Russell Fitzpatrick

its amazing what people take for granted.... any carp or barbel angler worth his salt checks his rigs in the margins,been saying for a while,on here and elswhere about the braid hooklengths looping up,putty does the job as does rubbing the block of putty up and down the braid,why bother? go flurocarbon its much better! maybe not as strong and a little thicker but its does virtually dissapear and it lays flat as it sinks like a stone. as budgie said to "pulling back" to straighten the rig,is common,or is it!? RUDD- did they show flurocarbon in use? DEN-no tench?they are better at avoiding rigs than carp! [ 25. February 2005, 07:07 AM: Message edited by: Ratty46 ]

a shot of esox's markings,resting from the battle. funny one fish colour i caught a good fish a few years ago,she was a real light colour,but you could see her markings(she werent grey looking),well cut a long story short i stalked and cuaght her last october(unkown at the time it was the same fish) this time however she had lost a little wieght,nothing major-it was october early days.but her colours!my god,i have never seen such a green pike in al my life beautyfull green body with bright yellow spots,a lower weight but in fine sporting trim with colours like that i wasnt complaining.funny thing is she had been around a large lily/weedbed everytime i had seen her so maybe thats why she changed colours,before she was plotted up under a bridge and in deeper water. [ 25. February 2005, 07:17 AM: Message edited by: Ratty46 ]

seph i see where you coming from mate,but i think it could also be barbless hook damage,when they are hooked they twist and turn as i found out!a barbed hook in my opinion is far less likley to slip-maybe causing damage,it could be a sore from be caught a lot?i was using barbed hooks by the way pretty sure it wasnt my doing. do send that pic too! [ 20. February 2005, 10:06 PM: Message edited by: Ratty46 ]

a pic of my first ever grayling [ 20. February 2005, 06:13 PM: Message edited by: Ratty46 ]

sure am,i have had cuts and grazes,excatly the reason-lack of attention!

pike DO NOT conciously bite people! hands get in the way because you wasnt paying attention. concentration at all times when handling pike. [ 19. February 2005, 11:53 PM: Message edited by: Ratty46 ]

wicked pic! i keep meaning to get one of my piker friendly robins down the river,all i ever see of the kingfisher is a splash and a blue blur...crafty buggers! [ 20. February 2005, 12:02 AM: Message edited by: Ratty46 ]

well i'm cream crackered! up and down all day,a nice day. the lower itchen is indeed a cracking little river,lovely place to fish,was nice to meet all(i think i missed a few? apoligies,i was on the chub..) gerry you have seen my powers!was a big old rat too...was good to meet you mate.nice grayling!-"dont they hang on" was nice to meet all i met on the day,big thanks to darrel for the day out,its not often they let me out.... i started off trying for chub,i made my along the river dropping into some lovley crease swims,deep bends,far bankslacks,near bank runs with cover,the lot!i had a few knocks using paste,i tryed lamprey,for once it bought no intrest,the chevin was not amused by my humble offerings.the bright day and cold windy weather may not have helped,i felt alot better when i bumped into darrel and he told me he had no joy with the chub either so late in the afternoon i set up a loafer trotting rig(pinched matts maggots!cheers fella ,and second trot i hooked my first grayling, i quite taken aback by the resistance and fight!they dont half give it some,lovely fish,she weighed 1lb exactly.i hooked another next cast and then that was it. happy bunny i am! a blank avoided and first grayling caught,in hindsight i should have gone for grayling! a great day out many thaks to darrel and matt especially,and of course all those there on the day. ps cant rember how to post pics can i upload them? [ 20. February 2005, 12:00 AM: Message edited by: Ratty46 ]

just stated to lure fish myself, why? because im sick of blanking in hi pressure and they are easier than using livebaits(practical problems)and probably almost as good. plus i would like to learn the method,peter you have illustrated exactly why i want to learn the lure. you took fish from under there noses because you read the conditions and know how to work a lure,something i have scome to apreciate is that its is by no means a small fish method. those that pour scorn are not enlightended to the ways! a pike angler should know his methods and know them well they arent pikers there part timers peter!

