Russell Fitzpatrick

nice one steve, i didn't think to look there!if there stil on there next payday(2 weeeks or so )i will definetly be having a copy,once agai cheers mate

matt i know about the warren,hard for me to get there mate i dont drive,unlessi can convince my mate to go there he likes a bit of float fishing.hes a summer boy ya see,we always go once or twice a year,cos as soon as the river opens im off, i tend to dissappear! hence the idea of float fishing close in for the tincas, yep corn ,cockles ,hemp, pellest, maybe a larger pellet on the hook,gotta try and find the unpickledones might go to the good old sea food stall....my target is a tinca of 4 pound or more a golden one would be brilliant they go to 6lb.being a day ticket water im counting on keeping little amounts of feed continously going in.as i figure the shaols will be wondering from peg topeg until they find some thing that interests them.no doubt a bloody carp or two will find it!,what hook size do you use for cockles? whilst im supposed tobe working im now debate whether to take my carp rods or just use one rod float fishing old school style...something ive not done for ages,sitting quitely early morning waiting for that swim to start fizzing..... [ 10. June 2004, 01:09 AM: Message edited by: ratty46 ]

the pattern i use is T6, and another i cant remeber (have to avea look)one is barbed the other barbless,short shank aswell.i find them both very reliable.

i had the 15th and 16th booked off,now i have the whole week!i shall be stalking the ever clever chevin,i hope to land a new summer best n boy do they look big!i will also try for some barbel.cant wait to get on it.

hi mat they do say tench are wise up far more quickly than carp.im off to a day ticket water with a good head of carp n tench and golden tench too,i was intending to devote one rod to the float and margins as ive not fished like that for a while,i was think about using corn n pellets the usual. i did think about using cockles,as i have heard there great tench bait,now this place recieves a fair bit of pressure im going to get me some cockles n see how we do.ill let you know how i do.not allowed paste there tho!doh! i make a lovely halibut paste

julian you wasnt asking me, but i too use ghost,ive found esp raptors to be very good sharp and strong attached to the hook via a knotless knot and a grinner at the swivel(i also use a dab of superglue).tying a hair of the hook with a diffrent material?(bit fiddly?)why do that?>is the hair to thick?i was moaning that it made bugger all diffrence to my chubbing but worked well with carp and barbel,them chub are summit else i tell 'thee proper' bo

cheers lads i will be purchasing it,i think its like 30 od quid tho!well worth it i think,mark-i like reading about what an angler has done and acheived, and how they did it,reading books like that get me inspired.rather than always getting hung up on technical detail.i read the great ouse article in CAT great read...queenford lagoon,lake cassien...old school man [ 09. June 2004, 05:14 PM: Message edited by: ratty46 ]

hi 'all i was just browseing the amazon site for a new read,i came across a few books by tony miles,i have read many articles by this great angler,and used what he has to say from his experience to good effect.the book that most caught my eye was "chasing dreams" all about his 40 years chasing specimens and how he did it etc,there was no review on the page tho,has anyone bought this book?published in 2001,has a 6-8 week wait before its sent to so is it worth the wait ...? "a specimen hunter reflects" caught my eye too but that is an older publication anyone got that one?

hehe proper fishing,sometimes you do have to look back to go forward if you get my meaning,using ol dtechniques and bait,did they used to use grasshoppers for "dapping"

they look like chocolate casters! i just bought a box to munch on my nightshift!

wow.. you was a para,i take a keen intrest in the fighting forces of the world,i read alot on the eastern front ww2,and vietnam etc snipers are what i like reading about most any way enough of that more fishing talk corn pops are good jedi or floating lobworms!

LOL 12 years thats a long time,if you dont mind me asking wich regiment did you serve with?

true i probably am had no probs before,had to sit downand think about it,but like i said i now know what the problem was.i did at irst think it was to weak or possibly damaged.im almost 100% sure the swivelswere at thought i gotmy lead back so it wasnt my main line.

