SteveP

Hi Argyll, Its no problem, they've sat in the drawer for several years so far - I'm sure they can wait until the seasons over if thats the general concensus. Cheers Steve

Hello all, Whilst having a pre-season tidy up I found a bunch of lure blanks I bought from Harris years ago and never got round to finishing. They are 5" Rapala Originals without the diving vane - in plain white.(I've got about 15-20) Is anyone interested in having an AN lure painting competition. We can set a deadline and post pictures of the results for judging. Could also have a category for the largest fish caught on one of these lures. I'll even donate a prize of a 1&7/8oz Rebel Windcheater for the winner. (Also surplus to requirements) What do you reckon - any interest or different ideas? Cheers Steve

Hello Steve, What is the best way to fish these small jigs for Perch? My reason for asking is that all the literature I've ever seen says sink and draw - but I've never had any luck like that with spinners for Perch. I've always found that a steady retrieve without pauses (even when you can feel them plucking at the lure) gets the best results. Is it the same for the tiny jigs - and would Newts "bobber" method work on our waters? Thanks Steve

Hi Shaun, welcome to Anglers Net. What sort of size do Canadian carp get to? Are there other coarse species in Canada that also get overlooked in favour of game fish? Cheers Steve [ 09. February 2005, 03:08 PM: Message edited by: SteveP ]

All - thanks for the advice and Budgie thanks for the link. I still haven't managed to get away and try it yet but plan to before the week is out. I am using it on my ultralight spinning setup to replace 5lb mainline, fishing for perch and chub. Now I've got the braid loaded I feel a lot more confident should a pike turn up unexpectedly. I've been trying out some Yozuri Snap beans which have a superb action and I reckon braid will help get them down a little deeper. Cheers Steve

Hi Budgie, thanks for the advice. Just have to wait until I get the opportunity to try it out now Cheers Steve

I recently bought some braid to try for my lure fishing. The stated diameter was 0.10mm when I was spooling it up it had a rectangular profile - the thinnest part of the profile might well be 0.10mm but the widest profile is more like 0.20+mm. Are all braids shaped like this or are some rounded, and should manufacturers quote the widest diameter? Cheers Steve

Hi Peter, thanks for the feedback, have been meaning to give them a go but wasn't sure about the sizing. They looked like they would come up a bit smaller than normal hooks due to their shape. I have also been meaning to try them on my Banjo Minnows as the standard hooks aren't too good. Cheers Steve

The idea looks like a similar principle to the Dardevle Fishtrap spoon - I've never seen them in the UK though? Peter - What size circle hooks are you using ? Thanks Steve

Thanks Peter, I'm on the lookout for a decent rod which can be used for dropping deads into likely looking pools on the river (Dove) but could also double for a bit of spinning. I've got the 7' Greyflex spinning rod which is a lovely little tool and wondered if the MacMartin spin would be as nicely made. Thanks Steve [ 29. November 2004, 09:33 PM: Message edited by: SteveP ]

Evening all, I've just seen the MacMartin spinbait rods on Harris for 1/2 price. Are these any good for lures and deadbaiting for pike ? If they are I'm sorely tempted at this price for a rod with a lifetime warranty. Cheers Steve

I've been dabbling for about a year now, using the Burton Bridge kits. Next step after Christmas will be trying to mash my own grain and do it all properly. Does anyone have any tips or ideas for DIY equipment for the mashing and boiling stages - as the mash tuns and boilers look a bit pricey? What kits have you found to be good ? Cheers Steve

Hi Paul, I was using barbless hooks too which helped a bit, I also tried shortening my hooklink down to about 7-8 inches but it didn't seem make any difference. Oh well - looks like I'll have to dig out a few floats then Cheers Steve

I caught my first Grayling on the Dove this morning - had 7 in all to about a pound and a half in the first hour of fishing I was using legered maggot and quiver tipping but did find a few were quite deep hooked - any tips on avoiding deep hooking? I was hitting the first sign of any bites but it didnt seem to help - they were gorging on the maggots as nearly every fish had a few from loose feed in their throats. Cheers Steve

Hi Pangolin, a simple way is to set up your feeder or bomb as you currently do using a swivel as a ledger stop. All you need to do is get some silicone tube which is a fairly tight fit into the eye of the swivel which you have used to attach the feederbomb link to the main line(assuming you have used a small swivel attached to the feeder to make a running link to your mainline). You push one end into the eye of the running swivel - and the other end over the eye of the swivel in your mainline. This "fixes" the previously running link with the feeder to the swivel on your mainline - but if you break off above the feeder it doesn't take much pressure to pull the feeder off the silicone tube and the fish is free. The other advantage of this rig is that you can easily switch to a running link again by just pulling the silicone tube out of the eye of the swivel. Drop me a line if you want a (badly drawn) diagram Hope this makes sense Cheers Steve [ 09. July 2004, 10:12 PM: Message edited by: SteveP ]

I'm looking around for a new fixed spool reel at the moment,and wondered why so many have spools capable of holding say 300+yards of 4 lb mono? When would you need this amount of line - surely 100 yards or so would cover most situations? Cheers Steve

Thanks Chaps - what sort of retrieve should I try ? When fishing on a fly rod do you let the current work the fly or do I need to vary the retrieve a bit - stop start etc etc Cheers Steve

Hello all - I am planning on doing a lot of ultra light lure fishing this season and wondered about using flies fished on UL tackle for coarse fish. Are there any patterns which are best to start with for rivers like the Trent and Dove for a mixed bag ? Cheers Steve

Hi Kendo, pay a visit to the Harris site and search for weedless, there are a few to choose from. The Heddon Moss Boss takes some beating for chucking into lilly pads and snags. Cheers Steve

Another tip I saw somewhere for "twiddled" traces was to put a very small blob of epoxy on the end of the coils. This secures the end of the wire - but also means that weed slides over it and doesnt collect on it quite as much on the retrieve. I've tried it with spinning traces and it worked a treat. Cheers Steve

Sounds like good advice, Thanks. I must admit to being a little guilty sometimes of doggedly fishing one lure that I like and not necessarily what the fish like ! Steve

I've got hold of some small jigs which I'd like to try for Perch. What type of retrieve is best? The reason I ask is that I've found when spinning a good steady pace does best, without pauses - but a lot of the literature shows a sink and draw type method along the bottom for jigs? Thanks Steve

Hi Newt, at the moment I have a couple in .177 but I've had some in .20 and .22 aswell. Thanks everybody for the warm welcome. Steve

Hi everyone, I've just joined this forum and wanted to say hello to you all. The great thing about fishing is you never stop learning, and this forum seems full of people willing to share their knowledge - so watch out... I will be picking your brains in due course Cheers Steve