ok,i have seen them at dusk flying about i actually enjoy watching them "dance". i agree with you to a point dunk,confidence rigs on the semi-bolt rig pricipal do work.but it is just as important to put the bait in the right place with the minium of disturbance.plus i do enjoy them pulling the tip round and me hooking thme ie i dont always use confidence rigs or bolt rigs(wich i actually dont use i prefer the lead to be able to partly run at least ie backstops etc). the chub i have caught on bolt rigs have been while after barbel using in-lines.yes they did bolt off! cheers again fella

weirpools are always changing under the surface,all manner of snags and what have you. take no chances,12lb main line,and a braided hooklength of at least 10lbs or a mono one of same BS. this wont put the barbel off at all.bait droppers can be swung out on an old carp rod and 15lb line or braid(what i use) they make a bit of noise but this doesnt bother boris. above all good luck and when you get to the pool in the morning... take a deep breath...there aint nothing like the smell of a weirpool in the morning!

wind'em up on the grubs! for the real biggies,floating maggots(use a fizzy drink to just cover them they should float nicely, offsetting the hook ie critically balanced) fine lines-2-3lb hooklengths,size 16-20 hooks and a fair bit of bottle when you hook one! not easy,but a killa method,or go on the maggot feeder,feeder no hooklength cast and cast wait for the knocks and wraps as they hit the feeder. If you keep feeding before you put your hooklenght on you will get them really going,to the point were you put a short hooklength on and bang they will hook themselves al la stef horak stylee! not my cup of tea but it works!

PANIC!!!ARRRRGGGHHH!!! ITS NOT OUT!!! pike and predators is tho

no not really but its better than the mail! plus i was "joking" peter.

smartcast! or a plumbing set up using a sliding float like float legering,not the most accurate but it will show you shelves, deep holes etc.

its late chaps,printer errors or a big story i think,should be out tommrow. dont panic!

be seeing you all there,me and matt are skipping breakfast,keep on eye on that weather chaps!

hi casey what species do you fish for?what are your intend targets using this rod? [ 15. February 2005, 07:05 AM: Message edited by: Ratty46 ]

you piking andrew?

i agree with budgie and den, wouldnt put a speci chub in one tho! as long as the bag is wetted prior to putting the fish in theres no problems,i beleive andy little is a user of this weiging technique for smaller species

them pics look wicked! very nice darrell,please dont mention pike im having hard time pulling myself away from my esox rods as it is! : )

cheers dunk, i was thinking theres gottoa be something in the cupboard i could use thanks for the tips on what to use i admit i was clueless on that one. with regards to the bites,i'll be using the "confidence" style rig,so yeah its proabably best to let them hook themselves. will be using it on the itchen fish in i think,as i say i was going tommrrow but conditions are on for pike,low pressure, good wind= some good fish.so i'll be on the pike i think. you seriouss on the bats!? [ 12. February 2005, 10:37 PM: Message edited by: Ratty46 ]

nice one fella! thats a cracking chevin! only a week to go till we get amongst em! i have go in a few times,once in winter,to free a snaged double-figure pike,sometimes it has to be done! well done that man!whats his name?

nice one fella, i am using it neat so to speak,see my mate picked it up for me,he didnt get me the chub attack(wish i had asked him know) was going chubbing tomorrow but its a little windy at the mo!24mph?not exactly quivertip weather! i dont hair rig for chub,i have done and it has worked but i would rather go staright on the hook on maybe them "paste coils" i do hear they work well, i know all about greedy chevin and his amazing lips!pull,pull,pull strike...nothing there! the trotting technique is a good'un, chub god terry lampard uses it a lot no feed,just a couple of trots in a likely swim,flake on the hook as you say. cheers again dunk. let me know if its pointless using it with out the chub attack. [ 12. February 2005, 05:53 PM: Message edited by: Ratty46 ]

hi dunk, it does come higly recomended mate! good to hear someone else has had results on it. cheers for the info on mixing,but most of the pastes i have seen in the mags etc like trigga,two eggs are used,i am new to this paste/boilie game,i unashamedly admit to using shelf-lifes for ages.so six eegs sounds like a lot to me! how much of a 1kg bag will be used if i use six eggs?or how many batches will it make? with the pre-baiting,thats pretty much how i work it,drop in bait up, come back.. dunk your info/knowledge is greatly appreciated mate! [ 12. February 2005, 05:00 PM: Message edited by: Ratty46 ]