you forgot to mention its bouyancy,and effective it can be when balanced with real corn the rest is bang on mate

survival courses?was you in the forces budgie? live chicks are odd,dunno about natural tho,maybe if you count water birds chicks,leeches yes also an odd bait IMO live ells could well count too i suppose.i get the genral sense that they do work never thought about float fishing them tho nice one coxie..clear loafers or wagglers me thinks : )

hi all i was out this afternoon,walking about,anyway on the way home i past the local exotic pet shop well sort of more reptiles n frogs,big spiders n that,well they sell live food,like grasshoppers locust(all sizes!) mealworms etc.now if i remeber rightly in last years Agling Times there was a chap called dave ivey?he was fishing on the throop,and dorset stour for chub, BIG chub,he was using these shall we say "natural" baits like locust n grasshoppers n such,now im in the position to stalk some good chub this year and imn very intrested in using these baits.has anyone used this baits??if you have id like to hear how you fished them and how well they worked-or not!?i was thinking simple in looking to freeline them or link leger them.any thoughts??

sorry my typing is bit dodgy i am a cockney so theres my excuse!the mono in question was 6lb bayer perlon,brown in colour and it was carp the culprit,i think my swivels had something to do with it,you see sometimes i use swivels from kinkied traces to make new ones when piking i think some of thses got imixed up with my other bits in bob's when using these swivels i alwasy leave a small tag of wire so i know wich side was attached to the wire,becuase the wire grates on the swivel ever so slighly it doesnt effect the wire but obviously it will go througth nylon probably braid too.i picked up on it in mick browns book on piking.now i know... is berkley vanish any good in the lower breaking strains ie 2-6lb?? oh n i was after carp clear lake,using in-lines,and boilie/pellet combos.eventaully landed several good fish.result in my book. stop digging me out!DG [ 07. June 2004, 04:01 PM: Message edited by: ratty46 ]

coarse fish,i could not kill to eat,i fish for pike so ive used livebaits and caught fish to be used as deads etc so i probaly have killed a few!seriouslly tho,taking a fish for the table is ok but not like bream or roach for example,they dont taste good anyway!trout in my opinion if i caught one i would release it i dont eat trout,why kill it?people always say "why do you put it back" my anwser is usaully because after taking in some cases hours to tempt a fish,after experiencing its power in the fight and seeing it in my hands gives me a great buzz,i won,i firmley believe that fish deserves my respect,and there for be put back alive after being told how overwieght they are and getting them to smile for the camera i dont fish for the table i fish for the challenge and the experiences being a city boy i relish every trip out,in contrast to that some of my biggest fish(specimen sizes too) have been caught in london town its self.so put em back please!i too cannot stand back garden photos with dead sea fish,they look horrid,its not fair on the fish if you wnat a photo get one at the location n put it back,i wonder how many back garden fish get prepared for the table??? [ 06. June 2004, 10:00 PM: Message edited by: ratty46 ]

hi DG n all talking of snap offs n esp ghost,used the stuff to great effect this weekend got smashed on mono,so being clear i used 10lb esp ghost,as others have said its thick,but very good under water does go a little springy-kid gloves needed,i use grinners and knotless knot arrangements,very secure,very happy see i told u its was worth the money!! still must try sufix soon and berkley vanish ive heard good things about that fluro c,good in lower breaking strains i hear?.

rolling fish at first and last light is often the best way, they will follow warm winds bream like to also feed on gravel as opposed to weed so dig out ya marker float n lead,or cast a lead around and drag it across the bottom youre looking for a tap tap tap at the rod tip,clip up on the line clip and measure it aginst another ready set up rod clip that one up bingo accuracy,follow rudds advice and you should be on fish,altho a lot of breaming is baiting n waiting.>word of warning if good size carp are present DO NOT fish with ya line clipped up on the spool u will break off! [ 02. June 2004, 09:24 PM: Message edited by: ratty46 ]

is the simlar kryston stuff any good??snake skin is it?drennan double strength_top line! and super specalist line too i like that very tough.

well done del+ co,you went with the intetion of capturing carp and you caught carp,makes you feel good setting out for a certain species,and hooking that intended species.

matty hayes caught his pb 7 pound plus chub on an....artificial pellet!of all things a big educated chub would take..it took a plastic pellet...why??it behaved so naturally it was accepted ..un-believable but true!critically balanced rubber baits can work wonders,just gotta think how your going to use it to your advantage!

yes! well worth a tenner neat tidy above all secure! i purchased one not long agobrilliant tool no brakages at all,i even dragged a bloody log in the other day trace wasfine very strong.i like,as twisting...wellit never looks right to me i never get it looking neat! [ 01. June 2004, 09:23 PM: Message edited by: ratty46 ]

nah it wasnt that expensive esp ghost stuff,works well for carp tho