j_s

Good luck guys, i've not been fishing since I went to the Itchen with a few of you back in 2005 so have a good one, I know I did back then

I haven't been on the forum for a long time now and i'm very sad to hear this. I fished with Gerry down on the Itchen back in early 2005 at an Anglers' Net fish in. Rest in Peace Gerry.

Cash on collection is fine I'll pm you my address and mobile number.

Oh right, I attended the Itchen fish-in last year You'll be travelling down the M3 anyway, i'm literally 5 minutes from it. We can sort a deal yes mate.

Hi mate Yes that's the barrow. I'm just off junction 4 of the M3 in Hampshire. A bit of a treck from Leicestershire mate i'm afraid unless you come down south at all?

These are just taking up space so need to get em sold. TFG carryall - cost £55 new http://www.fishtec-coarse.co.uk/ProductD...opListRec=30066 It's in near brand new condition Looking for £15 Also a Nash barrow for carting all your gear about - cost £60 new Again not too far off great condition. Looking for £15 Ideally I don't want to have to post this as it's big and bulky

Replied Paul

I've got the following for sale. Chub Reflex Brolly system (complete I believe- may be 1 peg missing) ======SOLD======= JRC roamer chair (lightweight) in camo colours, hardly used - as new condition. ======SOLD======= JRC bedchair, the lightweight one, it is old though and a slight issue with one of the feet (just causes minor irritation when setting up) but apart from that absolutely fine £15 TFG Medium carryall, hardly used, excellent condition £30 Nash flatbed barrow, folds up to a good size. £30 I can get some pics up at the earliest tonight but likely to be in the next 2 days . I live near Farnborough, Hants and would prefer for pickup or even I can deliver if you are local enough [ 03. October 2005, 09:39 PM: Message edited by: j_s ]

I wasn't on the list for breaky anyway Gerry Hope everyone has a good time and make sure you keep us posted how it went

Just to make sure you got my message Andrew, I can't make Saturday now due to too many committments with work, decorating selling a car, I now won't be able to fish for ages now Sorry again for this and hope to be at the next Anglers net fish in

Awaar, go to http://www.catmastertours.com , if you phone the Birmingham number you will most likely speak to Colin's mum as she does the bookings. Colin is back in the country for the next couple of weeks I believe to sort a few things out. They have the odd space at short notice so always worth a call if you fancy rushing out there. It certainly was a dream come true, the week before we were there they had some days where 18 cats came out, that must have been brilliant! [ 19. July 2005, 02:20 PM: Message edited by: j_s ]

Also i'd just like to add we did pretty much everything ourselves, Colin helped with the location of the fish and rowed the baits out and was on hand if needed whilst we set up the baits, landed the fish, unhooked them etc. He could have done everything for us but I prefer the approach we took which was to actually fish ourselves, much more sense of achievement then

Yep, they certainly do Ian, mostly at weekends on the Mequinenza town front. We didn't speak to any Spanish fishermen but I gather they don't mind. What is an embarrassment though is the way some of the guiding services act towards the others, Colin has been threatened a few times now as well as his family. Windscreens smashed, tyres slashed, a boat knifed through the middle. All of this is British guiding services, not the Spanish. Also the carp seem to have evolved to try and protect themselves from the cats, their fins are all very sharp and these ruin a landing net within 2 weeks of first using the net, they get completely shredded!!!

Here is a shot of a sunset when I asked Colin to take me out in the boat Here is a shot of River from the castle over looking it, if you look in the middle of the picture you will see an island with trees on it and then a smaller island below it, we fished towards the smaller island. Budgie will hopefully point out a few swims he used to fish when he guided down there. I really enjoyed the trip and was quite gutted when I got home as it was back to work yesterday morning. It had quite a profound affect on me out there and I hope to go back in 2006 for some winter carping and perhaps zander. I would recommend going with Catmaster Tours as Colin really is a great guide and full of information as well as great stories of his past angling exploits as well as other run ins with big angling names, I won't publish them here but let's just say it surprised me about the specimen carp scene. Also the wildlife in Mequinenza is so abundant, from kites and eagles to bee eaters and a whole load of bird names I forget, a great place for an angler to go.

