Stewart_Bloor

I will be out on the banks ready for a midnight start, but if I tell you where I will have to kill you.

Whatever I am doing at that time. At the moment it is gravelpit fishing for bream. Hard going but great whe you catch a fish.

I make my own, have done so for years.It really gives satisfaction when you catch on your own boilie which is your own concoction from base mix upwards.

I very often scour my boilies with a baiting needle.

I have been using artificial corn for the last two spring campaignsfor bream. It felt really odd at first,it doesn't feel right being artificial, but I soon realised it works. The problem with real corn was I was getting sucked baits and not even knowing about so in effect fishing with no bait. Now I cast out,put the rods in the pod and know that the bait will always be there. Plus I am fishing pop-up which with a single corn and a piece of rig foam is just right. And just caught a near 30lb carp too.

I might as well be tench fishing, because that's all I'm catching at the moment on a gravel pit bream campaign. Still, they are good fish so I'm not complaining.

Contact Steve Williams, a really nice guy who has a caravan that he lets out. He will also help you with the fishing etc. You can't go wrong www.caravanonthesevern.co.uk And no I am not on commission.

Mine still hasn't come today.

I'm currently on a gravel pit, hoping to better my pb bream. So far though no bream but some nice tench, so I may get a surprise pb on that front. I'm also perch fishing on the local canal. Come June it will be barbel, barbel, barbel with a few specifics that I will focus on.

I'm currently on a gravel pit after bream. No bream yet but some really nice tench, so I'm not complaining.

I have just got back from a 2-night session, the first time in my life I have ever fished without a licence.

That's a nice story, thanks for sharing it. And well done to Martin James.

Never been in that position, but I have been asked on numerous occasions for my ticket which is good. One thing I don't like is when people poach waters - I buy a ticket why should someone else freeload? So when I see people getting evicted I don't feel sorry for them. I was once on a BAA stretch and after the bailiff did his walk, I was the only one left - 8 others were aked to leave!

Some anglers specifically target barbel with a fly rod and a nymph.

A bit too far for the limits you have set, but I'll post it anyway as it may be of help to others. Dudmaston Hall near Bridgnorth in Shropshire. Not massive fish, but if you happy with lots of 5lb plus tench and the odd 6lb'er then it's worth a go. Very picturesque too. Run by Kinver Freeliners, do an Internet search and you'll get the web site. No day tickets and a season ticket may be more than many would want to pay, but it depends what you are after.

Fishing the local canal last winter for perch, I had almost as many chub on small Mepps spinners as I did perch.

I fish all year round and thoroughly enjoy winter. Mind, I've just had a run of 11 blanks, which I broke with a very welcome pike.

Due to time - and even then my actual post numbers are quite limited - I only contribute to three forums. That's Maggot Drowners, Anglers' net and Barbel Fishing World. Plus I am in one for a syndicate I'm a member of, but that's a closed one and not open to the public. I post under my real name on all of them, apart from the syndicate that is, where I couldn't register as that for some reason. But that's not an issue, with only 17 members everyone knows who I am anyway.

The Severn is bank high but falling and temp is up to 9C. Excellent for barbel fishing, which is just as good as I'm setting off in half an hour.

Definitely fish over Christmas, although draw the line at Christmas Day.

The Severn ought to be in excellent condition, the winds have been coming in from the SW. I left it on Friday and had caught half a dozen, with one double.

Lots of birds flock together as winter approaches. Rooks are communal anyway but other birds who you only see in pairs or singly during the summer will gather in groups. Last week on the lower Severn I had 25 goldfinches in the area around where I was. Last winter while out birding locally I counted c.85 magpies n one loose group spread over a couple of fields and hedges. One of the most amazing sights can be the flocks of starlings that can number into the thousands. PS You can tell crows from rooks by their call but the best way is to observe the base of the beak, which is feather-less in the rook. At a distance you may need binoculars though.

I use the same braid that I use as hook length (if that's the question). At the moment I am using Drennan Carp Dacron for my barbel fishing.

Get well soon.

Well done. And ignore those people who try to take away from your achievement. I once caught a big barbel and had an e-mail from someone trying to detract from my personal pleasure along the lines of 'I've already caught that one'. My reply was, in a nice way, 'So what, big deal. I haven't and I will enjoy the experience very much thank you'