and moved it into a deeper pool. After that the thought of monster fish lurking in unliklely places has always given me a thrill (well to a six year old 3lbs was a monster) and is probably why the Passion for Angling series struck such a chord with me. Cheers Steve

I hate the flippin' things, they spoil otherwise perfectly tranquil surroundings. Sadly theres a lot of "anglers" around who have never learnt to fish any other way and wouldn't know how to use any other method of bite indication properly. It would be nice if a few clubs were to have at least one stillwater on their lists where they were banned - then we could have an escape. The other thing that gets me going is the lot who descend on small waters stocked with small match carp, but fish with hugely powerful carp rods, 3oz leads, bite alarms and enough camping gear for a fortnights holiday - as if they were on a huge pressured water fishing for record breaking fish. As it is most of my fishing is on the river now as its the only way to get a bit of P&Q. Rant over. Steve

So its official....... You need a beachcaster to be a carp angler these days! demon

Yup, its a "Millers Thumb" all right. Catching these in a net with my Dad 27 years ago what what got me started on fishing. Happy days, jumpers for goalposts etc etc Cheers Steve

RUDD, you hit the nail on the head - its attracting the wildies at the expense of the bigger fish I'm worried about. Maybe a big bunch of maggots in a PVA bag loaded with bloodworm pellets and maggots, dropped quietly in the margins would be the trick? Thanks again to everybody for your ideas - it's all food for thought. Cheers Steve

Thanks for the ideas so far chaps - I like the worm in a PVA bag of pellets idea :cool: I'm inclined to try along the edge of the deeper water first. It's not that I don't like catching wild carp - the scrap they put up is great fun on balanced tackle, but knowing there's a couple of monsters lurking gets the ole blood pumping Cheers Steve

To tackle this water.... It's an old lake of about 2.5 acres with a good head of wild and Common carp to about 10lbs. There are also a very small number (less than 1/2 a dozen or so) of mirrors at about 20lb with one, maybe two at 30lb 'ish Depth varies from a couple of feet to 12 feet at the dam end with a couple of small islands and lilly pads in the middle. Quite a few ducks which make surface baits tricky. The fish have seen all the usual baits and tactics - the wildies take meat, corn and boilies freely but the bigger fish are rarely seen. Any ideas on targetting the bigger fish? Thanks Steve

When I was in Russia we travelled up the river Volga, where we were told about a local way of catching catfish for the pot. They would make up a large amount of very a thick and dry type of porridge cooked into a thin walled clay pot. The pot would be lowered into a likely looking area where the hungry catfish would smash the pot and eat the dry porridge. The porridge would then swell up killing the catfish - leaving the fishermen to hoist it out for their dinner. Not a very sporting method, but when you're hungry I suppose there are different considerations. Cheers Steve

Hi Dan, There were loads out yesterday in the early morning in the bankside undergrowth where I fish, because it was still damp with dew. They were all gone by about 09:00 as the sun began to dry it out. Argylls dog food trick works well too - but I would agree about gloves. Hooking them is the worst part. Worth it though as the Chub love them. Cheers Steve

Hello Dan, Chub will take almost anything edible so I would say don't worry too much about choosing a flavour especially for them. I've had them on fruity ones but they would take other types if they came across them. They will also have no trouble with a 15mm boilie, their mouths are HUGE. Edit: Forgot to add - If you are looking for a Chub selective bait the best thing to use by far is a juicy black slug.... if you can bear collecting them and hooking them. (slime everywhere!) Just locate the Chub or a likely looking lair - carefully freeline the slug in without spooking them - and wait for the take. They really are a superb Chub bait. Have fun with them Steve [ 19. June 2005, 07:48 AM: Message edited by: SteveP ]

Hello Jeepster its a BMAA stretch near Burton - I love the Dove so much I tend to neglect the Trent a bit. One of my resolutions for this season was to have a proper go on the Trent, but I still find myself fishing on the Dove :-) Cheers Steve [ 18. June 2005, 04:50 PM: Message edited by: SteveP ]

Just had my first spinning outing of the season, on the Dove. Caught Brown Trout and Chub on a black Worden Rooster tail (barbs crushed - also makes untangling from your landing net easier) The kingfishers were busy bombing up and down, saw some nice sized barbel in the shallows on a gravel bar, a swan with her signets and a cuckoo singing softly overhead. Aaaahhhhh it's good to be back on the river again Cheers Steve [ 18. June 2005, 10:53 AM: Message edited by: SteveP ]

If you are using braid you will feel the lure better than on mono - you should be able to feel when the lure touches the bottom. Count how long it takes the lure to go down - then you can vary the depth by counting down and varying how quickly you start to retrieve after casting. A smallish spinner with a tag of red wool is a good starting point for perch. I really rate the Panther Martin spinners myself. Have fun Steve

My set up for light lure work for Perch and Chub is a 5-25g 7 foot rod with a very small fixed spool reel. Line is 20lb braid - it sounds heavy I know but dont worry, the diameter is very low - more like 5lb line. Make up wire traces with AFW 15lb 7 strand - twists up fine and is only about 0.20mm. If you are only using small lures a sturdy pair of sidecutters is all you'll need to cut hooks if the worst comes to the worst. I also often replace the trebles on a lot of my small Perch spinners with singles as I think they are kinder to their mouths (the telescopic action of the Perch mouth can get really hooked up and damaged) Cheers Steve

Is it possible to have too much tackle then My wife thinks so but there's always another rod, reel or lure that I "need" I think collecting is another facet to angling that makes it such a rewarding passtime. (Also keeps the tackle trade going!) Cheers Steve

Excellent advice, thanks Steve. I had been considering using these tiny jigs and flies with a float on the river as part of an ultralight campaign this season - I will definately give it a go now, you never know - the Grayling might even show an interest with flies? (Would this technically count as fly fishing or lure fising if you are using a light lure rod?) Thanks again Steve

Could be - I've also found a couple of handfuls of devon minnows just crying out for a new coat of paint. Well thats a couple of closed seasons entertainment taken care of! Cheers Steve