Hi guys Got back on Sunday absolutely nackered. We were up for 19 odd hours a day in 40 degree sunshine and loving every minute of it My brother and I got to Barcelona Airport last Sunday (11th) and met Colin Bunn of Catmaster Tours along with one of his guides. We jumped in the people carrier along with 3 other anglers and 5 other anglers were in the other people carrier so quite a busy week for Colin. We got to Mequinenza and dropped our stuff off at the apartments and then headed down to Colin's bar for something to eat and a couple of San Miguels. We weren't doing any fishing until 6am the following day so we relaxed and enjoyed the stupidly hot weather and then listened to one of the other group, who turns out not even to be an angler, go on and on about how fishing is all luck and you can cast anywhere you want, if the fish are hungry they will take it We got up bright and early and went for a little jog on the Monday morning at 5am before Colin came to pick us up. Off we went to our swim which was opposite a reed island and it looked very fishy with a load of snags just off the island. We ended up fishing the swim all week as the cats were unfortunately spawning again for the 3rd time this year as were the carp, this made sport slow but we did catch a few. We rolled a dice to determine the order of who grabbed the rods, I was 2nd but due the the mid afternoon heat we decided to take it in turns to pop back for a shower. The guy who was meant to go first popped back so it was then down to me to strike if a run developed, and one did indeed. It resulted in my first ever moggy @ 60lb, I was over the moon as I all I wanted was a catfish and it didn't matter how big or small The guy who was meant to go first came back and after a couple of hours he had a run which took him some time to bring in and when we saw it we knew why the cat weighed in at 172lb!! The rest of the week pretty much went the same way in terms of a few fish a day. I managed a 134lb cat on the Wednesday so I also achieved my next goal of a catfish over 100lb I caught another 3 cats, one at 51lb, one at 89lb and one at 3lb!!! My brother managed 3 catfish, 132lb, 134lb half albino and 137lb, I will try and get his pics asap. We chucked a few carp rods out from Wednesday afternoon onwards as the carp were picking up the cat baits (halibut pellets X 7 on a hair) but not hooking themselves. This was a wise move as we had 10 or so carp a day, it would have been more if we put them where the cat rods were but as we were there for cats, those rods were a priority. My first carp was 19lb, instant pb. My brothers' was a 30 but he lost it at the net, he was not a happy bunny. He then caught a few doubles along with one just short of 20lb, a new pb for him! I then hooked into something a lot more substantial and it took a little while to get in. Result was a common of just over 30lb We managed quite a few more but my brother had to beat me and he did with a 32lb common, see results below for weights Me: 5 catfish 60lb, 134lb, 51lb, 89lb, 3lb A few Carp 19lb, 27lb, 22lb, 30lb, 6lb, 21lb, 22lb and loads of doubles. Also tried for some zander by catching loads of bleak, we had a few pick ups by the zander but didn't hook them. I also managed a tiny zander fry on the whip when catching the bleak and also reeled in a roach of just under a pound on a carp rod, these are quite rare on the Ebro system now, as are the pike and rudd. My brother 3 catfish 132lb, 134lb half albino, 137lb Carp 19lb, 22lb, 32lb, countless 20s and a few a smidgen below 30. Other anglers Catfish 172lb, 167lb, 49lb, 90lb, 80lb, 50lb, 103lb, 148lb, 26lb full albino (very pretty fish) and another tiny 3lb. Carp 6/7 30lbers 44lb Countless 20s Countless doubles a couple below 10lb [ 19. July 2005, 12:50 PM: Message edited by: j_s ]

Rules seem ok to me mate, a bit protective to be honest but the few always mess up it for the majority so fully understandable.

Will do mate, i'll have a few pics up as well, hopefully of the fish but also of the surrounding area

Dan, i'm heading out to Mequinenza early Sunday morning for a week with Catmaster Tours. Is there anything in particular you wanted to find out, i'll try my best while i'm there but please be specific with your requests as I want to get as much fishing in as possible

Just recently my and my girlfriend have been walking our dogs along the Basingstoke Canal every evening as it is literally right next to my house. I saw what I believe to be some carp spawning at the back of 1 of the turning bays about a week before the season started. A few days after the season started I first spot a dead carp (I would estimate it to be 20lb when alive) about a mile up from where I saw the carp spawning before and then I see a dead tench of around 5lb. Is it coincidence that these fish are dead and it's the beginning of the season or could it be down to spawning (at least for the carp anyway).

Thanks very much Steve, please pass on my thanks to the bailiffs and Peggy. I spent a lot of Saturday talking to Budgie and Andrew but did a few hours fishing until it was almost dark. Had a few bites, all from the mozzies (loads of them, I could here them buzzing all around me) apart from a touch on the feeder and a couple of movements on the float, not sure if I did anything wrong or the fish just didn't want to know. Great fishery, the amount of wildlife was simply astounding, creepy crawlies everywhere, I could hear cuckoos, owls, even a peacock somewhere! Thanks again Steve, it was also good to have met you

Martin, best to speak to Budgie when he get's back from Wingham. Private message him with your question and i'm sure he'll give you all the info. I'm out there in July going for a week's guided fishing with Castmaster Tours, I can ask them then as well if you like. You'll probably have to remind me though

I've heard this mentioned before, perhaps the shaped leads we use are better aerodynamically anyway so no need for the dimples

I know I said No Steve but I might get hungry, if there is a burger or something going I may have one on Saturday, i'm trying to lose a bit of weight you see [ 10. June 2005, 07:37 PM: Message edited by: j_s ]

I've fished a few waters with good fish in them, unfortunately I haven't caught any of those good fish Here's hoping I can change that trend. I picked up some micro barbed hooks (size 6 and 10 raptors) tonight on the way home from work and also a few casters. Should I just go for the size 6 with a worm for the perch Steve?

I used the above method with a piece of fake corn and caught a 15lb common within 10 seconds of casting in (my first cast as well)